The Houston Rockets' offseason was highlighted by the addition of Kevin Durant, after their successful season last year in the West.
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Kevin Durant of the Houston Rockets speaks onstage during Fanatics Fest NYC 2025.
Even after finishing with their best record in six years last season, theHouston Rockets have made a dramatic jump over the summer by addingKevin Durant to their roster.
Durant remainsone of the top players in the NBA, with a resume and scoring ability that teams around the league wouldlove to have. Now leading this Rockets team, Durant hopes to win the third championship of his career.
Speaking on a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) formerNBA player Jamal Crawford said he has high hopes for Durant and the Rockets next season.
“I think KD will fit great,”Crawford said on Durant heading to Houston. “He’s one of the few people who are on the all-time list who have played butdidn’t disrupt theirteammates’ rhythm.”
Crawford is one of only two players in league historyto win the Sixth Man of the Year award three times, and isthe oldest player ever to score at least 50 points in a game.
Crawford’s Durant and Rockets Praise
In his Reddit AMA, Crawford responded to multiple questions relating to Durant and the Rockets.Their trade with thePhoenix Suns, sendingJalen Green andDillon Brooks in exchange for Durant, was thebiggest move of the 2025 NBA offseason.
“My heart tells me Houston, because of the success they had with their young players, and they are getting a player of KevinDurant’s caliber,”Crawford said about which team made thebiggest leap. “I’ve been a Kevin Durant fan for a long time, and I had a lot of faith in it working out in Phoenix, and itdidn’t, but I think this may be the right move.”
Houston also addedDorian Finney-Smith andClint Capela, whilekeeping a majority of theirsupporting cast, manysigning newer, smaller deals to create additional cap space. Durant remains the star of the team, and as Crawford mentioned, his ability to slide into any roster and fit in is part of what makes him so successful.
“He’s one of the few players,Steph (Curry)’s another one, who can play any system and still be just as effective and not take away from anybody else,”Crawford said. “So when you play like that, you can fit any system.And he can tap into, I guess the kids say “their bags”, he can tap into his “do it yourself bag”if he wants, or he can tap into just playing with the unit. I thinkthat’s what makes him so dynamite.”
Crawford also said that alongside Durant,Nikola Jokic of theDenver Nuggets remains his other favorite player to watch in the NBA.
Houston’s 2025-26 Schedule
The NBA schedule was released just before Crawford did his Reddit AMA. He mentionedHouston’s opening game of the season against theOklahoma City Thunder has piqued his interest.
“I’m going to say the first matchup is whatI’m most excited for. I think seeing Houston going to OKC, obviously, Durant coming back to OKC,”Crawford added. “OKC just won a championship, fresh off from that. I thinkthat’s the oneI’m looking forward to.Andthat’s kind of selfish, becauseI’ll be on the call as well. So that waskind of a selfish answer, for sure.”
Along with that matchup, the Rockets will play on Christmas Day againstLeBron James,Luka Doncic, and theLos Angeles Lakers.
Their other notable games of their 2025-26 season willcome against the Suns on November 24th,the Dallas Mavericks on December 6th, theMinnesota Timberwolves on January 16th, and theGolden State Warriors on March 5th.
Durant and the Rockets will play 16 back-to-back games, tied for the most, and28 nationally televised games, tied for the second-most in the NBA.
After having itsfirst 50-win season since 2019, Durant joinsa strong Rockets team that is currentlya top title-favorite in the Western Conference.