Rockets Weren't Bothered by Kevin Durant's Absence on the Bench in Game 3 vs Lakers

That's ultimately all that matters.

May 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) and Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) sit on the bench against the Los Angeles Lakers during the fourth quarter of game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Kevin Durant's debut 2025-26 NBA campaign with the Houston Rockets was easily one of the greatest individual seasons in the history of the Rockets franchise. It's hard to imagine how the Rockets would've fared without Durant this season. 

Especially when considering how much differently the team looked without Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams, both of whom missed extensive time due to injuries. Houston was always going to struggle from a chemistry standpoint, as they parted with two starters in Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, in order to bring Durant in.

Brooks had become one of Houston's vocal leaders, alongside VanVleet. With both players away from the floor, the Rockets faced a major leadership void.

Durant has never been a fiery vocal leader, rather one who lets his on-court play do the talking, at least from a leadership standpoint, as we know Durant likes to trash talk opponents and trade barbs. In fact, he lives for that.

Durant is more of a lead by example type of player, on the court. He goes about his craft the right way. The consummate professional as it pertains to how he trains and works on his craft.

Players look up to him. Jabari Smith Jr. even took it upon himself to start joining Durant during his pre-game routine and/or ritual. Amen Thompson has talked about how he never imagined he'd be playing alongside Durant, as he grew up using Durant's video game character and/or likeness in the NBA 2K series. Durant is one of the most popular players in the league and one of the greatest ten players of all time, arguably.

Which made Durant's absence from the team's bench during Game 3 all the more noticeable. Fans and basketball observers wondered where Durant could possibly be, since the game was being played at home, in Houston, and Durant was spotted entering the arena.

As it turns out, the Rockets, as an organization, weren't bothered at all, as explained by ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Ramona Shelburne. 

"Internally, however, sources stressed to ESPN that no one on the team or within the organization had an issue with Durant not appearing on the bench during Game 3.

"Would the optics have been better if he was on the bench? Sure," one team source said. "But no one had any problem with it. We all knew how hard he was working to rehab and how much he wanted to play."

After the game, Rockets coach Ime Udoka fielded questions about Durant's absence from the bench and simply stated that Durant was getting treatment. The next day, Udoka added that Durant was getting work in on the anti-gravity underwater treadmill, which drew further questions regarding why he specifically needed to get treatment during a live playoff game.

But ultimately, as long as the Rockets were okay with it, that's all that matters.