Houston Rockets News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Mar 30, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) and Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) fight for position in the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Kevin Durant Raises the Profile of Entire Houston Rockets Organization

Originally posted on Houston Rockets on SI
By Lachard Binkley | Last updated Aug 11, 2025 3:00 PM ET

For the last several seasons, the Houston Rockets have been an afterthought when it came to nationally televised games and coverage. Since James Harden was traded in 2021 to the Brooklyn Nets, the Rockets have seen a significant decrease in nationally televised games, dropping from double-digit appearances a year during Harden's tenure to fewer than ten in the last four seasons.

That all started to change last season as the Rockets continued to win throughout the season, and Alperen Sengun made his first All-Star game. The league began to flex the Rockets into more games as the season went on, and with the Rockets finishing second in the Western Conference, they put the entire league on notice, even after falling in the first round to the Golden State Warriors.

With the news that the Rockets will be taking on the defending NBA Champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, as they raise their first-ever banner on Friday, it signifies the Rockets' arrival. Part of it can be attributed to the Rockets' success in 2024-25, but it is also due to the Rockets' blockbuster offseason trade for Kevin Durant.

How Kevin Durant Raises the Profile of Every Houston Rocket

Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Rockets last played on opening night vs the Warriors in 2017. In one of the best regular-season games of that season, the Rockets defeated the Warriors 122-121. In an ironic twist, Durant's potential game-winner came a fraction of a second too late. Of course, the rest is history as the Rockets went on to win their most games ever in the regular season before falling again to the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.

Eight seasons later, Durant and the Rockets are back playing on NBA opening night, this time not as foes, but Durant as a member of the Rockets. Players like Amen Thompson and Sengun started to become household names last season, but with the arrival of Durant, the national spotlight will be on the Rockets every single game.

Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson Will Be On the National Stage A Lot More

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

That will only bolster the chances of Sengun returning to the All-Star game, as the national media and NBA fans will see him on a more regular basis. Thompson has already become a well-known player for the team, but another standout year this upcoming season could take him from a promising up-and-coming player to an NBA star.

To further prove the point of Durant's star-level power, the Rockets reportedly will also play on Christmas Day against the Los Angeles Lakers. The last time the Rockets played on Christmas was 2019 when they faced off against, you guessed it, the Warriors. This time around, it didn't go as well as the game mentioned above. The Warriors, without Steph Curry, defeated the Rockets 116-104.

Even though we have not seen the rest of the NBA schedule for the Rockets, one thing is for sure. The Rockets will be one of the most watched teams in nationally televised games, as they are seen not only as one of the most intriguing teams in the NBA but also, for the first time in seven years, as a championship-level team. Durant's arrival is a significant reason for this shift.

This article first appeared on Houston Rockets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: