The NBA’s Rivals Week could give Houston a familiar kind of spotlight, and one matchup stands out above the rest: Kevin Durant against Stephen Curry.
The league announced its Opening Night and Christmas Day pairings on Tuesday, and the Rockets were left off the December 25 slate. Houston will, however, open the season against a divisional opponent.
The full 2026-2027 schedule is expected on Thursday, and Rivals Week will be one of the more closely watched parts of it. The event, created in 2022, is designed to showcase both longtime feuds and newer ones across the league.
Last season, Houston’s Rivals Week game came against the Detroit Pistons, with the twin-brother angle between Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson giving the matchup extra juice.
This time around, there are plenty of routes the NBA could take with the Rockets. But Durant and Curry would give the league a marquee pairing, and one with real history attached to it.
Durant and Curry were two of the defining stars of the 2010s. When Durant joined the Golden State Warriors in 2016 alongside Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, the move instantly turned the team into the league’s most talked-about superteam.
Durant helped Golden State win back-to-back championships and earned NBA Finals MVP honors in both title runs. Along the way, the Warriors knocked out the James Harden-led Rockets in a seven-game Western Conference Finals series in 2018.
Even with Durant’s role in those championship runs, Curry remained the face of the franchise in many eyes. He reinforced that status by leading Golden State to another title in 2022, long after Durant had moved on.
Both players are still producing at an All-Star level now. Durant, 37, averaged 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 78 games. Curry, 38, put up 26.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in 43 games.
Houston and Golden State met three times last season, and every game stayed tight, decided by fewer than five points. The Rockets took the season series 2-1, though Curry missed one of the meetings and was just back from injury in another.
That’s why Durant vs. Curry would make so much sense for Rivals Week. It would be a fresh chapter in a matchup that already carries plenty of baggage, with both teams trying to squeeze every last bit out of their championship timelines.
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