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Houston Rockets

January 01, 1970

The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center, located in Downtown Houston. Throughout its history, Houston has won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles. It was established in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego. In 1971, the Rockets relocated to Houston.

Houston Rockets
2023–24 Houston Rockets season
ConferenceWestern
DivisionSouthwest
Founded1967
HistorySan Diego Rockets
1967–1971
Houston Rockets
1971–present[1][2][3]
ArenaToyota Center
LocationHouston, Texas
Team colorsRed, black, gray, anthracite, white[4][5]
         
Main sponsorCredit Karma[6]
PresidentGretchen Sheirr[7]
General managerRafael Stone
Head coachIme Udoka
OwnershipTilman Fertitta[8]
Affiliation(s)Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Championships2 (1994, 1995)
Conference titles4 (1981, 1986, 1994, 1995)
Division titles8 (1977, 1986, 1993, 1994, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Retired numbers7 (11, 22, 23, 24, 34, 44, 45)
Websitewww.nba.com/rockets
Association
Icon
Statement
City

The Rockets won only 15 games in their debut season as a franchise in 1967. In the 1968 NBA draft, the Rockets were awarded the first overall pick and selected power forward Elvin Hayes, who would lead the team to its first playoff appearance in his rookie season. The Rockets did not finish a season with a winning record for almost a decade until the 1976–77 season, when they traded for All-Star center Moses Malone from the American Basketball Association (ABA). Malone went on to win the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award twice while playing with the Rockets and led Houston to the Eastern Conference Finals in his first year with the team. During the 1980–81 season, the Rockets finished the regular season with a 40–42 record but still made the playoffs. Led by Malone, the Rockets reached their first NBA Finals in 1981, becoming only the second team in NBA history to do so with a losing record. They would lose in six games to the 62–20 Boston Celtics, led by Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and future Rockets head coach Kevin McHale. As of 2023, the 1980–81 Rockets are the last team since the 1958–59 Minneapolis Lakers to make it all the way to the NBA Finals with a losing record.

In the 1984 NBA draft, once again with the first overall pick, the Rockets drafted center Hakeem Olajuwon, who would become the cornerstone of the most successful period in franchise history. Paired with 7-foot-4-inch (2.24 m) Ralph Sampson, they formed one of the tallest front courts in the NBA. Nicknamed the "Twin Towers", they led the team to the 1986 NBA Finals—the second NBA Finals appearance in franchise history—where Houston was again defeated by Larry Bird and the 67-win Boston Celtics. The Rockets continued to reach the playoffs throughout the 1980s, but failed to advance past the first round for several years following a second-round defeat to the Seattle SuperSonics in 1987. Rudy Tomjanovich took over as head coach midway through the 1991–92 season, ushering in the most successful period in franchise history. Led by Olajuwon, the Rockets dominated the 1993–94 season, setting a then-franchise record 58 wins and went to the 1994 NBA Finals—the third NBA Finals appearance in franchise history—and won the franchise's first championship against Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks. During the following season, reinforced by another All-Star, Clyde Drexler, the Rockets—in their fourth NBA Finals appearance in franchise history—repeated as champions with a four-game sweep of the Orlando Magic, which was led by a young Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway. Houston, which finished the season with a 47–35 record and was seeded sixth in the Western Conference during the 1995 playoffs, became the lowest-seeded team in NBA history to win the title.

The Rockets acquired all-star power forward Charles Barkley in 1996, but the presence of three of the NBA's 50 greatest players of all-time (Olajuwon, Drexler, and Barkley) was not enough to propel Houston past the Western Conference Finals. Each one of the aging trio had left the team by 2001. The Rockets of the early 2000s, led by superstars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, followed the trend of consistent regular season respectability followed by playoff underachievement as both players struggled with injuries. After Yao's early retirement in 2011, the Rockets entered a period of rebuilding, completely dismantling and retooling their roster.

The acquisition of franchise player James Harden in 2012 launched the Rockets back into perennial championship contention throughout the rest of the 2010s, with no losing seasons in Harden's nine-season tenure with the team. Harden broke countless franchise and NBA records while on the team, winning three consecutive scoring titles between 2018 and 2020, and leading the team to two Western Conference Finals appearances (both times losing to the Golden State Warriors). Prior to the 2020–21 season, head coach Mike D'Antoni and general manager Daryl Morey left the organization, prompting Harden to seek a trade. He was traded to the Brooklyn Nets[A] which started a rebuilding period.

Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, and James Harden have been named the NBA's MVPs while playing for the Rockets, for a total of four MVP awards. The Rockets, when piloted by Morey, were renowned for popularizing the use of advanced statistical analytics (similar to sabermetrics in baseball) in player acquisitions and style of play.

Franchise history

Main article: History of the Houston Rockets

1967–1971: San Diego Rockets

 
Elvin Hayes was selected first overall by the San Diego Rockets in the 1968 NBA draft

The Rockets were founded in 1967 in San Diego by Robert Breitbard, who paid an entry fee of US$1.75 million to join the NBA as an expansion team for the 1967–68 season.[12][13] The NBA wanted to add more teams in the Western United States and chose San Diego based on the city's strong economic and population growth, along with the local success of an ice hockey team owned by Breitbard, the San Diego Gulls of the Western Hockey League. The San Diego International Sports Center, which opened the previous year and was also owned by Bretitbard, would serve as home to the new franchise. A local contest to name the franchise chose the name "Rockets",[14] as it paid homage to San Diego's theme of "a city in motion" and the local arm of General Dynamics developing the Atlas missile and booster rocket program.[12][15]

Breitbard brought in Jack McMahon, then-coach of the Cincinnati Royals, to serve as the Rockets' coach and general manager.[15][16] The team, which would join the league along with the Seattle SuperSonics, then built its roster with both veteran players at an expansion draft, and college players from the 1967 NBA draft, where San Diego's first ever draft pick was Pat Riley.[15][17] In their first two games of the season, the Rockets were up against the St. Louis Hawks, and lost both of those games.[18][19] Their first win in franchise history came the very next game which occurred three days after against the SuperSonics. The Rockets won on the road, 121–114. Johnny Green recorded 30 points and 25 rebounds for the Rockets.[20] The following game, the SuperSonics held a 15-point lead for most of the first half, before the Rockets mounted a comeback to force overtime. The SuperSonics eventually pulled away and won the game, 117–110, though Art Williams recorded the first ever triple-double in franchise history, as he recorded 17 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists for the Rockets.[21] The expansion Rockets ultimately lost 67 games in their inaugural season,[22] which was an NBA record for losses in a season at the time.[23]

In 1968, after the Rockets won a coin toss against the Baltimore Bullets to determine who would have the first overall pick in the 1968 NBA draft,[24] they selected Elvin Hayes from the University of Houston.[25] Hayes improved the Rockets' record to 37 wins and 45 losses, enough for the franchise's first ever playoff appearance in 1969,[26] but the Rockets lost in the semi-finals of the Western Division to the Atlanta Hawks, four games to two.[26] The Rockets limped to a 27–55 finish in the 1969–70 season, before missing the playoffs by just one game in the 1970–71 season.[27][28]

Off the court, Breitbard was facing serious financial losses due to a controversial ongoing tax-assessment issue that had plagued his San Diego Sports Arena since it was built. He was also still on the hook for paying off the NBA expansion fee for the Rockets, in addition to construction-related bonds on the arena, which he had built with private funding. To make matters worse, the American professional sports economy had begun to plummet in the late 1960s, and professional basketball was being hit particularly hard with nearly all franchises in the NBA and ABA operating at a financial loss at this time.[15]

On January 26, 1970, during an emotional press conference on the floor of the Sports Arena, Breitbard addressed the San Diego fans regarding his dire finances and the state of his Rockets basketball and Gulls hockey teams. "...We have been served an eviction notice..." Breitbard announced. "I've tried to work quietly, to iron this out. But, at the moment it appears impossible. I don't want to sell. I'm not interested in selling outside of San Diego. It seems to me the Rockets and Gulls are part of this town. This arena, the Gulls, the Rockets, are a part of me, and our fans have been wonderful to us."[15] Over the next nearly year and a half, numerous fans circulated petitions and lobbied local officials to help keep the Rockets and Gulls afloat and in San Diego. Several proposals surrounded providing financial aid or payment relief to Breitbard, or having the City and/or County of San Diego take ownership of the arena were discussed, but Breitbard was running out of time. At least 14 private offers for the Rockets were made to Breitbard, though all would have resulted in the team being relocated out of San Diego, which Breitbard was adamantly opposed to.[15] The tax-assessment situation surrounding the Sports Arena (which was the only large arena in the region) ultimately made the prospect of another local owner purchasing the team infeasible.

On January 12, 1971, the Rockets hosted the 1971 NBA All-Star Game at the San Diego Sports Arena, a close contest in which the West beat the East 108–107 in front of a packed house of 14,378 fans.

