As the Houston Rockets prepared to enter the 2025-26 NBA season, almost nobody must have been more excited than Kevin Durant, who will get the chance to solidify his legacy and take a young core onto his shoulders as the ascendant team works their way into championship contention.
Yet, with the recent news of injuries to Fred VanVleet and Dorian Finney-Smith, an unexpected wrench has been thrown into the team's plans, and, now, Durant must quickly acclimate into the team's system in order for them to maintain any sort of early season success.
While their title hopes are not necessarily dead, their chances have admittedly greatly diminished, and Durant now has a much tougher task and a much larger workload in store for him as he joins the fifth organization of his career.