The Houston Rockets made one of the biggest moves of the offseason by acquiring Kevin Durant in a complex trade that involved six other NBA franchises on July 6. The transaction, unsurprisingly, made the Rockets a championship contender.
Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Rockets possess a projected starting lineup that includes Durant at small forward, Jabari Smith Jr. at power forward, Fred VanVleet at point guard, Amen Thompson at shooting guard and Alperen Sengun at center.
Durant will provide a boost to a team that finished second in the Western Conference with a 52-30 record and is looking to challenge the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top spot. Also, as a perennial star in the NBA, he will bring experience and veteran leadership to a locker room with plenty of youth.
Sengun, one of the Rockets’ emerging talents, expressed his excitement for playing with Durant in a recent interview with Anadolu, a state-run news agency based in his home country of Turkey.
“I’m excited to play with Durant. Everyone is excited to play with him. It doesn’t matter his age — ultimately, he’s Kevin Durant. I have no doubt he will bring a lot to the team,” Sengun said. “He’s very experienced, and we have some very young players. I think he’ll open up the game for us. He’s incredibly effective both offensively and defensively.”
Durant spent this past season with the Phoenix Suns, with whom he averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Sengun, meanwhile, is coming off a campaign during which he was named to his first All-Star Team, in addition to contributing 19.1 points and a career-high 10.3 rebounds per contest.
Sengun will continue playing competitive basketball prior to joining the Rockets for preseason practice this offseason, as he will represent Turkey at EuroBasket 2025, a tournament involving the top national teams in Europe. The event, which will feature games in Poland, Finland, Latvia and Cyprus, is set to take place from Aug. 27 to Sept. 14.
