The Rockets are 0-7 in their last seven regular-season openers, but their previous victory actually came on an opponent\u2019s championship ring night. That will be the case in Oklahoma City this October.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
With Kevin Durant in a starring role, the good news for the 2025-26 Houston Rockets<\/a> is that they will clearly be back in the national spotlight<\/a>.<\/p>\n The bad news is that many of those national television appearances will be difficult games to win, since they come against other members of the NBA\u2019s perceived top tier of teams.<\/p>\n Taking the October 21 opener, for example. The Rockets (52-30 last season) will play at Oklahoma City (68-14) on the night the Thunder receive their 2024-25 championship rings, and the defending champions are already favored by 6.5 points over the Rockets (per Matt Moore, @HPBasketball and The Action Network<\/a>).<\/p>\n Over the past seven years, Houston is 0-7 in its regular-season openers.<\/p>\n Then again, perhaps there\u2019s a good omen here. The last regular-season opener that the Rockets won was on October 17, 2017<\/a>, in a nationally televised showcase versus the Warriors. That happened to be Golden State\u2019s ring night, and it was the first regular-season game with Tilman Fertitta as owner (photo gallery<\/a>).<\/p>\n In that 2017 opener, Durant played for Houston\u2019s rival, and he actually had a game-winning shot overturned via a replay review for being released slightly after the final buzzer.<\/p>\n Houston went on to post an NBA-leading 65-17 record during that 2017-18 regular season, and it remains easily the best mark in franchise history.<\/p>\n Now, in a full circle moment, it\u2019s Durant who will lead the Rockets on ring night. And he\u2019ll be doing so at Oklahoma City, where he played eight elite seasons as a perennial superstar earlier in his career.<\/p>\n In what will be the first NBA on NBC telecast in over 23 years, there will be no shortage of storylines.<\/p>\n