Kevin Durant Enters Health and Safety Protocols

The NBA's leading scorer joins seven other Nets players in the protocols.

Nets star Kevin Durant has entered the NBA's health and safety protocols and will miss Saturday's game against Orlando, the team announced. 

Amid a flurry of cases for the Nets, Durant is now the eighth Brooklyn player added to the list, which includes James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre' Bembry, Bruce Brown, Jevon Carter, James Johnson and Paul Millsap. 

On Friday, the Nets announced that All-Star guard Kyrie Irving would be re-joining the team "for games and practices in which he is eligible to participate," the team said in a statement. The decision to add Irving, who is unvaccinated, was made due in part to the growing list of Nets players in the health and safety protocols.

Statement from Nets GM Sean Marks, on the return of Kyrie Irving: pic.twitter.com/JRrtHFqv3a

— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) December 18, 2021

Durant, meanwhile, is coming off a stellar performance against the 76ers on Friday where he recorded 34 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in a 114-105 win. The 33-year-old leads the NBA in points per game (29.7) and is second in minutes per game (37).

The Nets barely had the minimum number of players available to face the Sixers on Thursday, which coach Steve Nash said put the team in a difficult position.

"So is it better to be over the threshold than to not be playing until you have a healthy roster?" Nash told The Associated Press. "Or is it better to have enough to play but to be short-handed and the burden and the toll it takes on these guys and knowing that you're going to have guys coming back who haven't been able to practice or play basketball. So it is definitely tricky to navigate."