After finishing last season with the NBA’s fourth-best record, ESPN also ranks the Rockets at No. 4 in its latest list of future draft outlooks.
With future first-round draft equity held via their own choices and assets from the Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns, and Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets are in a lucrative position.
Not only did the Rockets finished with the NBA’s fourth-best record (52-30) in the recently completed 2024-25 season, but they also have the fourth-best inventory of future picks, according to May 2025 rankings from ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Jeremy Woo.
That’s a unique combination, since most good teams rank near the bottom of future draft rankings. After all, many have had to cash in those types of assets on the trade market in order to land a team of such quality. Additionally, draft picks from winning franchises are often low in each year’s order, due to the projected strength of that team’s roster.
But under general manager Rafael Stone, Houston is in a rare position where it can potentially build a sustainable contender. That’s due in large part to an ability to continually supplement its team in place with talented young prospects, with many obtained via high selections from other teams that are struggling. Houston drafted Reed Sheppard at No. 3 in 2024 with a pick obtained from Brooklyn, while its No. 10 selection in 2025 is via Phoenix.
Another option, of course, is to eventually trade some of those assets for a marquee veteran acquisition (Giannis Antetokounmpo, anyone?) that can further improve Houston’s roster.
ESPN’s Woo summarizes the outlook:
If Sheppard’s limited role this season is any indicator, the Rockets’ depth and quality means it’s not a given that whomever they draft (at No. 10 overall in 2025) will need to play consistent minutes under coach Ime Udoka. Though some roster consolidation will eventually be in order, the Rockets are in a strong situation, holding both future draft capital and emerging young talent. That all suggests that Houston can go whatever direction it wants with this pick, whether that’s swinging on the prospect with the most upside (as the Rockets often do), or using it as a trade chip to move the roster closer to contention.
As things stand, Houston’s draft outlook beyond 2025 (per ESPN) features nine future first-round picks; only one outgoing selection (a top-four-protected pick to Oklahoma City in 2026); and seven second-round choices.
Factoring in the NBA’s Stepien rule, which prevents teams from being without first-round selections in consecutive future drafts, this allows the Rockets to trade as many as five first-round picks in a single deal. However, there are ways to creatively get around that rule, in some circumstances.
According to ESPN’s list, the only three NBA teams with superior future draft outlooks are the Oklahoma City Thunder (No. 1), the Nets (No. 2), and the Utah Jazz (No. 3). The latter two were among the league’s worst teams last season.
In ESPN’s previous rankings from last September (just prior to 2024-25), the Rockets were fifth in the league — trailing the same three teams and San Antonio. However, the Spurs have since fallen to No. 13 after cashing in a number of those future draft assets in a February 2025 trade with the Sacramento Kings for De’Aaron Fox.
