The Houston Rockets' announcer team has improved significantly, moving up six spots in local rankings. This change reflects both the team's on-court success and the growing chemistry among the broadcast crew.
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Earlier this decade, the Houston Rockets went through a period of transition with their television broadcast crew. In many ways, the timeline corresponded with the team’s rebuild on the court.
Before the 2021-22 season, Ryan Hollins took over the analyst role next to veteran play-by-play broadcaster Craig Ackerman. Meanwhile, Vanessa Richardson was named courtside reporter prior to the 2022-23 campaign.
Now, with a few years of continuity together on Space City Home Network broadcasts, the improvements in chemistry and cohesion are visible to the audience.
Just as the on-court product has improved — after four non-winning seasons to start the decade, the Rockets went 52-30 and made the playoffs in each of the past two years — the experience of watching those games is clearly more enjoyable, as well.
That data point is shown in Awful Announcing’s annual reader poll of regional NBA broadcast crews, where the Rockets finished 11th out of 30 teams. Their analysis:
The Rockets’ broadcast continues to rocket up the rankings, with a six-spot jump for the second straight season. That growth was reflected in many comments about how they’re one of the most improved crews in the league. Ackerman and Hollins have “found a great rhythm,” and Richardson is “widely considered the best sideline reporter in the game.”
Some graders appreciated that while they are “very passionate” announcers, they call games “without losing their objectivity.” As one person put it, “the perfect combination of hometown love and reasonable objectivity.”
The Rockets' announcer team climbed six spots in local rankings, indicating a notable improvement in their performance.
The current announcers include Ryan Hollins as the lead analyst and Craig Ackerman as the play-by-play broadcaster, with Vanessa Richardson as the courtside reporter.
The improvement is attributed to increased chemistry and cohesion among the broadcast crew, coinciding with the team's recent success on the court.
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Most noteworthy, of course, is the year-on-year growth. Two years ago after the 2023-24 campaign, the Rockets came in at No. 23 out of 30 teams. That improved to No. 17 and No. 11, respectively, over the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.
In contrast, the top and bottom of the rankings haven’t budged over that same time period. Led by Mike Breen, the New York Knicks’ broadcast team has come in at No. 1 for three straight years. Similarly, the Bob Fitzgerald-led Golden State Warriors crew has finished at No. 30 in each of the last three surveys.
The complete rankings can be read here.
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Local NBA announcer rankings: Rockets blast up six spots, again