Rockets Having One of Best Shooting Seasons in Franchise History

After the Houston Rockets traded away their franchise player, James Harden, in the 2021 season, they began the rebuilding phase. They knew that it would be a hard few seasons as they transitioned to the next era of Rockets basketball.

Most rebuilding teams are mainly playing young players and dont really have an identity as they lose more games than they win. That was the case for the Rockets, who only won 61 games over three years. During that time, the Rockets struggled on both ends of the court, and teams didn't take them seriously as they became almost automatic wins on most nights.

The Rockets knew it was time for a change, as they were ready to move from a rebuilding team to one prepared to compete for wins each night. That meant bringing in more veterans and a different head coach. The Rockets wanted to change their identity from a team with no direction and no discipline to a tough, defensive-minded team.

The Rockets did that by hiring one of the best coaches in the NBA, Ime Udoka, who is known as a defense-first head coach. The Rockets also signed Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet, both hard-nosed players who play hard every play. The additions led to immediate results, as the Rockets became one of the best defensive and rebounding teams in the NBA the following two seasons.

That is still true this season as the Rockets are still one of the better defensive teams in the NBA and still dominate on the boards night in and night out. However, the Rockets have added another part to their identity this season: one of the best shooting teams in the NBA.

The Rockets are having one of their best shooting seasons in franchise history

The Rockets have went from a middle of the road shooting team which they have been at best the last two seasons to a juggernaut on offense. The Rockets rank first in 3-point percentage after finishing in the bottom ten the past several seasons and have improved their free throw percentage by almost six percentage points.

They ranked last in the NBA in free throw percentage last season a problem that cost them several games throughout the season. The Rockets 42 percent from downtown would be the second-best season in NBA history only behind the 1996-97 Charlotte Hornets. That's right better than any season during the Golden State Warriors run.

What makes it even more remarkable is the fact that almost no one saw it coming to start the season. Yes, the Rockets added Kevin Durant who is one of the best offensive players in history but most believed the Rockets would still struggle at times on offense especially after the injury to Fred VanVleet.

The Rockets free throw percentage this season would rank as the fifth best in franchise history and even though it is middle of the pack in the NBA this season it is still a remarkable turnaround after finishing last in the NBA in 2024-25.

The season has just begun and the Rockets have only played 15 games which is less than a fourth of the season but 15 games is a long stretch and not a small sample size. More than likely the Rockets shooting especially from the 3-point line will drop at some point but the fact that they are this good 15 games in the season is one of the biggest suprises in the NBA and a big reason the Rockets have one of the best records in the league.