Houston Rockets All-Star Kevin Durant , who played his first nine seasons for the Oklahoma City Thunder organization before joining the Golden State Warriors, will be in attendance to watch the franchise raise its first championship banner. While Durant and the Rockets are projected to contend with the defending champion Thunder in 2025-26, they'll get first crack at the champions, but will have endure a championship ring ceremony on Opening Night.

After the Thunder famously blew a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals against the team Durant decided to join — the Warriors — in 2016, via free agency, no love's lost between him and Thunder fans. Those fans will welcome Durant with open arms at the Paycom Center on October 21, per ESPN's Shams Charania's X, formerly Twitter.

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