Kevin Durant's fiery response leaves one fan regretting his retirement chatter
Kevin Durant claps back at retirement talk following the Rockets' playoff exit, while reports confirm Houston plans to run it back despite trade speculation.
Kevin Durant's fiery response leaves one fan regretting his retirement chatter originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . 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.