On June 23, 1971, the San Diego Rockets were abruptly sold by Breitbard to a Houston-based investment group. The NBA hurriedly approved the sale, believing the franchise was on the verge of folding. News of the sale broke before the coaches, players, and team employees and executives could even be notified. Local officials in San Diego were also caught by surprise.[27]

In their fourth and final season in existence, the San Diego Rockets missed the playoffs by just one game in the standings.[27][28]

1971–1976: Move to Houston and improvement with Murphy and Rudy-T

Texas Sports Investments bought the franchise for $5.6 million and moved the team to Houston before the start of the 1971–72 season.[12] The franchise became the first NBA team in Texas,[29] and the nickname "Rockets" took on even greater relevance after the move, given Houston's long connection to the space industry.[30] Houston previously was awarded an NBA expansion franchise along with Buffalo, Cleveland and Portland on February 6, 1970,[31] but the new entry folded six weeks later on March 20 when its investment group led by Alan Rothenberg failed to make the $750,000 down payment on the $3.7 million entrance fee required before the league's college player draft.[32]

Before the start of the season, Hannum left for the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association – later renamed Denver Nuggets, who joined the NBA in 1976 –[33] and Tex Winter was hired in his place.[34] In the first six games of the 1971–72 season in Winter's first head coaching season, the Rockets all lost those games with an average of around 15 points per game. Their first win of the season came on October 26, 1971, with a 104–103 win over the home team, Detroit Pistons.[35] Their second win of the season came five days later, a 102–87 win over the Buffalo Braves.[36] After that game, the Rockets lost their next 8 games, against the Knicks, Trail Blazers, Bullets (twice), Warriors, Celtics, Bucks and Bulls. Their next win was on November 17 on the road against the 76ers.[37] However, Winter's clashes with Hayes, due to a system that contrasted with the offensive style to which Hayes was accustomed, made Hayes ask for a trade, leaving for the Baltimore Bullets at the end of the 1971–72 season.[38]

It was also around this time that the Rockets would unveil their classic yellow and red logo and accompanying uniforms used until the end of the 1994–95 season.[13] Winter left soon after, being fired in January 1973 following a ten-game losing streak, and was replaced by Johnny Egan.[39] Egan led the Rockets back to the playoffs in 1975, where the franchise also won their first round against the New York Knicks, subsequently losing to the veteran Boston Celtics in 5 games. At that time the Rockets gained popularity in Houston, selling out several home games during the regular season as the Rockets battled for a playoff spot and then selling out all of their home playoff games.[40]

1976–1982: The Moses Malone era

In the 1975–76 season the Rockets finally had a permanent home in Houston as they moved into The Summit, which they would call home for the next 29 years. During the period, the franchise was owned by Kenneth Schnitzer, developer of the Greenway Plaza which included The Summit.[41] After missing the 1976 playoffs, Tom Nissalke was hired as a coach, and pressed the team to add a play-making guard in college standout John Lucas and a rebounding center through Moses Malone, who he had coached in the ABA.[42] The additions had an immediate impact, with the 1976–77 Rockets winning the Central Division and going all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the Julius Erving's Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2.[43] The following season had the team regressing to just 28 wins due to an injury to captain Tomjanovich, who got numerous facial fractures after being punched by Kermit Washington of the Los Angeles Lakers and wound up spending five months in rehabilitation.[44][45][46] After trading Lucas to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Rick Barry,[47] the Rockets returned to the playoffs in 1978–79, with "The Chairman Of The Boards" Moses Malone receiving the 1979 MVP Award,[48] but the team was swept 2–0 by Atlanta in the first round.[49] Nissalke was let go, and assistant Del Harris was promoted to head coach.[50]

In 1979, George Maloof, a businessperson from Albuquerque, New Mexico, bought the Rockets for $9 million. He died the following year, and while the Maloof family expressed interest in selling the team, George's 24-year-old son Gavin took over the Rockets. A buyer was eventually found in 1982 as businessman Charlie Thomas and Sidney Shlenker purchased the franchise for $11 million; the Maloofs would later own the Sacramento Kings from 1998 to 2013. The Maloof period of ownership marked the first dominant period of the Rockets,[51][52][53] highlighted by the team's first Western Conference Championship and NBA Finals appearance in 1981, their first year after being moved from the Eastern Conference. Prior to the 1980–81 season, the arrival of the Dallas Mavericks led to an NBA realignment that sent the Rockets back to the Western Conference.[54] Houston qualified for the playoffs only in the final game of the season with a 40–42 record.[55] The postseason had the Rockets beat the Lakers, in-state rivals San Antonio Spurs, and the equally underdog Kansas City Kings to become only the second team in NBA history (after the 1959 Minneapolis Lakers) to have advanced to the Finals after achieving a losing record in the regular season.[56] In the NBA Finals facing Larry Bird's Boston Celtics, the Rockets blew a late lead in Game 1 and won Game 2 at the Boston Garden. However, afterwards the team failed to capitalize on the early success against the favored Celtics, and eventually lost in six games.[57]

While new owner Charlie Thomas expressed interest in renewing with Moses Malone,[52] who had been again chosen as MVP in 1981–82,[48] the Rockets traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caldwell Jones, as a declining regional economy made the Rockets unable to pay Malone's salary.[58] When the Rockets finished a league worst 14–68,[59] Celtics coach Bill Fitch was hired to replace outgoing Del Harris,[58] and the team won the first pick of the 1983 NBA draft,[58] used to select Ralph Sampson from the University of Virginia.[60] Sampson had good numbers and was awarded the NBA Rookie of the Year award,[61] but the Rockets still finished last overall, again getting the top pick at the upcoming 1984 NBA draft, used to select Hakeem Olajuwon from the University of Houston.[62]

1984–2001: The Hakeem Olajuwon era

1984–1987: The "Twin Towers"

In his first season, Olajuwon finished second to Michael Jordan in NBA Rookie of the Year balloting,[63] and the Rockets record improved by 19 games, good enough for a return to the playoffs as the third best team in the West, where they were upset by the sixth-seeded Utah Jazz.[64] The duo of Olajuwon and Sampson earned much praise, and was nicknamed "Twin Towers".[65] In the following season, Houston won the Midwest Division title with a 51–31 record. The subsequent playoffs had the Rockets sweeping the Sacramento Kings, having a hard-fought six-game series with Alex English's Denver Nuggets, and then facing defending champion Lakers, losing the first game but eventually managing to win the series – the only Western Playoffs defeat of the Showtime Lakers – to get to the franchise's second Finals appearance.[66] The NBA Finals once again matched the Rockets up against the Celtics, a contrast to Houston's young front challenging the playoff-hardened Celtics front court of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. The Celtics won the first two games in Boston, gave the Rockets their only home playoff defeat that season in game 4, and clinched the title as Bird scored a triple-double on Game 6.[66][67]

 
A ticket for Game 2 of the 1987 Western Conference Semifinals between the Rockets and the Seattle SuperSonics

After the Finals, Boston coach K. C. Jones called the Rockets "the new monsters on the block" feeling they had a bright future. But the team had a poor start to the following season, followed by nearly a decade of underachievement and failure, amidst players getting injured or suspended for cocaine usage, and during the playoffs were defeated in the second round by the Seattle SuperSonics in six games, with the final game being a double-overtime classic that saw Olajuwon notching 49 points, 25 rebounds and 6 blocks in defeat. Early in the 1987–88 season, Sampson, who had signed a new contract, was traded to the Golden State Warriors, bringing the Twin Towers era to an end just 18 months after their Finals appearance.[68] Sampson's once-promising career was shortened due to chronic knee injuries, which forced his retirement in 1991. Jones' prophecy of a Rockets dynasty never materialized until the early 1990s.[69]

1987–1992: Lean years

In the next five seasons, the Rockets either failed to qualify for the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round.[70][71][72] The first elimination in 1988 led to Fitch's dismissal, with Don Chaney replacing him as head coach.[73] Chaney, like Olajuwon, also played for the Houston Cougars under Guy Lewis, having played along Elvin Hayes in the late 1960s. Chaney had his best season during 1990–91, where he was named the Coach of the Year after leading the Rockets to a 52–30 record despite Olajuwon's absence due to injury for 25 games.[73][74] Despite Olajuwon's usual strong numbers, the underwhelming roster could not be lifted out of mediocrity. However, the attempts to rebuild the team nucleus incorporated players that would later make an impact in the years to come, such as Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell, Robert Horry, Mario Elie, Sam Cassell and Otis Thorpe.[75]

 
Rudy Tomjanovich spent all his playing career with the Rockets, and after becoming the team's head coach in 1992 led Houston to two straight championships.

Midway through the 1991–92 season, with the Rockets' record only 26–26, Chaney was fired and replaced by his assistant Rudy Tomjanovich, a former Houston player himself.[76] While the Rockets did not make the playoffs,[77] Tomjanovich's arrival was considered a step forward. In the next year, the Rockets improved their record by 13 games, getting the Midwest Division title, and winning their first playoff series in 6 years by defeating the Los Angeles Clippers, before an elimination by the SuperSonics in a closely contested Game 7 overtime loss.[78]

1993–1995: Back-to-Back Championships for Clutch City

On July 30, 1993, Leslie Alexander purchased the Rockets for $85 million.[79] Following the bitter Game 7 loss in Seattle in overtime, Olajuwon gathered the team and famously stated "we go from here".[citation needed] The next season, in Tomjanovich's second full year as head coach, the Rockets began the 1993–94 season by tying an NBA record with a start of 15–0.[80][81] Their first loss of the season came on December 3, 1993, as the Hawks, led by Dominique Wilkins' 27 points, defeated the Rockets, 133–111.[82] The next game, the Rockets stormed a comeback against the Cleveland Cavaliers as they won by a single point, 99–98, on the road. The Rockets now had won their first 16 out of 17 games of the season, tying the 1948–49 Capitols for the best 17-game start in a season, at that time.[83] On December 9, Olajuwon recorded 28 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks as the Rockets cruised past the visiting Heat in overtime to win their 18th game of the season.[84] Led by Olajuwon, who was named the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year,[85] the Rockets won 58 games, a franchise record at the time.[86][87] After quickly dispatching the Portland Trail Blazers (who had made the finals just two years prior) in 4 games, they then faced the defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns, led by the previous year's MVP Charles Barkley. The series opened up in Houston, which saw the Rockets open up a big lead going into the fourth quarter. In both games, however, the Rockets inexplicably collapsed to allow the Suns a 2–0 lead going back to Phoenix. Following recent heart-breaking playoff losses by the Houston Oilers, it appeared as though the Rockets were doomed. Local newspapers labeled Houston as "Choke City", which the Rockets took to heart and ultimately came back to win the series in seven games. As "Choke City" became "Clutch City", the name permanently became a part of Houston folklore. The Rockets then soon defeated John Stockton and Karl Malone's Utah Jazz in five in the Conference Finals to advance to their third finals.[88] The New York Knicks opened a 3–2 advantage, but the Rockets won the last two games on their home court and claimed their first championship in franchise history.[86] Olajuwon was awarded the Finals MVP, after averaging 27 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots a game.[85]

The Rockets initially struggled in the first half of the 1994–95 season,[89] which they fixed by sending Otis Thorpe to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Olajuwon's former college teammate Clyde Drexler.[90] With only 47 wins, the Rockets entered the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Still, a strong playoff run that earned Houston the nickname "Clutch City" had the Rockets defeating the West's top three seeds – the Jazz, Suns and Spurs – to reach back-to-back finals, this time against the Orlando Magic, led by Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway. When Houston swept the Finals' series in four games,[91] they became the first team in NBA history to win the championship as a sixth seed, and the first to beat four 50-win teams in a single postseason en route to the championship.[92] Olajuwon was again the Finals MVP, only the second player after Michael Jordan to win the award two years in a row.[93] It was on the floor of The Summit after they captured their second title that head coach Rudy Tomjanovich proclaimed, "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion!"[94]

1995–2002: Post-championship and rebuilding

During the off-season, the Rockets went for a change of visual identity, making navy blue and silver the new primary colors while adopting a new cartoon-inspired logo and pinstriped jerseys.[95] The Rockets won 48 games in the 1995–96 season,[96] in which Olajuwon became the NBA's all-time leader in blocked shots.[97] The playoffs had the Rockets beating the Lakers before a sweep by the SuperSonics.[96]

Before the start of the succeeding season, the Rockets sent four players to Phoenix in exchange for Charles Barkley.[98] The resulting "Big Three" of Olajuwon, Drexler, and Barkley had a strong debut season with a 57–25 record,[99] going all the way to the Western Conference finals before losing to the Utah Jazz 4–2 on a dramatic last-second shot by John Stockton.[100] The following season was marked by injuries, and Houston finished 41–41 and the 8th seed, leading to another elimination by the top-seeded Jazz.[101]

Drexler retired after the season,[102] and the Rockets traded to bring in Scottie Pippen to take his place.[103] In the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, the Rockets lost to the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.[104] After the 1999 draft, the Rockets traded for the second overall pick Steve Francis from the Vancouver Grizzlies, in exchange for four players and a first-round draft pick.[105] However, after Houston traded a discontented Pippen to Portland,[106] and Barkley suffered a career-ending injury,[107] the rebuilt Rockets went 34–48 and missed the playoffs,[108] for only the second time in 15 years.[86]

In the 2000–01 season, the Rockets worked their way to a 45–37 record. However, in a competitive Western Conference where seven teams won 50 games, this left the Rockets two games out of the playoffs.[109] In the following off-season, a 38-year-old Olajuwon requested a trade, and, despite stating their desire to keep him, the Rockets reached a sign-and-trade agreement, sending him to the Toronto Raptors.[110] The ensuing 2001–02 season—the first without Hakeem in two decades—was unremarkable, and the Rockets finished with only 28 wins.[111]

2002–2009: The Yao Ming era

 
Yao Ming during his rookie season with the Rockets

After Houston was awarded the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft, they selected Yao Ming, a 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) Chinese center.[112] The Rockets missed the 2003 playoffs by one game, improving their record by 15 victories.[113][114]

The 2003–04 season marked the Rockets' arrival to a new arena, the Toyota Center,[115] a redesign of their uniforms and logo,[116] and their first season without Rudy Tomjanovich, who resigned as head coach after being diagnosed with bladder cancer.[117] Led by former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy,[118] the Rockets finished the regular season with a record of 45–37,[119] earning their first playoff berth since 1999,[86] again losing to the Lakers in the first round.[119]

 
Yao Ming carrying his home country's Five-star Red Flag at the 2008 Summer Olympics

In the off-season, Houston saw major changes in the roster as the Rockets acquired Tracy McGrady in a seven-player deal with the Orlando Magic.[120] The scoring champion McGrady and the strong rebounder Yao formed a well-regarded pair that helped the Rockets win 22 consecutive games in the 2007–08 season, which was at the time the 3rd longest winning streak in NBA history. Still, the duo was plagued with injuries – of the 463 regular season games for which they were teammates, Yao missed 146 and McGrady 160 – and did not win any playoff series, despite gathering leads over the Dallas Mavericks in 2005 and the Jazz in 2007.[121] Despite this, Yao was selected to carry his home country's Five-star Red Flag at the Summer Olympics opening ceremony held at home in 2008. After the 2007 elimination, Van Gundy was fired,[122] and the Rockets hired Rick Adelman to replace him.[123]

 
Houston acquired Tracy McGrady in 2004.

For the 2008–09 season, the Rockets signed forward Ron Artest. While McGrady wound up playing only half the games before enduring a season-ending microfracture surgery,[124] the Rockets ended the season 53–29, enough for the Western Conference's fifth seed. During the playoffs, the Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers four games to two, winning their first playoff round since 1997.[125] During the series, Dikembe Mutombo injured his knee, which forced him to retire after 18 seasons in the NBA.[126] However, the second round against the Lakers had the Rockets losing 4–3 and Yao Ming suffering yet another season-ending injury, this time a hairline fracture in his left foot.[127]

2009–2012: Competitive rebuilding

During the 2009–10 season, the Rockets saw the departures of Artest in the off-season and McGrady, Joey Dorsey and Carl Landry during mid-season trades. Despite great play by Kevin Martin, who arrived from the Kings, and Aaron Brooks, who would eventually be chosen as the Most Improved Player of the season, the Rockets could not make it to the playoffs, finishing 42–40, 3rd in the Southwest Division. At that time, the Rockets set an NBA record for best record by a team with no All-Stars.[128][129] The Rockets would also finish ninth in the Western Conference for the following two seasons,[130][131] with Yao Ming getting a season-ending injury seven games into the 2010–11 season and deciding to retire during the 2011 off-season.[132] Said off-season, which saw the NBA going through a lockout, had Adelman dismissed,[133] and general manager Daryl Morey deciding to start a revamp of the Rockets based on advanced statistical analytics (similar to sabermetrics in baseball) in player acquisitions and style of play. Kevin McHale was named head coach, and the roster saw significant changes.[134]

2012–2021: The James Harden era

After the roster moves made by Morey during the 2012 NBA off-season,[134] only four players were left from the 2011–12 Rockets roster: Chandler Parsons, Greg Smith, Marcus Morris, and Patrick Patterson,[135] with the latter two leaving through trades during the 2012–13 season.[134] The most important acquisition was reigning Sixth Man of the Year James Harden, who Morey called a "foundational" player expected to be Houston's featured player after a supporting role in the Oklahoma City Thunder.[136] Harden caused an immediate impact as part of the starting lineup for the Rockets, with 37 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and a block in the season opener against the Detroit Pistons,[137] and an average of 25.9 points a game through the season. Combining Harden's performance and McHale's up-tempo offense, the Rockets became one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NBA, leading the league in scoring for the majority of the season.[134][138] In the postseason, the Rockets fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round, losing the series 4–2.[139]

 
James Harden arrived in Houston in 2012, and became a franchise player for the Rockets.

Eager to add another franchise player to their team, the Rockets heavily pursued and then acquired free agent center Dwight Howard in the 2013 off-season. He officially signed with the Rockets on July 13, 2013.[140] Led by the new inside-out combination of Howard and James Harden, and with a strong supporting cast including Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin, and Ömer Aşık, the Rockets were expected to jump into title contention in the upcoming season.[141] However, that postseason, the Rockets were defeated in the first round by the Portland Trail Blazers, losing the series 4–2.[142] Still, in the 2014–15 season, without Lin and Parsons but reinforced by Trevor Ariza, the Rockets started the season well, winning the first four games of the season for the first time since 1996–97,[143] and winning each of their first six games by 10 points or more, the first team to accomplish this feat since the 1985–86 Denver Nuggets.[144] Though the Rockets had many key players miss time throughout the entire season, James Harden took it upon himself to keep the Rockets near the top of the conference, turning him into an MVP front-runner. He became the first Rocket to score 50 points in a game since Hakeem Olajuwon,[145] as well as the only player in franchise history to record multiple 50 point games in a season.[146] On April 15, 2015, the Rockets beat the Jazz to claim their first-ever Southwest Division title and first Division crown since 1994, and by completing 56 wins finished with the third-best regular season record in franchise history.[147] During the playoffs, the Rockets beat the Mavericks 4–1 in the first round, and overcame a 3–1 deficit against the Los Angeles Clippers to win the Western semifinals and return to the Conference Finals for the first time in 18 years.[148] In the Conference Finals, the Rockets were defeated by the Golden State Warriors 4–1.[149]

The 2015–16 season saw Kevin McHale fired after a bad start where the team only won 4 of its first 11 games, and assistant J. B. Bickerstaff took over coaching duties.[150] Inconsistent play led to the Rockets struggling to remain in the playoff qualifying zone,[151] and surrounded by trade rumors.[152] Houston only clinched its 2016 playoffs spot by winning its last game, finishing the season 41–41 to earn an eight seed and a match-up against the Warriors.[153] Like in the previous year, the Rockets were once again defeated by Golden State in five games.[154]

During the 2016 off-season, Mike D'Antoni was named as the Rockets' new head coach,[155] and Dwight Howard opted out of his contract's final year, becoming a free agent.[156] In the following free-agency period, the Rockets looked to embrace the play styles of both coach D'Antoni and Harden through the signings of Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, two predominately perimeter players and good fits in Houston's up-tempo offense style.[157]

When the 2016–17 season started, Harden was off to a great start and was widely considered a top MVP runner along with Kawhi Leonard, alongside former teammate Russell Westbrook.[158] When the season ended, the Rockets were third in both the Western Conference and overall rankings, a major improvement from the season before. D'Antoni was named the NBA Coach of the Year, Eric Gordon the Sixth Man of the Year, and Harden finished second in MVP voting to Russell Westbrook.[159] In the playoffs, the Rockets faced the sixth seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in a battle of the MVP frontrunners, as the winner was not announced until after the finals.[160] The Rockets won the series 4–1 including Nene Hilario's perfect 12–12 in field goals in Game 4.[161] In the following round, Houston opened with a dominating 27 points win over the San Antonio Spurs, lost the following two games and then tied the series again.[162] The fifth game went into overtime and had both Manu Ginobili blocking James Harden's game tying three point attempt at the final second,[163] and Nene injuring himself out of the postseason.[164] Without Nene, the Rockets could not guard LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the series-closing match.[165]

