Could Steven Adams Grab Starting Spot for Rockets?

The Houston Rockets enter the 2025-26 NBA season as one of the league’s best and most versatile teams.

They have high-level guards, led by a veteran and NBA champion in Fred VanVleet, as well as a youngster with something to prove in Reed Sheppard. The wing spots are shored up by rising star Amen Thompson and swingman Dorian Finney-Smith, one of the offseason’s top acquisitions.

Forwards in superstar Kevin Durant and 2022 draftees Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason offer what is probably the team’s best positional group. And the team’s frontcourt is among the most versatile in the league, led by one-time All-Star Alperen Sengun, as well as longtime interior forces in Steven Adams and Clint Capela.

Suffice it to say, the Rockets have legitimate claim to being the deepest team in the league. And while that’s certainly a good thing, it comes with tough decisions, especially in regard to the starting lineup.

Four players are absolute locks in Houston’s starting five next season: VanVleet, Thompson, Durant and Sengun. The latter two are among the top players in the league, Thompson is well on his way with all-world athleticism, and VanVleet is as proven as they come. That leaves just one spot, which most think Jabari Smith Jr. can grab, as he has the last few seasons.

But Adams, having been one of the team’s most impactful postseason players last season, might have something to say about that.

Adams’ last few seasons have been marred by injury, but at 32, he’s still one of the best physical forces on the interior. Even in just 13 minutes per game last season, he was able to pour on 3.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. He’s an immovable object in the paint, able to grab both offensive and defensive rebounds, score close-range buckets with touch and blocks shots on defense.