Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors, Lakers, Knicks, Thunder Get Most Nationally Televised Games For 2025/26

August 15th, 2025 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

Having gone from two national broadcasting partners (ABC/ESPN and TNT) to three (ABC/ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime) ahead of the 2025/26 season, the NBA’s schedule will feature a significant increase in nationally televised games.

When the league unveiled its full regular season schedule on Thursday, it announced 237 nationally televised regular season matchups, along with the seven knockout round NBA Cup games whose participants aren’t yet known, for a total of 244 contests.

As Colin Salao of Front Office Sports writes in a subscriber story, the total number of nationally televised games is up by more than 40% from last season, when the league’s partners nationally broadcasted a total of 172 games.

Salao also points out that beginning in the middle of the season, when the NFL schedule starts winding down, the NBA will have national games every day of the week: Peacock on Monday; NBC/Peacock on Tuesday; ESPN on Wednesday; Amazon on Thursday; Amazon and ESPN on Friday; Amazon and ABC on Saturday; and ABC, NBC, and Peacock on Sunday.

Every team will be featured at least twice on the national TV broadcast schedule, with the Warriors, Lakers, Knicks, and defending champion Thunder leading the way with 34 appearances apiece.

Here’s the full breakdown of nationally televised games by team:

Golden State Warriors: 34
Los Angeles Lakers: 34
New York Knicks: 34
Oklahoma City Thunder: 34
Houston Rockets: 28
Minnesota Timberwolves: 28
Denver Nuggets: 26
Boston Celtics: 25
Cleveland Cavaliers: 24
Dallas Mavericks: 23
San Antonio Spurs: 22
Los Angeles Clippers: 21
Milwaukee Bucks: 18
Detroit Pistons: 16
Orlando Magic: 14
Philadelphia 76ers: 14
Atlanta Hawks: 13
Memphis Grizzlies: 10
Indiana Pacers: 9
Phoenix Suns: 9
Sacramento Kings: 9
Portland Trail Blazers: 8
Miami Heat: 5
Charlotte Hornets: 3
Chicago Bulls: 3
Brooklyn Nets: 2
New Orleans Pelicans: 2
Toronto Raptors: 2
Utah Jazz: 2
Washington Wizards: 2

Since nationally televised matchups are subject to change, there’s no guarantee that every team will ultimately end up being featured multiple times on the national stage.

As Salao points out, all 30 clubs showed up at least once on the national broadcast schedule initially announced for 2024/25, but the Wizards didn’t get any nationally televised games after having their lone contest replaced by a showdown between Cleveland and Oklahoma City.

Additionally, not every team this season will have a game aired on a traditional, non-streaming network — the only games featuring the Raptors or Wizards will air on either Peacock or Amazon Prime.

Western Notes: Wolves, Hyland, Dundon, Durant, Suns

August 14th, 2025 at 3:58pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Due to their proximity to the second tax apron, the Timberwolves may only carry 14 players on standard contracts to open the 2025/26 season, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. While Minnesota has checked in on several free agent guards, including Cameron Payne, Malcolm Brogdon and Landry Shamet, all signs point to Bones Hyland being the frontrunner for the 14th spot, Krawczynski reports.

Hyland signed a two-way contract with the Wolves last season, appearing in four games. As Krawczynski notes, Hyland was a former first-round pick by president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.

While breaking down the roster, Krawczynski writes that Johnny Juzang — who agreed to a training camp deal with the Wolves — is a long shot to make the cut but that Luka Garza forced his way onto the team with similar odds last year. Young players like Jaylen Clark, Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. are expected to have larger roles this season, Krawczynski adds.

We have more from the Western Conference:

A group led by the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon reached an agreement on Wednesday to buy the Trail Blazers. That group includes Sheel Tyle, co-CEO of Collective Global who is married to Dr. Sejal Hathi, the head of Oregon Health Authority, Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report writes (Substack subscriber link). The group’s local connection through Tyle is one of a few reasons why it stood out among the bidders, per Highkin.
After suggesting in a recent podcast that the Rockets might be reluctant to sign Kevin Durant to a maximum-salary extension, Tim MacMahon said on an NBA Today appearance that there isn’t any urgency to complete a multiyear agreement. MacMahon said the Rockets have other matters to attend to, including an extension for Tari Eason. “Kevin Durant is their best player, he’s not necessarily their priority,” MacMahon said. “That’s not an insult to him, their priority is making sure they have as long of a runway as possible while trying to cash in on this window that they created by getting Kevin Durant.“
Plenty of “ifs” stand in the way of the Suns making the playoffs, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports writes. While they could be a surprise team if things break the right way, Bourguet has them just on the outside looking in of the Western Conference playoff picture for next season, sitting at No. 11 in his conference power rankings. The Suns basically remade their depth after trading away Durant and waiving Bradley Beal, adding the likes of Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams via trades.

Pelicans’ Missi, Rockets’ Okogie Playing In AfroBasket

August 13th, 2025 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

While it lacks the star power of the upcoming EuroBasket tournament, FIBA’s 2025 AfroBasket event, which tipped off on Tuesday, features a pair of NBA players. Second-year Pelicans center Yves Missi is suiting up for Cameroon, while veteran Rockets wing Josh Okogie is representing Nigeria.

Both players got off to strong starts on Wednesday in their teams’ first AfroBasket games. Missi contributed 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists in 24 minutes to help lead Cameroon to an 86-65 win over Tunisia, while Okogie had five points, five assists, four rebounds, and a +12 on/off mark in 27 minutes of action during Nigeria’s 77-59 victory over Madagascar.

Jonathan Kuminga was listed on the preliminary roster for the Democratic Republic of Congo, but isn’t suiting up for the team as his restricted free agent standoff with the Warriors extends well into the offseason.

Still, there are several other former NBA players taking part in the tournament, as the full list of rosters shows.

Bruno Fernando (Angola), Edy Tavares (Cape Verde), Matt Costello (Côte d’Ivoire), Christian Eyenga (Democratic Republic of Congo), Mamadi Diakite (Guinea), Ibou Badji (Senegal), Karim Mané (Senegal), and Wenyen Gabriel (South Sudan) are among the names that may be familiar to NBA fans, with Tavares (14 points, 19 rebounds) and Costello (12 points, 11 rebounds, six assists) submitting big performances en route to victories in their first group play games.

A handful of notable former NBA players are also on the sidelines as coaches for the event, including Luol Deng for South Sudan, DeSagana Diop for Senegal, and Sam Vincent for Libya, observes Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).

AfroBasket’s field is made up of 16 national teams divided into four groups of four teams apiece. Each squad faces the other clubs in its group once during the preliminary round; the top-ranked team in each group after those three games advances directly to the quarterfinals, while the eight second- and third-place teams square off in “play-in” games to earn quarterfinal berths.

Group play will continue through Sunday, with the play-in games for the knockout round held next Monday and Tuesday. The quarterfinals will take place on August 20 and 21, with the semifinals played on Aug. 23 and the final (and third-place game) on Aug. 24.

Thunder Notes: Ring Night, Durant, Hartenstein, Sorber

August 9th, 2025 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder fans shouldn’t get distracted by the presence of Kevin Durant at their ring night celebration, writes Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated. According to a Friday report, Durant’s first game with the Rockets will kick off the new NBA season on October 21 at Oklahoma City, which is when the home team will be honored for capturing the city’s first-ever championship.

Durant has a long and complicated history with OKC fans. He was their first hero when the team moved from Seattle in 2008 and led them to the NBA Finals in 2012. However, a rift was created when he left for Golden State as a free agent four years later and he usually gets loudly booed during visits to Oklahoma City.

Stiles encourages fans to look past their feud with Durant for at least one night and savor the ring presentations and the raising of the championship banner. Stiles doesn’t expect forgiveness, but he said the crowd should celebrate the accomplishments of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates, who were able to accomplish something for the franchise that Durant never did.

There’s more on the Thunder:

After winning 68 games and bringing home the championship, there are reasons to believe OKC will be even better next season, Stiles suggests in a separate story. Fourteen players return from the title team, with first-round pick Thomas Sorber replacing Dillon Jones on the 15-man roster. The team figures to benefit from internal development with so many young players, plus 2024 lottery pick Nikola Topic will be active after missing all of last season due to injury. In addition, several contenders have taken a step back so the Thunder’s path through the regular season might be easier.
A $28.5MM team option on center Isaiah Hartenstein will be the Thunder’s major decision for next summer, Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman states in a mailbag column. While it’s possible that Hartenstein could agree to a new deal with a smaller average annual value, Martinez notes that re-signing him may mean parting with Luguentz Dort ($17.7MM) and Kenrich Williams ($7.2MM), who will also be on team options. Martinez views Hartenstein as the most likely of the three to be let go because his salary is so large.
The Thunder can afford to be patient with Sorber if he’s not fully ready in time for training camp, Martinez adds in the same piece. The 19-year-old big man underwent surgery in February for a turf toe injury and missed all of Summer League, even though he was able to work out individually during practices. There has been no official word on Sorber’s status, and he said at a post-draft press conference that he was “just taking it day-by-day.”

