The Athletic’s David Aldridge: “Respect to GM Rafael Stone and Houston’s front office for not bowing at the OKC altar and shooting their shot.”
In a ranking of each NBA team’s 2025 offseason, it should come as no surprise that the Houston Rockets come in at the top.
After all, the Rockets made the biggest blockbuster acquisition by bringing in All-Star forward Kevin Durant, and that move has Houston among the top tier of contenders for the 2026 NBA Finals.
At The Athletic, veteran NBA reporter David Aldridge elaborates:
I’m not wholly sold this is going to be all rainbows and unicorns. Durant is still a great scorer, but like all great scorers, he needs the ball. So, too, do Alperen Şengün and Amen Thompson and (Jabari) Smith. Houston’s spent most of the last four years getting the ball to move better. Is isoing KD at the elbow the best way for this team to take the next step?
But, I understand; the Rockets’ offense crashed and burned against the Warriors in the playoffs. This is a gamble a championship-hunting organization takes. Getting DFS (Dorian Finney-Smith) from the Lakers was huge. Respect to GM Rafael Stone and Houston’s front office for not bowing at the OKC altar and shooting their shot.
While a fair concern, it’s worth noting that Durant provides more off-ball value as a shooter than many of his superstar peers. So, the hope is that there will still be sufficient on-ball opportunities for Houston’s emerging offensive talents —most notably, Thompson and Sengun.
Smith is more of a question, but there’s also a case to be made that Durant might be the optimal mentor to help the Auburn product further develop his game.
Either way, the talent upgrade is almost certainly worth those risks, and that’s why Aldridge ranks the Rockets at No. 1 among the 30 offseasons.
