This page may contain affiliate links. If you click a link and sign up, make a deposit, place a wager, or make a trade, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Durant will not play in Sunday's preseason rematch against Dallas, Varun Shankar of the Houston Chronicle reports. The forward finished Friday's preseason contest with 15 points (7-12 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 0-1 FT), two assists and one block in 23 minutes.
According to coach Ime Udoka, Durant was initially scheduled to play only the first half Friday but requested additional minutes to build chemistry with Fred VanVleet and his other new teammates. The veteran forward's absence Sunday appears to be a planned precaution rather than an injury-related setback, and Houston should have additional minutes available for its other wings and forwards
... See More... See Less
Rockets' Kevin Durant: Downplays talk of reduced minutes
Rotowire
Durant pushed back Monday on the idea of playing reduced minutes in his 20th season, per Ben DuBose of USA Today.
The future Hall of Famer logged 78 regular-season appearances last year, his most since 2018-19 with the Warriors. Durant also averaged 36.4 minutes per game before going down with an ankle injury and missing five of Houston's six playoff contests. However, it doesn't sound like the 37-year-old perennial All-Star is ready to take it easy for the contending Rockets in 2026-27. Durant trails only LeBron James among the NBA's active minutes leaders.
Durant (ankle) averaged 26.0 points per game during his first season with Houston and continued to cement his place among the NBA's all-time great scorers, moving into the top five on the league's career 30-point games list.
Durant led the Rockets to a 52-30 record and a playoff berth despite battling injuries late in the year. Houston made no major changes to its core during the offseason, so Durant should once again operate as the club's primary scoring option while chasing another deep postseason run.
