Kevin Durant Explains How Rockets' Youth Energizes Him

That's great to hear.

Nov 1, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) defended by Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Kevin Durant has become quite the ageless wonder. He's 37-years-old and in his 19th season in the NBA, yet he's shown no signs of slippage or regression. 

The Houston Rockets forward has actually shown quite the opposite. He's averaging 27.5 points on just 15.6 shots, which is the least amount of shot attempts in his career.

Remember that conversation about his shots being too low?

As it turns out, that was much ado about nothing, which was evident at the time.

Durant doesn't need to take an abundance of shots to score, as he picks his spots on the floor and gets to them with ease. And at 6-foot-11, he can shoot over virtually anyone. On this Rockets team, Durant is surrounded by youngsters, many of whom grew up watching him.

And in the case of Jabari Smith Jr., some grew up idolizing Durant. The Rockets have been a young, up-and-coming team for several years now and have sought to surround their young stars with proven veterans, like Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet in the last two seasons. 

Both are gone now (although VanVleet is still around the team) and Durant has become that vet this season. He's also made sure to lead by example and continue to approach the game as if he were a younger, unproven player, as he explained.

"I don’t try to feel like I’m too much of a vet. I want to be in every drill. I want to practice as much as I can. I want to get as many reps in as I can. I just try to keep that type of energy and hopefully it lasts for a while.”

Durant continued, noting the youth on the Rockets' roster and explaining how it's helped to push him.

“I’m 37, man, and I look around and these kids [are] 14, 15 years younger than me, it’s crazy. But I think I get a lot of energy from those guys and I get excited coming into the gym every day and a lot of it is because of those young players.”

One of the signs of Durant’s longevity is the fact that only three other players from Durant’s 2007 draft class are still in the league (Al Horford, Mike Conley, and Jeff Green -- Durant’s Rockets teammate).

Again, he's become an ageless wonder.