After back-to-back 52-win seasons, the Houston Rockets are coming into the year with big expectations and most of the primary contributors from last year’s team returning, including superstar forward Kevin Durant. There will be a lot of noise around this team if they aren’t taking the necessary steps to make it beyond the first round of the playoffs, which they failed to do each of the past two seasons.The full NBA schedule for all 30 teams was released on Thursday, marking the start of the countdown to the 2026-27 season. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest takeaways after getting our first glimpse at this year’s schedule:Back-to-backsOne of the Rockets’ primary goals going into this season will be decreasing the minutes burden on their core guys after having three players (Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr.) finish top five in minutes played last season. The schedule-makers did Houston somewhat of a favor by making the back-to-backs a little easier to manage.This season, the Rockets play 14 back-to-backs, but four of them are back-to-backs in which both games are played in Houston. They’re also scheduled to play both of their games in Portland this season on March 30 and March 31.Removing some of those quick turnarounds from the schedule can be a major relief for players, especially when they don’t have to worry about traveling between games. The one schedule-related test that Houston will face early on is playing three games in four nights to begin the regular season, including the opener against the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 21, followed by road games against the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 23 and Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 24.Austin, here we comeHouston’s first road game of the season will feel more like a homecoming for Durant. For that Oct. 23 game against Victor Wembanyama and the defending Western Conference champion Spurs, Durant and the Rockets will travel to Austin, Texas, and play at Moody Center, the current home arena for University of Texas basketball.Kevin Durant was the first freshman in college basketball history to win a major national Player of the Year award. (Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images)Durant played his only season of college basketball at Texas during the 2006-07 season. He ended his freshman season as a Naismith Award winner and consensus All-American. Durant’s No. 35 jersey has been retired at Texas since 2009, and in March 2026, Texas announced that Durant launched a landmark name, image and likeness (NIL) program to further his connection with the school’s athletic program.“My time at UT had a huge impact on not only my basketball career, but on me personally,” Durant said in a statement when the NIL program was announced. “Supporting players during their college playing career was always a goal, and I’m thrilled to be able to expand our partnership with UT, bring Boardroom into the mix, and create programming that benefits all UT student-athletes.”