[OFFICIAL] 2025-2026 Power Rankings thread

https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2025-26-week-7

#3
Houston RocketsLast Week:3
Record: 13-4

OffRtg: 122.3 (2) DefRtg: 110.3 (2) NetRtg: +12.0 (2) Pace: 97.7 (27)

After losing a nail-biter to the Nuggets, the Rockets have won three straight games, including two (against teams with winning records) without Kevin Durant.

Three takeaways

• The Rockets’ win in Phoenix last Monday was the first time that they’ve held an opponent under a point per possession, something they did 13 times (five times before Dec. 1) last season. They’ve climbed to second defensively and are now the only team in the top five on both ends of the floor.

• With league-wide free throw rate having seen a huge jump, 28 of the 30 teams have a higher opponent rate than they did last season. But the Rockets have seen a relatively small jump, ranking sixth after ranking 19th last season.

• Reed Sheppard got his first two starts of the season in Durant’s absence, scoring a career-high 31 points (and hitting Amen Thompson with a clutch dime) in the Rockets win at Golden State on Wednesday. He remained in the lineup (with Josh Okogie going to the bench) upon Durant’s return on Sunday afternoon, having played just 31 total minutes alongside the Rockets’ four full-time starters prior to that. That lineup has now outscored opponents by 28 points (23.2 per 100 possessions) in its 42 minutes through Sunday.

Coming up: The Rockets have the league’s easiest December schedule in regard to cumulative opponent winning percentage (.405), but their win in Utah on Sunday was the start of their first stretch of five games in seven days. Durant didn’t play in their win over the Suns last week, so he’ll get his first shot at his former team on Friday.

Week 7: @ UTA, vs. SAC, vs. PHX, @ DAL
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https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2025-26-week-8

#4
Houston RocketsLast Week:3↓
Record: 15-6

OffRtg: 121.4 (4) DefRtg: 110.7 (2) NetRtg: +10.8 (2) Pace: 98.2 (27)

The Rockets got a quality win without Alperen Sengun (illness) on Friday, shooting 59% as they improved to 2-0 against the Suns. But they had their worst defensive game of the season the following night (without Sengun and Steven Adams) in Dallas.

Three takeaways

• Though they continue to have the best offensive rebounding percentage in the last 30 years, the Rockets aren’t winning the possession battle by as much as they did last season. Turnovers were an issue (43 total) in the two weekend games without Sengun and the Rockets have now committed 1.9 fewer turnovers per 100 possessions with him on the floor (15.2 per 100) than they have with him off the floor (17.1).

• The Rockets continue to rank last in 3-point rate (32.7%) and their win over the Kings on Wednesday was the only time this season that a team took less than 20% of its shots from beyond the arc. The loss in Dallas was just the second time (the first was their loss to the Nuggets) that they’ve been outscored on both 2-point shots and free throws.

• The 13-point loss in Dallas was also the Rockets’ first defeat in a game that wasn’t within five in the last five minutes. They remain in the top five on both ends of the floor and still have the league’s second-best point differential (plus-10.6 per game), that of a team that’s 17-4.

Coming up: The loss in Dallas was also the end of the Rockets’ first stretch of five games in seven days. They lost the back end of their first two back-to-backs of the season, but are now playing just twice over the next 11 days, with their first meeting with the Clippers coming on Thursday night.

Week 8: vs. LAC
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https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2025-26-week-9

#3
Houston RocketsLast Week:4↑
Record: 16-6

OffRtg: 121.4 (4) DefRtg: 111.0 (2) NetRtg: +10.3 (2) Pace: 98.0 (27)

The Rockets struggled to put away the Clippers on Thursday, but they escaped with a two-point win to stay even with the Nuggets in the loss column at the top of Tier 2 in the West.

Three takeaways

• The Rockets continue to have the highest offensive rebounding percentage in the 30 seasons for which we have play-by-play data (41.5%), and their 53.8% on Thursday was the highest single-game mark for any team this season. The go-ahead bucket, a tip-in from Amen Thompson with 17.2 seconds left, came on their fifth shot of the possession. Their offensive rebounding percentage in the clutch is 50.7%.

• Josh Okogie was the fifth starter for the fourth straight game, but bench minutes were critical. The Rockets regained control with a 16-2 run spanning the third and fourth quarters. Reed Sheppard was on the floor instead of Okogie down the stretch, and Aaron Holiday drew an offensive foul on Kawhi Leonard with a two-point lead and less than 15 seconds left. Tari Eason has missed the last 11 games, but the Rockets’ bench still ranks second in the league, behind only that of the Thunder.

• Sheppard has an effective field goal percentage of 60.7%, up from 45.2% last season. That’s the biggest jump among 224 players with at least 200 field goal attempts last season and at least 100 this season.

Coming up: The Rockets are probably going home after their game in Denver on Monday, but they’re playing their next six games on the road, a stretch that includes another trip to Denver and concludes with their Christmas Day game against the Lakers.

Week 9: @ DEN, @ NOP, @ DEN, @ SAC


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blow it up

https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2025-26-week-10

#6
Houston RocketsLast Week:3↓
Record: 17-9

OffRtg: 121.0 (4) DefRtg: 112.1 (4) NetRtg: +8.9 (2) Pace: 97.7 (28)

The Rockets have suddenly lost three of their last four games, sliding from third to sixth place in the West. But all three losses came in overtime and they remain in the top four on both ends of the floor.

Three takeaways

• Two of those overtime losses came against the Pelicans and Kings, with the Rockets suffering some brutal collapses both nights. Their 25-point lead in New Orleans was the largest blown lead in the league this season, and they were up 14 with less than 10 minutes left in Sacramento. The Rockets (two) and Wizards (two) have four of the league’s five losses after leading by at least 14 in the final 12 minutes of regulation. Tari Eason returned from a 14-game absence on Sunday and scored 16 points in less than 16 minutes, but left Dennis Schröder alone in the left corner for the game-winning 3-pointer.

• Those were also two games where the Rockets allowed bottom-five offenses to score efficiently. They’ve allowed more than 120 points per 100 possessions in four of their nine December games, having done so zero times through 17 games in October and November. Reed Sheppard is near the top of the league in deflections per 36 minutes, but despite their size everywhere else in the rotation, the Rockets just don’t force many turnovers (just 11.1 per 100 possessions over this 1-3 stretch).

• These last four games have also been a wild road stretch where the Rockets went from Denver to New Orleans, back to Denver, and then on to Sacramento for the second game of a back-to-back, with Kevin Durant and Amen Thompson both playing more than 45 minutes on Sunday. The Rockets have played the league’s most road-heavy schedule to date, with only 10 of their 26 games having come at the Toyota Center, and they still have two more games on their current trip.

Coming up: The Rockets are now 1-4 within the top six in the West, though they’ve been outscored by a total of just four points over those five games. Their first game against the Lakers will also be their first Christmas game since 2019 and the end of their five-game road trip. It’ll be the 44th career meeting between Kevin Durant and LeBron James, with James having a 24-19 edge to date.

Week 10: @ LAC, @ LAL, vs. CLE

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