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Kevin Durant is in an especially jovial mood following a late February triumph over Utah, a night off in the NBA. After scoring 18 points, he arrives inside the Rockets’ locker room, which as usual is boisterous and rambunctious, heavy in Generation Z.
Durant’s station, wedged between 23-year-old Amen Thompson and 24-year-old Tari Eason, is a daily reminder of how long it’s been since he’s had colleagues this young on either side of him; the juxtaposition of which often offers perspective into the strange, hilarious concept of time. The conversations are slightly different than, say, with Royce O’Neale or Andre Iguodala, former locker mates in Phoenix and Golden State, respectively. But the tonality and humor transfers by osmosis.
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Ironically, this evening’s conversation is centered around Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, the pair of 47-year-old legendary boxers set to face off one more time this year. Given the similarities in athletic excellence, achievement and age, it doesn’t take long for the 37-year-old Durant to make a connection.
(Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports Illustration)
“When I’m 50 and come back in here,” Durant yells in Thompson’s direction as he removes his socks, “you’re gonna be a true vet.”
Thompson, an old-school 23-year-old and a man of few words, can only offer up a hearty chuckle while shaking his head.
“You damn near 30 now!” Durant adds, before the section of the room bursts into laughter.
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Longevity, with nearly two decades of professional basketball under his belt, is synonymous with Durant’s legacy. Durant has seen and done it all. But the spirit of the Slim Reaper still burns fervently within his svelte frame wanting to challenge the notion of Father Time.
The Rockets’ season has been centered on a legend yet to slow down, a team that clings to his every move, and an organization that punted on major pieces of its core — the biggest move of the NBA offseason — just for the privilege of greatness.
“I never thought in my years that I’d be playing with Kevin Durant,” says 22-year-old Jabari Smith Jr. “Just soaking it…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/2026-nba-playoffs-why-the-youthful-rockets-hopes-rest-on-kevin-durant-the-oldest-man-in-the-room-132748246.html
Author : Kelly Iko
Publish date : 2026-04-17 13:27:00
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