But just weeks later, the Rockets rocked the NBA by landing future Hall of Fame forward Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns. They also added veteran 3-and-D forward Dorian Finney-Smith and veteran center Clint Capela, and many feel they have a real shot at winning it all.

"Of course, it was tough. Jalen was like a brother to me. We learned the NBA together. We made it into the playoffs together, we came up from the bottom together," Sengun said.