The Rocket with the biggest opportunity is crystal clear ahead of Summer League

The Houston Rockets have had one of the busiest summers in the NBA. Soon enough, they'll be busy playing basketball again.

Granted, the 2025-26 NBA season is a while away. That said, Summer League is around the corner. The Rockets have officially announced their roster for the summer festivities:

One player on the squad has a unique opportunity.

Rockets' young big man can make his name in Summer League

That would be N'Faly Dante.

Rockets diehards are familiar with Dante. The team added him last summer after he went undrafted. He's been on a two-way contract.

Finding a role with the main roster has been difficult. Dante played just 4 games with the Rockets, and he played just 12.8 minutes per game. Looking at his basic counting stats is pointless. If you want to try to measure Dante, you need to extrapolate his numbers per 75 possessions. On that basis, he looked sensational. Dante averaged 17.1 points, 15.0 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per 75 possessions.

Granted, it's not entirely objective to just look at his per 75 stats either. Dante was largely playing third-stringers in garbage time. Still, those are impressive marks. Dante has looked like a capable backup big man at times for the Rockets.

Will the team ever give him that role?

Rockets have time to groom Dante

Nobody should rule it out.

In 2025-26, he's unlikely to see the floor very often. The Rockets just retained Steven Adams on a deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $13 million. They also reunited with Clint Capela. Dante is so far down the depth chart that he's more realistically viewed as a member of the Rio Grande Vipers.

There's another difference between Adams/Capela and Dante - age. The latter duo is both in their early 30s. They've both had injury problems in the past. Both veterans were signed with the present in mind, but Dante could be the future.

He's not your prototypical modern big. Dante is a throwback. He's best in drop coverage defensively. Offensively, his role is to occasionally finish and dominate the glass.

That's an apt description of both Adams and Capela as well.

Clearly, the Rockets have a type. They value size and physicality at the 5. Dante could be part of their future vision, but he needs to make the most of the opportunities he does get. That starts with the Summer League:

Dante should already be busy preparing.