Rockets Reluctant To Give Kevin Durant Max Extension?

August 9th, 2025 at 6:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

In the latest episode of The Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), ESPN’s Tim MacMahon indicated that the Rockets appear reluctant to sign Kevin Durant to a maximum-salary extension — or anything close to it.

“The Rockets aren’t going to go all-in — by all appearances and by what I’ve heard — they’re not going all-in on an extension for Kevin Durant,” MacMahon said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “Now, doesn’t mean it won’t happen. But there have been rumblings of, ‘Hey, KD is not going to push for the full max.’ I don’t know that the Rockets are going to put anything on the table that’s close to the max.

“I think the Rockets are like ‘it’s not ideal,’ but I don’t think they would panic if they go into the season with Kevin Durant on the contract that he’s on, just on the expiring deal.”

Durant will make $54.7MM during the upcoming season on the final year of his current contract. Since the trade to Houston became official on July 6, he has been eligible for a two-year extension worth roughly $118.7MM. Waiting until January 6 would allow him to tack on nearly $2MM to his maximum extension value.

For what it’s worth, one source Kurt Helin of NBC Sports spoke to at Summer League suggested Durant might accept an extension for around $100MM over two years.

Houston was reported as one of Durant’s preferred destinations when Phoenix was going through the trade process, so the possibility of him leaving after one season may be minimized. Because they obtained him in a trade, the Rockets would hold full Bird rights on Durant if he does become a free agent next summer. He’ll remain extension-eligible all season and could sign as late as June 30, 2026 to avoid free agency.

Brian Windhorst of the Hoop Collective points out that general manager Rafael Stone has been cautious about overextending his resources. Most of his signings have been short-term, including recent deals with Fred VanVleet and Dorian Finney-Smith, and the long-term contracts he gave to Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. are viewed as good values around the league.

Windhorst adds that the Rockets seem to be prioritizing financial flexibility for the summer of 2027. VanVleet’s new contract covers two seasons, while Finney-Smith only has two years of guaranteed money. Smith and Steven Adams will both see their salaries decline after the 2026/27 season.

On the same podcast, Tim Bontemps credits Stone for “understanding the new economic environment the league is in.” He suggests that Stone’s restraint will help the team better navigate the apron structure once expected extensions for Tari Eason, Amen Thompson and possibly Reed Sheppard eventually kick in.

“The Rockets have done a remarkable job of showing fiscal discipline and restraint all the way through,” Bontemps said. “And I think if they can continue to do that, they’re going to have a real advantage over the competition, because we’ve seen other teams not do that. And I think it’s going to bite them later.”

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Look Ahead At Potential 2026 Free Agents

August 8th, 2025 at 9:59pm CST by Eli Cohen

Free agency is not the headline event it once was in the NBA, as a large portion of the top players on the market tend to extend, like Luka Doncic did last weekend with the Lakers, or move in trades rather than signing with new teams. However, there are still likely to be talented players available and ready to contribute to new situations, as Zach Harper details for The Athletic.

Teams like the Lakers, Clippers, and Heat have made an effort to keep their flexibility for next year, write Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton for ESPN. However, those teams are also expected to try to maintain cap space for 2027, a summer in which multiple MVPs – Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic – could potentially reach the market, though of course neither is guaranteed to be available.

The Celtics will also likely look to retool their roster next summer after trading away key contributors in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis for salary cap relief, as they seek to rebuild their roster into a contender around Tatum once he has recovered from his Achilles tear.

Trae Young, with a $48.9MM player option for the 2026/27 season, has the potential to be one of the top names on the board, and while Harper expresses confidence that an extension with the Hawks will get done, there have been rumors that it’s far from a certainty, and that next season could serve as an evaluation period for the Hawks’ core under a new head of basketball operations.

Other high-end veterans with player options for ’26/27 include James Harden (Clippers), Zach LaVine (Kings), Draymond Green (Warriors), Austin Reaves (Lakers), Andrew Wiggins (Heat), Fred VanVleet (Rockets), and Bradley Beal (Clippers). Harper considers Harden, Green, and Reaves very likely to remain with their current teams, and VanVleet also relatively likely to stay, though the Rockets have some level of flexibility in regard to the future of their roster.

