HOUSTON — One of the final questions posed to Kevin Durant on Monday afternoon was simplistic in nature, an inquiry about legacy.
If anything, it presented an opportunity for the 37-year-old to wax poetic about one of the most decorated individual careers in NBA history — two Larry O’Brien trophies, two Finals MVPs, four Olympic medals, a regular-season MVP and two decades worth of pure, unadulterated scoring prowess.
Instead, the question caught Durant by surprise. The newest member of the Houston Rockets paused at the podium before repositioning the microphone in front of him.
Earlier in Durant’s career, there was a time when personal success was a dominating factor — teaming up with fellow esteemed colleagues like Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving in pursuit of a championship. But as the sun sets, it’s become evident that there are more important aspects to basketball than wins and losses, especially as it pertains to Durant.
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“The definition of [legacy] has gotten confusing over the last few years to me,” Durant said during his media-day availability. “It’s always about impacting and building good relationships within the organization. From the outside looking in, every place that I’ve been may have been a tough breakup. But behind the scenes, I’ve built so many great relationships with people, lifelong friendships that have been formed. Looking forward to building upon that every single day.
“Those relationships you build from a human level are the most important and impactful things throughout this journey in the NBA.”
An introspective Durant admitted that his departure from Phoenix this past offseason was sudden and unexpected, all while understanding the business of the NBA and what that umbrella entails. His sheer body of work alone made him one of the most coveted players on the market, with his offensive ability a desired addition to 29 other teams. But the next, and possibly final, stop of Durant’s career wouldn’t simply be which team he felt was best positioned to play deep into May and June. Durant’s thought process boiled down to being content — which explains why he publicly declared his intent on signing an extension in Houston.
“I just thought about who I was comfortable with, which coaching staff would just let me be me and understand what I bring to the table,” Durant said. “Ime [Udoka] has always been one of those guys that understood my mentality and approach to the game. He always respected that and gave me my space to be me.”
The prevalent theme of Rockets media day, from interviews with key players as well as Udoka, was admiration of Durant’s routine and mental process, from afar in years past to up close in person as he’s gotten acclimated to his new team and surroundings. Durant’s unique approach to his offseason workouts and skill development has long been one of the NBA’s underlying joys and a template for hundreds of players to emulate — and young, emerging stars like Amen Thompson and Alperen Şengün will benefit.
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“I just enjoy competing against myself every day,” Durant said. “As you get older, you dive into the details of your life and become detail-oriented, it’s just nerdy and fun to be in that mode. My peaceful place is when I’m perfecting my craft.”
“Just a continued elevation of our group and expectations,” Udoka added. “What he does as far as professionalism, his work ethic and things I’ve seen when I coached him really rub off on a team and it has already. Kevin takes it to another level and you understand why he is, who he is and how he got to that level, what he does every day. Our young guys working with him and being around him will pay dividends for our team.”
Durant’s addition comes at a pivotal moment for a Rockets franchise searching for immediate direction after starting point guard Fred VanVleet suffered a torn right ACL recently, likely ruling him out for the 2025-26 regular season. But aside from Durant’s elite scoring ability — his floor spacing is desperately needed on a meh halfcourt execution team — his creation talent, which often goes underappreciated, will be relied upon by Udoka and the coaching staff. Thompson, Şengün and second-year guard Reed Sheppard will help in that regard, but Durant may assume the bulk of those responsibilities.
Udoka alluded to a non-traditional halfcourt setup in the wake of VanVleet’s absence, citing the versatility of the collective to shore up natural deficiencies. According to Cleaning the Glass, Durant has ranked in the 88th percentile or better for the last 15 years in both usage rate and assist percentage. Durant, who has averaged a shade over four assists in his career, is ready for a committee solution.
“I think playmaking is a team thing,” Durant said. “As many plays as we make for each other, sometimes you don’t always get the assist. Sometimes you don’t even touch the ball and you can create a play for your teammates. So if we play together, if we play off each other, move our bodies and the ball, I think we can showcase our playmaking talents. We have high IQ guys on the team that know how to play, so now we have to figure out what’s the best way to mesh on the floor and start executing from Day 1.”
For all the aforementioned benefits the Rockets will receive from Durant’s offensive presence, the defense, Houston’s cultural bedrock, has the potential to be just as successful as last season — if not more. The ever-stoic Udoka couldn’t help but crack an evil grin as he imagined some of Houston’s jumbo lineups he could deploy with Durant and fellow new addition Dorian Finney-Smith, alongside names like Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason and Thompson. Durant’s length and size should mesh seamlessly with an aggressive Rockets defense designed to cause chaos and that can toggle between various zones and blitzes.
Training camp, which opens this week in Houston, will be the latest crash course for a team faced with championship expectations. The majority of eyes will be on the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets in the West, two teams well-versed in depth and versatility, but Durant’s travels have shown him what it truly takes to reach the promised land. The Rockets will lean on him heavily for guidance and, with some luck from the basketball gods and a clean bill of health, there’s enough meat on the bones to make a serious run.
“You just put your head down and work every single day,” Durant said. “But the formula over the last few years is to have size, guys that can penetrate, guys that can create extra possessions for you, guys that can switch and guard multiple positions, length, athleticism, discipline, effort every single night from a scheme perspective — and camaraderie and continuity.
“I feel like we have bits and pieces of all of those attributes now, it’s about how we cook it all up, come together and form who we want to be in our identity as we go forward. And that may take time, but putting in the work and trying to figure it out is the fun part.”
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