Earlier this week, NBA.com released an article talking about this season’s MVP race. Obviously, the race is headlined with names like Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous Alexander, but another player who many fans who aren’t as tuned in to the NBA would not expect has emerged onto the list. That player is Kevin Durant. Durant comes in this week at ninth behind Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Cade Cunningham, Victor Wembenyama, Jaylen Brown, Luka Doncic, and Donovan Mitchell.

Naturally, Durant deserves praise for his prowess as one of the game’s all-time scorers, but he also deserves praise for his ability to play at a high level even at 37. Even though players like LeBron and Curry, who are also having successful seasons, and have multiple MVPS aren’t even on Durant’s level this year.

The four-time scoring champion is currently in the top ten with a 51% overall and 40.1% 3-point shooting percentage. He continues to lead double-teams. He has only missed four games. Additionally, he has the Houston Rockets comfortably above the sixth-place cutoff and in the middle of the Western Conference playoff hunt.

The important statistic is that Durant, who is currently in his 18th season, has averaged at least 26 points each season for each of the teams he has played for, including the Thunder, Warriors, Nets, Suns, and now the Rockets. His first season in Seattle, which naturally led to a relocation to Oklahoma City the following season, was the only other occasion in his career that he failed to average 25 points per game. Additionally, he averages 51% for the Rockets and has made at least half of his shots in a season for every franchise. He is scoring with incredible efficiency. Additonally even though the Rockets are undefeated without Kevin Durant playing its a small sample size and against lesser opponents in the Indiana Pacers, Phoenix Suns, and Golden State Warriors.

Obviously, Durant winning MVP is far from likely, but there’s no debate that he has been integral to the Rockets this season.

Earlier this week, CBS released their post trade deadline NBA front office rankings. To nobody’s surprise, the Oklahoma City Thunder came in at first, but what was surprising to me is that only one other team (Boston Celtics) ranked above the Houston Rockets, which means that they’re the second-highest-ranked front office in the Western Conference, surpassing the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Houston was placed behind OKC because of Oklahoma’s near flawless roster construction. From acquirng Shai Gilgeous Alexander in the Paul George deal to selecting rotation players such as AJ Mitchell with 38th pick, to acquiring Isiah Hartnstein on a frontloaded contract to allow them more flexibility when their core becomes due for extensions to even curating their own head coach in the G Leauge, its safe to say OKC is putting on a front office masterclass, which makes sense when you factor in OKC’s near flawless roster building.

Houston was also placed below Boston, but this is likely giving the Celtics front office a lot of credit for how they have revamped their team in the wake of the Jayson Tatum injury. “Last May, the Celtics were staring down a half-billion-dollar payroll with their historic repeater tax bill factored in. They’ve since managed to not only get below the second apron, but duck the luxury tax entirely without giving away a single first-round pick to do it.”

CBS ended up ranking Houston ahead of San Antonio, which is surprising considering their draft history in recent memory. However, author Sam Quin admitted to not factoring in draft lottery luck in prior rankings, and stated that “But we can’t ignore the reality that the foundation of their success right now hinged on the lottery. If they win a championship in the near future, that will be the single biggest reason why. If Houston wins a championship in the near future, it will have less to do with luck.” Additonally, Houston passing on Stephon Castle for Reed Sheppard is starting to make more sense, as Reed is having an excellent Sophomore season.

Houston returns from the All-Star break to play the Hornets in Charlotte at 6:00 p.m. Central, and you can catch the game on SPCHN or NBA League Pass. As always,be sure to check back here at the Dreamshake for pre- and post-game coverage.

NBA All Star Saturday rolls out with…Adam Silver’s press conference!

Then it moves on to The (State Farm) Three Point Shootout, The (KIA) Shooting Stars, and then the AT&Love Slam Dunk. What better way to spend St. Valentine’s day with these contests? What, you say, with romance or love? Sure, but what about Shooting Stars? Isn’t that part of it? Maybe your love is already a slam dunk? Or best it’s a shot from distance? Anyway, the NBA and Valentines go together like sushi and queso.

Things start off at 4pm Central on NBA/Peacock and last as long as they last, I guess?

A player who hasn’t played a single minute of NBA basketball wins the three point shoot out. You may remember him from Rockets nightmares: Damien Lillard.

