Latest Power Rankings Place Rockets Fourth in the Western Conference

The NBA offseason has officially reached the dead period. The excitement of NBA free agency is essentially over, although that's no longer as exciting as it once was due to tampering concerns, in addition to players opting to extend with their original teams and force a trade later on down the line.

The NBA Draft came and went. NBA Summer League came and went.

The only thing lingering is the restricted free agents -- in particular, Jonathan Kuminga and his standoff with the Golden State Warriors. 

The focus has shifted to the 2025-26 season. 

In the Western Conference, the top-tier teams from last season could very well be among the conference's elite once more. The latest power rankings from The Athletic's Law Murray seem to tell the same story, although the Houston Rockets are lower than the masses expect, as they come in fourth in the West.

Murray places the Rockets in his second tier, titled "In a Good Place", alongside the Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando Magic. His synopsis is below:

"The first big move that the Rockets made was getting Durant in exchange for Brooks and Green. The second big move was to backfill Brooks’ defense by getting Finney-Smith from the conference rival Lakers.

This defense should be at least as good as it was last season. And Houston tripled down on depth at center by getting Capela back to replace Landale. The Rockets are counting on a leap from 2024 lottery pick Reed Sheppard, as Houston is going to need some shooting and ballhandling even when Durant is available.

And for all of Green’s weaknesses, he only missed 21 games in four seasons, including none the last two years. Durant will be 37 in September and has missed an average of 22 games per season the last four years."

His top tier consists of the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets.