The Rockets are betting on at least one more vintage Kevin Durant season. Durant will be 38 years old next season and is entering his 19th year in the NBA. History isn’t exactly full of players producing at an elite level this deep into their careers, but this one’s still pumping out All-NBA caliber numbers.
During Durant’s second championship season with Golden State in 2017-18, he averaged 26.4 points per game while shooting 52-percent from the field and 42-percent from three, according to StatMuse. The version of Durant the Rockets just acquired is almost identical statistically to the one who was winning Finals MVP awards.
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Ten years later, this season in Houston, he averaged 26 points per game on 52-percent shooting from the field and 41-percent from deep.
Conversations about Durant tend to start with his age. Very few players remain this productive after 1200 games and nearly two decades in the league.
The Rockets made the Durant move because the clock hasn’t caught up to him yet. Health will always be part of the discussion after that many years of wear and tear. Houston also needs the rest of the roster to take another step if a championship run is going to happen.
Twenty years into his career, Durant is still forcing people to ask the same question: What if he has one more in him?
Based on what he just did this season, betting against a championship run in red feels a little premature.