It has been over a year since the Houston Rockets acquired Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns, which has led to a balance between young stars and a veteran roster.
Speaking with Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr., the franchise has seen immense growth since adding Durant, drawing on the experience of consecutive postseasons.
In addition, floor general Fred VanVleet is expected to play healthy this upcoming season after suffering a torn right ACL during a team minicamp in late September 2025.
“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, just gotta adjust to playing with him…obviously anybody can play with him. Just tendencies, getting Fred back will be huge for us. And I think you’ll just see everybody older, obviously a lot better, more mature. See a lot better team next year for sure,” Smith Jr. said.
The 23-year-old wing expressed excitement about competing with Durant for another season, where he kept on learning small details.
“It’s just gonna be full speed from the jump. You think at that age obviously you don’t wanna warm up. We get off the training table and from there it’s 100% full speed. Every rep is a game rep…it makes you do that. So I think I’ve definitely learned that from him just making every practice rep fast in the game, repping to make the game easier. Everything you hear is real, his work ethic is real, how hard he works is real,” he added.
Houston has a bright future along with rising stars such as Smith Jr, who averaged 15.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists over 77 games played in the previous regular season.
