The NBA offseason kicks off in earnest Tuesday evening with the first round of the draft.
The Houston Rockets currently don’t have a pick until Wednesday’s second round of the 2026 NBA draft. Here’s everything you need to know about the draft and the Rockets’ options.
The first round of the NBA draft starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday and will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN.
The league expanded the draft to a two-day event in 2024. Wednesday’s second round will start at the same time and will only be broadcast on ESPN.
If you’re outside the United States and Canada, you can stream the draft on NBA League Pass.
Houston has the 39th and 53rd picks in the draft.
It is unlikely, but not impossible, that a player picked in this range contributes to Houston’s squad next year. The learning curve in the NBA is steep and opportunities could be sparse on a Rockets team that has moved from a developmental phrase to a competitive one.
The Rockets traded away their 2026 first-round pick, No. 22, in a 2019 deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder that swapped Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook.
The Thunder then traded the pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jared McCain.
The Washington Wizards secured the first pick in May’s draft lottery. The Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies slot in at second and third, respectively.
BYU wing AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and Duke forward Cameron Boozer are the consensus top three options — but it remains unclear who will go with the top pick.
Guard Kingston Flemings is projected as a lottery pick, and center/forward Chris Cenac could go anywhere from the end of the lottery to late first round. Both are in New York for the event.