Houston Rockets superstar Kevin Durant is about as skilled as they come, and he recently chimed in on a debate on X. When a fan suggested that the term skill has wrongly been reduced to just how good a player is at getting his shot off against tough defenses, Durant had an interesting response.
“The hardest skills to learn are gettin your shot off against great defense.”
Durant later added that, at the end of the day, the point is to figure out a way to put the ball in the basket more easily. He has mastered that art better than probably anybody else in NBA history.
Durant routinely takes and makes those tough, heavily contested shots over defenders. It’s his combination of skill and height that makes him almost impossible to guard.
The last time Durant shot under 50% from the field for a season was all the way back in 2011-12, which is absurd when you consider the kind of shots he takes. He has remarkably shot 52% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc since then.
That ease with which the game comes to him is why Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called Durant the most skilled player he has ever seen.
“I’ve said it before, I think he’s the most skilled basketball player I’ve ever seen,” Kerr said. The game just comes so easily for him, and a long layoff like that doesn’t seem to bother him.”
Durant doesn’t think he deserves that title, though. He called his former teammate Kyrie Irving the most skilled player in NBA history. Both Irving and Durant often get brought up in this conversation and were ranked near the top in our list of the most skilled players ever.
Kevin Durant’s Rockets Among The Title Favorites In 2025-26
For all of Durant’s skill, he hasn’t won a title since leaving the Warriors in 2019. His stints with the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns, in particular, ended up being total failures, and he now finds himself on the Rockets.
The Rockets only had to give up Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, and five second-round picks for Durant. That alone put them in a great position to contend for the title, but they managed to upgrade their roster further as well.
The Rockets added Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela to their ranks and are one of the favorites in 2025-26. They were already a good team last season (2nd seed in the West with a 52-30 record) and have now addressed their biggest issue, which was not having a go-to scorer.
Durant averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game for the Suns in 2024-25. The 36-year-old was his usual efficient self, too, shooting 52.7% from the field and 43% from beyond the arc.
If Durant stays relatively healthy, expect the Rockets to be one of the top seeds in the West once again. What will be interesting to see is if he can be that difference maker in the biggest moments in the playoffs. The 15-time All-Star has failed to do that in recent years, but it would be foolish to write him off just yet.
