Kevin Durant lands at No. 12 and No. 15 in new NBA player rankings ahead of his 20th season

Two rankings, one verdict

Kevin Durant enters his 20th NBA season ranked just outside the league's top 10 by two of the major preseason player lists published this week. Bleacher Report's staff ranking of the 99 best players ahead of the 2026-27 season, published October 13, put the Houston Rockets forward at No. 12, according to reports from Rockets Wire and Roundtable carried by Yahoo Sports. Roundtable reported that the list gave Durant a rating of 93. ^{[2] [3] [7]}

Houston had four players on the Bleacher Report list, both outlets reported, with center Alperen Sengun the next-highest Rocket at No. 28. Rockets Wire wrote that Durant, now 38, is "slipping out of top-10 status" while remaining one of the best scorers in league history. ^{[2] [3]}

The Ringer's NBA Top 100, updated on October 14 for the 2026-27 season, ranked Durant No. 15, up from No. 16 in its previous edition. Victor Wembanyama sits at No. 1 on that list. Writer Justin Verrier described Durant as a "lone gunslinger still at the top of his game after all these years." ^[1]

What the numbers show

The case for Durant rests on another productive season. In his first year in Houston he averaged 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists while appearing in 78 regular-season games, according to The Ringer and Rockets Wire. He shot 41.3% from three-point range, The Ringer and Sports Illustrated reported. ^{[1] [2] [6]}

Rockets Wire noted that Durant has averaged fewer than 25 points only once in his career, as a rookie. His résumé includes two championships, an MVP award and 16 All-Star selections, The Ringer listed. ^{[2] [1] [6]}

The question mark

The Ringer's write-up was not all praise. Verrier questioned why the Rockets seemed rudderless last season despite Durant's durability and pointed out that he has not advanced past the second round of the playoffs in seven years. He called Durant's production consistently elite but "siloed." ^[1]

Durant has also rejected the idea that he should ease off at this stage of his career. In late September he pushed back on talk of reduced minutes in his 20th season, according to RotoWire, noting that he averaged 36.4 minutes before an ankle injury last season. ^[5]

Preseason so far

Houston opened its preseason on October 9 with a 135-117 win over the Dallas Mavericks at The Venetian Arena in Macao, where Durant started and scored 15 points with two assists in 23 minutes, Sports Illustrated and RotoWire reported. Durant said afterward that he had asked coach Ime Udoka to put him back in during the second half because he was "just hungry to play." ^{[4] [5]}

Udoka then held Durant out of the October 11 rematch with Dallas. RotoWire reported that the coach described it as a precaution rather than an injury, and Sports Illustrated noted there were no reports of an injury. ^{[4] [5]}