Kevin Durant to be in attendance when Thunder receive championship rings

For all the flak the NBA has received with their handling of the Oklahoma City Thunder, they smacked the ball out of the park with their 2025-26 Opening Night opponent.

The Thunder will host the Houston Rockets to kick off the NBA on NBC era. The NBA champion will unveil their championship banner and receive their rings in a pregame ceremony.

On the other side, Kevin Durant will be in attendance as he makes his debut for his new team. He joined the Rockets this offseason with a trade from the Phoenix Suns. Funny enough, the deal was announced on the same day the Thunder won Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.

Talk about dramatics. As we all know, Durant's ugly 2016 divorce from the Thunder left his relationship with the fanbase in a bad spot that's only grown rotten. Each time he's back in OKC, he gets viciously booed. Ask any fan if he should get his No. 35 jersey retired, and you'll get scoffed at.

Now, Durant will get to see Shai Gilgeous-Alexander receive his championship ring four months after he usurped him as the best player in Thunder history. NBA fans love the drama that comes with following the league outside of the game. The schedule-makers fed into that with this Opening Night slate.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Kevin Durant to be in attendance when Thunder get championship rings