The Rockets may already have the hardest part of a rebuild in place: two young stars with real, championship-level upside. The question now is not whether Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun can help Houston win. It’s how the Rockets can build the right structure around them.
A useful place to look is the 2023 Denver Nuggets. That title team was built around Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon, and while Houston’s pair is not a perfect match, the framework offers something meaningful for the Rockets to study.
Sengun is the trickiest player in the comparison because his game is so unusual. He has often been linked to Jokic for the same reason: both are big men who can run an offense and create for teammates.
Sengun has that kind of hub potential, the sort that makes everyone around him better. But Jokic is still in a class of his own as a scorer and playmaker, and he has become an average defender over time.
Sengun still has steps to take before he gets anywhere near that level.
Thompson fits more cleanly into the Aaron Gordon lane, and that should be encouraging for Houston. Thompson is already an elite defender, and the source material goes even further by saying he has reached levels Gordon hasn’t matched. On top of that, his offensive ceiling points toward a player who could become even more dangerous than Gordon in that area.
What Houston does not yet have is the Murray piece. That’s the missing ingredient. Every contender needs someone who can generate offense on the ball when the game tightens up, and the Rockets would have a lot fewer questions about the Sengun-Thompson pairing if they had an elite shooter and late-game shot creator in that spot.
So the verdict is pretty clear: the Rockets have done the tough part by landing two legitimate young stars. Sengun and Thompson both come with flaws, but they also bring rare skills. The 2023 Nuggets are not a carbon copy, but they do offer a workable blueprint for how Houston can maximize this core.
The next step is development, and then one more big addition. If Rafael Stone and the Rockets’ front office eventually find that true late-game offensive creator, it could be the final piece that turns the Sengun-Thompson core into an NBA champion.
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The Rockets know what they need from Sengun now: more consistency, cleaner decision-making and a steadier defensive presence as the young core tries to mature together. Marcus Smarts arrival in free agency only sharpens that expectation, giving Houston another veteran voice as it looks to build on recent postseason runs. For Sengun, the challenge is less about proving he belongs and more about showing he can carry the weight that comes with being one of the faces of the franchise. [Read more 🡒]
Fred VanVleet Just Sent Rockets Fans A Huge Message About Next Season
Fred VanVleets lost season still hangs over Houston, but the point guard is already looking past it. After missing the entire 2025-26 campaign with a torn ACL, he has been progressing well in rehab and is working every day as he gets closer to full basketball activity, a sign the Rockets may not have to wait long to see him back on the floor.
VanVleet now expects to be ready for Houstons first preseason game ahead of the 2026-27 season, which matters for a team that kept winning through injuries and still reached the playoffs. Even after a strong regular season ended with a first-round exit, his message to Rockets fans was bigger than recovery alone, with VanVleet voicing confidence that this group can make a real championship push next year. [Read more 🡒]