Despite finishing with a 52-30 record, the Houston Rockets were only the fifth seed in the Western Conference last season. A year prior, the Rockets reached the same win total but were second place in the conference.
However, there’s reason to believe that Houston will improve on their win total from the past two seasons during the 2026-27 campaign, as timely additions and increased health should play a vital role. Marcus Smart, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Bruce Thornton headline the additions, while Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams are eager to return from injury.
Ahead of the 2026-27 season, Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. spoke about his expectations as he enters his fifth NBA season. “I think you’re gonna see a team that is a little bit more used to playing with each other. We added Kevin Durant last year; we just gotta adjust to playing with him,” said Smith Jr.
“Getting Fred back will be huge for us. And I think you’ll just see everybody older, obviously a lot better, more mature. (You’ll) see a lot better team next year for sure.”
Although Houston has a steady amount of contributors in their 30s, like Durant, VanVleet, Smart and Adams, the Rockets still have a tremendous amount of talent age 24 or younger. Those players being led by Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard and of course, Smith Jr. himself.
After averaging a career high of 15.8 points to go along with 6.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.9 blocks, Smith Jr. will hope to take another step this fall like the rest of Houston’s young core.
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Jabari Smith Jr. expects Rockets to be ‘more mature’ during 2026-27 season
Reporting by Mack Baltes, Rockets Wire / Rockets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mack Baltes, Rockets Wire | USA TODAY Network
