Kevin Durant Injury Update And Status For Game 5 Against The Lakers
Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant has once again been ruled out for tonight's Game 5 of Round 1 of the playoffs against LeBron James and the banged-up Los Angeles Lakers. The 37-year-old star has missed all but one game in this series, and the Rockets lost the game he played in.
Kevin Durant is out for Game 5 against the Lakers, the team announced.
- NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 29, 2026
Durant missed the past two games because of a sprained left ankle and bone bruise. pic.twitter.com/71AH76bRLN
This series was expected to be a cakewalk for the Rockets, with the Lakers entering the series without stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Now, the Rockets enter Game 5 down 1-3 without their biggest star, who will once again be sidelined with a sprained left ankle and bone bruise.
It sounds unlikely that Durant will return at any point in this series, regardless of how long it goes. There have been some reports that he may have even played his last game as a Rocket.
Kevin Durant may have played his last game as a Houston Rocket, per @MichaelVPina.
- Polymarket Hoops (@PolymarketHoops) April 27, 2026
The Heat, Celtics, Lakers, Pistons, and Knicks are some of the top teams with some level of interest in Durant. pic.twitter.com/cWhglkj1Ls
Things could get even worse for Houston with reinforcements potentially coming for the Lakers. Reaves seems to be nearing a return and hopes to return for the Lakers as soon as tonight.
Fantasy Impact
C Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
With Durant sidelined for the majority of this series, Sengun has been their leading scorer during this series, other than Durant in his one game. Sengun has averaged 22.8 points per game in this series after averaging 20.4 points per game this season. He has also seen his rebounds spike a bit to 10.3 rebounds per game from 8.9 rebounds in the regular season, but his assists have dropped from 6.2 to 4.8 in this series.
G Amen Thompson, Houston Rockets
Thompson has also seen his scoring get a boost in this series. He has averaged 20.5 points per game in this series after averaging 18.3 points per game in the regular season. His assists have spiked from 5.3 to 6.8 in this series, while his rebounds have dropped from 7.8 to 6.8 against the Lakers. Overall, the absence of Durant has helped Thompson's fantasy value.
F Tari Eason, Houston Rockets
Eason is the biggest beneficiary of Durant's absence. He is the man who slides into the starting lineup with Durant out. In Game 4 on Sunday, he scored 20 points with eight rebounds and two assists with five steals. This season, he averaged 10.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.2 steals in the regular season. No one has seen a bigger increase in both minutes and opportunities in this series when Durant is sidelined.
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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 8:51 AM.