On July 20, 2016, Nenê signed with the Houston Rockets. He made his debut for the Rockets in their season opener on October 26, 2016, scoring seven points off the bench in a 120–114 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. On January 5, 2017, he scored a season-high 18 points for his 12th double-digit game of the season in a 118–116 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. On April 23, 2017, he scored a playoff career-high 28 points on a perfect 12-of-12 shooting from the field to help the Rockets go up 3–1 in the team's first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. On May 8, 2017, Nenê was ruled out for the remainder of the postseason with a left adductor tear. He suffered the injury the previous day in Game 4 of the Rockets' second-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs.