Kevin Durant

Shams Charania: Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant will miss Monday's game in Phoenix and Wednesday's contest in Golden State tending to a family matter, sources tell ESPN.

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The Rockets are in this position in large part because they’ve allowed Durant to be the best version of himself, which in turn has benefitted the team. Durant’s 25.9 points per game lead the team in scoring, and his .510/.400/.888 shooting splits are a reminder of the gravity of his offensive talent that this team so desperately needed. But this new partnership in Houston isn’t aiming to reinvent the wheel when it comes to Durant’s leadership, especially with the future Hall of Famer closer to the end of a stellar career than the beginning. His new environment has empowered KD to just be KD. “I got more comfortable speaking up when I see stuff,” Durant said. “I feel like I study the game a lot. I've been through every situation and experienced every situation. So I feel like that's given me more confidence to speak up when I see things and to help my teammates as much as possible. But it's just been a natural progression of me just being comfortable in the locker room, and also my teammates being open-minded to hear what I have to say.” Yahoo! Sports | Nov. 19, 2025

To the untrained eye, his methods are unorthodox. But for nearly two decades, his approach has also been admired, adored and, yes, followed. “He’s easy to follow because he’s the hardest worker in the locker room. When your big dog is that type of worker, it’s easy to follow,” Magic guard Tyus Jones, who played with Durant in Phoenix, told Yahoo Sports. “He’s a great leader — I know there’s a narrative about him as a leader, but there’s not one way to lead. You don’t have to follow a certain script.” Yahoo! Sports | Nov. 19, 2025

The Warriors were already a model, established franchise with Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr, allowing Durant to simply step in and raise an already high ceiling. In Brooklyn, Kyrie Irving carried the torch and bore the brunt of public perception, with Durant and James Harden forming a support staff. And in Phoenix, his previous stop, Devin Booker had been cemented as the Suns’ leader for years. In other words, Durant never needed to be the loudest or most important voice in the room. “More than anything, I always wanted to be a guy that does s*** instead of says s***,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “You could talk loud as you want, but if you're not going out there and doing what you're talking about, your teammates are not going to really respect it. So I always erred on the side of shutting up and going to work, and hopefully that inspires. But if I need to say something, if I feel something and something is on my heart, then I'll come out and talk.” Yahoo! Sports | Nov. 19, 2025

StatMuse: Kevin Durant vs Magic: 35 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST. Ties Russell Westbrook in all-time 30/5/5 games (174). x.com | Nov. 17, 2025

Underdog NBA: Rockets stars step up in OT win vs. Magic. KD: 35 PTS, 6 AST, 5 REB, 13-24 FG Sengun: 30 PTS, 13 REB, 8 AST, 2 BLK Houston is 9-1 in its last 10 games. x.com | Nov. 16, 2025

When you guys are turning defense into offense — and not just your guards, but Alpie had three steals tonight — how much does that help take the burden off of you in halfcourt sets? Kevin Durant: Great teams have multiple ways to attack: halfcourt, transition, offensive rebounding — they can score in different ways. We forced Deni [Avdija] into seven turnovers. He’s playing at an All-Star level, so to force that and hold him to four points in the first half — that got us going. He’s a great player, so he’s going to get it going eventually, but we showed him bodies all night and tried to be physical. YouTube | Nov. 15, 2025

One of the most outspoken members of that Thunder team in recent years has been Kendrick Perkins who was little more than a role player on those OKC teams. During a recent appearance on ‘Road Trippin,’ with Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye, Kendrick Perkins recalled a time from those Thunder teams when Scott Brooks called out both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook for being too selfish on the court. “We’re in New York, we’re playing the Brooklyn Nets. I was in Oklahoma City and we lost. KD and Russ, we had 92 shot attempts as a team. KD and Russ took 80 of them,” Perkins said. “We walked up in the practice gym afterwards and he [Scott Brooks] told Thabo [Sefolosha], we’re all huddled up at half court. Scott Brooks gave the ball to Thabo and he said, ‘Here Thabo, shoot the ball two times.’ Thabo took two shots.” Clutch Points | Nov. 13, 2025

Dave McMenamin: Tonight is the 189th time Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 30 or more for the Thunder, tying him with Russell Westbrook for the 2nd most 30-point games in franchise history, behind only Kevin Durant's 246 (per @ESPNInsights ) x.com | Nov. 13, 2025

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Kevin Durant to miss games against Suns, Warriors due to family matter

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