Kevin Durant has been balling out for the Houston Rockets in this 2025-26 NBA season, but The Ringer’s Zach Lowe thinks he is hurting his team a bit as well. On the latest episode of the Zach Lowe Show, Lowe pointed to Durant’s poor body language as a real problem for the Rockets.
“I’m not loving some of the body language I’m seeing on the floor,” Lowe said. “Some of the Durant sulkiness is seeping back into his body language. Like against the Thunder the other day, there were two or three possessions in maybe a six-possession span where the Rockets threw bad entry passes to him, and you can see him visibly just throw his arms up, and roll his eyes, and all that stuff, and we’ve seen that movie before.
“And Durant’s been great,” Lowe added. “He’s an All-Star, he’s an All-NBA player. I’ve always been on the Kevin Durant is historically underrated train, so don’t take offense to this. But I will say I’ve heard from agents, players, whatever, over the years, when he gets like that, young players revere him and are somewhat intimidated by him, and that kind of stuff can seep into the ether of a team, and they just need to snap out of it.”
Durant has not shied away from expressing his annoyance on the court when he has seen something he hasn’t liked. Prior to this Oklahoma City Thunder game that Lowe mentioned, he got pissed at Alperen Sengun during Thursday’s 109-99 loss to the Charlotte Hornets for his lack of effort on defense. To be fair to Durant, that was justified, but his body language, in general, hasn’t always been great.
Durant has often been criticized over the years for not being a good leader. Whether fair or foul, the 37-year-old’s way of operating hasn’t led to his teams achieving ultimate glory, apart from his time with the Golden State Warriors. The deck was stacked heavily in the Warriors’ favor at the time, too, which has led to those accomplishments being diminished.
NBA analyst Max Kellerman threw some shade at Durant by claiming he parachuted into two titles. Kellerman believes the way a player proves their greatness is by leading a team to a title.
Winning a title with the Rockets would do Durant’s legacy wonders, but it sure doesn’t look like they’ll be winning it all this season. Steven Adams getting ruled out for the rest of the season due to an ankle injury, and Fred VanVleet tearing his ACL before the campaign were hammer blows. VanVleet might potentially be back for the playoffs, but he’s not going to be anywhere near his best.
Despite those absences, Durant has led the Rockets to a respectable 32-19 record by averaging 25.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. They are fourth in the West, but are very much a tier below the likes of the Thunder and the Denver Nuggets.
The Rockets didn’t bridge the gap at the trade deadline either, as they were one of three teams that did not make a move. It is hard to see a scenario where this season ends on a positive note for them.
We’ll see Durant and the Rockets in action next against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Toyota Center on Tuesday at 8 PM ET.
