Houston Rockets Draft Picks Since 2000 Ranked by SI

Inside Toyota Center in Houston, draft history still matters. A new Sports Illustrated piece revisits the five greatest Houston Rockets draft picks since 2000, giving local basketball fans a fresh look at the players who defined key eras for the franchise.

The topic lands at a good time for Rockets followers, with the team still building on its young core and every draft decision under a brighter spotlight. Looking back at the best picks of the last 24 years shows how much one smart selection can change a roster, a timeline, and expectations across the city.

Houston Rockets draft picks that changed the franchise

Sports Illustrated's ranking focuses on the Rockets' top five draft choices since 2000, a period that spans playoff pushes, rebuilds, and the club's latest rise. The list centers on impact, not just raw talent, which makes the conversation more interesting for a team that has taken different paths through the draft over the years.

Yao Ming belongs near the front of any such discussion because he changed the Rockets on and off the court after arriving as the No. 1 pick in 2002. Aaron Brooks also stands out as a later first-round success story, while Clint Capela gave Houston major value as a developing big man who became a core piece during winning seasons. The more recent names, including Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green, represent the current era and show why the franchise's recent draft record gets so much attention.

Old hits and recent bets share the spotlight

The strongest part of this kind of ranking is the contrast between established results and unfinished stories. Yao, Brooks, and Capela already have clear places in team history. Sengun and Green are still writing theirs, which gives the list a present-day edge instead of turning it into a pure nostalgia exercise.

Sengun has become one of the most important young players on the roster, and Green remains one of the franchise's biggest upside swings from the draft. Their inclusion signals how much the Rockets are counting on the recent development pipeline. For a team trying to climb in the Western Conference, those picks carry more weight than a simple offseason debate.

Why this ranking matters in Houston right now

Draft rankings always stir arguments, but they also reveal what the Rockets value when they get it right. Houston has found stars, role players, and long-term building blocks through the draft since 2000, even as some selections took longer than others to pay off. The list also reminds people that the Rockets' best picks did more than fill minutes. They set directions for whole roster cycles.

That is the real local takeaway from this Sports Illustrated ranking. In a city that measures the Rockets by playoff relevance and future ceiling, the draft is never just background noise. Every successful pick becomes part of the franchise's identity, from Yao's arrival in 2002 to the current hopes tied to Sengun and Green heading into the next stage of Houston basketball.

Training camp and the next regular season will give fresh context to this debate, especially if Sengun and Green take another step in the Rockets' rotation. Sports Illustrated's list offers a clean benchmark for judging where the next great Houston draft success might land.

This article is a summary of reporting by Sports Illustrated. Read the full story here.