Then there are the unrestricted free agents. As of this moment, LeBron James (Lakers) and Kevin Durant (Rockets) represent the cream of the crop, but there are other talented players such as Porzingis (Hawks), Anfernee Simons (Celtics), Coby White (Bulls), and others who are sure to garner suitors.

For what it’s worth, Durant has been widely expected to extend with Houston, but James is ineligible to be extended prior to free agency and White’s salary is so modest relative to his value that he’s considered likely to wait until he can get a bigger payday on the free agent market.

One interesting inflection point will be players on team options, such as Isaiah Hartenstein and Luguentz Dort on the Thunder, and Bogdan Bogdanovic and Brook Lopez on the Clippers. The Thunder, particularly, could have some tough decisions to make on their role players soon as lucrative extensions take effect for stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams.

Christmas Day Schedule Includes Thunder-Spurs, Rockets-Lakers

August 8th, 2025 at 6:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

The NBA’s highly anticipated Christmas Day schedule has been revealed, courtesy of ESPN’s Shams Charania (via Twitter). The five-game slate is heavy on Western Conference powerhouses, with just one game coming from the Eastern Conference, in a matchup of what is expected to be the top two teams in the Cavaliers and Knicks.

This will be the first Christmas Day game for the Cavaliers in the post-LeBron James era, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Their last December 25 game came in 2017.

Following the Eastern Conference matchup, the Spurs will travel to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder, as Victor Wembanyama squares off against Chet Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Williams.

Kevin Durant and the Rockets will then duel LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the Lakers in a clash of teams balancing championship aspirations with their Hall-of-Fame veterans and younger future-facing casts. The Rockets last played a Christmas Day game in 2019, writes Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle.

The final two matchups of the night will see the Mavericks face off against the Warriors, and finally, the Timberwolves going up against the retooled Nuggets in a battle of Northwest Division powerhouses.

As Marc Stein notes (via Twitter), between the Christmas Day schedule and the reported opening night schedule, the league has chosen not to highlight a Mavericks-Lakers matchup on either of these two anticipated dates. Instead, Stein reports (via Twitter), the battle of Doncic’s current and former teams will likely occur at the end of November during the NBA Cup.

As Law Murray of the Athletic notes (via Twitter), only three teams that won at least 49 games last season aren’t featured on the Christmas Day slate. Those teams are the Celtics and Pacers, who are expected to take a step back as their stars (Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton) recover from Achilles tears, and the Clippers, who will not play on Christmas for the fifth year in a row.

Rockets/Thunder, Warriors/Lakers To Play On Opening Night

August 8th, 2025 at 4:45pm CST by Eli Cohen

The 2025/26 NBA season will tip off on October 21 with a pair of Western Conference matchups, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (via Twitter).

The Rockets will go up against the 2024 title-winning Thunder to open the evening, followed by the Warriors at the Lakers.

This means Kevin Durant, on the new-look Rockets, will be heading to Oklahoma City on the night the Thunder receive their championship rings. Meanwhile, Stephen Curry will go up against LeBron James for the 57th time in their careers.

While the Mavericks were not tapped with an opening night game, Marc Stein of the Stein Line reports (via Twitter) that their season will start on October 22 against the Spurs in what is sure to be a much-anticipated showdown between this year’s No. 1 pick, Cooper Flagg and 2023’s top pick Victor Wembanyama, as well as this year’s No. 2 selection Dylan Harper.

Stein also notes (via Twitter) that the league has announced that group play for the NBA Cup will take place between October 31 and November 28 this season.

Southwest Notes: Lively, Flagg, Giannis, Wembanyama, Sengun, Durant, Smith Jr.

August 4th, 2025 at 6:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks center Dereck Lively II has only two years of NBA experience but he’s playing a mentorship role to top pick Cooper Flagg, according to Jake Rogers of Dallas Hoops Journal. Naturally, they have a college connection, as both were one-and-dones at Duke.

“I’ve probably known him for a couple of years now, at least two or three,” Lively said. “He’s always been the same smiling, joking kid. I’m glad he’s been able to stay grounded, not letting the spotlight overwhelm him. Whether he’s in the gym or hanging out at the house, he’s always just being Coop.”