During the 2017 off-season, the Rockets were purchased by Houston restaurant billionaire Tilman Fertitta for $2.2 billion,[166] breaking the record for the price to purchase an American professional sports team.[167] The team also acquired 8-time All-NBA player and 9-time All-Star Chris Paul in a trade from the Los Angeles Clippers, in exchange for seven players, cash considerations, and a top three protected 2018 first round draft pick.[168][169] Even if Paul missed many games due to a knee injury, he was a key addition to the Rockets.[170] The team finished the season with 65 wins, a record both league-leading and the best in franchise history.[171] During the playoffs, Houston beat the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz in five games before another confrontation with the Golden State Warriors.[172] In Game 5 of the Conference Finals, the Rockets took a 3–2 lead in the series, but they saw Paul leave with an injured hamstring. His absence was felt in the two remaining games, where Houston led by halftime in Game 7 only to suffer a comeback by Golden State.[173]

The Rockets had one draft pick entering the off-season, and they used it to select De'Anthony Melton, packaging him in a trade with the Phoenix Suns alongside Ryan Anderson to receive Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss.[174] In free agency, they signed James Ennis III, Michael Carter-Williams, and Carmelo Anthony. They started the season with a 1–4 record, and after 13 games where they went 6–7, Houston and Anthony mutually agreed to part ways, who was eventually traded to the Chicago Bulls and subsequently waived.[175][176] After falling to the 14th seed in the Western Conference, James Harden went on a 32-game streak scoring at least 30 points per game—the second-longest in NBA history—with Harden averaging 41.1 points per game in that run. He drove the Rockets through a 21–11 push in that streak; and after beginning the season 11–14, the Rockets finished the season 42–15, winning 20 of their last 25 games and finishing fourth in the Western Conference after losing the final two games of the season, which would have potentially given them the second or third seed.[177][178] After what was determined to be poor fits of the acquisitions made in free agency, on top of injuries, Daryl Morey traded the players acquired in the off-season at the trade deadline and replaced them with Austin Rivers, Kenneth Faried, Danuel House, and Iman Shumpert during the season. On April 7, 2019, against the Phoenix Suns, Houston became the first team in NBA history to make 25+ two-pointers and 25+ three-pointers in the same game, outscoring their last four opponents by 117 points, second-best in a four-game span in franchise history (127+ in February 1993); additionally, the Rockets' 149 points tied the fourth-most in franchise history and are the most since February 1993.[citation needed] They beat their own record for most three-pointers made by one team in a single game in NBA history two times with 26 and 27,[179][180] and they are just the fourth team in NBA history to win four consecutive games by 24 or more points (the others are the 1990–91 Chicago Bulls, the 1992–93 Rockets, and the 1995–96 Bulls).[citation needed] The Rockets clinched a division title and a playoff berth for a seventh straight appearance.[181] After defeating the Utah Jazz in five games, Houston faced Golden State for the fourth time in five years. The series began with a tight Game 1 decided by four points along with officiating that received scrutiny.[182] With both teams winning their home games, putting the series at 2–2, Golden State won the next two games to eliminate the Rockets for the second year in a row along with the fourth time in five years.

During the 2019 off-season, Morey sought out to once again retool the roster. As part of a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Rockets traded Chris Paul, two future first round picks, and two future first round pick swaps in exchange for James Harden's former Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook.[183] Nearing the trade deadline of the 2019–20 season, the Rockets were involved in a blockbuster, four-team trade which was centered around bringing Robert Covington back to the Rockets and sending centers Clint Capela and Nenê to the Atlanta Hawks.[184] The trade cemented the Rockets' total commitment to a small ball, 5-out offense, a style of play which was considered revolutionary for its time.[185] In their first twelve games since going 6'7" or shorter in their lineups, the Rockets went 10–2, being in the top percentile in win percentage, offensive rating, and point differential.[186] In February, the month they made the trade, the double-MVP backcourt of Harden and Westbrook became the first teammates in NBA history to average 30+ points and 5+ assists per game.[187] By the end of the season, Harden and Westbrook scored a combined 61.5 points per game, breaking Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal's previous record for the highest-scoring basketball duo since the ABA-NBA merger.[188]

Following the suspension of the 2019–20 NBA season, the Rockets were one of the 22 teams invited to the NBA Bubble to participate in the final eight games of the regular season.[189] After the Rockets were eliminated in the playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers, D'Antoni and Morey informed the Rockets that they would both not return to the team for the 2020–21 season.[190][191] During the off-season, Westbrook was traded to the Washington Wizards in December 2020.[192][193] Rafael Stone was hired as the general manager after serving in general counsel and as an assistant general manager.[194] Stephen Silas was hired as the Rockets' head coach.

In January 2021, Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a four-team trade.[195][B] The Rockets began the season with an 11–10 start but ended up with a 17–55 record,[note 1] the worst in the league despite with many injuries and trades.

2021–present: Rebuilding Phase

In the 2021 NBA draft, the team selected Jalen Green with the second overall pick out of the NBA G League Ignite, pairing him alongside Kevin Porter Jr., who was acquired via trade the season prior for a top-55 protected second round pick. Because of their additions in the draft, including first round selections in Alperen Şengün and Josh Christopher, the team began focusing on developing and rebuilding around their young core, which resulted in John Wall being benched for the entire season.[196] In the 2021–22 season, the Rockets were once again bottom of the league, with a 20–62 record. Jalen Green was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team with averages of 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists.[197]

 
Alperen Sengun

In the 2022 NBA draft, the Rockets selected Jabari Smith Jr. with third overall pick and Tari Eason with the 17th overall picks. The Rockets made some adjustments by sending forward Christian Wood to the Dallas Mavericks in an exchange for Boban Marjanović, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss and traded all of them to the Oklahoma City Thunder during the off-season to develop their young core while keeping Marjanović. During the off-season, the Rockets bought out John Wall's contract, who had been demanding a trade for a while and did not participate for the Rockets 2021-22 season.[198]

On February 9, 2023, The Rockets traded long-time veteran Eric Gordon to the Clippers in three-team trade in exchange of Danny Green and John Wall and were later on waived. The Rockets ended the 2022–23 regular season with a 22–60 record, tying with the San Antonio Spurs for last in the Western Conference. The Rockets fired head coach Stephen Silas after they chose not to pick up his fourth year option and replaced him with former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka.

One Time All-Star Fred VanVleet joined the Rockets via Free Agency. The Houston Rockets selected Amen Thompson with the fourth pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Alperen Sengun improved this season, averaging 21.1 Points Per Game, 9.3 Rebounds Per Game, and 5 Assists Per Game. He was announced out for the season on March 21st with an Ankle Injury.

Season-by-season record

List of the last five seasons completed by the Rockets. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Houston Rockets seasons.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage

Season GP W L W–L% Finish Playoffs
2019–20 72 44 28 .611 1st, Southwest Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1–4 (Lakers)
2020–21 72 17 55 .236 5th, Southwest Did not qualify
2021–22 82 20 62 .244 5th, Southwest Did not qualify
2022–23 82 22 60 .268 4th, Southwest Did not qualify
2023–24 82 41 41 .500 3rd, Southwest Did not qualify

Home arenas

 
The Summit (later Compaq Center) hosted the Rockets from 1975 to 2003, and was also the site where the Rockets won both of their NBA titles in 1994 and 1995. Today the site is the worship center for Lakewood Church.
 
Toyota Center is the current home of the Houston Rockets.

During the four years the Rockets were in San Diego, they played their games in the San Diego Sports Arena,[12] which had a seating capacity of 14,400.[199] In their first season after moving to Houston, the Rockets did not have their own arena, and they played their first two years at various venues in the city, including the Astrodome, AstroHall, Sam Houston Coliseum and Hofheinz Pavilion, the latter eventually being adopted as their home arena until 1975. They also had to play "home" games in other cities such as San Antonio, Waco, Albuquerque, and even San Diego in efforts to extend the fan-base. During their first season, the Rockets averaged less than 5,000 fans per game (roughly half full), and in one game in Waco, there were only 759 fans in attendance.[12]

Their first permanent arena in Houston was the 10,000 seat Hofheinz Pavilion on the campus of the University of Houston, which they moved into starting in their second season. They played in the arena for four years, before occupying The Summit in 1975. The arena, which could hold 16,611 spectators,[200] was their home for the next 28 years. It was renamed the Compaq Center from 1998 to 2003.[12] Following the 1994 title, the Rockets had a sellout streak of 176 consecutive home games, including the playoffs, which lasted until 1999. However, the struggling 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons saw Houston having the worst attendance average in the league, with less than 12,000 spectators each season.[201]

For the 2003–04 season, the Rockets moved into their new arena, the Toyota Center, with a seating capacity of 18,500.[115] During the 2007–08 season where the team achieved a 22-game winning streak, the Rockets got their best numbers to date, averaging 17,379 spectators.[202] These were exceeded once James Harden joined the team in 2012. The Rockets averaged 18,123 spectators during the 2013–14 season, selling out 39 out of the 41 home games.[203][204] The 2014–15 season had even better numbers, with 40 sellouts and an average of 18,230 tickets sold.[205]

Team identity

Uniforms and logos

When the Rockets debuted in San Diego, their colors were green and gold. Road uniforms featured the city name, while the home uniforms feature the team name, both in a serifed block lettering. This was the only uniform design the Rockets would use throughout their years in San Diego. The Rockets' first logo featured a rocket streaking with a basketball surrounded by the team name.[15]

Upon moving to Houston in 1971, the Rockets replaced green with red.[13] They kept the same design from their San Diego days, save for the change of color and city name. The logo used is of a player with a spinning basketball launching upward, with boosters on his back, leaving a trail of red and gold flames and the words "Houston Rockets" below it.[13]

For the 1972–73 season, the Rockets introduced the famous "ketchup and mustard" logo, so dubbed by fans, featuring a gold basketball surrounded by two red trails, with "Houston" atop the first red trail and "Rockets" (all capitalized save for the lowercase 'E' and 'T') in black surrounding the basketball. The initial home uniforms, used until the 1975–76 season, features the city name, numbers and serifed player name in red with gold trim, while the away uniforms feature the city name (all capitalized except for the lower case 'T' and 'N'), numbers and serifed player name in gold with white trim.[13]

In the 1976–77 season, the Rockets modified their uniforms, featuring a monotone look on the Cooper Black fonts and white lettering on the road uniforms. On the home shorts, the team logo is located on the right leg, while the away shorts feature the team name wordmark on the same location. With minor modifications in the number font, this version was used in all four of their NBA Finals appearances, including their 1994 and 1995 championships.[13]

