Kevin Durant Pushes Back Against Rockets Limiting His Minutes, 'I'm Better On the Court'

It wouldn't be a shock if the Houston Rockets carefully managed Kevin Durant's minutes during the 2026-27 season, hoping to have the 37-year-old fully healthy come the playoffs.

Not that Durant feels it's necessary.

"It's been the same message from me for a long time. I'm better on the court. The team is better when I'm on the court," he told reporters Tuesday. "Now if we handle our business in the first three quarters, or earlier in the game, then maybe. But just for the sake of getting my minutes [down] because, 'Oh, he's older,' or 'He's played a lot of minutes,' that's what I'm supposed to be training for, is to play the long haul, 48 minutes a night. I get the concern but if the game needs me to be out there, I want to be out there."

Durant appeared in 78 games last season and played 2,840 minutes during the regular season, his highest total in both regards since the 2013-14 campaign. The issue was that he only played in one game during the team's first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs due to an ankle injury, which ultimately resulted in Houston losing in six games.

That led to natural questions about whether Durant's heavy workload during the regular season—he averaged 36.4 minutes per game, third in the NBA behind Philly's Tyrese Maxey (38.0 MPG) and Houston's Amen Thompson (37.4 MPG)—contributed to his injury issues come April.

Overworking the starters was a concern in general last season, with Jabari Smith Jr. also ranking top-10 in minutes per game (35.1). But health permitting, the Rockets should have a deeper rotation moving forward.

The Rockets will get Fred VanVleet back after a torn ACL cost him the 2025-26 season and Steven Adams back after he was lost for the year in January due to an ankle issue. Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic were added for depth, while Tari Eason was retained. Houston shouldn't need to rely quite so heavily on Durant, Thompson and Smith this season.

So yes, Durant is preparing to undergo a heavy workload if needed. But ideally, the Rockets will be able to manage his time on the court a bit more carefully this season given their depth.