The Houston Rockets are currently gearing up for the upcoming 2026-27 NBA season, which is slated to get underway in less than a month. The Rockets are hoping that the return of Fred VanVleet will help guide them to a better result than their disappointing first round playoff exit a year ago.
On Thursday, the Rockets had a special guest in attendance at practice: former NBA head coach Tom Thibodeau, who was most recently the coach of the New York Knicks.
Thibodeau made a fashion statement with some skinny jeans during his appearance at the practice session.
Thibodeau has long been viewed as a well-respected head coach in NBA circles, and it remains to be seen if another opportunity will open up elsewhere for him around the league.
Thibodeau shares a similar no-nonsense philosophy with Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, although Houston star Kevin Durant might prefer Thibodeau's approach to playing his stars heavy minutes, after he recently hit back against Udoka's idea to limit his usage this year.
The Rockets made some interesting moves along the margins this year, including signing former Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart. It remains to be seen how the arrival of Smart and return of VanVleet will impact the opportunities for Reed Sheppard, who had a decent second season last year but crashed and burned in the playoffs vs the Los Angeles Lakers.
It will be interesting to see whether Thibodeau made any big impressions on the Rockets during his time at practice.
In any case, Houston is slated to kick off its new season on October 21 at home against Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks.