The NBA’s new television slate says plenty about how the league sees Houston.
When the 2026-2027 schedule dropped on Thursday, the Rockets landed 21 nationally televised games, tying the Dallas Mavericks for the 11th-most in the league. That puts Houston well ahead of the average team and right in the mix as a club the NBA expects fans to care about - a blend of winning, star power, and future intrigue.
At the top of the board, the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Antonio Spurs were given a league-high 34 national TV appearances. At the other end, the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, and Sacramento Kings each drew only two.
For Houston, the draw starts with Kevin Durant. Now 37, he’s still producing at an elite level, coming off a season in which he averaged 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists across 78 games. That performance earned him an All-Star nod in February, and the bigger conversation around him has shifted toward the finish line: can he close out his career with another title?
Durant already owns two NBA championships from his run with the Golden State Warriors, but that came after he joined a team fresh off a 73-9 season. A title in Houston would mean something very different, and that’s part of what makes this Rockets group so compelling.
The player most often mentioned as Durant’s top running mate is Alperen Sengun. The 24-year-old center was an All-Star for the second time last season, putting up 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in 72 games. The question now is whether he can take another step and raise his ceiling again in 2027.
Then there’s Amen Thompson, the other major piece of the conversation. The 23-year-old averaged 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists over 79 games and finished eighth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Entering his fourth season, there’s real hope he can break through for his first All-Star selection.
That mix - Durant’s veteran gravity, Sengun’s all-around growth, and Thompson’s rise - is why Houston has become one of the more watchable teams on the league’s radar. The Rockets finished fifth in the Western Conference standings last season, and that gives the roster something more than hype.
There’s already a proof of concept here, along with the possibility of a deeper playoff run next season. The NBA’s television schedule is basically saying the same thing.
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