3. Houston Rockets
Notable up-and-coming players:
- Reed Sheppard, 20
- Cam Whitmore, 20
- Jabari Smith Jr., 21
- Amen Thompson, 21
- Jalen Green, 22
- Alperen Sengun, 22
- Tari Eason, 23
Of the five young cores, the Houston Rockets are the deepest in terms of their notable up-and-coming players, with seven players (nearly half their roster) making the list. Recent No. 3 overall pick, Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard, was making a solid case in the Summer League that he should have been the No. 1 overall pick. He's the best shooter in the draft class but also possesses all the tools required to take over as the lead guard for the Rockets after they eventually move on from 30-year-old Fred VanVleet.
Last year's No. 4 overall pick, Amen Thompson, is already an elite defender and made the NBA's All-Rookie Second Team. Center Alperen Sengun is a Nikola Jokic-lite in terms of his ability to be a key cog to run the offense through with his elite vision and high basketball IQ.
The Rockets practically deserve their own article, given the amount of depth this team has. It makes up for the fact that they rushed their rebuild and likely should never have signed VanVleet and Dillon Brooks to massive contracts in the first place.
Houston's financial situation will be something to monitor in the coming seasons. The bad part of having seven rising stars is that you can't afford to keep all of them, meaning one or multiple players like Sengun, Jalen Green, or someone else could be on the move in the future.