Following the 1995 title, the Rockets opted to modernize their look. After a fan contest with over 5,000 entries, the team went with the idea of Missouri City artist Thomas Nash of a rocket orbiting a basketball, which was then reworked by Houston designer Chris Hill.[95] Nash would later sue the Rockets for breach of contract, given they were using his idea despite not having paid the contest prizes.[206][207] The NBA suggested that the identity should follow the cartoon-inspired imagery that other teams adopted during the 1990s, leading to a rocket painted with sharkmouth nose art orbiting a basketball. Red was retained, but navy blue and silver became the uniform's primary colors. Both the home white and away navy uniforms featured gradient-fading pinstripes and futuristic number fonts, with side stripes of navy fading to red. This was used until the 2002–03 season.[13][208]

The Rockets released simplified logos and uniforms in the 2003–04 season,[116] which were created by New York-based agency Alfafa Studio in association with Japanese designer Eiko Ishioka. The logo is a stylized 'R' in the shape of a rocket during takeoff, surrounded by a red orbit streak that can be interpreted as the central circle of a basketball court. Said "R" inspired the team's new custom typeface, designed so that every single digit could be read well from a distance, whether in the arena or on television. Red once again became the dominant color, with silver and black as secondary.[209][210] In 2009, the Rockets invoked the championship years with an alternate red uniform, featuring gold numbers and side stripes.[211][212] The Rockets had two sleeved alternate jerseys for the 2015–16 season, an alternate silver-colored uniform whose design referenced the design of NASA's Gemini-Titan rocket, and a red and gold jersey featuring the nickname "Clutch City".[213] For the 2016–17 season, the Rockets began to wear a black alternate uniform.

Following the switch to Nike in 2017, the Rockets made some slight tweaks to the uniform. While the black "Statement" uniform remained mostly unchanged, the red "Icon" and white "Association" uniforms now feature truncated side striping that no longer wrap around the shoulders. The Rockets also wore a "City" uniform that was similar to their red "Icon" uniforms but with Chinese lettering in place of "Rockets" in front; the design was tweaked the following season with a deeper red and old gold accents.

On June 6, 2019, the Rockets unveiled a new secondary logo that depicts a basketball as a planet, and the ring has the "Houston Rockets" displayed with the classic "R" in the middle.[214] A new uniform set was unveiled two weeks later. The red "Icon" and white "Association" designs featured updated block lettering and bold side panels that depict a launching rocket. The black "Statement" uniform remained with a few alterations. In addition, the Rockets brought back their throwback "ketchup and mustard" 1976–95 red uniform as part of Nike's "Classic" series.[215] For the 2019–20 "City" uniform, the Rockets eschewed the Chinese New Year-themed designs and went with a NASA-inspired space theme.[216]

The Rockets' "City" uniform for the 2020–21 season featured a powder blue base as a nod to the city of Houston. The colors resembled those of Houston's former NFL team, the Houston Oilers. For the 2021–22 season, the Rockets announced a partnership with Credit Karma to be featured on the team's jerseys as a sponsor.[217]

The 2021–22 Rockets' "City" uniform referenced various uniform designs from the past. The navy base and white pinstripes were taken from the 1995–2003 uniforms. The modified "ketchup and mustard" logo on the waist, as well as a diagonally arranged "Houston" wordmark and block numbers, paid tribute to the 1975–1995 uniforms. The modern "R" logo and white double arches on the side were an homage to the 2003–2019 uniforms.[218] The Rockets retained this "City" uniform in the 2022–23 season.[219]

For the 2023–24 "City" uniform, the Rockets drew inspiration from the uniforms worn by the Phi Slama Jama-era Houston Cougars of the early 1980s. A nod to both teams' legends Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, the white-based uniform featured "H-Town" in red cursive letters with white and blue trim, along with block numbers.[220] The uniforms would also be paired with an alternate court specific to the 2023 NBA in-season tournament, featuring a red base with a middle blue strip and silhouettes of the NBA Cup.[221]

 
Clutch the Bear is the Rockets' mascot.

Mascots

The mascot was introduced on March 14, 1995, formerly known as "Clutch" . From 1993 to 1995, the mascot was Turbo, a costumed man that performed acrobatic dunks and other maneuvers.[222] In 1995, the Rockets debuted Clutch the Bear as a second mascot, a large teddy bear-like mascot that performs a variety of acts during the games. After eight years of serving as dual mascots, the performer playing Turbo retired, making Clutch the sole mascot for the team.[223] The mascot was considered and voted fifth for the most recognizable mascot in the league, and was also inducted in the 2006 mascot Hall of Fame.[224]

Rivalries

Main articles: Rockets–Spurs rivalry and Jazz–Rockets rivalry

The Rockets have developed many rivalries within the Western Conference ever since the team returned there in 1980. Two are intrastate rivalries, with the San Antonio Spurs, who moved along with the Rockets after four years with them in the Eastern Conference,[225] and the Dallas Mavericks, introduced that very season.[226] Houston has faced both Texas teams in the playoffs since 1980, beating the Spurs three times and losing once. The Rockets lost twice to the Mavericks, while beating them once.[227] Other famed rivalries were with the Los Angeles Lakers, who in the 1980s Showtime era only missed the NBA Finals when beaten by the Rockets,[228] and the Utah Jazz, who the Rockets beat in both championship seasons but were defeated by Utah in five other occasions.[229]

Honors and statistics

Individual honors

All-Star Weekend

Statistics and records

Main article: Houston Rockets statistics and records

Franchise leaders

Bold denotes still active with team. Italics denotes still active but not with team.

Points scored (regular season) (as of the end of the 2022–23 season)[243]

Other Statistics (regular season) (as of the end of the 2022–23 season)[243]

Minutes Played
Rebounds
Assists
Steals
Blocks

Personnel

Current roster

For the complete list of Houston Rockets players, see Houston Rockets all-time roster.
For the players drafted by Houston Rockets, see List of Houston Rockets first and second round draft picks.
Houston Rockets roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
C 12 Adams, Steven   6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1993-07-20 Pittsburgh
G/F 9 Brooks, Dillon 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1996-01-22 Oregon
G/F 25 Bullock, Reggie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1991-03-16 North Carolina
F 17 Eason, Tari   6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2001-05-10 LSU
G 4 Green, Jalen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 2002-02-09 Prolific Prep (CA)
F 32 Green, Jeff 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1986-08-28 Georgetown
G/F 14 Hinton, Nate (TW) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1999-06-08 Houston
G 0 Holiday, Aaron 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-09-30 UCLA
C 2 Landale, Jock 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1995-10-25 Saint Mary's
C 51 Marjanović, Boban 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 290 lb (132 kg) 1988-08-15 Serbia
F 00 Samuels, Jermaine (TW) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1998-11-12 Villanova
C 28 Şengün, Alperen   6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 243 lb (110 kg) 2002-07-25 Turkey
F 10 Smith, Jabari Jr. 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2003-05-13 Auburn
F 8 Tate, Jae'Sean   6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1995-10-28 Ohio State
G/F 1 Thompson, Amen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2003-01-30 Pine Crest (FL)
G 5 VanVleet, Fred 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 1994-02-25 Wichita State
F 7 Whitmore, Cam 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 2004-07-08 Villanova
G/F 19 Williams, Nate (TW) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1999-02-12 Buffalo
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  •   Injured

Roster
Last transaction: April 6, 2024

Retained draft rights

The Rockets currently do not own the draft rights to unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA.

A drafted player, either an international draftee or a college draftee who is not signed by the team that drafted him, is allowed to sign with any non-NBA teams. In this case, the team retains the player's draft rights in the NBA until one year after the player's contract with the non-NBA team ends.[244] This list includes draft rights that were acquired from trades with other teams.

Draft Round Pick Player Pos. Nationality Current team Note(s) Ref
2018 2 44 Issuf Sanon G   Ukraine Prometey (Latvia) Acquired from the Washington Wizards (via New York)
2017 2 60 Alpha Kaba F/C   Guinea Valencia (Spain) Acquired from the Atlanta Hawks [245]

Retired numbers

Houston Rockets retired numbers
No. Player Position Tenure Ceremony date
11 Yao Ming C 2002–2011 February 3, 2017
22 Clyde Drexler G 1995–1998 February 3, 2000
23 Calvin Murphy G 1970–1983 March 17, 1984
24 Moses Malone C 1976–1982 April 19, 1998
34 Hakeem Olajuwon C 1984–2001 November 9, 2002
44 Elvin Hayes F/C 1968–1972
1981–1984		 November 18, 2022
45 Rudy Tomjanovich F1 1970–1981 January 28, 1982
CD Carroll Dawson Assistant coach
General manager2		 1980–2007 April 16, 2007
  • 1 Also served as head coach (1991–2003).
  • 2 As Dawson did not play for the Rockets, the team used his initials.[246]
  • The NBA retired Bill Russell's No. 6 for all its member teams on August 11, 2022.[247][248]

Basketball Hall of Famers

Houston Rockets Hall of Famers[249][250]
Players
No. Name Position Tenure Inducted
2
4		 Rick Barry F 1978–1980 1987
11
44		 Elvin Hayes C/F 1968–1972
1981–1984		 1990
23 Calvin Murphy G 1970–1983 1993
21
24		 Moses Malone C/F 1976–1982 2001
22 Clyde Drexler 1 G/F 1995–1998 2004
4 Charles Barkley 1 F 1996–2000 2006
34 Hakeem Olajuwon C 1984–2001 2008
33 Scottie Pippen 1 F 1999 2010
50 Ralph Sampson C/F 1983–1987 2012
55 Dikembe Mutombo C 2004–2009 2015
11 Yao Ming C 2002–2011 2016
1
3		 Tracy McGrady G/F 2004–2010 2017
Coaches
Name Position Tenure Inducted
Alex Hannum Head coach 1969–1971 1998
Pat Riley Player 1967–1970 2008
Tex Winter Head coach 1971–1973 2011
Bill Fitch Head coach 1983–1988 2019
45 Rudy Tomjanovich 2 Head coach 1992–2003 2020
12 Rick Adelman 4 Head coach 2007–2011 2021
Contributors
Name Position Tenure Inducted
Pete Newell 3 General manager 1968–1971 1979
Del Harris Assistant coach
Head coach		 1976–1979
1979–1983		 2022

Notes:

  • 1 All three players were also inducted to the Hall of Fame as members of the 1992 Olympic team.
  • 2 Tomjanovich also played for the Rockets from 1970 to 1981 and served as assistant coach from 1983 to 1992.
  • 3 In total, Newell was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice – as contributor and as a member of the 1960 Olympic team.
  • 4 Adelman also played for the Rockets from 1968 to 1970.

