Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are the NBA’s most dramatic redemption story, and the speed of their transformation from laughingstock to legitimate contender has been nothing short of astonishing. Founded in 1967, the Rockets won back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995 behind Hakeem Olajuwon’s otherworldly post play — titles that were sneered at because Jordan was playing baseball, as if Olajuwon needed an asterisk for being brilliant at the wrong time. Toyota Center, an 18,055-seat arena in downtown Houston, now hosts a team that has gone from tanking punchline to second seed with a velocity that has left the rest of the Western Conference scrambling.

Under Ime Udoka, the Rockets finished 52-30 in 2024-25, claiming the second seed in the West through a combination of young talent development and defensive intensity that Udoka has made his coaching signature. Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, and a crop of high draft picks have matured faster than anyone outside Houston’s front office predicted, and the result is a roster that competes with genuine menace rather than youthful enthusiasm. The rebuild is over. The contention window is open.

For Australian fans, the Rockets carried Jock Landale on their 2024-25 roster, and the Melbourne-born centre provided exactly what championship-calibre teams need from their bench: efficient, reliable, no-ego production. Landale appeared in 42 games, averaging 4.8 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 53.3% from the field and 42.3% from three — the kind of numbers that do not make highlight reels but absolutely win basketball games.

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The Rockets enter 2025-26 as one of the Western Conference’s most dangerous teams, and the speed of their ascent has left the league genuinely startled. Udoka’s defensive intensity, the young core’s accelerated development, and a front office that has made consistently excellent decisions have produced a team that is years ahead of schedule. With Landale having been part of the 2024-25 roster, Australian fans have a direct connection to a franchise that is no longer rebuilding but genuinely contending. Houston’s story is the best argument in the NBA for doing things right rather than doing things quickly — though in this case, they managed both.

VS — Chief sports columnist, australiafootball.com