First in a series of Rockets player previews ahead of the 2026-27 season
Kevin Durant’s opening act with the Houston Rockets matched his reputation.
The Rockets wanted to get a premier scorer to upgrade their offense and traded for Durant, perhaps the purest bucket-getter of his generation. He validated the move, averaging 26 points per game on hyper-efficient shooting, most of that damage coming from the midrange. Durant was at the top of every defense’s scouting report and parlayed that attention into 4.8 assists per game.
The Rockets offense was 3.4 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court than off, per Cleaning the Glass. But on the other end, Houston’s defense allowed 4.1 more points per 100 possessions with him on the court. Durant started to show some regression on that end, especially on the perimeter, but it didn’t drastically diminish his overall value.
He earned a second-team All-NBA spot and ranked 14th in the NBA in the advanced metric DARKO, which uses on-off, tracking and box score data to estimate and predict player value.
TLDR: He’s still really, really good.
It wasn’t a perfect season, though. Durant struggled with turnovers, faced allegations (that he declined to comment on) that he used a burner account to disparage current and former teammates in private groupchats and, after his healthiest regular season since his last year in Golden State, played just one of six games in the playoffs due to knee and ankle injuries.
He enters the 2026-27 season as Houston’s best player and its offensive hub. He is locked into a starting forward spot and will likely take the most shots on the team – with good reason.
Nerd stat
Durant’s dominance coming off screens disappeared last season. Between the 2021-22 and 2024-25 seasons, he was in the 95th, 78th, 90th and 85th percentiles in points per possession on such plays, per NBARAPM.
Last season, he dropped to the 29th percentile. His true shooting percentage (which factors in the value of 3-pointers and free throws) dropped to 46.9% – he hadn’t been below 55% since 2016-17.
What to watch in the first 20 games
How much does Fred VanVleet’s presence help Durant?
Durant has always been a high turnover player, but the issue was worse last season in part because he was more of a primary ballhandler as Houston cobbled together the point guard position with VanVleet out all season.
Having to initiate possessions also left the forward more vulnerable to double teams and traps, which plagued the Rockets offense late in games.
VanVleet is one of the league’s best at cutting down his team’s turnovers and is known as a reliable on-court organizer. That should help Durant.
The Rockets had the third-highest turnover rate in the league last season. If they can cut those down and continue their offensive rebounding dominance, they’ll win the possession battle and give Durant more opportunities to do what he does best: Shoot.
VanVleet could also help Durant get the ball in more dangerous scoring areas, perhaps improving those numbers coming off screens with better passes or calling those plays in better situations. The point guard also gives Houston another threat on the court that defenses have to contend with, limiting the attention opponents can dedicate to Durant.
It might not be a seamless process. VanVleet is 32 and coming off an ACL tear. He and Durant have never played together and will have to learn each other’s games. The hope is that the two veterans can strengthen that connection as soon as possible.
A successful season for Durant is …
A healthy one, both in the regular season and (hopefully for Houston) playoffs, where he continues to score proficiently, cuts down on his turnovers and remains a solid defender.
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This article originally published at Kevin Durant was elite in Year 1 for the Rockets. Fred VanVleet could make him even better..