Kevin Durant Shows Progress in Injury Recovery, but Unlikely to Suit Up for Game 5

2026 Playoffs: West First Round | LAL (4) vs. HOU (5)

Kevin Durant makes progress with injury, but is unlikely to play in Game 5

Rockets coach Ime Udoka says Kevin Durant is "day to day, game to game" as Game 5 approaches.

Kristie Rieken | The Associated Press
Updated on April 28, 2026 8:26 PM

Kevin Durant has not played in the last three games in Houston’s first-round series.

HOUSTON — Kevin Durant continues to make progress with his injured left ankle, but it seems unlikely that he’ll return Wednesday night for Game 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers (10 p.m. ET, ESPN). Durant didn’t participate in practice with the Rockets on Tuesday before they left for California, trailing 3-1 in the first-round series. But he was seen running on an anti-gravity treadmill as the team wrapped up its work before heading to the airport.

Coach Ime Udoka was asked if there was a possibility that Durant would play in Game 5 after missing the last two games with a sprained left ankle and bone bruise.

“We’ll see,” Udoka said. “It is day to day, game to game. But we’ll have to get on the court and do some things, and he didn’t participate in practice today. But he’s doing the conditioning and other aspects to try to get back.”

Durant has missed three games in this series after he sat out the opener with a bruised right knee. He returned for Game 2, scoring 23 points in 41 minutes of the 101-94 loss, during which he injured his ankle late in the game. The Rockets won Game 4, 115-96, despite missing their superstar to avoid elimination.

Durant’s injury problems this postseason came after the 37-year-old ranked second in the league in the regular season by playing 2,840 minutes. Durant, who is in his first season in Houston after an offseason trade from Phoenix, is the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history.