Report: Houston Rockets didn’t see themselves as championship threats this season

The Houston Rockets took a major step forward in the 2024-25 campaign, winning 52 games in the regular season to nab the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference going into the playoffs.

While their playoff journey just came to an end in the first round at the hands of the Golden State Warriors, the Rockets showed tremendous fight in the series, which lasted seven games.

Now, Houston can turn its attention to the offseason, and although the franchise is likely disappointed by its elimination, the Rockets reportedly didn’t think the team was a championship threat this season.

“A season-ending Game 7 loss at home to the Golden State Warriors was only going to the dampen the self-belief that oozes from Fred VanVleet so much,” wrote NBA insider Jake Fischer.

“‘We’re on track,’ VanVleet told reporters Sunday night. ‘We’re on schedule.’

“It’s a viewpoint that, even in disappointment, is shared by Houston Rockets management. This maiden voyage into the postseason for the Rockets’ young core, their first taste of the playoffs since James Harden was Houston’s engine, delivered a lot of what team officials were hoping for from the 2024-25 season.

“The Rockets, league sources say, did not see themselves as a championship threat … not even after snagging the West’s No. 2 seed. They understand that the [Oklahoma City] Thunder, while even younger, are farther along in the chase for true contention. Yet much like Oklahoma City last season, Houston had been planning to use this entire season — especially the playoffs — to evaluate a roster filled with recent lottery picks. The plan was always to capitalize on the crucible of the postseason for crucial data collection before deciding what major swings, if any, to take this offseason.

“Now the Rockets, crushed as they obviously were to fall one step short in their comeback from 3-1 down against the Warriors and all those playoff-tested vets, will have several weeks to study these results.”

The Rockets, a much younger and inexperienced team than the Warriors, were underdogs going into the first round despite being the No. 2 seed. At one point, Houston was in danger of taking a quick exit, as the team fell behind 3-1 in the series, but it battled all the way back to force a Game 7 at home.

Unfortunately, the Rockets fell just short of completing the mission, with the Warriors rising to the occasion in Game 7 and advancing to the second round.

This was Houston’s first trip to the playoffs since the 2019-20 season, when Harden was still around. That was also the last time the Rockets won a playoff series. That drought will continue for a little while longer, but if Houston can add some help this offseason, the squad could become a real problem in the West moving forward.

There will likely be some options for the Rockets if they want to add some star power, and since they already have a nice foundation in place, they may be able to enter the championship conversation in one single offseason. Houston still hasn’t won an NBA title since the 1990s, but the future is bright for the franchise.

It isn’t terribly common for an organization to admit that it didn’t view its team as a championship threat in a season where it snagged a high seed, but the Rockets seem to be taking a rational approach as they enter a new era of winning.