At 37, Kevin Durant is nearing the end of his remarkable NBA career—that much is certain. However, Durant himself doesn’t seem to know exactly when that end will come. 

Speaking to Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon in an interview for Durant’s media company Boardroom, the new Houston star wouldn’t put a target or a timeline on how much longer he intends to play… but he did admit that five years—which would bring him to 42, one year older than LeBron James is now—sounds like it might be a stretch.

“Somebody asked me if I can play five more years. I’m like, damn, that’s a long that’s a long time, man. Five more. I’m 37,” Durant told Olajuwon. The Hall of Fame center said that Durant can play “as long as he wants” given his strong fundamentals.

Durant certainly didn’t commit to walking away from basketball within that timeframe, but acknowledged just how difficult it is to extend an NBA career that long.

Kevin Durant discussed career longevity with Sports Illustrated ahead of the 2025–26 season

Speaking to SI’s Chris Mannix as he prepared for his first season with the Rockets, Durant said he has studied other great athletes that played well into their 40s like NBA great Vince Carter and active NHL star Alexander Ovechkin, looking for hints and clues at how they maintained their impressive careers.

“Guys that play that long and kept that mental stamina and physical stamina to come in every day and want to get better, I mean you can’t beat that,” Durant said. “It’s inspiring. You got to respect that.”

In Mannix’s October cover story for SI, he wrote that “Durant is careful not to put a clock on his career,” and for good reason. While Durant’s availability was inconsistent during his time with the Nets, which took place after his rehabilitation from the torn Achilles that marked the end of his time with the Warriors, he has been reliable in recent years, playing 75 and 62 games in the last two seasons with the Suns. He has played 49 of Houston’s 52 games this season, helping lead the otherwise young team to a 33–19 record, good for third in the Western Conference.

His play on the court has shown little evidence of degradation. He’s averaging 25.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists, with a rock-solid shooting triple-slash line of .506/.405/.881, putting him within striking distance of his third 50/40/90 season.  

Whatever lies ahead of Durant’s career, he hopes to spend his final few years with a competitive club, and believes this Rockets team has a chance to be just that.

“I’m looking to be here as long as I can, play my last years of my career,” Durant told Mannix. “That’s the intent. I know, I said that about Phoenix, too, but that’s the intent. I would love to do that. I mean, I’m 37 years old and I’m going on 19 years in the league. I want to be solidified in a spot and build with a team with a group of guys that’s going to be around for a while. So hopefully this is it.”

Only Durant knows how much more time he wants to spend on an NBA court, and it doesn’t sound as if he even has firm answers hammered out yet, but he appears primed to go out on top. It’s difficult for an NBA superstar approaching his 40s, with multiple rings and little left to prove in the sport, to ask for much more.

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