The Ringer lists three Rockets among NBA’s top 25-and-under players

Mar 10, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) and forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) stand on the court during the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

With a 41-41 record, the 2023-24 Houston Rockets had the biggest single-year growth of any NBA team. In all, they finished with 19 more wins than their 22-60 team of a year earlier.

Most notably, they did it with several members of their talented young core playing key roles. That core includes 2021 first-round draft picks Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun; Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason from the 2022 first round; and rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore, who were drafted in the 2023 first round.

Thompson and Whitmore have yet to consistently play starting-level minutes, given their inexperience, and Eason missed 60 of Houston’s 82 games last season due to a stress reaction in his leg. But Smith, Green, and Sengun all played considerable games and minutes on a Houston team that exceeded nearly all expectations.

The Ringer’s NBA staff recently went through an exercise of ranking the league’s 25 best players who are 25 years old or younger -- and Smith, Green, and Sengun all ended up on that list.

Read on for details of where each finished in that ranking, along with The Ringer’s analysis of reasons for hope and reasons for doubt.

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: The Ringer lists three Rockets among NBA’s top 25-and-under players