Houston Rockets: Breaking News, Rumors & Highlights

Cavs Loss in Game 1 Illustrates Rockets' Reason for Passing on James Harden

James Harden is one of the greatest players in the history of the Houston Rockets franchise. In fact, some people have him ahead of Hakeem Olajuwon, who is easily and undeniably one of the greatest players in NBA history. And there's a case to be made.

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The Morning Bark

The Quiz of the Day

Rockets 2025-2026 season in review: Jabari Smith Jr.

In sports, there are three types of players. Those who are great regular season players, who take their greatness to a whole other level in the playoffs.

NBA News / Houston Rockets on SI / May 21

Rockets Reportedly Interested in Mavericks' Kyrie Irving

The Houston Rockets are facing a big offseason. Their roster needs work, even if they are expecting to get Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams back next year. Adams will be 33 and coming off his fourth consecutive injury-shortened season.

Houston Rockets News / The Dream Shake / May 21

Is Rafael Stone expecting too much from Reed Sheppard?

The next Steph Curry. The next Steve Nash. The next Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf…the next Brent Price. The first Reed Sheppard – existentially speaking. He is not a Kevin O’Connor comparison – He is a solitary unit.

New York Knicks News / Yardbarker Quizzes

The '35-5-5 Conference Finals games' quiz

How many of the players to score 35 points, dish out five assists and haul in five rebounds in a Conference Final game at least once can you name in six minutes?

The '600-point NBA postseasons' quiz

The 'Last 40-point NBA Playoff games' quiz

The 'Active NBA Playoff 3's leaders' quiz

Houston Rockets News / NBA on ClutchPoints / May 21

2 players Rockets must trade after ugly playoff series loss to Lakers

A few weeks have passed since the Houston Rockets’ 2025-26 campaign came to a dispiriting end at the hands of the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers. This

NBA News / Yardbarker

The best homegrown player for every NBA franchise

As an NBA fan, it hits different when a team's best player is a guy the franchise nurtured from the very start. There's a greater attachment to stars who have been there since the start, who have bled the team's colors since the start of their careers.

Houston Rockets News / Houston Rockets on SI / May 20

Houston Rockets Free Agency: Biggest Storylines to Watch

This is going to be a busy offseason for the Houston Rockets, who will have multiple enormous tasks to complete or at least engage with in order to formulate a roster good enough to contend for a championship next season.

Houston Rockets News / Houston Rockets on SI / May 20

The Rockets Can't Be Saved By Just Any Superstar

The Houston Rockets are clearly not at a level to compete against the best the league has to offer. Their scoring potential is limited compared to teams that are fully staffed with a wide range of archetypes and players who can do multiple things well.

Fred VanVleet News / Houston Rockets on SI / May 20

Restructuring Fred VanVleet's Contract Would Do Wonders for the Rockets

Fred VanVleet's ACL tear last September was a gut punch to the Houston Rockets' title hopes. High expectations were entering this past season, but they had to compete without a true point guard, and that opened up for a lot of weaknesses.

Houston Rockets News / The Dream Shake / May 20

Rockets GM Rafael Stone and head coach Ime Udoka don’t seem to be on the same page

The Houston Rockets have some work to do, from a roster standpoint. This couldn’t have been made more obvious following Houston’s disappointing first-round postseason series against the Los Angeles Lakers, who were playing without their best player in Luka Doncic, while their second-best player in Austin Reaves was limited to just two games.

Houston Rockets News / Houston Rockets on SI / May 20

Rockets Add Much Needed Ingredients in Latest Mock Draft

The Houston Rockets have a major offseason ahead of them this summer. The team needs to bolster their roster in a major way, as they lag behind the top teams in the Western Conference by a wide margin. And Houston has clear roster needs.

Kevin Durant News / Ball Exclusives / May 20

Kevin Durant stars in hilarious Nike ad alongside Drake

Nike is now showing off the new signature shoe of Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant, doing so in a hilarious way. In a new ad for Durant’s Nike KD 19, he’s seen showing off a few ridiculously ugly shoe concepts to Drake, who gasses up the designs regardless.

NBA News / Yardbarker

The most unlikely 50-point games in NBA history

If an NBA player ends a game with 30 points, that's generally a great night. 40 points is fantastic, and 50 points is an event. That's especially true when that type of scoring outburst comes from an unexpected source.

Houston Rockets News / Houston Rockets on SI / May 20

Why Jabari Smith Jr. Can Take the Houston Rockets to New Heights

Uncertainty occupies the Houston Rockets' rotations this offseason. Trade rumors are dominating headlines surrounding the organization, with them potentially sacrificing the young core for one of a few stars expected to be available.

Click here to get Yardbarker's Quiz of the Day emailed to you!

