Underrated impact Kevin Durant brings to the Rockets

Remember a few years ago when John Wall said that he told the Rockets' young players that they can't be acting how they were acting, and if they tried to act that way elsewhere, they would be out of the league? And that the Rockets were a "bad organization" at that time? He was right, for the record, but that feels like a lifetime ago.

Now the Rockets organization feels, well, organized, and the young players feel far more committed to winning than the group from the early 2020s. And Kevin Durant isn't expected to be a "mentor" for any of the young guys, but he does provide nearly two decades of basketball knowledge and winning experience that will be a great resource for Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, Alperen Sengun, and the rest of the Rockets who are still on the upswing of their young careers.

Will he be a "leader?" That depends on how you describe the word. Durant's never been the motivating type, per se, at least not outwardly. But at the same time, if a group of NBA players — even young ones — need a player to lead them every day, that might not be a good sign.

One way I'm confident Durant will be a leader is by leading the team in points nearly every night of the season, and maybe that's the best leadership — by example, and by on-court success — he can bring to H-Town.

Recently, Durant was under fire (sort of) for his leadership, or lack thereof, from ESPN analyst (?) Stephen A. Smith, who said Durant was not a leader. Durant, in his typical blunt fashion, responded with, "I think I’m one of the greatest leaders of all time. It’s a shame u can’t see it" on social media. So, do with that what you will.

Rockets are a bunch of young players and two really old guys

Welcome to the semi-unction! Durant and Jeff Green combined have 34 years of basketball experience. The oldheads are represented well on this roster. Meanwhile, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr, and Reed Sheppard have a combined 13 years of experience.

The Rockets aren't fully buying into the "two timelines" approach because Durant is really the only high-volume old guy on this team. But they do have a unique mix of proven veterans (or veteran, more accurately) and players who should all improve considerably in 2025-26 and beyond. And that veteran so happens to be the best player on the team. There aren't many teams in the league that can say their oldest player is also their star player, but Houston fits into that category.

Thus, even if Durant doesn't give a pep talk in the locker room before every game, him being an elite scorer every night is already considerably better leadership than whatever was happening on this team about four years ago. Whether he does it in silence doesn't really matter to me. Contributing to winning is the best leadership a veteran can provide.