The Houston Rockets open the 2026-27 NBA season tonight against the Dallas Mavericks at Toyota Center. The opener comes with a later tipoff (7:30 p.m.) and amid construction to the arena. Follow our staff for live updates from the first of 82 regular-season games:
When/where: 7:30 p.m., Toyota Center
TV/streaming: Space City Home Network and SCHN+.
Radio: 790 AM and 101.7 FM (Spanish)
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The Mavericks made a late roster move, adding former Florida star Walter Clayton Jr., on a two-way deal Wednesday. Clayton was the 2025 Final Four Most Outstanding Player when the Gators knocked off Houston in the national title game. When asked how much he knew about Clayton from his college days, Dusty May gave a surprising answer. Not only did Clayton take an unofficial visit to Florida Atlantic when May was the head coach there, but he also was Dusty’s son’s Jack roommate when Jack was a walk-on at Florida. Was he a good roommate? “I assume so, I never heard anything negative,” May said. “I think roommates are one of those things you only hear about if they’re really bad. So, he was either good or OK.” – Matt Young
Mavericks coach Dusty May says he’d probably still be at Michigan and likely would have passed on NBA offers had he not won the title with the Wolverines in April: “I can’t imagine I would have done it if we didn’t win it all. It’s a hypothetical and I usually don’t deal with hypotheticals, but I can’t imagine me leaving without winning it all.” – Matt Young
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This will mark the NBA coaching debut for Dusty May, who got the Mavericks job after leading the Michigan Wolverines to the NCAA title. May says he feels excited, but not more than he usually is for any season opener. “I don’t get incredibly nervous, just grounded in process,” May said before Wednesday’s opener. “I feel like we’ve done most of our work up to this point in how we plan, how we practice, how we compete every day.” – Matt Young
Rockets coach Ime Udoka says Amen Thompson will primarily guard Kyrie Irving and that Jabari Smith Jr. will take on Cooper Flagg. – Varun Shankar
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Kyrie Irving is expected to see his first game action since March 2025 after missing the end of that season and all of last season with a torn ACL. Rockets coach Ime Udoka is plenty familiar with Irving since he was an assistant in Brooklyn when Irving was there. He’s one of the elite scorers,” Udoka said. “I coached him for a year and saw it on a daily basis in games and practice.” – Matt Young
Steven Adams is questionable for Houston’s season opener with right calf tightness/soreness. Coach Ime Udoka says the center, who missed the latter chunk of last season after a severe ankle sprain, will be a game time decision after testing how he feels pregame. Udoka said Adams felt soreness in his calf after Tuesday’s practice. – Varun Shankar
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After Vanessa Richardson’s departure for ESPN last week, the Rockets are not expected to have a sideline reporter on their TV broadcasts until her replacement is in place. So it’ll be a two-person broadcast for the interim with play-by-play man Craig Ackerman and analyst Ryan Hollins on Space City Home Network. – Greg Rajan
See how NBA scouts and an executive assess Houston’s chances to catch San Antonio and Oklahoma City. – Varun Shankar
After two straight first-round playoff exits, the standard of success goes up for everybody. “Coaches, players, we’re not just trying to make the playoffs,” coach Ime Udoka said. “We talked about being competitive and changing the perception in Year One and we did that. So the next steps are to not just make the playoffs but make some noise while you’re there.” – Varun Shankar
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Meet the Rockets’ new assistant coach, Chip Engelland. He learned attention to details as a ballboy for John Wooden at UCLA. Now, he is bringing those lessons to Houston’s young stars as a shooting coach. – Varun Shankar
A look at key Rockets players and what’s at stake this season:
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This article originally published at Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks NBA 2026-27 opener: Live updates.
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