Why we Shouldn't Downplay the Rockets' Second Round Draft Picks

Some of the league's greatest players were selected in the second round.

Apr 2, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone talks on the court before the game against the Utah Jazz at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The 2026 NBA Draft is fast approaching. Next week, we'll see a litany of young men walk across the stage and shake NBA commissioner Adam Silver's hand, while donning a hat bearing an emblem of their next basketball home.

For the Houston Rockets, this year's draft will bear a similar look as last year's. The Rockets don't have a first-round draft selection. 

However, unlike last year, the Rockets do have draft picks. They have two second-round draft picks. 

Boring and uneventful, I know. To the masses, at least. Certainly to the casual sports fans. 

It's not like the NFL Draft, where you can land an impact player well past the first round. In fact, you're lucky if you walk away with a difference maker outside of the lottery range.

The Rockets, alone, are exhibit A of this. TyTy Washington, Josh Christopher, Usman Garuba all ring a bell?

None of them are even in the NBA anymore. In spite of this, it does still happen. 

Even in the second round. In fact, some of the greatest players in the history of the league were selected in the second round.

Denver Nuggets three-time MVP center Nikola Jokic was a second-round selection, in the 2014 NBA Draft, as Jokic was selected with the 41st pick. Golden State Warriors super defender and quasi-center Draymond Green was selected in the second round in the 2012 NBA Draft, as Green was selected 35th overall. 

The list goes on. San Antonio Spurs legendary Sixth Man Manu Ginobili was drafted in the second round (57th in the 1999 NBA Draft) -- a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as he was inducted in 2022.

In fact, each of the other two names will also be eventual Hall of Fame selections. And all have won NBA championships and been pivotal in their respective teams' championship paths. 

Speaking of which, Jalen Brunson, the NBA's most recent Finals MVP (of the 2026 New York Knicks championship geam), was also selected in the second round, much more recently. Brunson was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 33rd pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

The Rockets have an abundance of needs. They also need depth on the roster. Just because their draft picks are in the later stages of the draft doesn't mean they can't land a stud with one of their draft picks, if not both of them. 

Judging by the history laid out above, it's entirely possible.