Kevin Durant gets challenged by ESPN analyst after loss to Thunder

On Tuesday evening, The Houston Rockets are down to 0-1 in the young 2025-26 NBA season with a heartbreaking 125-124 double overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in an exciting game. The contest marked the first regular season game for the Kevin Durant in a Rockets uniform, and played relatively well, though he missed a crucial free throw late in regulation and also narrowly avoided a Chris Webber-esque timeout disaster.

In crunch time, the offense for Houston seemed to be primarily led by Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson. Although both players, especially Sengun, had big nights, some they wondered why Durant didn’t initiate things down the stretch for the Rockets.

“KD did what he does best, was efficient, right? I want him to take over later,” ESPN analyst Chinei Ogwumike said on NBA Today, per NBA on ESPN on X, formerly Twitter.

Indeed, Durant seemed to lag behind his teammates at times, with mixed results. In all fairness, Sengun was mostly unstoppable on Tuesday, gutting the best defense in the NBA a year ago for 39 points at elite efficiency.

Still, after everything they gave up to get Durant, Rockets fans were probably hoping for a little more in crunch time from one of the greatest pure scorers the game has ever seen.

A tough loss for the Rockets

The Houston Rockets enter this season with legitimate championship expectations after landing the second seed a year ago and adding a future Hall of Famer in Durant, who is still producing at an elite level at age 37.

Of course, there’s nothing shameful about losing in double overtime to the defending champs on the road (albeit with Jalen Williams), but for the Rockets to come so close to a signature early-season win, only to have it slip through their fingers, has to hurt.

Still, there was a lot to be encouraged about in this game, and Durant will get more comfortable with his role on the team as the season progresses.

The Rockets will next take the floor on Friday night for their home opener against the Detroit Pistons.