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Kevin Durant is about to enter his 19th season in the league with a fresh start, landing with the Houston Rockets via a blockbuster trade that involved seven teams. The Rockets won 52 games this past season and was the two-seed in the Western Conference, and they added a future Hall of Famer who still has plenty of gas left in the tank who will be coming in to remedy the team's biggest issue — scoring in the halfcourt.
While Durant will be turning 37 years of age prior to the start of the 2025-26 season, his production for the Phoenix Suns this past campaign speaks volumes to how big of a contributor he remains even in his advanced age. He averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game this past season on 53/43/84 shooting splits — numbers that are simply unfathomable when he's this old (in NBA years) and he's already been dealing with a myriad of lower-body injuries when he already suffered a torn Achilles back in 2019.
There is simply no way anyone must doubt Durant and what he's capable of as the Rockets look towards him to be the missing piece that would get them over the hump, even in a stacked Western Conference.
Here are a few bold predictions for how Durant will fare in his first season with the Rockets.
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Kevin Durant finishes in the top-three of the MVP voting
Durant hasn't finished in the top-three of the MVP voting since he won the award all the way back in the 2013-14 season; since then, the highest he's finished in the award-voting was fifth, and since signing with the Golden State Warriors in 2016, he hasn't finished higher than seventh.
This makes it a rather long shot that Durant finishes in the top-three for the Rockets this upcoming season. But this is a bold predictions piece for a reason, and Durant will be coming in as easily the number-one offensive option for Houston who will be tasked to fill up the scoring column and elevate the team by fixing their biggest issue.
The Rockets made way for Durant by trading Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks for him; Green averaged 17.5 shots per game last season and Brooks shot it a whopping 11.9 times a night last year, opening up nearly 30 shots per game for the Rockets to re-distribute around the roster.
While the Rockets did sign Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela, those two aren't exactly high-usage players; Finney-Smith took around just seven shots a night last year and is mostly a catch-and-shoot guy, while Capela is a rim-roller who will be the team's third-string center.
It's fair to expect Durant to take closer to 20 shots a night now that he'll once again be the number-one option, unlike with the Suns when he shared the bulk of the scoring load with Devin Booker. And the last time Durant took around 20 shots a contest, he averaged nearly 30 points per game, and considering his efficiency, he's likely to average that many points yet again when given the opportunity.
Durant won't even have to expend much of his energy on defense. The Rockets have Amen Thompson and Tari Eason on the wings to deal with the toughest matchups, and Finney-Smith will be the one to handle the more physically imposing matchups in small-ball lineups.
All of that should allow Durant to perhaps average around 30 points per game, six rebounds, and six assists on 50/40/85 splits. With the Rockets being one of the best teams in the league, the 37-year-old is about to get some love from MVP voters, provided, of course, that he stays eligible for postseason awards by suiting up in 65 games or more.
The Rockets star notches new career-high in points in a single game
With Durant being the focal point of the offense and him not having to shoulder a heavy defensive burden, the stage is set for the former MVP to light it up for the Rockets. And he'll be keen to prove that he still got a killer instinct, showing up every night with the mindset of getting as many buckets as he can.
There will be a night this upcoming season where Durant catches fire and simply refuses to miss. With that, Durant, at 37 years old, will get the chance to best his previous career-high for points in a single game (55), which he tallied back in 2022 when he was still with the Brooklyn Nets.
Some may wonder if he still has the stamina to put up at least 56 points on the board in a single game. Or some would think that the game wouldn't even be close if Durant catches the necessary fire to beat his previous career-high, which means that he may not get the opportunity to do so since the Rockets will be erring on the side of caution in such an event.
But expect Durant to find the Rockets' youthful energy contagious which should then allow the 37-year-old to approach next season with the mindset of wanting to prove that he still remains one of the best players in the league until further notice.
KD plays in over 75 games next season
Since tearing his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals, Durant hasn't been at his best from a physical standpoint. He's dealt with his fair share of injuries, suffering a hamstring strain in 2021, an MCL sprain in 2022, and then another knee injury yet again in 2023. And then to start the 2024-25 season, he strained his calf, putting such a huge damper on the Suns' excellent start to the campaign.
While these injuries haven't made Durant any less productive, the mileage on his body suggests that the Rockets will look to manage his workload all throughout next season. After all, the playoffs is where the Rockets will be needing Durant the most.
Thus, it may not be wise for Durant to play in more than the 65 games that is necessary for award eligibility. But there might be some very interesting seeding battles to come in the West, and the Rockets may end up needing Durant for those important games. Injuries won't be a factor this year as Durant looks to be every bit the player Houston expects him to be following the trade.
