“I think we’ve built something around work ethic and toughness,” Rockets GM Rafael Stone tells Space City Home Network’s Vanessa Richardson.
Between Tilman Fertitta as owner, Rafael Stone as general manager, and Ime Udoka as head coach, the current Houston Rockets have a level of tenacity in their leadership ranks.
The same can also be said of the team’s veteran on-court leaders, most notably guard Fred VanVleet, forward Dillon Brooks, and center Steven Adams.
As Stone sees it, that type of culture is beneficial to the development of younger players. Houston currently has a “young core” consisting of seven first-round prospects (Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore, and Reed Sheppard) obtained from the NBA’s 2021 through 2024 draft cycles.
All were 23 years old or younger last season, which means they’re at a highly impressionable stage of their development. In an exclusive interview with Space City Home Network’s Vanessa Richardson, the in-game, sideline reporter for Houston’s regional TV broadcasts, Stone elaborated on the dynamic:
It starts with Tilman, but I think there’s a certain personality type that is going to do better here, than others. Ime definitely fits that. He fits Tilman really well, and he fits me really well. The three of us all kind of approach life in the same way, and so I think that bleeds into our players.
When you bring in guys that are this young, they’re trying to figure out how to be professionals. Some of it is you observe it, and then you do it. That’s one of the great things about having a team this young. My personality, Ime’s personality, Fred’s personality, Dillon’s personality, Steven’s personality… all of us share a lot of the same characteristics.
I think for our young players, it just becomes what you do. This is how you’re successful. I think we’ve built something around work ethic and toughness.
In 2024-25, that formula led the Rockets (52-30) to the fourth-best record in the NBA and the second-best in the Western Conference. Relative to a 22-60 finish (under previous head coach Stephen Silas) and a 41-41 record in Udoka’s first season, this was a year of clear progress for the franchise.
Yet, Houston still has a ways to go to become a top-tier title contender, and Stone accepts the challenge as the organization turns its focus to 2025-26.
“Right now, (the goal) is getting better over the course of the summer,” Stone told Richardson. “That’s what is in front of us. I guarantee you we’re not going to turn over the entire team, and young players definitely have a greater opportunity to do more (offseason work) than veteran ones, and we’re extraordinarily young.”
“So, for those guys, this summer is just an enormous opportunity,“ Stone added. “And they’re entering it coming off this hard-fought playoff series (a first-round, seven-game loss to the Golden State Warriors) where they should have learned some really important lessons. Our whole team has that under their belt, so now you internalize that and come back with a renewed focus. Those things that were a struggle in the playoffs, make sure you’re really working on those areas. Your strengths, make sure they’re stronger.”