NBA Media Put Rockets No. 1 After 6-1 Start

Houston opened the 2026-27 regular season 6-1, and national publications moved the Rockets to No. 1 in their weekly NBA power rankings on Monday, Nov. 2. NBC Sports and ClutchPoints also ranked Houston first. In a league organized around standings, rankings and institutional judgments, the team’s early performance has put it at the top of the latest media-made hierarchy.

The Rockets beat Western Conference contenders Oklahoma City and San Antonio. They ranked first in the NBA in offensive rating and second in net rating, and no team had more total wins. Those figures are the machinery behind the rankings: the team’s position rests on results and statistical measures, while players carry the physical cost of producing them.

The numbers behind the ranking

Houston’s strong start came while several rotation players were injured: Alperen Sengun, Reed Sheppard, Steven Adams and Marcus Smart. Starting point guard Fred VanVleet also missed two games under a planned maintenance program on back-to-backs. VanVleet had missed all of last season with a torn ACL in his right knee.

The uneven availability of key players sits alongside the polished numbers used to describe the team. The Rockets’ ranking rose even as the lineup changed, and the team’s offense climbed to the top of the league by offensive rating. The statistical order is clear; the source doesn’t give the players’ own accounts of how the injuries and maintenance schedule affected them.

NBA.com’s John Schuhmann cited tracking data showing Houston made the league’s biggest improvement in shot quality, moving from 22nd last season to seventh through the first two weeks. Kevin Durant’s shot-quality mark was his highest in the 14 seasons covered by the tracking data. He also had a career-high free-throw rate of 63 attempts per 100 field-goal attempts.

Depth, limits and the coach’s system

The Athletic’s Law Murray offered a less triumphant reading of Houston’s rise. Murray wrote that improved depth hadn’t made the defense special, pointing to limited rim protection, a small guard in the starting lineup and the team’s best player being 38. The ranking can put a team at the summit without settling questions about how its roster holds up.

Houston tried lineups without centers in Dallas while Sengun nursed a back injury. Murray said that was one reason the Rockets were no longer undefeated. He also wrote that the offense had taken off and Houston was deeper than at any point under coach Ime Udoka. Those details show the choices made inside the team’s structure: injuries change who plays, and coaches adjust the lineup around the players available.

The Rockets were scheduled to host the Boston Celtics, who were 5-1, on Monday at Toyota Center. Tipoff was set for 7:30 p.m. Central. Regional television and streaming were available on Space City Home Network (SCHN), with national and international availability through NBA League Pass.

The outlets can rank Houston first; Murray’s account still records defensive limits, a lineup adjustment in Dallas and a star player’s age. Schuhmann’s tracking data, meanwhile, measures a sharp rise in shot quality. Together, the accounts show what the No. 1 label contains—and what it leaves unresolved.