Lively has stayed in frequent contact with Flagg since the draft.

“I’m making sure he feels as comfortable as possible, giving him any little detail or advice. I remember how frightened I was at 19. He’s only 18,” Lively said.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has carved out a Hall of Fame worthy career but he’s also into collecting memorabilia of other NBA superstars. His current target is Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, he told Brooks Peck of The Athletic during an appearance at the National Sports Collector Convention. “I want Wemby’s first rookie card ever,” Antetokounmpo said. “I think he’s gonna be one of the best players in the league in the next couple of years. I think he will have a very great career moving forward, so — maybe like a jersey, his first jersey or his first basketball shoe when he played his first NBA game, or the first ball that he played with and scored his very first point. You gotta go with Wemby, Steph (Curry), LeBron (James), MJ (Michael Jordan). Those are great investments.”
Rockets center Alperen Sengun believes the offense will thrive with the addition of Kevin Durant. Sengun, who will play for Turkey in EuroBasket, made his comments to Anadolu, Turkey’s state-run news agency (hat tip to RocketsWire). “I’m excited to play with Durant. Everyone is excited to play with him. It doesn’t matter his age — ultimately, he’s Kevin Durant. I have no doubt he will bring a lot to the team,” Sengun said. “He’s very experienced, and we have some very young players. I think he’ll open up the game for us. He’s incredibly effective both offensively and defensively.”
Along the same lines, Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. said he believes playing with Durant will be a learning experience, RocketsWire relays via an interview with Space City Home Network’s Vanessa Richardson. “Kevin Durant is one of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball,” Smith said. “It’s going to be great for me to learn from him, and see what he does, day-to-day… and just soak up as much game as I can. It’s going to be fun playing alongside him and going to battle with him.”

And-Ones: Hollis-Jefferson, LeBron, Sophomores, G. Arenas

July 31st, 2025 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

After recently going viral on NBA Twitter for a tweet in which he made his case for an NBA roster spot, veteran forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson spoke to Cyro Asseo of HoopsHype about his quest to get back into the league.

“I feel like, given the time I was in the NBA, I think it was very important for me to self-reflect and think about all the things that I could have done differently that kind of shaped me into the person I am today,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “I was just sitting there the other day thinking about it. I was thinking about it all, man. Just where I’m at, how far I’ve come, the growth, the experiences, everything that I’ve been through.

“… It was one of those days where your wheels are turning. And I said, man, I should be in the NBA, dude. I know everyone knows how hard I work, how much I care about basketball, but that’s really where it stemmed from.”

A first-round pick in 2015, Hollis-Jefferson appeared in 305 regular season games for three teams from 2015-21. While he has been out of the NBA for four years, he has continued to compete in professional leagues around the world, spending time in Turkey, Puerto Rico, South Korea, the Philippines, and Lebanon.

Still just 30 years old, Hollis-Jefferson says a desire to be closer to home is a big part of the reason why he’d love to make it back to the NBA.

“Just wanting to be on that big stage and really, really wanting to be closer to home, to be closest to my kids,” he said. “It’s one thing for them to take a max five-hour flight to, say, California, versus a 20-hour travel day to Asia or somewhere else.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Despite some speculation that a recent meeting between LeBron James, his business partner Maverick Carter, and Nikola Jokic‘s agent Misko Raznatovic was a recruiting trip, they were actually discussing plans for an international basketball league that is being spearheaded by Carter, multiple sources tell Ben Horney, Daniel Roberts, and Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com identifies the 10 most interesting second-year NBA players he’ll be watching in 2025/26. Woo’s list includes first-year standouts, like reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, players recovering from major injuries, such as Thunder guard Nikola Topic and Sixers guard Jared McCain, and youngsters who will be in line for major role increases as sophomores, including Rockets guard Reed Sheppard.
Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas was among six people arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of hosting illegal high-stakes poker games at a mansion in Los Angeles owned by Arenas, according to a report from The Associated Press. The press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office detailing the specifics of the case can be found right here.
A man has been found guilty for second-degree murder in the killing of former NBA forward Adreian Payne, per Silas Morgan and Cristobal Reyes of The Orlando Sentinel (susbcription required). Lawrence Alexander Dority, who shot and killed Payne in May 2022, claimed that he thought the 31-year-old was reaching for a gun and cited self-defense, but Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigators concluded Payne didn’t have a weapon on him and that he didn’t pose a threat to Dority, who is scheduled to be sentenced on August 29.