The NBA faithful don’t seem to think much of 15-time All-Star forward Kevin Durant’s tenure with his new team, the Houston Rockets.
Per Shams Charnia, the former Oklahoma City Thunder league MVP has earned a relatively scant 548,754 fan votes to start on this season’s All-Star team. That’s just the eighth-best such sum in the Western Conference, and the 14th-best overall.
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It’s understandable that the 37-year-old is trailing All-NBA superstars in their prime like 26-year-old Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (who leads everyone with 1,249,518 fan votes), 31-year-old Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (1,192,296), 30-year-old Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (1,128,962), 25-year-old Philadelphia 76ers point guard Tyrese Maxey (1,072,449), 29-year-old New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson (1,040,061), and 24-year-old Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham (1,000,171).
Along with reigning MVP Oklahoma City point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (878,621 votes), All-Star San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (769,362), and All-NBA Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards (650,085), all those players have an understandable case to earn more votes than Durant.
But it’s surprising that Durant, a two-time Finals MVP and one of the biggest names in basketball across the last two decades, isn’t higher up on this list. Even Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija - who’s never been an All-Star - received more votes (606,299) than the two-time league champ.
Granted, Durant is in his relative NBA dotage. He has also hopped around franchises since his first free agent departure, for the Golden State Warriors, in 2016. His frequent exits and recent struggles to lead teams to deep playoff runs (he hasn’t been past the first round since 2021) may have turned off fans.
Or maybe people are just wising up - because this is about where he should be this season. Avdija has helped guide Portland back to semi-respectability in a loaded West. The other, younger players are at the helm of talented squads with similar records.
Durant’s 548,754 fan votes far outpace those of the Rockets’ likely best player, power forward Alperen Sengun, who received 308,346 votes - just the 11th-best in the West.
Through 27 contests for the 19-10 Rockets, the future first-ballot Hall of Famer has been averaging 25.4 points on an insane slash line of .516/.442/.898, along with 4.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists. The club is probably a bit better than its record would suggest - given that starting point guard Fred VanVleet will likely miss the entire 2025-26 season recuperating from an ACL tear incurred in September.
Newsweek