FIBA Hall of Famers

Houston Rockets Hall of Famers
Players
No. Name Position Tenure Inducted
34 Hakeem Olajuwon C 1984–2001 2016
11 Yao Ming C 2002–2011 2023

Management

General managers

GM history
GM Tenure
Jack McMahon[251] Mar 1967 – June 1968
Pete Newell[251] June 1968 – May 1972
Ray Patterson[252] May 1972 – September 1989
Steve Patterson[253] September 1989 – August 1993
Tod Leiweke[254] August 1993–January 1994
Bob Weinhauer[255] January 1994 – May 1996
Carroll Dawson[256] May 1996 – May 2007
Daryl Morey[257] May 2007–October 2020
Rafael Stone[258] October 2020–present

Owners

Ownership history
Owner Tenure
Robert Breitbard[259] January 1967 – June 1971
Billy Goldberg, Wayne Duddlesten, Mickey Herskowitz[259] June 1971 – December 1973
Irvin Kaplan[259] December 1973 – September 1975
Wayne Duddlesten and Ray Patterson[260] September 1975 – February 1977
Kenneth Schnitzer [261] February 1977 – May 1979
George J. Maloof, Sr.[252] May 1979 – November 1980
Gavin Maloof[252] November 1980 – June 1982
Charlie Thomas[79] June 1982 – July 1993
Leslie Alexander[79] July 1993 – October 2017
Tilman Fertitta[262] October 2017 – present

Head coaches

Main article: List of Houston Rockets head coaches
San Diego Rockets[263]
Coach Tenure
Jack McMahon 1968–1970
Alex Hannum 1970–1971
Houston Rockets[263]
Coach Tenure
Tex Winter 1971–1973
Johnny Egan 1973–1976
Tom Nissalke 1976–1979
Del Harris 1979–1983
Bill Fitch 1983–1988
Don Chaney 1988–1992
Rudy Tomjanovich 1992–2003
Jeff Van Gundy 2003–2007
Rick Adelman 2007–2011
Kevin McHale 2011–2015
J. B. Bickerstaff (interim) 2015–2016
Mike D'Antoni 2016–2020
Stephen Silas 2020–2023
Ime Udoka 2023–present

Politics

On October 4, 2019, the Rockets' general manager Daryl Morey issued a tweet that supported the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, which drew criticism from the Rockets' owner Tilman Fertitta who said that while Morey was the best general manager in the NBA, the Rockets were not a political organization.[264] Morey later deleted the tweet.[265] Morey's tweet resulted in the Chinese Basketball Association's suspension of its relationship with the Rockets and the issuance of a statement of dissatisfaction from the consulate office of China in Houston.[266] On October 6, Morey and the NBA each issued a separate statement addressing the original tweet; Morey said that he never intended his tweet to cause any offense, while the NBA said the tweet was "Regrettable".[267][268] The statements drew attention and subsequent bipartisan criticism from several US politicians.[266] Chinese media outlets, including the Chinese Communist Party-run People's Daily, described Morey and the NBA's statements as non-apologetic and unacceptable, because they did not contain the word "apologize".[269][270]

Notes

  1. ^ January 16, 2021: Brooklyn Nets to Houston Rockets (four-team trade with Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers)[9][10][11]
    • Houston acquired Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, a 2022 first-round draft selection, a 2024 first-round draft selection, a 2026 first-round draft selection, rights to swap first-round draft selections in 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027, and a 2022 first-round draft selection (from Milwaukee)
    • Brooklyn acquired James Harden and a 2024 second-round draft selection
    • Cleveland acquired Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince
    • Indiana acquired Caris LeVert and two future second-round draft selections
  2. ^ January 16, 2021: Brooklyn Nets to Houston Rockets (four-team trade with Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers)[9][10][11]
    • Houston acquired Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, a 2022 first-round draft selection, 2024 first-round draft selection, 2026 first-round draft selection, rights to swap first-round draft selections in 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027, and a 2022 first-round draft selection (from Milwaukee)
    • Brooklyn acquired James Harden and a 2024 second-round draft selection
    • Cleveland acquired Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince
    • Indiana acquired Caris LeVert and 2 future second-round draft selections
  1. ^ Due to COVID-19, the league shortened the season to 72 games rather than its usual 82-game season.

References

  1. ^ "Rockets All-Time Record" (PDF). 2022–23 Houston Rockets Media Guide (PDF). NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
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  • Official website  

