NBA Trade Rumors: Kevin Durant To Los Angeles In Trade Proposal 8 Mar 24, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts against the Milwaukee Bucks at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

'My Favorite Player Until He Went to Golden State' – Houston Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. Jokes About Kevin Durant’s 2016 Decision

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Jordan Samar | Last updated Aug 1, 2025 11:24 AM ET

Jabari Smith Jr. still can’t believe he is now teammates with Kevin Durant , and the Houston Rockets youngster recently took a playful jab at the former league MVP during his appearance on The Young Man and The Three podcast.

Feb 23, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots the ball as Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) defends during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Smith shared that Durant was his favorite player growing up. However, the Houston Rockets forward stopped idolizing Durant for a while when the two-time NBA champion left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the 73-win Golden State Warriors team.

“Honestly, he was my favorite player. Until he went to Golden State. That kind of threw everybody off,” Smith said. “But that was my favorite player growing up.”

“I wanted to be him. I wanted to emulate him, do what he does on the court, and that’s just kind of what it was. I think everybody who was tall and could shoot kind of wanted to be KD. That’s just kind of what it was growing up,” he emphasized.

Houston Rockets receive high ceiling prediction from ESPN analyst

ESPN analyst Tim Bontemps recently made a bold prediction that the Houston Rockets can make it to at least the Western Conference Finals next season after the moves they’ve completed this offseason.

Jan 15, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) and head coach Ime Udoka look on in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

“That addition of Kevin Durant to the Rockets, a team that, as we saw in the Warriors series, is an exceptional defensive team, but struggled at times to score, particularly Jalen Green struggled at times,” Bontemps said on NBA Today.

“To put Kevin Durant in, a guy who, even at this stage of his career, is a 50-40-90 guy and a high 20s per game. He’s exactly the kind of piece they needed. We can very easily be seeing a Houston/Oklahoma City Western Conference Finals,” he concluded.