There was a time, about a decade ago, when Kevin Durant, the new face of the Houston Rockets, was one of the most universally popular players in team sports. After winning the NBA's MVP award, Durant gave this speech, in which he called his mom "the real MVP," creating a wave of tears amongst sports fans worldwide:
So, for the last several years, if Kevin Durant wasn't on your favorite team, it was part of your job as a basketball fan to hate Kevin Durant, and in Houston, that's what we've done. We've done our part. Now, though, after Sunday's acquisition of Durant by the Rockets, he is "our guy" now.
How are Rockets fans processing this? Well, I posted a Twitter poll earlier this week, the day of the trade, and here are the results:
#Penderpoll ... #Rockets fans -- do you approve of the trade for Kevin Durant?
VOTE:
— Sean Pendergast (@SeanTPendergast) June 23, 2025
Good job, Houston! Way to put aside your pettiness! Well, 91.2 percent of you, at least. Look, the Rockets need outside shooting, and they need half court offense, and there is no better player on the planet who combines both of those things at an elite level quite like Durant, even at age 36.
For the 8.8 percent of you who are still against this trade, I wanted to find out why exactly you feel the way you do. Thus, I dipped into the Twitter poll world again to dig into the psychoses of the Durant haters. I gave the four choices as to why they don't like the deal:
#Penderpoll .. for those who do NOT like the Kevin Durant trade from a #Rockets perspective -- why do you NOT like the trade?
VOTE:
— Sean Pendergast (@SeanTPendergast) June 23, 2025
I'm not surprised at the choice that won this poll, but I am surprised at just how lopsided the results are. To be clear, if there is a "right" answer as to why you should be concerned about this deal, Durant's age and injury history, collectively, are correct. My surprise comes from how many Houston people I talked to the day after the trade that just didn't like Durant, the person. All of the reasons listed at the top of this article, particularly his social media persona, are a turnoff for them.
At this point, though, we can't worry about the 8.8 percent, Rocket fans. It's their job to get over their feelings. There is a title to be won!
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