Steven Adams was supposed to be part of Houston’s plan. Instead, a severe ankle injury early in the 2025-26 season knocked him out for the final 50 games and the playoffs, ending what had been set up as a key frontcourt pairing with Alperen Sengun.
That is why Adams keeps coming up in conversations about the Rockets now. The 12-year veteran was not just on the roster; he was a large part of the club’s thinking entering the season, and Houston had prepared to use him alongside Sengun to give its front line a different look.
When Adams played, he gave the Rockets what they needed. In 22.8 minutes per game, the 32-year-old averaged 5.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.6 blocks. He tied Donovan Clingan for the league lead at 4.5 offensive rebounds per game, shot 50.4% from the field and improved his free-throw percentage by nearly 12% from the previous season to 58%.
But the numbers also tell the rest of the story. Over the last four seasons, Adams missed 196 of a possible 328 regular-season games, or 59.75% of them. That is the part Houston has to live with every time it plans around him: the on-court production is real, but so is the long track record of missed time.
That makes the next stretch simple for the Rockets and complicated for Adams. He has two more seasons left on his current contract, and Houston will hope the ankle issue is not the kind that keeps following him into another year. The question is no longer whether he can help when he is available. It is whether he can stay available long enough to matter.