January 01, 1970
houston, rockets, american, professional, basketball, team, based, houston, rockets, compete, national, basketball, association, member, southwest, division, western, conference, team, plays, home, games, toyota, center, located, downtown, houston, throughout,. The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association NBA as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center located in Downtown Houston Throughout its history Houston has won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles It was established in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets an expansion team originally based in San Diego In 1971 the Rockets relocated to Houston Houston Rockets2023 24 Houston Rockets seasonConferenceWesternDivisionSouthwestFounded1967HistorySan Diego Rockets1967 1971Houston Rockets1971 present 1 2 3 ArenaToyota CenterLocationHouston TexasTeam colorsRed black gray anthracite white 4 5 Main sponsorCredit Karma 6 PresidentGretchen Sheirr 7 General managerRafael StoneHead coachIme UdokaOwnershipTilman Fertitta 8 Affiliation s Rio Grande Valley VipersChampionships2 1994 1995 Conference titles4 1981 1986 1994 1995 Division titles8 1977 1986 1993 1994 2015 2018 2019 2020 Retired numbers7 11 22 23 24 34 44 45 Websitewww wbr nba wbr com wbr rocketsAssociationIconStatementCity The Rockets won only 15 games in their debut season as a franchise in 1967 In the 1968 NBA draft the Rockets were awarded the first overall pick and selected power forward Elvin Hayes who would lead the team to its first playoff appearance in his rookie season The Rockets did not finish a season with a winning record for almost a decade until the 1976 77 season when they traded for All Star center Moses Malone from the American Basketball Association ABA Malone went on to win the NBA Most Valuable Player MVP award twice while playing with the Rockets and led Houston to the Eastern Conference Finals in his first year with the team During the 1980 81 season the Rockets finished the regular season with a 40 42 record but still made the playoffs Led by Malone the Rockets reached their first NBA Finals in 1981 becoming only the second team in NBA history to do so with a losing record They would lose in six games to the 62 20 Boston Celtics led by Larry Bird Robert Parish and future Rockets head coach Kevin McHale As of 2023 update the 1980 81 Rockets are the last team since the 1958 59 Minneapolis Lakers to make it all the way to the NBA Finals with a losing record In the 1984 NBA draft once again with the first overall pick the Rockets drafted center Hakeem Olajuwon who would become the cornerstone of the most successful period in franchise history Paired with 7 foot 4 inch 2 24 m Ralph Sampson they formed one of the tallest front courts in the NBA Nicknamed the Twin Towers they led the team to the 1986 NBA Finals the second NBA Finals appearance in franchise history where Houston was again defeated by Larry Bird and the 67 win Boston Celtics The Rockets continued to reach the playoffs throughout the 1980s but failed to advance past the first round for several years following a second round defeat to the Seattle SuperSonics in 1987 Rudy Tomjanovich took over as head coach midway through the 1991 92 season ushering in the most successful period in franchise history Led by Olajuwon the Rockets dominated the 1993 94 season setting a then franchise record 58 wins and went to the 1994 NBA Finals the third NBA Finals appearance in franchise history and won the franchise s first championship against Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks During the following season reinforced by another All Star Clyde Drexler the Rockets in their fourth NBA Finals appearance in franchise history repeated as champions with a four game sweep of the Orlando Magic which was led by a young Shaquille O Neal and Penny Hardaway Houston which finished the season with a 47 35 record and was seeded sixth in the Western Conference during the 1995 playoffs became the lowest seeded team in NBA history to win the title The Rockets acquired all star power forward Charles Barkley in 1996 but the presence of three of the NBA s 50 greatest players of all time Olajuwon Drexler and Barkley was not enough to propel Houston past the Western Conference Finals Each one of the aging trio had left the team by 2001 The Rockets of the early 2000s led by superstars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming followed the trend of consistent regular season respectability followed by playoff underachievement as both players struggled with injuries After Yao s early retirement in 2011 the Rockets entered a period of rebuilding completely dismantling and retooling their roster The acquisition of franchise player James Harden in 2012 launched the Rockets back into perennial championship contention throughout the rest of the 2010s with no losing seasons in Harden s nine season tenure with the team Harden broke countless franchise and NBA records while on the team winning three consecutive scoring titles between 2018 and 2020 and leading the team to two Western Conference Finals appearances both times losing to the Golden State Warriors Prior to the 2020 21 season head coach Mike D Antoni and general manager Daryl Morey left the organization prompting Harden to seek a trade He was traded to the Brooklyn Nets A which started a rebuilding period Moses Malone Hakeem Olajuwon and James Harden have been named the NBA s MVPs while playing for the Rockets for a total of four MVP awards The Rockets when piloted by Morey were renowned for popularizing the use of advanced statistical analytics similar to sabermetrics in baseball in player acquisitions and style of play Contents 1 Franchise history 1 1 1967 1971 San Diego Rockets 1 2 1971 1976 Move to Houston and improvement with Murphy and Rudy T 1 3 1976 1982 The Moses Malone era 1 4 1984 2001 The Hakeem Olajuwon era 1 4 1 1984 1987 The Twin Towers 1 4 2 1987 1992 Lean years 1 4 3 1993 1995 Back to Back Championships for Clutch City 1 4 4 1995 2002 Post championship and rebuilding 1 5 2002 2009 The Yao Ming era 1 6 2009 2012 Competitive rebuilding 1 7 2012 2021 The James Harden era 1 8 2021 present Rebuilding Phase 2 Season by season record 3 Home arenas 4 Team identity 4 1 Uniforms and logos 4 2 Mascots 4 3 Rivalries 5 Honors and statistics 5 1 Individual honors 5 2 All Star Weekend 5 3 Statistics and records 5 4 Franchise leaders 6 Personnel 6 1 Current roster 6 2 Retained draft rights 6 3 Retired numbers 6 4 Basketball Hall of Famers 6 5 FIBA Hall of Famers 7 Management 7 1 General managers 7 2 Owners 7 3 Head coaches 8 Politics 9 Notes 10 References 11 External linksFranchise historyMain article History of the Houston Rockets 1967 1971 San Diego Rockets nbsp Elvin Hayes was selected first overall by the San Diego Rockets in the 1968 NBA draft The Rockets were founded in 1967 in San Diego by Robert Breitbard who paid an entry fee of US 1 75 million to join the NBA as an expansion team for the 1967 68 season 12 13 The NBA wanted to add more teams in the Western United States and chose San Diego based on the city s strong economic and population growth along with the local success of an ice hockey team owned by Breitbard the San Diego Gulls of the Western Hockey League The San Diego International Sports Center which opened the previous year and was also owned by Bretitbard would serve as home to the new franchise A local contest to name the franchise chose the name Rockets 14 as it paid homage to San Diego s theme of a city in motion and the local arm of General Dynamics developing the Atlas missile and booster rocket program 12 15 Breitbard brought in Jack McMahon then coach of the Cincinnati Royals to serve as the Rockets coach and general manager 15 16 The team which would join the league along with the Seattle SuperSonics then built its roster with both veteran players at an expansion draft and college players from the 1967 NBA draft where San Diego s first ever draft pick was Pat Riley 15 17 In their first two games of the season the Rockets were up against the St Louis Hawks and lost both of those games 18 19 Their first win in franchise history came the very next game which occurred three days after against the SuperSonics The Rockets won on the road 121 114 Johnny Green recorded 30 points and 25 rebounds for the Rockets 20 The following game the SuperSonics held a 15 point lead for most of the first half before the Rockets mounted a comeback to force overtime The SuperSonics eventually pulled away and won the game 117 110 though Art Williams recorded the first ever triple double in franchise history as he recorded 17 points 15 rebounds and 13 assists for the Rockets 21 The expansion Rockets ultimately lost 67 games in their inaugural season 22 which was an NBA record for losses in a season at the time 23 In 1968 after the Rockets won a coin toss against the Baltimore Bullets to determine who would have the first overall pick in the 1968 NBA draft 24 they selected Elvin Hayes from the University of Houston 25 Hayes improved the Rockets record to 37 wins and 45 losses enough for the franchise s first ever playoff appearance in 1969 26 but the Rockets lost in the semi finals of the Western Division to the Atlanta Hawks four games to two 26 The Rockets limped to a 27 55 finish in the 1969 70 season before missing the playoffs by just one game in the 1970 71 season 27 28 Off the court Breitbard was facing serious financial losses due to a controversial ongoing tax assessment issue that had plagued his San Diego Sports Arena since it was built He was also still on the hook for paying off the NBA expansion fee for the Rockets in addition to construction related bonds on the arena which he had built with private funding To make matters worse the American professional sports economy had begun to plummet in the late 1960s and professional basketball was being hit particularly hard with nearly all franchises in the NBA and ABA operating at a financial loss at this time 15 On January 26 1970 during an emotional press conference on the floor of the Sports Arena Breitbard addressed the San Diego fans regarding his dire finances and the state of his Rockets basketball and Gulls hockey teams We have been served an eviction notice Breitbard announced I ve tried to work quietly to iron this out But at the moment it appears impossible I don t want to sell I m not interested in selling outside of San Diego It seems to me the Rockets and Gulls are part of this town This arena the Gulls the Rockets are a part of me and our fans have been wonderful to us 15 Over the next nearly year and a half numerous fans circulated petitions and lobbied local officials to help keep the Rockets and Gulls afloat and in San Diego Several proposals surrounded providing financial aid or payment relief to Breitbard or having the City and or County of San Diego take ownership of the arena were discussed but Breitbard was running out of time At least 14 private offers for the Rockets were made to Breitbard though all would have resulted in the team being relocated out of San Diego which Breitbard was adamantly opposed to 15 The tax assessment situation surrounding the Sports Arena which was the only large arena in the region ultimately made the prospect of another local owner purchasing the team infeasible On January 12 1971 the Rockets hosted the 1971 NBA All Star Game at the San Diego Sports Arena a close contest in which the West beat the East 108 107 in front of a packed house of 14 378 fans On June 23 1971 the San Diego Rockets were abruptly sold by Breitbard to a Houston based investment group The NBA hurriedly approved the sale believing the franchise was on the verge of folding News of the sale broke before the coaches players and team employees and executives could even be notified Local officials in San Diego were also caught by surprise 27 In their fourth and final season in existence the San Diego Rockets missed the playoffs by just one game in the standings 27 28 1971 1976 Move to Houston and improvement with Murphy and Rudy T Texas Sports Investments bought the franchise for 5 6 million and moved the team to Houston before the start of the 1971 72 season 12 The franchise became the first NBA team in Texas 29 and the nickname Rockets took on even greater relevance after the move given Houston s long connection to the space industry 30 Houston previously was awarded an NBA expansion franchise along with Buffalo Cleveland and Portland on February 6 1970 31 but the new entry folded six weeks later on March 20 when its investment group led by Alan Rothenberg failed to make the 750 000 down payment on the 3 7 million entrance fee required before the league s college player draft 32 Before the start of the season Hannum left for the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association later renamed Denver Nuggets who joined the NBA in 1976 33 and Tex Winter was hired in his place 34 In the first six games of the 1971 72 season in Winter s first head coaching season the Rockets all lost those games with an average of around 15 points per game Their first win of the season came on October 26 1971 with a 104 103 win over the home team Detroit Pistons 35 Their second win of the season came five days later a 102 87 win over the Buffalo Braves 36 After that game the Rockets lost their next 8 games against the Knicks Trail Blazers Bullets twice Warriors Celtics Bucks and Bulls Their next win was on November 17 on the road against the 76ers 37 However Winter s clashes with Hayes due to a system that contrasted with the offensive style to which Hayes was accustomed made Hayes ask for a trade leaving for the Baltimore Bullets at the end of the 1971 72 season 38 It was also around this time that the Rockets would unveil their classic yellow and red logo and accompanying uniforms used until the end of the 1994 95 season 13 Winter left soon after being fired in January 1973 following a ten game losing streak and was replaced by Johnny Egan 39 Egan led the Rockets back to the playoffs in 1975 where the franchise also won their first round against the New York Knicks subsequently losing to the veteran Boston Celtics in 5 games At that time the Rockets gained popularity in Houston selling out several home games during the regular season as the Rockets battled for a playoff spot and then selling out all of their home playoff games 40 1976 1982 The Moses Malone era In the 1975 76 season the Rockets finally had a permanent home in Houston as they moved into The Summit which they would call home for the next 29 years During the period the franchise was owned by Kenneth Schnitzer developer of the Greenway Plaza which included The Summit 41 After missing the 1976 playoffs Tom Nissalke was hired as a coach and pressed the team to add a play making guard in college standout John Lucas and a rebounding center through Moses Malone who he had coached in the ABA 42 The additions had an immediate impact with the 1976 77 Rockets winning the Central Division and going all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals