After some rough years, people across Southeast Texas are getting stoked about NBA basketball again. The Houston Rockets traded for future Hall of Fame forward Kevin Durant this summer, and their fans are thinking world championship.
However, there are also reasons for fans to be concerned about the Rockets' championship aspirations. While they have some good role players and complementary players, both young and experienced, starting point guard Fred VanVleet isn't exactly an efficient shooter, and one has to wonder exactly how much young wing Amen Thompson will improve.
Former NBA All-Star guard Jeff Teague expressed another possible concern for Houston. He threw some serious shade at Durant during an appearance on the "Club 520 Podcast" by saying he doesn't think the one-time MVP has the ability to considerably elevate a team.
"You know how I feel about Kevin Durant, I think he's one of the best players ever, but I don't think he has the ability to take a questionable team and elevate them dudes to a certain level," Teague claimed.
Teague's claim may seem a bit provocative, but there is some probable cause to support it.
Durant spent his early years on some talented Oklahoma City Thunder teams that were perennial title contenders. But despite having Russell Westbrook by his side, as well as James Harden for three seasons, Durant couldn't deliver a Larry O'Brien Trophy to the Sooner State.
When he went to the Brooklyn Nets in 2019 along with Kyrie Irving, it was thought that they had just assembled the NBA's next great superteam. But in two seasons and change together, Durant and Irving won just one playoff series.
The superstar forward's next stop was the Phoenix Suns, where he was surrounded by Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. But in three postseasons with Durant, the Suns also won just one series. In fact, they got swept in the first round of the 2024 playoffs and didn't even reach the play-in tournament this past season.
But there is another side to this argument. When Durant joined the Golden State Warriors in 2016, they instantly won back-to-back championships, and in both years, Durant was the NBA Finals MVP.
In the 2017 finals, they defeated the same LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers team they had coughed up the title against the previous year. The following year, they came back from a 3-2 deficit in the Western Conference finals to beat back the Houston Rockets, as Durant produced 34 points. Twenty-one of those 34 points came in the second half as Golden State overcame a double-digit deficit to win by nine points.
It is likely that had Durant never come to the Bay Area, the Warriors would've gone home empty-handed both years.
But all that is moot now. Durant has a new opportunity as his prime years wind down, and he has an opportunity to enhance his legacy and prove doubters such as Teague wrong.
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