Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant is one of the oldest stars in the NBA. However, he’s shown that he can still play at an elite level despite being one of the most experienced players. Durant, who is 36 years old, averaged 26.6 points, six rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 62 games during the previous season. For a player who’s in their mid-30s, KD has been exceptional.
There aren’t a lot of stars who are still playing at the top of their games despite being on the older side. In addition to Durant, Stephen Curry and LeBron James are among the few aging stars who are still elite. What separates KD from the other two is that he suffered an Achilles tendon tear in 2019. But that hasn’t slowed him down.
As he enters his 18th season in the league, the two-time champion expressed his desire to still be playing even in his 40s. Players who have played in their 40s aren’t usually the same stars. The only exception would be James, who turned 40 last season and was still performing well for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Credit: Quinn Harris/Getty Images
The Houston Rockets star talked about his career plans of playing in his 40s at CNBC and Boardroom’s annual “Game Plan” summit.
“As long as I can. I haven’t put a number on it. I obviously think about retirement every year, and what it would be like. … I don’t even want to think about it right now, but when people are asking me these questions every day, I can’t help myself (laughs),” Durant said.
Kevin Durant on how long he wants to play for 👀 #LiftOff pic.twitter.com/W0fW7wGQ9r
— KNAWTNINE (@knawtnine) September 17, 2025
“But I still enjoy going to the gym, and I enjoy that struggle of getting better every day, and grinding as an NBA player. Hopefully in my 40s, I can play until then.”
Durant was ‘a little upset’ with the Suns before his trade to the Houston Rockets
Durant thought he’d lead the Suns to a potential NBA title. However, things did not work well with him and what Phoenix had planned for their team. KD was eventually dealt to the Houston Rockets this offseason after finding himself on the trading block.
During KD’s talk at the summit, however, he revealed that he was “a little upset” with how things ended with the Suns. According to the 15-time All-Star, he found out about Phoenix’s plans to trade him from an outside source, which hurt him.
“Initially, I was a little upset because I felt like we built a solid relationship, me and the Phoenix Suns. And to hear that from a different party was kind of upsetting, but that’s just the name of the game,” KD said.
Durant quickly moved on from it and is focused on helping the young Rockets squad contend for a championship.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