I don’t really know what the contest is. I’m glad KIA is sponsoring it, as I have definitely seen, and driven, KIAs. Honestly though, I prefer a kea.

Earlier this week, ESPN released its post-trade-deadline updated power rankings. Houston came in at the number seven spot, slipping one spot from their previously held sixth spot. This puts Houston behind the Thunder, Spurs, and Nuggets in the Western Conference and behind the Pistons, Knicks, and Celtics in the Eastern Conference.

NBA.com cited Houston’s very close win versus the Pacers and two consecutive home losses (Feb 4 versus Boston and February 5 versus Charlotte) as a reason for the demotion in the rankings. Additonally, the inactivity at the trade deadline also played a part as fans and media alike were left confused. Despite this, head coach Ime Udoka and General Manager Rafael Stone still feel confident in this team despite the lack of a traditional starting point guard.

Houston likely would have been ranked lower if not for their win Saturday versus the OKC Thunder, a game where Alperen Sengun had his second tripple-double of the season, and Tari Eason had his best performance of the season, scoring 26 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.

Looking at the stats, the ranking does make sense. Houston ranks ninth in offensive rating at 117.1 and fourth in defense rating at 112.0, according to NBA.com. Houston also still ranks first in offensive rebound percentage, but that may change with the absence of center Steven Adams for the remainder of the season.

It is unclear what will happen after the All-Star Break, as Houston will hopefully get some much-deserved rest. If you want to catch your Houston Rockets during All-Star weekend, make sure to tune into Peacock for Friday’s events along with NBA League Pass, and NBC for Saturday and Sunday’s events. Reed Sheppard will be competing Friday in the Rising Stars game, and Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant will be competing Sunday in the All-Star game, with Sengun playing on Team World and Durant on Team USA

After OKC’s Shai-Gilegous Alexander sustained an abdominal strain, which will sideline him till after the All-Star break, it was said that there would need to be a replacement. Early Sunday, it was revealed that NBA commissioner Adam Silver selected Rockets center Alperen Sengun to be SGA’s replacement. It is important to note that this year the NBA is using a new format. This season, there will be three teams competing in the 75th NBA All-Star Game, in a novel round-robin format: two teams of American players (USA Stars and USA Stripes) and one international team, Team World. Four 12-minute games will be played between the teams. The event will take place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Sunday, February 15, so it was crucial that SGA’s replacement would be an international player since SGA is from Canada.

Last week, Silver also named Kawhi Leonard of the Clippers to the All-Star team as an injury replacement because in order to guarantee that each side would have the necessary minimum of eight players, Leonard was required to bring the overall number of U.S. All-Stars for the new U.S. vs. World format to the required 16.

Şengün is making his second consecutive appearance on the All-Star team. Throughout the season, the 23-year-old has averaged 20.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Along with Nikola Jokić of the Nuggets and Jalen Johnson of the Hawks, Sengun is one of three players who have averaged at least 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists this season. Additionally, both players were chosen to play in the All-Star Game.

Şengün will play alongside Kevin Durant, a forward for the Rockets. The Rockets are one of the clubs with several All-Stars, along with the Pistons, Lakers, Knicks, and Nuggets. Durant will be a member of the USA Stripes. In his debut season with the Rockets, Durant has averaged 25.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. 32-19 is the Rockets’ record.

Houston will play its second-to-last game before the All-Star break at home on Tuesday at 7:00 versus the Clippers. As always, be sure to check out The DreamShake for pre- and post-game coverage.

Late on Sunday, the NBA unveiled the roster for its 2025-2026 Rising Stars game. Reed Sheppard, alongside several of his peers from the draft class, received an invitation, joining a mix of rookies and G League players. Sheppard will take part in a mini-tournament, going head-to-head with 20 other rookies and second-year players. NBA legends Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady, and Vince Carter will oversee the team selections, while Austin Rivers will coach the G League team. Among those joining Reed from the 2024 draft class are Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs), Matas Buzelis (Chicago Bulls), and Alex Sarr (Washington Wizards), to name just a few.

