The 2025-26 Houston Rockets certainly aren’t afraid to cause havoc. The team is grinding and hustling its way to a top-four offensive rating. Over a quarter of the way through the NBA season, the Rockets are on pace for possibly the highest offensive rebounding percentages of all time.
The Rockets’ Offensive Rebounding Is Ridiculous
The Numbers
The Rockets are rebounding a staggering 41.5% of all missed shots this season… or possibly 38.6%… depending on who you ask.
First of all, there’s a technicality to address. The Rockets’ offensive rebounding percentage is very high. There is some obfuscation over the exact number, though. That’s because NBA.com and Basketball Reference rely on slightly different data. The Rockets’ Basketball Reference percentage of 38.6% would be the fourth-highest in NBA history, and the highest since 1995. In theory, though, the official NBA percentage should be more accurate. That is way up at 41.5%. According to that data, the next highest current team is the Eastern Conference leading Detroit Pistons, at 35.9%.
It’s no real surprise that the Rockets lead the league. They did so last year, and their starting lineup has only gotten bigger this season. In fact, it’s gotten a lot bigger. Last year, the Rockets started six-foot Fred VanVleet, six-foot-four Jalen Green, and six-foot-seven Dillon Brooks. This year, typically starting in their place, are the six-foot-eleven trio of Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr, and Steven Adams.
The Man In The Middle
Adams, in particular, is having an offensive rebounding season for the ages. His individual offensive rebounding percentage is currently at 22.0%. Shockingly, that doesn’t actually lead the league, as New York Knicks ex-factor and even more dedicated glass cleaner Mitchell Robinson is somehow at 24.3%. In fact, Robinson is so dedicated that his offensive rebounding percentage is actually higher than his free-throw percentage (20%). Watching Robinson seem to unintentionally ping a free-throw attempt directly off the front of the rim and right back to himself might partly explain this bizarre phenomenon.
Basketball Reference’s individual percentages (25.1% for Adams) again diverge from the official statistics. However, they are consistent in having Robinson ahead. It’s worth noting that basketball reference notes the single-season offensive rebounding percentage record holder as Dennis Rodman with 20.83% in 1994-95. Adams actually surpassed that percentage last season with 21.8%. However, he did not meet the minimum requirement of 1,500 minutes played and hasn’t since 2021-22.
But the Rockets’ offensive rebounding prowess doesn’t stop with Adams. Just last game, their nominal starting point guard tore down five of the things. Adams may lead the team with 4.7 per game, but the cluster of Alperen Sengun (3.0), Amen Thompson (2.6), and Clint Capela (2.6) takes Houston over the top. With Adams in the game, the opposing team knows he’s mainly there to knock people out with screens and nom on rebounds. They’ll dedicate potentially multiple bodies to boxing him out. That creates space for whatever other jumbo-sized Rockets happen to be about to secure the board.
Why the Rockets Transitioned To This Strategy
However, besides just having one of the strongest players in the league, there is another important reason this strategy works for the Rockets. Between their personnel and head coach Ime Udoka’s coaching, the Rockets have an excellent transition defense.
Certainly, it helps that the Rockets can use their offensive rebounding to limit opponents to the eleventh-lowest transition frequency. But with so many bodies crashing the glass, the Rockets should get absolutely killed whenever the ball doesn’t bounce their way. Indeed, they do allow the ninth-highest transition score frequency and the eighth-highest and-one frequency. However, Western Conference competitors like the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers allow a higher score frequency, and the Oklahoma City Thunder allow a higher and-one frequency. The Rockets use their youth and length on the perimeter to break up fast breaks and trample players in transition.
The Last Word
The Rockets’ next game is Monday night against the Denver Nuggets. On the one hand, the Rockets’ stars, Sengun and Durant, will want to rebound from bad shooting nights in their messy win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. On the other hand, they’ll know that, with this team, messy usually gets the job done. If you like your basketball neat and proper, you may wish to look away. About to embark on a six-game road trip, the Houston Rockets are off to wreak havoc in an arena near you.
Featured Image: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
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