Yesterday (October 19), the Houston Rockets confirmed a 2-year, $90 million contract extension for Kevin Durant, signaling that the franchise is shifting its focus from development to going for a championship. With the contract comes an NBA record- Durant’s career earnings will be upward of $598 million, making him the highest paid player in NBA history, surpassing Lebron James for the seat.

Durant was traded to Houston in July 2025 in a somewhat controversial trade with the Phoenix Suns. Some fans were disappointed in the decision to let go of Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks. Releasing a rising star that the franchise invested years developing, like star shooter Green seemed like the Rockets were abandoning their youth-first long-term development plan. 

While there’s been some concern around Durant’s age, most fans have been excited about the addition. Now that the Rockets have a 37-year-old championship-focused superstar to carry the rest of the 20-something team to glory for at least the next couple of years. Not to mention, ticket sales have skyrocketed since the announcement. 

After watching this wild preseason, it seems like adding a championship-caliber veteran was just what the franchise needed. Both the core 6 and the bench shined, wrapping it up last week with a 4-0 record, proving the Durant pick was a smart one. 

The team is seamlessly meshing with Durant and his presence seems to be accelerating their rhythm- not disrupting it. Essentially the same roster went 3-2 last preseason under the same coach, so performance has already improved. That alone is enough to justify Houston’s decision to lock in Durant for at least two years. 

As far as obvious immediate chemistry goes, Rockets’ center Alperen Şengün and Durant are already looking like an effective duo. Throughout the preseason, the viewers watched the two click in real time.

 With overlapping skillsets, the pair set several efficient 2-man plays, like we saw immediately in the Jazz game. Şengün set back-to-back screens, freeing Durant to sink field goal after field goal in the first quarter. So far, Şengün has acted as a springboard for Durant to do his thing. 

While they looked good out there this month during the preseason, we’ll have to see if that chemistry with Durant flows into the regular season when pressure is really on. If he can stay healthy and on the court, there’s no doubt Houston will be giving the West a run for their money in the 2025-2026 season. Then there will be no question to whether banking their budget on KD was the right move.