The Houston Rockets have given Quadir Copeland a place on their opening-night roster, and NC State fans finally have their answer.
Copeland, the former Wolfpack guard, will begin the 2026-27 NBA season with Houston, making him the first former NC State player whose final college stop was Raleigh to land on an NBA opening-night roster since Dennis Smith Jr.
This route looked nothing like Smith’s. Smith was taken ninth overall in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Copeland went undrafted, then turned a strong senior season at NC State into a two-way deal with the Rockets in July. A solid Summer League showing followed, and Houston has now kept him as one of its three two-way players.
The Rockets’ final roster decisions included Oscar Tshiebwe and Julian Phillips alongside Copeland. He signed with Houston on July 7, shortly after the draft passed without his name being called.
A two-way contract is not the same as a standard NBA agreement, but it puts Copeland in the organization with a real chance to keep climbing. He’ll be tied to Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, while remaining eligible for up to 50 NBA regular-season games. Two-way players cannot appear in the NBA playoffs unless their contracts are converted to standard deals.
For the 2026-27 season, the full-season two-way salary is $678,882, which is half of the rookie minimum salary of $1,357,763. That gives Copeland a meaningful payday and, more importantly, a foothold in the league he has been chasing.
His case for the spot was built in Las Vegas. In five Summer League games, all starts, Copeland averaged 13.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.6 steals while shooting 57.9% from the field and 54.5% from three. He closed that run with his best performance, scoring 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting against Memphis.
His game log told the story of a player doing a little bit of everything: 14 points against Denver, 9 against Toronto, 6 against Philadelphia, 13 against Brooklyn and then the 24-point burst versus Memphis.
The preseason didn’t offer the same runway. Copeland appeared in all three of Houston’s preseason games, but he played just about nine minutes per contest and averaged 2.0 points, 0.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
He scored 3 points against Dallas on Oct. 9, 2 more in the rematch on Oct. 11 and 1 against Oklahoma City on Oct. 15.
That gap between Summer League and preseason minutes makes the challenge ahead pretty clear. Houston has an established roster, and Copeland is going to have to squeeze out his chances. Still, opening the season in the NBA is a major step.
The Rockets are betting on the player they saw in college and in the summer. Copeland’s senior year at NC State was the kind of season that gets attention: 13.9 points, 6.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game in 34 starts, along with shooting splits of 49.4% from the field, 39.7% from three and 77.5% at the line.
He led the ACC in assists and earned All-ACC Third Team honors. Nationally, he was one of only three Division I players to average at least 13 points, six assists and 1.7 steals per game.
After two seasons at Syracuse and one at McNeese State, Copeland spent one year in Raleigh and left a strong impression. Like DJ Burns before him, he became a fan favorite quickly, and that kind of presence tends to stick.
He also gives NC State something it has not had recently: a former Wolfpack player on an active NBA roster. Dennis Smith Jr. was the last one, appearing for the Brooklyn Nets in the 2023-24 season after being selected ninth overall by Dallas in 2017.
Copeland’s path is obviously different. He wasn’t drafted, but he forced his way into the conversation. Now he’s on Houston’s roster to start the season, and that alone is a big win for him and for the NC State program.
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