2026-27 Season Preview: Houston Rockets

Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson and the Rockets have high expectations for the 2026-27 season.

Offseason Recap

•

Last Season

: 52-30 (5th in West, lost in First Round)

• Key Additions

: Bogdan Bogdanović, Marcus Smart, Bruce Thornton

Every Rockets move this offseason

Season Outlook

The Rockets will enter the season sitting on the fence between good and potentially great. The question is, which way will the wind blow?

The ingredients are here for another 50-win result. Beyond that, however, the distance to which the Rockets will travel in the postseason (they’ve lost in the first round two years straight) will depend on a number of ifs.

Kevin Durant defying Father Time is chief among them. But also Fred VanVleet’s return from missing a season to injury, and Alperen Sengun’s upward development, Amen Thompson’s potential star turn and if Jabari Smith Jr. is real or a tease.

Not only will the Rockets decide their fate, but so will the stiff competition in the West. Houston will need to be great to reach June, therefore.

Breakout Candidate: Amen Thompson

In a sense, Thompson has already broken out, given that the Rockets richly rewarded him with a rookie extension (five years, $208 million) prior to camp. Still, there’s a high ceiling for the athletic swingman who has already established himself as a lethal on-ball defender.

As everyone knows, Thompson’s offensive game is still under construction. He’ll need to develop a reliable way to score in order to be a complete two-way phenom. The odds are in his favor if only because he’s a hard worker and strives to be his best.

He can gain a jump shot; many players have done so as their careers progressed. Should that happen sooner rather than later, Thompson and the Rockets will be in a great spot.

1 Number To Know

54.5%

— The Rockets have led the league in rebounding percentage in each of the last two seasons, with their 54.5% last season being the highest for any team in the 30 years of play-by-play data.

The Rockets weren’t quite as dominant on the glass after Steven Adams was lost for the season in January, but they still ranked second in offensive rebounding percentage after that point. Their second most-used lineup (Tari Eason alongside their four full-time starters) grabbed 58.9% of available rebounds, the highest mark for a lineup that played at least 200 minutes in the 19 seasons for which we have lineup data.

The return of Fred VanVleet should help the Rockets’ offense in multiple ways, but adding a 6-0 guy to the lineup and reducing minutes for bigger guards could reduce some of Houston’s rebounding advantage.

— John Schuhmann

5 Must-See Matchups

Oct. 23: Rockets vs. Spurs

— An early-season test against one of the title favorites should give the Rockets an initial idea where they stand in the pecking order.

Nov. 20: Rockets vs. Nuggets

— Another contender, except this game winds down a grueling 17-game stretch where the Rockets see the Nuggets twice, Spurs, Thunder, Celtics, Wolves, Heat and Pacers.

Nov. 28: Rockets vs. 76ers

— Durant in a duel with LeBron James. So much history here. And this could be the final season where the two share the floor.

Jan. 13: Rockets vs. Thunder

— Durant will make his return to OKC, which is always filled with drama for the player who launched his incredible career with the franchise.

March 25: Rockets vs. Pistons

— Speaking of emotional contests, it’s always a must-see when the Brothers Thompson, Amen and Ausar, square off. Both teams should be playoff-bound by then.

>

Complete Regular Season Schedule

Preseason Storylines

The Rockets are searching for more outside shooting to complement Durant, and this should crystallize in the preseason. That’s why they hired Chip Engelland, the renowned shooting coach; he once won a pair of titles in San Antonio. He’ll work closely with Thompson and also Reed Sheppard, the young guard who hopes to get increased playing time.

In addition, they acquired Bogdanović, a veteran shooter with a very efficient touch from the 3-point line. All told, the Rockets are suddenly armed with range and a proven expert who knows how to develop shooters.

Complete Preseason Schedule

***

Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at

spowell@nba.com

, find his

archive here

and

follow him on X

.