The NBA season tips off this week, and there’s some drama to go along with it.

First, Kevin Durant, who has Prince George’s roots but spent his senior year of high school at Montrose Christian School in North Bethesda, told Sports Illustrated that he wants to retire with the Rockets. Well, actually, he wanted to end his career with Phoenix, but they traded him to Houston in July as part of a seven-team trade.

“I’m looking to be here as long as I can, play my last years of my career,” Durant said. “That’s the intent. I know, I said that about Phoenix, too, but that’s the intent. I would love to do that. I mean, I’m 37 years old, and I’m going on 19 years in the league. I want to be solidified in a spot and build with a team with a group of guys that’s going to be around for a while. So hopefully this is it.”

Being traded to the Rockets, though, was a much more favorable outcome than what almost happened. The second season of Netflix’s “Starting 5” docuseries, which premiered on Thursday, follows five NBA stars — the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, the Phoenix Suns’ James Harden and Durant — and gives a behind-the-scenes look at the past season. In the series, Durant said that he was almost traded to the Warriors last season — a fate he wanted to avoid reliving.

Durant played for the Warriors from 2016 to 2019, but left the team in favor of the Nets. The prospect of the trade completely blindsided him, he said, and it was not discussed with him by the Suns’ front office. His very public disagreements with Draymond Green played into it, too.

“I know I’m the guy if shit was going south, I’d be the easiest to trade, but don’t send me to the Warriors,” he said. “Make it somewhere else but the Warriors. I didn’t want to go back to the storyline, and I don’t want to go there and gut the whole team.”

Instead, the Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat and Durant was able to play out the rest of the season with the Suns before he was eventually traded to the Rockets in the offseason.

And that’s not all. Durant took viewers back over a decade, rehashing what happened in 2012, when, fresh off an NBA Finals appearance, Harden, his then-Oklahoma City teammate, was traded to the Rockets after failed contract negotiations.

Durant was caught off guard by the trade and angry that fans and fellow NBA stars were celebrating Harden being dealt.

“They were just happy we weren’t together no more,” Durant said. “I know ’Bron and them were so f— happy we weren’t together no more. … Shut the f— up. Y’all was just f— scared. Y’all knew we was on the way.”

The two ended up reuniting in Brooklyn in 2021, but things didn’t pan out there, either. The team, despite having an All-Star trio with Kyrie Irving and championship potential, fell apart when Harden was dealt to Philadelphia, less than two years after he arrived in Brooklyn.

Durant told the documentary crew they should ask Harden what really happened that year, but Harden didn’t have much to add.

Anyway, you can watch Durant and the Rockets play against Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

Gaithersburg’s Jordan Hawkins begins third NBA season

Jordan Hawkins, a Gaithersburg native, will also be in NBA action this week as he begins his third season with the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. The Pelicans travel to face the Memphis Grizzlies. Hicks averaged 16.3 points per game last season.

Hawkins — who is also the cousin of WNBA star Angel Reese — played for one season at Gaithersburg High School before transferring to DeMatha Catholic High School for the rest of his high school career.

World Aquatics Swimming World Cup

The second stop on the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup begins on Friday in Westmont, Illinois. Phoebe Bacon, a two-time Olympian, is scheduled participate in four events: the 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter backstroke, 100-meter individual medley and 200-meter individual medley.

Bacon, who was born in Chevy Chase and attended Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, is a two-time Olympian and has three World Championship medals.

High school cross country: Championship season begins

It’s trophy season in Montgomery County. Cross Country will kick off its championship season on Saturday at Gaithersburg High School. The girls varsity race is at 10:30 a.m., followed by the boys at 11 a.m.

After the county championship, teams go on to regionals on Oct. 30 and the state championship on Nov. 8.

High school football: Good Counsel vs. St. Johns

Good Counsel (4-3) is looking for a rebound against St. Johns (5-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday after coming off a tough loss to undefeated DeMatha (7-0), the No. 2 team in the state.

Good Counsel has two of the top six recruits in the state for the class of 2027 — edge rusher Anthony Sweeney and inside linebacker Jaiden Lindsay. Sweeney’s offers so far include Clemson, Texas A&M and Penn State, while Lindsay has Indiana, Penn State and West Virginia.

High School Football: Churchill at Seneca Valley

Churchill (5-1) will travel to face Seneca Valley (3-3) at 6:30 p.m. Friday in a 4A West matchup.

Churchill’s one loss this season came against Quince Orchard, the top team in the county, and the Bulldogs are fresh off a 51-7 win over Gaithersburg last week. They are led by junior quarterback Hunter Humphries, who has thrown for 792 yards and 11 touchdowns in six games.

Seneca Valley has been inconsistent this season and hasn’t won two games in a row. Last week, they were blown out by Northwest 45-7.

Have a game, athlete or story you think we should write about? Send me an email at danielle.allentuck@thebanner.com.