Things are looking great for the Houston Rockets heading into the upcoming NBA season. After finishing the regular season second in the Western Conference, just behind the eventual champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder and pushing the Golden State Warriors to seven games in the playoffs, this year they’ll be strengthened by the arrival of Kevin Durant.
On top of that, Alperen Sengun had a phenomenal EuroBasket tournament, where he barely missed out on MVP and gold with Turkey, but still made the All-Tournament First Team alongside Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. He is definitely in for the best season of his career.
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Ime Udoka, ahead of the new season, spoke about Durant’s arrival and the message he had for the young players like Sengun who lifted the Rockets so high last year.
“He’s a guy that doesn’t want (us) to just lean on him… that’s his message to a lot of the young guys: Be who you are, continue to grow in those areas and I’ll fit in where we see necessary,” Udoka stressed.
Durant can fit into any system
KD is someone with an extremely high basketball IQ and also the type of player who can fit into any system just based on his skillset. He’s aware that this team already showed last year that it has the potential for big things. The fact that he’s 37 years old surely also speaks to him not wanting the entire offensive load on his back and that players like Sengun need to keep developing in the direction they showed last season.
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At the end of the day, there’s also Amen Thompson, who is slowly turning into one of the league’s best two-way players.
The Sengun-Thoompson duo should become the Rockets’ foundation in the years to come, while KD, as the veteran presence, will be there to lift them to higher levels. Many believe that with the addition of Durant, the Rockets have legitimate chances to go all the way.
One of them is Shaquille O’Neal, who went so far as to call it the most underrated offseason move.
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“You know, I don’t pay attention to offseason, but I probably say, Kevin Durant going to Houston, probably can turn into something very special,” said Shaq. “The ‘Turkish Terminator,’ that’s what we call him and I actually love his game and hopefully they can put something special together.”
Houston has all the pieces heading into next season
Sengun should indeed be the key. A player who clearly showed potential to play at Nikola Jokic level (hence the Baby Jokic nickname) could complement Durant on the floor perfectly, while Thompson should have their backs along with a whole group of role players who, under Udoka’s firm hand, don’t shy away from doing the dirty work.
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It really does seem like Houston has all the pieces heading into next season.
Let’s remember that Udoka built this team’s identity last season on defensive toughness and the arrival of Durant is a clear sign that Houston no longer plans to wait to develop their young stars and build their identity in the coming years.
Durant’s arrival is confirmation that Houston want to go all the way next season, because trading away a young and upcoming star who was your leading scorer last year like Jalen Green for a 37-year-old who is in a win-now mindset clearly shows that Houston feel comfortable to push for the championship.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 15, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.