Rockets Superstar Kevin Durant Gets Slighted in Yahoo Sports' Latest Rankings

The Houston Rockets surprised virtually everyone in 2024-25. In just the second year of Ime Udoka's coaching tenure in Houston, the team won 52 games and finished second in the Western Conference, ending their postseason drought.

The team lacked a bonafide go-to scorer in the clutch, relying on a combination of players during "winning time", also known as the waning moments of the game. Sometimes it was Amen Thompson, other times it was Jalen Green, and other times it was Alperen Sengun. 

As the saying goes, if you are turning to several guys in the clutch, you don't have that one guy. Green fit the bill the closest and had the highest ceiling as a pure bucket, but he struggled to put it together consistently. 

Granted, he had scoring surges. He even had streaks of consecutive high-scoring games, but it was often followed by a less than subpar game. In other words, he wasn't quite able to prove Houston's brass that he was capable of being the go-to guy, even after four years.

Most championship teams need that player, although teams have won championships without having a clear-cut closer. But it doesn't happen often.

The 2004 Detroit Pistons are the last team to win a title under that model.

Kevin Durant's arrival instantly solves that problem for the Rockets. Even at 37-years-old, he's fresh off averaging 26.6 points on 64.2 percent true shooting. And he doesn't have to chuck shots to score a ton.

But Durant may be getting undervalued, at this stage of his career. Yahoo Sports writer Ben Rohrbach compiled his list of the top number one options across the league and Durant ranked 12th.

Which doesn't sound bad, until you look at some of the names ahead of him.

Victor Wembanyama, Cade Cunningham, Paolo Banchero.

All great players. Let's first note that.

But all players very early in their respective careers. None of them have compiled even half of Durant's basketball resume.

Even at 36-years-old last season, Durant had a better season than these players. Certainly as a scorer.

If you want to knock him a bit because he missed the playoffs, that's fine. But you have to also factor in his longevity. 

He just wrapped up his 16th consecutive season averaging at least 25 points. 

Furthermore, Durant is in the same tier as Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis -- two players who are also great, but have become synonymous with injuries.

This list is exhibit A of Durant being underrated, which is a surprising thing to say about a player with his credentials.