During the peak of the James Harden era of Houston Rockets basketball, it felt like the team was playing on ESPN or TNT every other night.

Those Rockets on-court successes ended when Harden was delt to the Brooklyn Nets in January of 2021, and with it, Houston’s national prowess was also sent away.

Just 59 wins ensued in the three seasons following, and the Rockets had hit what felt like the lowest possible point an organization could hit.

Enter Ime Udoka…

At a time when the organization had no culture, the Rockets made a splash by bringing in former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka to help lead the franchise at a place that felt galaxies away.

Coming off a season in which they won just 20 games, Udoka was the mastermind behind a 21-win improvement as the Rockets finished 41-41 and just missed the play-in during the 2023-2024 season.

One year later, Houston was back in the playoffs for the first time since 2020 after claiming the stacked Western Conference’s second-best record at 52-30.

Following a seven-game first-round thriller of a defeat against the Golden State Warriors, the Rockets made a move that reignited their flame in the national spotlight.

Lacking a superstar player who can hit a clutch shot if needed, the Rockets acquired 13-time All-Star Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns.

The move solidified the Rockets place amongst the NBA’s true title contenders and also, with it, brought the eyes of the world.

As the NBA enters its new era of games being broadcast on NBC, the Rockets will be at the forefront of things.

The league announced that the Rockets will be traveling to Oklahoma City to take on the reigning champion Thunder for “ring night” to tip off the season on October 21st.

Opening night isn’t the only special day the Rockets will be in the NBA spotlight. For the first time since 2019, Houston will be playing on Christmas.

The Rockers will travel to LA to take on LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 3rd game of the holiday.

When the rest of the NBA schedule, as well as the league’s national TV schedule, comes out, there is no doubt the Rockets will be right in the middle of it as their flight back into the spotlight continues.