With the team’s plans for media day and training camp now officially announced, here’s a look at key dates over the next month for the Houston Rockets as they gear up for the 2021-22 NBA season.
It all starts with media day on Sept. 27, which is when general manager Rafael Stone, head coach Stephen Silas, and select players will take questions from media members in a press conference format. Unlike interviews after a given game or practice, which tend to be primarily about that day’s activities, media day interviews are often a more holistic overview of that person’s perspective for the full season ahead.
In contrast to 2020-21, when media day was fully virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be held in an in-person format this year (though there will still be an option for Zoom participation). For training camp practices, interviews will only be available to those media members who attend in-person on that day. Zoom will not be an option.
Here’s a look at the timeline of key dates:
- Monday, Sept. 27: Media day in Houston
- Tuesday, Sept. 28 through Saturday, Oct. 2: Daily training camp practices in Galveston
- Monday, Oct. 4: Practices shift to Toyota Center in Houston
- Tuesday, Oct. 5: Opening preseason game at home versus Washington (7:00 p.m. Central tipoff)
- Thursday, Oct. 7: Preseason game at home versus Miami (7:00 p.m. tipoff)
- Monday, Oct. 11: Preseason game at Toronto (6:00 p.m. tipoff)
- Friday, Oct. 15: Preseason game at San Antonio (7:30 p.m. tipoff)
- Saturday, Oct. 16: Last day for any player on a fully non-guaranteed contract (i.e. Khyri Thomas) to be waived and not count at all against the team’s 2021-22 salary cap.
- Monday, Oct. 18: Rosters must be trimmed to a maximum of 17 players — 15 on standard contracts, and two on two-way deals. Houston entered training camp at the NBA’s maximum number of 20 players on its offseason roster.
- Wednesday, Oct. 20: Regular-season opener at Minnesota (7:00 p.m. tipoff)
- Friday, Oct. 22: Home regular-season opener versus Oklahoma City (7:00 p.m. tipoff)
Houston’s complete roster and player salaries entering 2021-22 training camp is available at HoopsHype.
