Kevin Durant returns to the playoffs, leading the Rockets into a 1st-round clash with the Lakers

In his first season in Houston after this summer’s blockbuster trade from Phoenix, Durant leads the young Rockets into the playoffs where they’ll open their first-round series with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.

The 37-year-old Durant missed the last seven games of the regular season last year with an ankle injury as the Suns went 1-6 to fall out of playoff contention.

This season he finished second in the league by playing 2,840 minutes despite being in his 19th NBA season.

And he can’t wait to play more — hopefully a lot more.

“When you get on the court and you get a chance to be healthy you want go out there and take advantage of that opportunity,” he said. “So, I’m looking forward to it.”

Durant led the Rockets this season by averaging 26 points a game as he became the oldest player in NBA history to score at least 2,000 points in a season.

Coach Ime Udoka said Durant has brought so much to his team since the trade but most importantly is that the Rockets knew they could always count on him.

“Just the availability on a night-to-night basis,” Udoka said. “Being able to play this many games at this stage in his career and the efficiency that he does it with … just the fact that he’s durable and available with the injuries in his past, is very impressive.”

The Rockets are aiming for their first title since winning back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995. They’re in the playoffs for a second straight season after being eliminated by the Warriors in the opening round last year in their first postseason appearance since 2020.

Durant is the fifth-leading scorer in league history, a two-time NBA champion, a 16-time All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist. He brings a championship pedigree to a team where the four other players in the starting lineup have all made just one playoff trip.

So, with all he’s accomplished, how much does the prospect of winning another championship motivate him?

“Winning every day is the most important thing,” he said. “Obviously the main objective is to win a title, but you can’t do that unless you take care of each day first.”

That’s a lesson that has been invaluable to Durant’s teammates this season. Twenty-three-year-old Amen Thompson said he’s tried to mirror Durant in everything he does, from his work in the gym to how he takes care of his body.

“He’s great and I want to be great,” Thompson said. “We’ve got a lot of young guys that want to be great, so just having that as something to look at every day and just being teammates with him is good.”

Durant’s mentorship and positivity have also been a boost to the Rockets. Alperen Sengun, who is also 23, said before Durant joined the team he would get down on himself when he’d struggle offensively.

“I used to care a lot when I used to miss shots,” Sengun said. “But when I miss shots now, he’s already screaming in my ear: ‘It’s gonna come.’ So, he’s helped with a lot of things, but the big thing is confidence, especially confidence.”

While Durant has often encouraged his teammates and given them advice throughout the season, he doesn’t plan to impart any words of wisdom to them as the playoffs commence.

“Nope,” he said. “Just jump in the fire and let’s see what happens, man. We can all get advice and words of encouragement from everybody in our lives and it’s not going to be like actually being in that action.”

He’s confident that the Rockets are ready for the challenge after they ended the regular season by winning nine of 10 games.

“It’s the biggest stage of basketball and there’s a lot that comes around the game, but at the end of the day, when that ball’s tipped up, it’s just basketball,” he said. “So, we all know how to play at this level, and we all know what it takes to win basketball games. We’ve just got to do that consistently.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA