Kevin Durant has admitted that it has been the "toughest year" of his career after the Oklahoma City Thunder missed the NBA playoffs.
Last season's MVP missed the start of the regular season while recovering from a broken foot, while a string of other injuries limited him to 27 games this campaign.
The forward told reporters during the team's annual exit interviews: "I'm definitely pissed. I heard a lot of stuff during this time I've been injured from everybody. From different people. Definitely pissed.
"It's definitely been the toughest year I've ever had playing basketball, but just try to look forward to and stay positive with it all and help my guys out. Every day I tell myself we're going to look back on this and smile and laugh at it and recognise this is just an obstacle we had to climb over to get to where we want to get to.
"My concern is getting back healthy. That's all I'm worried about. I know that stuff is going to start to roll around here soon, but I'm just worried about getting healthy and playing again and doing something I love to do."
The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Thunder to the final playoff place in the Western Conference, setting up a first-round meeting with the Golden State Warriors.
Sian Cowper
