Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant said Saturday that LeBron James and the new-look Philadelphia 76ers have the offensive firepower to compete for the 2027 NBA championship. What's more, Durant evoked his two Golden State Warriors championship teams, which also featured Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, when praising the combined scoring prowess of Philadelphia's James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. "The last time they put three 20-point scorers on a team, they said it was unfair, which was the [Warriors] team I was on," Durant said at a USA Basketball event Saturday. "[The 76ers] have got four 25-point scorers on this team. So, hell yeah, I think they're going to be a contender. They're going to be a fun team to watch. It's going to be League
Pass-worthy."
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Jonathan Abrams: What if OKC had kept Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden? Excited to announce my next book, WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND FEARLESS, coming 11/3—a deep dive into the trio that reshaped the NBA. Pre-order link: harpercollins.com/products/when — 7/31/2026 x.com
During a conversation with Turkey’s Socrates Magazine, the 23-year-old was asked about some of the controversial narratives surrounding last season’s team. Regarding his pairing with Durant, Sengun said (via YouTube’s English transcript): A perception suddenly formed out of nowhere. I’ve never had an argument with KD, not even once. We’ve never raised our voices at each other. We always talk, and we always talk after games, too. We especially talked after games we lost. Like, “What are we doing wrong?” I specifically would ask him, “What do we need to do? Where do you think we made mistakes today? Why didn’t it work out?” I ask him, and he answers. These things always happen, but like I said, because we’re people who hate losing… you can see that on our faces during games. You can read it on KD’s face. You can read it on my face. You can read it on Ime’s face. KD also has a massive fanbase. I think about it like this. My fans will never view me negatively. I notice this. Like, there are areas where I perform poorly, and I see that myself. But, say, I’m talking to someone on the phone — they’ll always blame others. I’m not that kind of person, though. I always hold myself accountable. I don’t speak like that with anyone — whether it’s a friend or family member. When things like that are discussed, I always say, “That’s not how the situation actually is.” Do you get me? I can’t ease my conscience by shifting the blame to someone else. I don’t like those kinds of excuses, and you can’t get any better that way. — 7/28/2026 Clutch Fans
Maverick Carter: "I left Nike in '06 to work to be full-time with LeBron. LeBron had an agent at the time, fired his agent. The same one Kevin (Durant) fired soon after. And we started a company to manage LeBron. And frankly, I didn't know what the f*ck I was doing, the truth. I mean, I knew the only thing I knew is I had to get smart people. I knew the buckets, like we need some legal, we need accounting. I knew those things and I knew how to find people." — 7/27/2026 YouTube
Grant Hill: 'Contrary to popular belief, I do like Jaylen Brown. I love his game, and things got difficult there with that team. In putting the team together, just to give some context, we had Kawhi Leonard on that penciled in on that team, and he got hurt at the end of that season in 2024. He came to camp, he wasn't right, and so we had to pivot. A couple of things happened at that camp, and people want to believe what they want to believe, but at the end of the day, Kevin Durant showed up, he was hurt. He had a grade one calf strain, and I think we all have PTSD from the last time he had a calf strain, so we were very patient with him. Jayson Tatum had just had a baby, so he showed up late. Joel Embiid was, you know, we knew we were managing him, but we needed him for Nikola Jokic against Serbia, because that was the matchup. We didn't have our full roster, and then we started looking around and saying, oh man, like Jrue Holiday was so important for us in the FIBA game. A point guard who can play his role, ball pressure, the whole nine. If Jrue got hurt, our point guards were Jrue Holiday and Stephen Curry, and defense wasn't necessarily their strong point. It was like, okay, let's bring in insurance for Jrue Holiday and like Derrick White. So that was the thought process.' — 7/22/2026 YouTube
Former Warriors two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant had an awkward moment during Friday’s Fanatics Fest in New York. Durant appeared on stage for a Q&A session with the Argentina soccer team and walked past the entire squad, including superstar Lionel Messi, and former Patriots great Tom Brady. After Brady finished asking Messi his question, Durant was the next guest to appear on the stage. Durant came out on the stage with a smirk on his face. He walked behind the Argentina team and was handed the microphone by Brady. He then said hello to the other guests on the stage, including comedian Kevin Hart and Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente. Once Durant received the microphone, he said, “I got a question for [Emi Martínez] right here,” Durant said, leaving Martínez pointing at himself and appearing shocked. Durant went on to say, “Yes, you,” while looking toward Martínez. — 7/19/2026 New York Post
As the interviewer said he is waiting for the day that both he and LeBron would join forces on one NBA team, Durant could only laugh and provide a blunt answer. "Well you gonna be waiting for the rest of your life forever," Durant hilariously said. "I don't think that's happening. "We both 40 years old, man." — 7/16/2026 BasketNews
Like everybody else, Kevin Durant is fully mindful of the ongoing buzz and development surrounding LeBron James' free agency. And if he has to choose which is the best stop possible for his longtime rival and contemporary, the Houston Rockets superstar only has two teams in mind. "That's the million-dollar question, I wish I knew," Durant said when asked which he thinks LeBron will join in a brief video interview from theScore. "In my heart of hearts, if I had to choose one, I would say Cleveland," Durant argued. "But Philly got a big chance, too." — 7/16/2026 BasketNews
One who usually muses online about the general state of media, the 16-time All-Star called out Fox Sports analysts and hosts Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright by name on his Instagram. Durant posted a screenshot of a graphic displaying nine prominent sports analysts with the caption prompting users to pick one to be removed. In one post on his story, Durant tagged Cowherd. “Pack that lame (Colin Cowherd) up,” he wrote. On the next story, he took his shot at Wright, tagging him as well. “Basketball would actually move forward if (Nick Wright) wasn’t involved. Hold up.” — 7/15/2026 New York Times
Understandably, the initial concern about Brown is his fit with the Sixers, given that he is another high-usage star, similar to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Kevin Durant, however, sees no problem. He believes Brown will only make the 76ers better. “Dangerous,” said Durant, agreeing with the adjective used by NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark. — 7/15/2026 Clutch Points
The 37-year-old Durant admitted that he is clueless about James' decision, but he is confident that the NBA's all-time leading scorer will continue to play at a high level. “Wherever he goes, I know he's going to ball out and show that he still got a lot left in the tank at 42 years old,” said Durant. “Any team is going to be better because of him.” — 7/15/2026 Clutch Points
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Kevin Durant on new-look 76ers with LeBron James: I think they're going to be a contender, they're going to be fun to watch
