ESPN’s latest top-100 player rankings put four Rockets in the mix, and the list gives Houston a pretty clear snapshot of where this roster stands heading into the 2026-27 season.
Fred VanVleet landed at No. 91, Amen Thompson came in at No.
31, Alperen Sengun checked in at No. 30, and Kevin Durant was slotted at No. 13.
For Houston, that spread feels like a fair reflection of both the upside and the questions still hanging over the group.
VanVleet’s spot comes with a reminder of how much Houston missed him after he sat out all of the 2025-2026 season with a torn ACL. He may not be a superstar point guard, but his absence still mattered.
This year, the Rockets should at least have more help around him, with Marcus Smart now in the backcourt as well. The real test is how VanVleet looks when the games start counting again.
Durant, meanwhile, is Durant. The scoring should be there, and the expectation is that he does what he always does on offense.
The bigger uncertainty is his future. He has a player option with a deadline of 6/29/27, so the question is whether Houston becomes another stop or the final one.
Thompson is the one whose ranking feels tied most directly to what comes next. He recently agreed to a 5-year, $208 million extension with Houston, a deal that marks him as a major part of the team’s long-term plans and possibly the face of it down the line. His defense has already made him extremely valuable to the Rockets, but the next step is obvious: he has to become a more reliable shooter if he wants to fully justify that contract.
Last season, Thompson had to handle the kind of point guard duties VanVleet normally would have covered. That pressure should ease now that VanVleet is back and Smart has joined the roster.
The hope is that Thompson can put more energy into the rest of his game. He didn’t make an All-Defense team last season, but he did show improvement as a pick-and-roll creator, which leaves room to believe more offensive growth is on the way.
Sengun’s ranking tells a similar story: the talent is obvious, but the next leap has to show up on a bigger stage. He’s already a two-time All-Star and helped Turkey win a silver medal at the 2025 EuroBasket. Houston’s defense is deep enough that it can live with some limitations on that end, but offensively Sengun needs to keep improving if he’s going to stay in that top-30 range.
In Other News...
Amen Thompson Knows What Could Change Everything For The Rockets
Amen Thompson arrived at Rockets training camp with the same bigger-picture ambition he has been carrying all along, but the conversation around him kept circling back to the one skill that could reshape his ceiling. The criticism of his inconsistent jumpshot has followed him, and Thompson met it head-on, making clear he believes the shot can improve and that he is willing to put in the work to get there. For a Houston team trying to sort out its long-term core, that matters because Thompsons development is about more than one facet of his game.
Thompson said he has been focused on that part of his game all offseason, and he is aiming higher than just becoming a steadier shooter. He wants All-Star and All-NBA recognition, and the early signs from within the locker room have been encouraging, with teammates noticing progress in his shot and his physical condition. If that improvement keeps building, it could change the way opponents defend him and, in turn, open up another level for the Rockets. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Durant Is Already Changing Jabari Smith Jr In Houston
Jabari Smith Jr. spent the offseason working on the finer points of his game, and Kevin Durant was part of the blueprint. The Rockets forward said he has been trying to play lower and clean up his footwork after taking cues from Durants pace and balance, a subtle shift that fits Houstons broader optimism heading into the new season. With Durant in the mix and young pieces like Smith, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson still ascending, the Rockets have plenty of reason to believe the next step can come from internal growth as much as from star power.
For Smith, the changes are less about bulk and more about staying mobile, which matters on both ends for a player expected to keep expanding his role. The challenge is finding the right version of that evolution without sacrificing the agility that lets him handle smaller defenders, and that balance will be worth watching as the Rockets try to blend Durants veteran polish with the energy of their younger core. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Durant Trade Buzz Just Put Houston's Commitment In Focus
Kevin Durants name is already surfacing in early trade chatter again, which is hardly surprising for a player with his rsum and a player option sitting out there for the 2027-28 season. The latest buzz has him drawing interest from Detroit, but for Houston the bigger takeaway is what has not happened: the Rockets have built their roster around a young core and a win-now structure, with Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun and Fred VanVleet giving the team a clearer direction than it has had in years.
Even with Durant still producing at an All-NBA level, Houston has shown no appetite for opening the door on his market, and a move before the season starts looks unlikely. That stance says plenty about where the Rockets see themselves right now - not as a club tempted by star-chasing noise, but as one committed to protecting the pieces that have made the roster so promising in the first place. [Read more 🡒]