Professional sports are compelling for so many reasons. One of the biggest is that they remain unpredictable. Fans have never been able to truly know how things will unfold. The mystery is why they keep coming back. A new chapter to that reality unfolded on Sunday. Future Hall of Fame NBA star Kevin Durant was attending Fanatics Fest in New York. He has been the subject of trade rumors for weeks. Most feel his time with the Phoenix Suns was coming to an end after three seasons.
The general belief is that news on the topic would surface shortly after the conclusion of the NBA Finals between Oklahoma City and Indiana. Then, on the morning of Game 7, the bombshell dropped. Phoenix dealt Durant to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th pick in the 2025 draft, and five 2nd round picks. That alone was tons to digest. Yet somehow it got crazier. Apparently, Durant was on stage when the news broke, and fans in attendance were the ones to break the news to him.
Kevin Durant made another piece of sports history.
He is unquestionably the first professional athlete to have trade news broken to him by a crowd of fans. There have been other alternatives. Teams call the player to inform him of the news. He might hear it from the agent. Some have even found out from Twitter or other social media. Kevin Durant got to hear it shouted at him from buzzing fans. That had to be awkward. What do you even say? On the surface, this looks like a good deal for both sides. Phoenix accumulates a bunch of young assets to retool around Devin Booker. Houston, which won 52 games this season, acquired an elite scorer to pair with Alperen Şengün and Fred VanVleet. The hope is they’re now equipped to take on the best in the West, even if Durant’s shelf life is short.
