Steven Adams remains day-to-day with an ankle issue as the Rockets prepare to open the 2026-27 season, the same status he carried into the injury report on Tuesday. Head coach Ime Udoka has already said Adams will not play both ends of back-to-back sets to start the year.
What happened
The Rockets listed Steven Adams as day-to-day on the injury report issued Tuesday, Sep 29 at 2:41 PM ET, unchanged from his previous status of day-to-day. No new detail was attached to the listing. The report's comment, via Will Guillory of The Athletic, notes that head coach Ime Udoka said Friday he does not see Adams, who is dealing with the ankle, playing in both halves of back-to-back sets to start the 2026-27 season.
What it means for the Rockets
Houston opens the season on the road at the Mavericks on Fri, Oct 9 at 8:00 AM ET, with the team's record at 0-0 since the season has not started. Last season Adams averaged 5.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 22.8 minutes across 32 games. If he sits, the minutes fall to a rotation led by Amen Thompson (37.4 min, 18.3 pts), Kevin Durant (36.4 min, 26.0 pts), Jabari Smith Jr. (35.1 min, 15.8 pts) and Alperen Sengun (33.3 min, 20.4 pts), with Reed Sheppard, Tari Eason, Josh Okogie and Dorian Finney-Smith also in the mix. There is no regular-season record with or without him yet.
What to watch
Adams has no expected return timeline; it is not announced. Udoka's comment points to a plan of managing him through back-to-back sets as the season begins, which could affect his availability beyond just the ankle status on any given report. The next injury report will show whether his day-to-day designation changes ahead of the Oct 9 opener at Dallas and the games that follow.
Is Steven Adams playing at Mavericks on Oct 9?
Not announced. He is listed as day-to-day on the injury report dated Tue, Sep 29, with no game-specific decision reported yet for the Oct 9 opener at Dallas.
When will Steven Adams be back?
An expected return is not announced. Head coach Ime Udoka has said he does not plan to play Adams in both games of back-to-back sets to start the season.