Led by former Rockets guard Jalen Green, Phoenix advanced to the 2026 NBA playoffs courtesy of Friday’s Western Conference play-in tournament victory over Golden State. With the win, the Suns are returning to the playoffs after missing out in 2024-25.
For Green and Dillon Brooks, traded to the Suns last June as part of the blockbuster deal bringing Kevin Durant to Houston, it was also sweet revenge against a Warriors group that ended Houston’s 2025 playoff run in the first round.
But comparatively, it’s not as if things went poorly for Durant and the Rockets.
For starters, look at the records and playoff seeds. The 45-37 Suns are No. 8 in the West and will face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, the defending NBA champions. Meanwhile, the 52-30 Rockets are No. 5 and have a far more manageable first-round matchup against the injury ravaged Los Angeles Lakers.
Those records included a perfect 4-0 sweep by Durant’s Rockets in the head-to-head series. The 2026 All-Star averaged 26.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game in those meetings, which included a dramatic game-winning shot in early January.
Perhaps with that in mind, Warriors veteran Draymond Green made it clear that he’s not attributing the rise of the Suns to Durant’s departure. His comments from Friday’s postgame press conference:
Let’s not put this all on Kevin, like Kevin’s not great. Cause Kevin is great, and there will be no Kevin slander on my watch. Kevin’s team wasn’t fighting to get in (the playoffs). Kevin is doing just fine, and they’re doing just fine.
I think when you look at the situation, it benefited for both teams for Kevin to leave here. I think it benefited Houston, and I think it benefited the Suns.
Green and Durant won two championships with the Warriors in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, and Durant was NBA Finals MVP in both years. Those experiences formed a clear bond that exists to this day.
Game 1 of the best-of-seven series between the Rockets and Lakers is Saturday night in Los Angeles, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Central. The game will be televised and streamed to a national audience via ABC.
Durant is questionable to play with a bruised right knee, which he reportedly suffered at practice this week. The Rockets are optimistic that Durant’s knee will not be a significant issue during the series, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: ‘No slander on my watch’: Draymond Green defends Kevin Durant’s greatness
Reporting by Ben DuBose, Rockets Wire / Rockets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
