Kevin Durant may already be torching his goodwill with yet another franchise.
The Houston Rockets star Durant missed Game 3 of his team’s first-round series against the Lakers on Friday with an ankle sprain. The absence came after he also missed Game 1 of the series due to a knee injury.
Prior to Sunday’s Game 4 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas (a potential elimination game with the Rockets now down in the series 0-3), ESPN’s Dave McMenamin shared an unflattering report about Durant. McMenamin said that there are questions among Houston teammates about whether Durant is doing his rehab away from the team right now.
Additionally, McMenamin notes that Rockets forward Amen Thompson replied, “I don’t know” earlier in the day on Sunday when asked about Durant’s status. Questions also reportedly exist about whether teammates have been able to check in on Durant as he works to recover.
David McMenamin says Kevin Durant’s teammates have no idea what’s going on with him, raising questions about whether KD is rehabbing away from the team and whether his teammates have been checking on him
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 26, 2026
(h/t @NBA__Courtside ) pic.twitter.com/IsLVFXdPNS
The former NBA MVP Durant, 37, is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s Game 4 against the Lakers. But there has indeed been an air of mystery with Durant’s latest injury as he notably no-showed on the Rockets bench for the entirety of Game 3 in Houston.
Durant is in his first season with the Rockets but cannot become a free agent until 2027 after signing a contract extension this past October. But if there is a disconnect between Durant and his Houston teammates, that would only further fuel the uncertainty that the Rockets will be facing with a potential first-round exit this year.
