Newest ESPN rankings prove Rockets have one of the NBA's best young duos

The Houston Rockets have one of the best young cores in the NBA. ESPN's new edition of their annual NBA Rank list proves that they've got one of the league's best young duos in Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson.

Even having one player under 25 in the league's top 40 is significant. That's a player that plenty of teams around the NBA would love to have. So, featuring two players under 25 in the top 40 is special.

Only three teams accomplished that feat in the newest rankings.

Rockets well-represented in ESPN rankings

The other two teams were the Thunder (Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren) and the Magic (Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner).

Ah, the Thunder. The only team the Rockets truly need to be jealous of. They've got the higher-ranked young player, and they're paired with the reigning MVP. Oh, and the Thunder have more future first-round picks.

Life is cruel.

The Magic are in good shape, too. However, Rockets fans will quibble with Banchero's 17th overall placement. Many will argue that Sengun has been better. To be sure, his career 2.7 Box Plus/Minus (BPM) dwarfs Banchero's 0.8. Magic fans may counter that Sengun has played on the better team.

Is it fair to hold that against him? Sengun was the best or second-best player on a 52-win team in the West. It's more likely that his BPM reflects his impact on winning than it is that winning is artificially inflating his BPM. Sure, the Rockets have two players under 25 in the top 40 of this list:

Heading into 2026-27, it could look even better.

Both young Rockets can leap their competition

Looking at the players ahead of Sengun is encouraging. He can leap most of them. By the end of 2025-26, it wouldn't be surprising if the consensus held that he was better than Banchero, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Bam Adebayo, Jaylen Brown, Pascal Siakam, or Jaylen Brown.

As for Thompson, he's ranked 37th, right behind Ivica Zubac. That's not unfair - Zubac just had a career year - but Thompson can make a major leap in these rankings.

The point? The Rockets have two players under 25 in the top 40. Like most players under 25, they've got room to grow. There's a world where Sengun and Thompson are both viewed as top 20 players by the end of the season.

Although even then, the Rockets won't be ahead of the Thunder.