Kevin Durant did not come to Toyota Center on Tuesday to talk about the end.

“I’m not thinking about anything like that. I enjoy coming into work every day. It’s been fun going through the process with everybody. I’m taking it a day at a time,” Durant said at the Rockets’ media day on September 22.

The forward, who turns 38 during the coming campaign, is beginning his 20th NBA season. He is coming off a 2025-26 season in which he averaged 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists across 78 games and earned All-NBA Second Team honors.

No timeline, and no thought about the option year

Durant refused to put a date on stepping away.

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“Who knows what will happen down the line or in the future? Right now, I enjoy showing up for work.”

His contract does offer a formal off-ramp. The two-year, $90 million extension he signed with Houston carries a player option for the 2027-28 season, which would let him become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2027.

Udoka and Stone want his minutes down. Durant said no.

The louder disagreement of the day was not about retirement, it was about workload. Told that head coach Ime Udoka and general manager Rafael Stone had talked about wanting to get his minutes down at points this season, Durant pushed back on the spot.

“Why? I’m better on the court. The team is better when I’m on the court,” he told reporters.

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“That’s what I’m supposed to be training for is to play the long haul, 48 minutes a night. If the game needs me to be out there, I wanna be out there.”

Durant has now logged more than 51,000 combined regular season and playoff minutes across his career, a total behind only LeBron James among active players, and Houston is coming off a first-round playoff exit last season.

The Rockets open the 2026-27 regular season at home against the Dallas Mavericks on October 21, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30pm local time.

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