Kevin Durant's first season in Houston was supposed to be the beginning of something juicy.
He joined the Rockets in July 2025 through a record-breaking seven-team trade and the regular season actually looked promising. Houston finished 52-30, earning the West’s fifth seed.
Then, in the first round, they faced the Los Angeles Lakers, who got eliminated in the conference semifinals after winning zero games against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. However, Houston's troubles started early when Durant injured his knee during practice before the series kicked off.
KD sat out Game 1 and struggled in Game 2, finishing with nine turnovers. He then missed the next three games with a sprained ankle. The Lakers eventually eliminated the Rockets in six games.
It was overall a bad look for the Rockets, especially since the underdog Lakers were missing Luka Doncic for most of the series. And the off-court noise made it worse.
Insider Brett Siegel highlighted an alleged burner account Durant operates that was used to question the basketball IQ of his own teammates, "has no doubt caused friction in the locker room and internally with the organization." After the rumored chemistry issues and the playoff exit, Paul Pierce said that the Durant experiment in Houston is already over.
In this chaotic vacuum, when a fan online told Durant it was time to retire, KD being KD clapped back, saying, "You need to retire them fedoras. — you dude."
Kevin Durant absolutely bodied this fan for saying he needs to retire:
“You need to retire them fedoras. F*ck you dude.” 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/13istjIVVy
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 12, 2026
The seven-time All-NBA forward has never been the type to absorb fan criticism quietly, and his unfiltered clap-backs on social media are practically a career highlight reel of their own.
Despite his playoff disappointment, Durant finished the regular season averaging 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists at age 37. Given such strong numbers, any kind of retirement talk was bound to land wrong.
While there was serious speculation about a trade, Siegel reported that Houston has "no immediate intention" of moving Durant this summer. The Rockets' front office is expected to "run it back," focusing on adding depth rather than trading their star.
So, he isn't retiring anytime soon and until he gives a clue otherwise, nobody will likely dare to suggest it again.
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