Rockets officially clinch spot in 2026 NBA playoffs
Courtesy of a Phoenix loss, Houston clinched a spot in the Western Conference playoffs for a second consecutive season.
For a second consecutive season, the Houston Rockets will advance to the eight-team Western Conference playoffs. The Rockets (47-29), who have won four straight games, clinched a top-six spot in the West standings when Phoenix lost at Charlotte on Thursday night. The Suns (42-35) are currently at No.
7, and Houston owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. In each conference, teams seeded at No. 6 and above advance directly to the playoffs without having to go through the NBA’s play-in tournament .
And with Houston having only six games left to play in its 2025-26 regular season, it is no longer mathematically possible to fall below Phoenix. For the Rockets as a franchise, their appearances in the 2025 and 2026 playoffs are a welcome turn of events after a multi-year rebuilding project at the start of the decade. From 2021 through 2024, Houston missed the playoffs each spring.
Punching our ticket to the playoffs 🎟️ pic. twitter. com/NUzyhUA0HP — Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) April 3, 2026 Led by an All-Star duo of Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun, the Rockets are currently seeded fifth in the West.