The '35-5-5 Conference Finals games' quiz

The 'NBA MVPs' quiz

The 'NBA steals-per-game leaders' quiz

The 'No. 2-scorers by NBA champion' quiz

Reed Sheppard News / The Dream Shake / May 20

Rockets 2025-2026 season in review: Reed Sheppard

DISCLOSURE NOTICE: Reed Sheppard is the author’s adopted nephew.* Rockets fans got to see a lot more of Reed Sheppard this season. Which is nice for a player picked third in the NBA draft.

Fred VanVleet News / Houston Rockets on SI / May 19

Why Fred VanVleet is Both Right and Wrong about the Rockets' Season being a Success

The Houston Rockets' 2025-26 campaign was identical to their 2024-25 season, in more ways than not. The team won 52 games in both seasons and were early outs in the postseason, falling in the first round each time.

Houston Rockets News / Houston Rockets on SI / May 19

Rockets Insider Says Amen Thompson Max Contract Not Guaranteed

There are so many Houston Rockets storylines to watch this offseason, as big changes could be coming. This past season was disappointing for the most part, as many key weaknesses that plagued the Rockets' regular season came back to bite them in the playoffs, resulting in a first-round exit for the second year in a row.

Houston Rockets News / NBA Draft on SI / May 19

Assessing the Houston Rockets' Biggest Needs at the 2026 NBA Draft

Losing in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season was a tough pill for the Houston Rockets to swallow. They had legitimate title hopes with the arrival of Kevin Durant, pairing him with a young core that showed serious development the year prior.

Houston Rockets News / Houston Rockets on SI / May 19

Rockets Could Rid Themselves of Dorian Finney-Smith for a Low Cost

Following the trade that landed Kevin Durant last offseason, the Houston Rockets' brass realized a clear need for a 3-and-D wing. Specifically, the team needed to replace Dillon Brooks, who was a throw-in to the Durant deal with the Phoenix Suns, due to his $22 million in salary ballast.

NBA News / EssentiallySports / May 20

Yao Ming Is the Closest Thing to Victor Wembanyama, Claims All-Star: 'For People Who Don’t Know'

After exploding for 41 points and 24 rebounds in a double-overtime Western Conference Finals win, Victor Wembanyama entered territory only Wilt Chamberlain had reached before in a Conference Finals debut.

Houston Rockets News / Houston Rockets on SI / May 19

Mock Trade: Rockets Address Shooting in Deal with Division Foe

Much has been made about the Houston Rockets’ lack of outside shooting on the roster. It’s been an issue for years, but was an even greater issue this past season.

Amen Thompson News / HITC / May 19

Why Amen Thompson’s max deal isn’t guaranteed for Houston

Amen Thompson is expected to land a major extension with the Houston Rockets, but a full maximum contract is not guaranteed. The 23-year-old is now eligible after averaging 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists last season, all career-high marks.

Fred VanVleet News / The Dream Shake / May 19

Rockets 2025-2026 season in review: Fred VanVleet

Yes, we know that Fred VanVleet didn’t play for the Houston Rockets this season. But given that GM Rafael Stone stayed quiet at the NBA Trade Deadline and cited VanVleet’s absence for why team management wasn’t making any moves to improve, which became a huge part of this season’s narrative, we wanted to include FVV here in our recaps.

Houston Rockets News / Houston Rockets on SI / May 18

NBA Mock Trade: Rockets Acquire MVP Candidate in Blockbuster Deal

The Houston Rockets find themselves at a crossroads this NBA offseason. Last year, they took a major leap into 'win now' mode, trading some valuable assets for Kevin Durant.

Houston Rockets News / Houston Rockets on SI / May 18

How Long Can The Rockets Compete With This Core?

When the Houston Rockets acquired Kevin Durant last offseason, they made a slight push to compete in the next few years before he called it a career. Houston won over 50 games for the second season in a row, but the Rockets never felt like they matched up well against any of the teams that finished ahead of them in the standings.

Houston Rockets News / Larry Brown Sports / May 17

Fred VanVleet addresses Kevin Durant’s ‘curse’ amid burner account accusations

Fred VanVleet believes Kevin Durant may be his own worst enemy when it comes to drawing negative attention from the media. Durant became a lightning rod of controversy in his first season with the Houston Rockets when a social media account allegedly belonging to Durant was leaked.

NBA News / Yardbarker / May 9

Charles Barkley claps back at Draymond Green after on-air insult

There was some awkwardness on the set of "Inside the NBA" this past week when Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green took an unbelievable shot at the end of Charles Barkley's career.

Watch: Green insults Barkley's career right to his face on live TV

Green teases Warriors exit again amid Steve Kerr uncertainty

Ex-NBA champ announces retirement

Nuggets owner sends message to team

ESPN: Celtics may have a 'simple' trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo