Kevin Durant Says Suns’ Culture Felt Different Than Rockets

Kevin Durant opened up about his Suns tenure and explained what made one experience stand apart.

Jan 5, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets Kevin Durant (7) celebrates his three point winning basket against the Phoenix Suns in the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Kevin Durant era will forever be highlighted, discussed and mentioned in Phoenix Suns lore with a certain "what if" element.

Durant arrived to the Valley via blockbuster trade from the Brooklyn Nets with legitimate hopes of pushing Phoenix towards their first NBA championship. The Suns, later adding Bradley Beal, ultimately failed to capitalize on their star constellation and imploded this past summer.

Durant was moved to the Houston Rockets, and both sides have seen solid returns on their end of the trade as we near the NBA's All-Star break.

Durant, when doing a sit-down with NBA/Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon, offered this on his time in Phoenix:

“I’ve always had fun out there. I don’t want to undercut what we did during my time in Phoenix, because I feel like I had some great moments on the court there, too. But I feel like we were an older group that was kind of stuck in our ways as veterans—and veterans kind of do their own thing a lot," said Durant.

"When you’re with a younger group, it’s more tight-knit. They’re all learning together. It has more of a college feel, and I think that’s the difference. I still liked being around the grown-ups in Phoenix too, but being around the college vibe just brings me back."

Clip starting at 25:02:

Durant's Rockets have an average age (based on minutes) of 26.7 while Phoenix is at 27.5 per NBAage.com. The Suns are seventh in the West and are two games back from Houston.

Durant's departure over the summer didn't quite go cleanly, as he certainly felt the more vocal side of Phoenix's fan base immediately after the news.

"They wanted me to go. They got what they wanted and I got what I wanted so we can move on. Good luck to them moving forward - I'll always remember my time there but we're on to something else," Durant said in the aftermath of the trade.

Durant's maintained a level of respect towards Phoenix since departing, partially due to his and Devin Booker's relationship.

"It's always a pleasure. He's done so much for this game. He's done so much for me personally," Booker said of Durant after their midseason clash.

"Any chance I can be out there with one of my idols, somebody that I have a high respect for, there's nothing like it. That's all you can ask for."

It seemed like both parties got what they wanted out of the deal, and while Durant acknowledged the culture was different in Houston, it's also now different in Phoenix.

For the best.