Kevin Durant doesn’t need to be “The Guy” every night for Rockets to succeed

ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 24: Kevin Durant #7 of the Houston Rockets smiles during the game against the Atlanta Hawks on October 24, 2026 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

Throughout Kevin Durant’s illustrious career, every team he’s been on has depended on him to win games. Durant is a former MVP, scoring champion, 18-time All-Star, and two-time NBA champion. With a resume like that, it is obvious he’s been, if not the best player on the team, then one of the top two wherever he’s played.

From entering the league with the Seattle Supersonics, who later moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder, to the Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns, and now the Houston Rockets, Durant has carried the weight of the NBA on his shoulders. Even though it didn’t always end with a championship, Durant has been one of, if not the most consistent, players every season.

In fact, Durant has shot 50-40-80 every season since the 2011-12 season with the Thunder. That level of excellence comes with a lot of pressure. Over his 19 previous seasons, Durant has finished each season taking 17 shots or more a game except for one: his first year with the Warriors, who, of course, had players like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.

What makes Durant special is that he never needed to take a lot of shots to impact a game. As mentioned earlier, when you are as efficient as Durant, you can have the same impact taking only 12 shots in a game as most players taking 20.

Of course, the more shots you take, the more energy you have to use to get open and get to your spot on the court. No matter how great a player you are, it takes a toll on you throughout a season, especially as you get closer to the end of your career.

When Durant first came to the Rockets as part of a blockbuster trade during the 2025 offseason, he expected he wouldn’t have to take on as much responsibility as he did with the Phoenix Suns. Those plans changed when the Rockets learned right before the season that their point guard, Fred VanVleet, had suffered a major injury before training camp.

That forced both Alperen Sengun and Durant to take on more playmaking responsibilities throughout the season. As the season went on, teams began to double, sometimes triple, Durant as soon as he crossed half-court and received the ball, which put a lot of pressure on him to create offense for the Rockets.

That also led to a stagnant offense at times, where defenses dared other players to beat them, and his teammates couldn’t take advantage of four-on-three situations after Durant gave up the ball. Since Durant had to be the main cog on the offensive end, he also played the second most minutes in the NBA last season, something Ime Udoka didn’t want to happen, but the lack of playmaking left him no choice. At times, Udoka could not hide his frustration.

“Take a 37 year old out the game for two minutes and you lose a 13 point lead an 11-0 run that’s what went wrong.” pic.twitter.com/qinjugXIDB

— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) January 10, 2026

This season, however, that has not been the case; even though it has only been Kevin Durant taking a career low in field goal attempts, and that is perfect for the Rockets, in five games, Durant has not had to be the Rocket initiating the offense every play or scoring 30-plus points for them to secure a victory.

The Rockets are off to their best start in over a decade, and a big part of that is the balance this year’s team has across the board. Sengun is off to the best start of his career, Jabari Smith has continued to improve in his fifth season, Amen Thompson is playing at an All-Star level, and, most importantly, Fred VanVleet is back at point guard, letting everyone slide back into their natural positions on the court.

So far through five games, Durant is taking only 12.6 shots a game, which is by far a career low, but the Rockets are still 5-0 because his teammates have stepped up from the above-mentioned starters to the role players like Tari Eason, Reed Sheppard, and Bogdan Boganovich.

Peso from the corn3r 🎱 pic.twitter.com/zIKexTcHJA

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) October 29, 2026

That doesn’t even include Marcus Smart, the Rockets’ other offseason addition, who has played only one game so far this season and will provide another ball-handling guard who can initiate the offense. Fewer responsibilities affect several areas for Durant.

Durant is currently able to play fewer minutes; he is averaging 34.4 minutes, two fewer than last season. It also lets him focus more energy on the defensive end, where he has been the Rockets’ best shot blocker so far this season.

That’s not to say Durant won’t have games where he takes 25 shots or even over, but they don’t need that every night. Some may feel that Durant has to be the leading scorer or take the most shots because he is Kevin Durant, but Durant and the Rockets understand that if they want to bring the first NBA Championship back to Houston since 1995, they need everyone to raise their game so that Durant doesn’t always have to be “The Guy”.