Rockets Believed Internally that Kevin Durant was Associated with Burner Account in Social Media Scandal

It became a bigger issue than expected.

Feb 15, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Team USA Stripes forward Kevin Durant () 7of the Houston Rockets looks on during game three against Team World during the 75th NBA All Star Game at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Kevin Durant's first year with the Houston Rockets went better than expected, especially when you consider the injuries that the Rockets faced. Fred VanVleet, Houston's leader (both on and off the court) and table-setter (on the court) missed the entire season. 

Steven Adams, Houston's lynchpin on the glass (and catalyst for Houston's top-ranked offense early in the year) missed 50 games and over three months of action. Durant was forced to mask Houston’s shortcomings.

The Rockets won an identical 52 games, in comparison to the previous season when they did have the depth and infrastructure that the 2025-26 ball club lacked. However, there were constant reports of a lack of chemistry and togetherness. 

Which was amplified during All-Star weekend, when Durant had a scandal on social media, specifically Twitter, which is clearly his platform of choice (although he's been rather silent of late, as in the last several months). Images surfaced of a group chat in which a non-verified Twitter account that purported to be tied to Durant made disparaging remarks about several Rockets' players, specifically Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun. 

Durant neither confirmed nor denied having any involvement in the situation, which also amplified the situation even further and convinced many that it was, in fact, his burner account. 

After all, Durant had a history of using burner accounts. In fact, the Rockets even believed Durant had some sort of involvement with the account, as explained by ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Ramona Shelburne. 

"While Durant publicly dismissed the situation as "Twitter nonsense," team sources said the team took the posts seriously and proceeded under the assumption that Durant was at least associated with them.

After players returned from the All-Star break, Durant discussed the situation with his teammates in what sources described as "more of a team discussion than a meeting." According to those team sources, Durant said enough that the discussion moved on to other issues that had been simmering within the team throughout the first half of the season."

Durant was previously exposed for using burner accounts in the past, when he tweeted in third person to defend himself against backlash and scrutiny from leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors, who had previously came back from a 3-1 deficit against Durant's Thunder.

Making matters worse is that the Warriors had gone 73-9 in the season preceding Durant's arrival. The good news is that the Rockets will finally have an opportunity to put this scandal behind them, while also addressing the situation in full.