Durant's playoff availability is uncertain. A franchise legend's choice could dictate the Rockets' final stand and his personal legacy.
The Houston Rockets have their backs against the wall heading into what could very well be their last game of the season. No team has ever been able to overcome a series deficit of 0-3, and it’s hard to see that changing this year. The best they can do is avoid a sweep, in my opinion.
The last time the Rockets were swept in the postseason was 30 years ago in 1996. That time they managed to get past the first round though, ultimately falling to the Seattle Supersonics in Round 2. You know it's been a while if you hear that organization being mentioned.
The last time the Rockets got swept in the first round, however, was in 1991. Ironically enough, that disappointment came against the Lakers again, per RealGM.
To further the coincidences, both the '96 Sonics and '91 Lakers went on to lose to the Chicago Bulls in the Finals. These were also the first championships in each of Jordan's three-peats.
Turning our focus to a younger generation’s GOAT, Kevin Durant is still undecided on whether or not he’ll suit up. After the 37 year old future Hall of Fame forward only missed four out of 82 games, he’s already missed two postseason games so far.
Considering the fact that two of his four regular season absences were due to personal reasons, and a third missed game was due to rest, he’s been exceptionally healthy with the Rockets. You can reasonably say he only missed one game for injury this season.
Now in the playoffs, he’s already doubled, possibly soon to triple his number of injury related absences. This was always going to be a concern with his age and health history, but his minutes per game did nothing to help that.
As covered on Roundtable, Durant was a leader in minutes per game all the way back at the beginning of 2026. More than three months later and those minutes didn’t drop at all. He finished third highest in the league.
It’s hard to blame anyone for letting a great basketball talent go out and play basketball. As we’ve seen in these playoffs, if he doesn’t feel good enough to play, then he won’t play.
That's why I would be a bit surprised to see KD come back. He’s already tried that on a much bigger stage, back in the 2019 Finals. Why risk it?
Kevin Durant is a smart guy. At the very least, he knows basketball. He knows the Rockets don’t have a great chance at advancing and would likely face OKC if they did come back. He also knows he’ll get criticized no matter what, so I doubt that would play into his decision. Either way, tune in at 8:30PM central time to see the Rockets' possible finale.