Even before the season began, the Houston Rockets and their supporters knew Reed Sheppard needed to step up his game in his second year. The Kevin Durant trade, which saw Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and some future draft choices leave town, left the Rockets a bit short-handed in the backcourt, and it was obvious Sheppard’s role was about to grow. That need became even more pressing when Fred VanVleet went down with a torn ACL in September. Sheppard has more than risen to the occasion, currently averaging 13 points, 3.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He’s also been on fire from beyond the arc, shooting an impressive 40.7%. He’s been a key contributor off the bench, providing several crucial performances this season, making this recognition completely deserved.

The winner of the Rising Stars tournament, scheduled for February 13, will then compete against the All-Stars on February 15. Amen Thompson took the court for the Rockets in last year’s Rising Stars game. He squared off against Alperen Sengun, his fellow Rocket, with Thompson’s squad ultimately taking the win in the San Francisco mini-tournament.

This year, Sheppard hopefully will be joined by Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun making the main All-Star game.

Houston’s next matchup is on Wednesday, a contest against Victor Wembenyama and the San Antonio Spurs at the Toyota Center. The game is scheduled to begin at 8:30 PM. As usual, keep an eye on The Dream Shake for pre- and post-game analysis.

Prior to the game versus Portland Friday night, Kevin Durant needed 15 points to surpass Chamberlain’s 31,419 points. With 7:57 remaining in the third quarter, Durant’s jumper gave him 31,422 points. Next for Durant to pass would be Dirk Nowitzki is ranked sixth on the career list. with 31,560 career points.
The 37-year-old Durant has been an All-Star 15 times and is currently in his 18th NBA season. He surpassed 8,000 career rebounds and finished Friday’s game with 30 points and 12 rebounds.

Head coach Ime Udoka was asked about Durant‘s milestone to which he responded: “No, it doesn’t amaze me when you see the work ethic and what he does on a day-to-day basis.”

After the game, when asked about passing Wilt, Durant said: “To be amongst the greats is always an honor,” Durant said after the game. “Wilt is somebody I studied and tried to look up to as much as I can, a player like that. Like I always say, he set a standard for NBA players and (I’m) grateful to reach that — and inspired by what he produced for the game of basketball.” These milestones always have me reflecting on the people that helped me get to this point — the journey that I’ve been through, the close calls, and the things that could have gone wrong plenty of times in my life,” Durant said. “So to be here, very, very grateful, and Portland is such a classy, classy city for recognizing me in that moment and honoring me.” Kevin Durant received a hug from Blazers’ interim head coach Tiago Splitter after he scored the bucket, along with a warm applause from the Blazers’ crowd.

Houston and Durant look to get back to winning on Sunday in Sacramento versus the Kings. Tip-off is at 8:00 central, and is streaming on Space City Home Network as well as NBA League Pass. As always, make sure to check back here for pre- and postgame coverage.

Kevin Durant’s social media platform is usually utilized for trolling. Or humorously engaging in banter with fans, in a rather non-serious manner.

Every now and then, Durant will be in his bag, however. Lately, Durant has been cooking.

Well, somewhat.

On New Year’s Eve, Durant took to Twitter (I don’t think I’ll ever call it X) to explain the decline in discourse around the NBA, while noting the heightened level of negativity (which has been pointed out before).

The Houston Rockets superstar pinpointed the diminishing of the regular season.

“Playoffs are the most important part of the year but u can’t make the playoffs without a great regular season.”

Too many times we’ve heard, yeah they’re playing great right now but let’s see what happens in the playoffs.

This is the “analysis” (if we want to call it that) that has marred James Harden, especially during his days in H-Town.

Unguardable tour? Doesn’t matter.

Let’s see what he does in the playoffs. Top seed in the Western Conference and most wins in the NBA?

Yeah, but wait until the playoffs start.

Durant kept cooking.

“If u don’t win a ring, you’re a loser.”

This is merely a lazy way to look at the game. And an unfair approach, as it pertains to players and great teams.

Players get compared to other players and the verdict regarding who is better generally comes down to who has more championship rings, sadly. Not the impact of said player (or players).

Let’s use Harden again. The running debate has been Harden vs. Dwyane Wade.

A classic case of offensive superiority vs defensive superiority (although both were underrated on the other end). The discussion too often centers around Wade’s three championships vs. Harden’s shortage of a title.

Or the conversation regarding Charles Barkley vs. Draymond Green (which is a comical one).

