No Kevin Durant In Either NBA Marquee Game Surprises Nick Wright: “Not Like He’s on a Bad Team”

Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets were left off the 2026–27 NBA Opening Night and Christmas Day slates.

No Kevin Durant In Either NBA Marquee Game Surprises Nick Wright: “Not Like He’s on a Bad Team”

Nick Wright and Kevin Durant (Image credits - Fox Sports and BasketNews.com)

Kevin Durant is coming off an impressive 18th season in the NBA in terms of individual numbers. It was his first season playing for the Houston Rockets.

While his performances earned him a place on the All-NBA Second Team, the Rockets finished fifth in the Western Conference standings with a 52-30 record. They secured a direct qualification to the playoffs but came up short in the first round just as they did last year.

The Rockets were looking to have a deep run in the postseason after the addition of Durant, but a knee injury before the postseason saw him make just one appearance in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers. They suffered an early elimination, beaten in six games.

The schedule for opening night and Christmas Day was announced on Tuesday. The fixtures released confirmed the appearances of LeBron James and Stephen Curry. However, Durant and the Rockets were not slotted for either of the marquee days.

Fox Sports analyst Nick Wright shared his thoughts on what surprised him the most about the opening day and Christmas Day games.

No Kevin Durant is stunning on either day any game. Durant has played on Christmas every year since 2011. And it’s not like he’s on a bad team. Him not being involved at all on Christmas was surprising to me.

Nick Wright on First Things First

Durant broke some records himself last season after he surpassed Michael Jordan and entered the top five list of all-time scoring leaders. Last season, the Rockets forward averaged 26 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 78 appearances.

The two-time champion is one of the most accomplished players in NBA history. Hence, it is surprising not to see his team feature on opening night and Christmas Day. The Rockets get their 2026-27 campaign underway against the San Antonio Spurs on October 23.

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Kevin Durant will not feature on Christmas Day for the first time in 15 years

Durant may have entered the league in 2007, but he is still one of the best pure scorers in the game today. He joined the Rockets in the offseason last year after a difficult spell with the Phoenix Suns. His move was criticized by some, as they believed that he is chasing rings.

Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant (Image credits – Bleacher Report)

Since his departure from the Golden State Warriors in 2019, Durant has not had a deep postseason run. The Rockets presented him with his best chance to change that; however, injuries hurt them when it mattered the most.

The two-time champion is still one of the biggest names in the league. Unfortunately, the NBA does not seem to think so at the moment. Durant and his team have featured on Christmas Day every single year since 2011. Therefore, as Nick Wright said, it is surprising to see him miss out this year.

The league always puts its best teams and biggest stars on the showcase days. Clearly, the league didn’t think the Rockets qualified despite having Durant. It will be interesting to see if Durant will have something to say about it, as he has been pretty active on social media over the past few weeks.

What to expect from Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets next season?

The Rockets are expected to finish in the top six in the Western Conference standings next season. While Kevin Durant is still their best player and scorer, their young players will be expected to show significant improvement next season.

Rockets power forward Jabari Smith Jr. expects his team to be a lot better next season.

I think you’re gonna see a team that is a little bit more used to playing with each other. We added Kevin Durant last year, just gotta adjust to playing with him…obviously anybody can play with him. Just tendencies, getting Fred back will be huge for us. And I think you’ll just see everybody older, obviously a lot better, more mature. See a lot better team next year for sure.

Jabari Smith Jr. on Chiney Today

The team was lacking a point guard last season after Fred VanVleet missed the entire season due to an ACL tear. The Rockets were linked to some point guards after VanVleet’s injury but they decided against it in the end. With VanVleet returning, the Rockets are expected to be a lot better next season.

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