By signing the extension, Durant made history by becoming the career scoring leader.
Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets recently agreed to a two-year, $90 million extension, roughly $30 million less than the maximum he could have collected if he decided to go to another team, but Durant isn’t exactly hurting for money. ESPN: The deal reportedly still moves Durant into first place in career scoring.
As told by Durant’s agent and Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman ESPN: insider Shams Charnia, team friendly deal developed Aiming to make sure the team has salary cap flexibility, even if Durant’s career earnings of $598.2 million, which includes both current and future earnings, surpass that of another basketball star, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, who made $583.9 million during his career.
The Rockets, who are coming off a pretty deep run in the playoffs but suffered from a lack of consistent deep threat, often came up short at inopportune times, such as the series against Golden State, when they had no one to match the timely three-point shooting ability of Stephen Curry, Buddy Hield and sometimes Jimmy Butler.
The Durant trade, officially the most complicated trade in NBA history, involving seven teams, sent the Rockets’ Jaylen Green, Dillon Brooks, No. 10 draft pick Khaman Maluach and second-round pick Rasheer Fleming and Kobe Brea to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Durant, essentially offering the Suns significant leverage and Durant has offered considerable strength during his rebuild. some of the most exciting young talent in the entire league.
Veteran Rockets fans likely remember the late-career flames of Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley, who were never able to live up to their salary and playing time in a Rockets uniform, playing alongside the still-effective but aging Hakeem Olajwon. By all accounts, though, the Durant trade looks like a different deal, but the ghosts of the past are hard to shake.
In addition to the Durant deal, the Rockets have taken care of their key additions, including head coach Ime Udoka, who has bounced back from his scandal with the Boston Celtics and re-emerged as one of the top coaches in the league. The team also re-signed Fred VanVleet, Steven Adams and Jabari Smith Jr., acquired Dorian Finney-Smith, Clint Capela and Josh Okogie in free agency and re-signed last year’s key veterans JaySean Tate, Aaron Holiday and Jeff Green.
According to oddsmakers, Durant’s presence on the team has elevated the Rockets from an extreme threat to potential contenders for the NBA championship. The team currently has the fifth-best odds to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 season.
Following their impressive 133-115 preseason win over the Atlanta Hawkswhere Houston’s Reed Shepard surpassed the Hawks’ 2024 No. 1 pick Zach Risacher, the Rockets open the season against Durant’s team against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
RELATED CONTENT: Kevin Durant has wondered why he isn’t part of the NBA’s all-time greats debate