Unsurprisingly, Green’s four championships get magnified, since Barkley doesn’t have any.

Not to mention Barkley has made himself rather unlikeable in his post-playing career for some of his “hot takes”. Even though Green is far from a fan favorite.

(As a side note, hot take culture has also ruined discourse, but that’s an entirely different conversation).

The reality is winning a championship is a team accomplishment. An overall reflection of the sum of it’s parts.

And typically a result of a few lucky bounces and/or breaks. Great players are great players, with or without a title.

A championship doesn’t magnify them or make them great. The absence of one doesn’t mean they suck or are a loser.

If that were the case, they wouldn’t even be worthy of mention, let alone be in the NBA.

Durant is right. The discourse needs to change.

The Houston Rockets ownership group led by Tillman Fertitta has been in discussions with the ownership of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun to potentially purchase the team and relocate them Houston, according to reports.

Houston has been without a WNBA franchise since 2008, when the Comets were disbanded despite being one the league’s premier teams, winning four consecutive WNBA titles and featuring all-time greats like Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, and Tina Thompson.

Now the Mohegan Tribe, who currently own the Sun, are looking to sell, and the WNBA would love to have it head into the hands of an already NBA owner. The Rockets group have reportedly already offered $250 million, with Suns ownership looking for closer to the $325 million that was offered by former Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca that would’ve moved the team to Beantown. The WNBA blocked that deal, and now the Rockets have supposedly upped their offer, though a final figure has yet to be made public.

The WNBA also tried to buy the Sun, with designs on flipping the franchise to the Rockets themselves, but that deal never went through either. But with the Houston group now doing their best to meet the expectations of the Sun, it appears as though a sale is imminent, although the report did stress that a deal is not final.

The Sun also explored ways to keep the franchise in Connecticut, including even partenering with the state of Connecticut as a minor stake owner, but those talks ended up fizzling also.

The WNBA and all sides involved are shooting to have something finalized before WNBA Free Agency hits, which is still up in the air due to the league still negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with the Player’s Association. We should know more after the New Year, when a resolution to the WNBA contract is supposed to be negotiated.

The WNBA just might be coming back to H-town, and that’s a good thing. Houston was a WNBA OG, and it’s a shame they haven’t had a team going on 17 years now.

Ime Udoka is about as authentic as it gets. He doesn’t hold back.

Just ask Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, who Udoka told to stop bitching about officiating. Sure, it got him ejected, but the message was beyond worth the punishment.

Especially when considering the effect that it had on his Houston Rockets players. It let them know that their coach was going to ride for them, no matter what. Publicly.

The Rockets players were thinking the same thing as Udoka. They realized the whistle was titled in the Los Angeles Lakers’ favor, but they’ve been taught not to let officiating affect them.

(Not to mention a lot of them at that time were still on rookie deals and likely didn’t want to give money back to the league).

Fast forward two years. Well, fast forward to December 15^th, 2025, in particular.

The Rockets were in a slug fest with the Denver Nuggets and had traded blows with them for several hours.

Houston led 117-116 with just two seconds left.

Then it happened.

The referees struck once again, although this time determining the outcome. Well, let’s just say influencing it.

A phantom foul was called on Amen Thompson towards Tim Hardaway Jr. The camera angle would determine whether many thought it was a foul (which means it wasn’t a foul).

Denver hit a free throw and won the game in overtime.

Afterwards, Udoka went no-holds-barred, unloading on the officiating. The Cliff Notes version of Udoka’s rant was that the game was “the most poorly officiated game he had seen in a long time”, two of the referees had no business being out there, and the crew chief was “acting star struck”.

The next day, the NBA released their last two minute report, noting that it was indeed an incorrect call on Thompson, in addition to two other calls in the waning moments of the game, that all went against the Rockets.

The NBA also dropped the hammer relatively quickly on Udoka, fining the Rockets coach $25,000.

As a side note, if they were in agreement with Udoka regarding the poor officiating, why fine him?

(And not to pocket watch, but what’s $25,000 for someone making $11 million annually?)

But the message was worth the punishment for Udoka. Again, he said exactly what the players (and even fans) were thinking.

And once again, the teams knows he’s going to ride for them and have their back, publicly, even if it leads to punishment (or a semblance of it) for Udoka. And that’s worth much more than the fine.