losing to the Julius Erving s Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2 43 The following season had the team regressing to just 28 wins due to an injury to captain Tomjanovich who got numerous facial fractures after being punched by Kermit Washington of the Los Angeles Lakers and wound up spending five months in rehabilitation 44 45 46 After trading Lucas to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Rick Barry 47 the Rockets returned to the playoffs in 1978 79 with The Chairman Of The Boards Moses Malone receiving the 1979 MVP Award 48 but the team was swept 2 0 by Atlanta in the first round 49 Nissalke was let go and assistant Del Harris was promoted to head coach 50 In 1979 George Maloof a businessperson from Albuquerque New Mexico bought the Rockets for 9 million He died the following year and while the Maloof family expressed interest in selling the team George s 24 year old son Gavin took over the Rockets A buyer was eventually found in 1982 as businessman Charlie Thomas and Sidney Shlenker purchased the franchise for 11 million the Maloofs would later own the Sacramento Kings from 1998 to 2013 The Maloof period of ownership marked the first dominant period of the Rockets 51 52 53 highlighted by the team s first Western Conference Championship and NBA Finals appearance in 1981 their first year after being moved from the Eastern Conference Prior to the 1980 81 season the arrival of the Dallas Mavericks led to an NBA realignment that sent the Rockets back to the Western Conference 54 Houston qualified for the playoffs only in the final game of the season with a 40 42 record 55 The postseason had the Rockets beat the Lakers in state rivals San Antonio Spurs and the equally underdog Kansas City Kings to become only the second team in NBA history after the 1959 Minneapolis Lakers to have advanced to the Finals after achieving a losing record in the regular season 56 In the NBA Finals facing Larry Bird s Boston Celtics the Rockets blew a late lead in Game 1 and won Game 2 at the Boston Garden However afterwards the team failed to capitalize on the early success against the favored Celtics and eventually lost in six games 57 While new owner Charlie Thomas expressed interest in renewing with Moses Malone 52 who had been again chosen as MVP in 1981 82 48 the Rockets traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caldwell Jones as a declining regional economy made the Rockets unable to pay Malone s salary 58 When the Rockets finished a league worst 14 68 59 Celtics coach Bill Fitch was hired to replace outgoing Del Harris 58 and the team won the first pick of the 1983 NBA draft 58 used to select Ralph Sampson from the University of Virginia 60 Sampson had good numbers and was awarded the NBA Rookie of the Year award 61 but the Rockets still finished last overall again getting the top pick at the upcoming 1984 NBA draft used to select Hakeem Olajuwon from the University of Houston 62 1984 2001 The Hakeem Olajuwon era 1984 1987 The Twin Towers In his first season Olajuwon finished second to Michael Jordan in NBA Rookie of the Year balloting 63 and the Rockets record improved by 19 games good enough for a return to the playoffs as the third best team in the West where they were upset by the sixth seeded Utah Jazz 64 The duo of Olajuwon and Sampson earned much praise and was nicknamed Twin Towers 65 In the following season Houston won the Midwest Division title with a 51 31 record The subsequent playoffs had the Rockets sweeping the Sacramento Kings having a hard fought six game series with Alex English s Denver Nuggets and then facing defending champion Lakers losing the first game but eventually managing to win the series the only Western Playoffs defeat of the Showtime Lakers to get to the franchise s second Finals appearance 66 The NBA Finals once again matched the Rockets up against the Celtics a contrast to Houston s young front challenging the playoff hardened Celtics front court of Larry Bird Kevin McHale and Robert Parish The Celtics won the first two games in Boston gave the Rockets their only home playoff defeat that season in game 4 and clinched the title as Bird scored a triple double on Game 6 66 67 nbsp A ticket for Game 2 of the 1987 Western Conference Semifinals between the Rockets and the Seattle SuperSonics After the Finals Boston coach K C Jones called the Rockets the new monsters on the block feeling they had a bright future But the team had a poor start to the following season followed by nearly a decade of underachievement and failure amidst players getting injured or suspended for cocaine usage and during the playoffs were defeated in the second round by the Seattle SuperSonics in six games with the final game being a double overtime classic that saw Olajuwon notching 49 points 25 rebounds and 6 blocks in defeat Early in the 1987 88 season Sampson who had signed a new contract was traded to the Golden State Warriors bringing the Twin Towers era to an end just 18 months after their Finals appearance 68 Sampson s once promising career was shortened due to chronic knee injuries which forced his retirement in 1991 Jones prophecy of a Rockets dynasty never materialized until the early 1990s 69 1987 1992 Lean years In the next five seasons the Rockets either failed to qualify for the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round 70 71 72 The first elimination in 1988 led to Fitch s dismissal with Don Chaney replacing him as head coach 73 Chaney like Olajuwon also played for the Houston Cougars under Guy Lewis having played along Elvin Hayes in the late 1960s Chaney had his best season during 1990 91 where he was named the Coach of the Year after leading the Rockets to a 52 30 record despite Olajuwon s absence due to injury for 25 games 73 74 Despite Olajuwon s usual strong numbers the underwhelming roster could not be lifted out of mediocrity However the attempts to rebuild the team nucleus incorporated players that would later make an impact in the years to come such as Kenny Smith Vernon Maxwell Robert Horry Mario Elie Sam Cassell and Otis Thorpe 75 nbsp Rudy Tomjanovich spent all his playing career with the Rockets and after becoming the team s head coach in 1992 led Houston to two straight championships Midway through the 1991 92 season with the Rockets record only 26 26 Chaney was fired and replaced by his assistant Rudy Tomjanovich a former Houston player himself 76 While the Rockets did not make the playoffs 77 Tomjanovich s arrival was considered a step forward In the next year the Rockets improved their record by 13 games getting the Midwest Division title and winning their first playoff series in 6 years by defeating the Los Angeles Clippers before an elimination by the SuperSonics in a closely contested Game 7 overtime loss 78 1993 1995 Back to Back Championships for Clutch City On July 30 1993 Leslie Alexander purchased the Rockets for 85 million 79 Following the bitter Game 7 loss in Seattle in overtime Olajuwon gathered the team and famously stated we go from here citation needed The next season in Tomjanovich s second full year as head coach the Rockets began the 1993 94 season by tying an NBA record with a start of 15 0 80 81 Their first loss of the season came on December 3 1993 as the Hawks led by Dominique Wilkins 27 points defeated the Rockets 133 111 82 The next game the Rockets stormed a comeback against the Cleveland Cavaliers as they won by a single point 99 98 on the road The Rockets now had won their first 16 out of 17 games of the season tying the 1948 49 Capitols for the best 17 game start in a season at that time 83 On December 9 Olajuwon recorded 28 points 16 rebounds and 4 blocks as the Rockets cruised past the visiting Heat in overtime to win their 18th game of the season 84 Led by Olajuwon who was named the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year 85 the Rockets won 58 games a franchise record at the time 86 87 After quickly dispatching the Portland Trail Blazers who had made the finals just two years prior in 4 games they then faced the defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns led by the previous year s MVP Charles Barkley The series opened up in Houston which saw the Rockets open up a big lead going into the fourth quarter In both games however the Rockets inexplicably collapsed to allow the Suns a 2 0 lead going back to Phoenix Following recent heart breaking playoff losses by the Houston Oilers it appeared as though the Rockets were doomed Local newspapers labeled Houston as Choke City which the Rockets took to heart and ultimately came back to win the series in seven games As Choke City became Clutch City the name permanently became a part of Houston folklore The Rockets then soon defeated John Stockton and Karl Malone s Utah Jazz in five in the Conference Finals to advance to their third finals 88 The New York Knicks opened a 3 2 advantage but the Rockets won the last two games on their home court and claimed their first championship in franchise history 86 Olajuwon was awarded the Finals MVP after averaging 27 points nine rebounds and four blocked shots a game 85 The Rockets initially struggled in the first half of the 1994 95 season 89 which they fixed by sending Otis Thorpe to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Olajuwon s former college teammate Clyde Drexler 90 With only 47 wins the Rockets entered the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Western Conference Still a strong playoff run that earned Houston the nickname Clutch City had the Rockets defeating the West s top three seeds the Jazz Suns and Spurs to reach back to back finals this time against the Orlando Magic led by Shaquille O Neal and Penny Hardaway When Houston swept the Finals series in four games 91 they became the first team in NBA history to win the championship as a sixth seed and the first to beat four 50 win teams in a single postseason en route to the championship 92 Olajuwon was again the Finals MVP only the second player after Michael Jordan to win the award two years in a row 93 It was on the floor of The Summit after they captured their second title that head coach Rudy Tomjanovich proclaimed Don t ever underestimate the heart of a champion 94 1995 2002 Post championship and rebuilding During the off season the Rockets went for a change of visual identity making navy blue and silver the new primary colors while adopting a new cartoon inspired logo and pinstriped jerseys 95 The Rockets won 48 games in the 1995 96 season 96 in which Olajuwon became the NBA s all time leader in blocked shots 97 The playoffs had the Rockets beating the Lakers before a sweep by the SuperSonics 96 Before the start of the succeeding season the Rockets sent four players to Phoenix in exchange for Charles Barkley 98 The resulting Big Three of Olajuwon Drexler and Barkley had a strong debut season with a 57 25 record 99 going all the way to the Western Conference finals before losing to the Utah Jazz 4 2 on a dramatic last second shot by John Stockton 100 The following season was marked by injuries and Houston finished 41 41 and the 8th seed leading to another elimination by the top seeded Jazz 101 Drexler retired after the season 102 and the Rockets traded to bring in Scottie Pippen to take his place 103 In the lockout shortened 1998 99 season the Rockets lost to the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs 104 After the 1999 draft the Rockets traded for the second overall pick Steve Francis from the Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for four players and a first round draft pick 105 However after Houston traded a discontented Pippen to Portland 106 and Barkley suffered a career ending injury 107 the rebuilt Rockets went 34 48 and missed the playoffs 108 for only the second time in 15 years 86 In the 2000 01 season the Rockets worked their way to a 45 37 record However in a competitive Western Conference where seven teams won 50 games this left the Rockets two games out of the playoffs 109 In the following off season a 38 year old Olajuwon requested a trade and despite stating their desire to keep him the Rockets reached a sign and trade agreement sending him to the Toronto Raptors 110 The ensuing 2001 02 season the first without Hakeem in two decades was unremarkable and the Rockets finished with only 28 wins 111 2002 2009 The Yao Ming era nbsp Yao Ming during his rookie season with the Rockets After Houston was awarded the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft they selected Yao Ming a 7 feet 6 inches 2 29 m Chinese center 112 The Rockets missed the 2003 playoffs by one game improving their record by 15 victories 113 114 The 2003 04 season marked the Rockets arrival to a new arena the Toyota Center 115 a redesign of their uniforms and logo 116 and their first season without Rudy Tomjanovich who resigned as head coach after being diagnosed with bladder cancer 117 Led by former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy 118 the Rockets finished the regular season with a record of 45 37 119 earning their first playoff berth since 1999 86 again losing to the Lakers in the first round 119 nbsp Yao Ming carrying his home country s Five star Red Flag at the 2008 Summer Olympics In the off season Houston saw major changes in the roster as the Rockets acquired Tracy McGrady in a seven player deal with the Orlando Magic 120 The scoring champion McGrady and the strong rebounder Yao formed a well regarded pair that helped the Rockets win 22 consecutive games in the 2007 08 season which was at the time the 3rd longest winning streak in NBA history Still the duo was plagued with injuries of the 463 regular season games for which they were teammates Yao missed 146 and McGrady 160 and did not win any playoff series despite gathering leads over the Dallas Mavericks in 2005 and the Jazz in 2007 121 Despite this Yao was selected to carry his home country s Five star Red Flag at the Summer Olympics opening ceremony held at home in 2008 After the 2007 elimination Van Gundy was fired 122 and the Rockets hired Rick Adelman to replace him 123 nbsp Houston acquired Tracy McGrady in 2004 For the 2008 09 season the Rockets signed forward Ron Artest While McGrady wound up playing only half the games before enduring a season ending microfracture surgery 124 the Rockets ended the season 53 29 enough for the Western Conference s fifth seed During the playoffs the Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers four games to two winning their first playoff round since 1997 125 During the series Dikembe Mutombo injured his knee which forced him to retire after 18 seasons in the NBA 126 However the second round against the Lakers had the Rockets losing 4 3 and Yao Ming suffering yet another season ending injury this time a hairline fracture in his left foot 127 2009 2012 Competitive rebuilding During the 2009 10 season the Rockets saw the departures of Artest in the off season and McGrady Joey Dorsey and Carl Landry during mid season trades Despite great play by Kevin Martin who arrived from the Kings and Aaron Brooks who would eventually be chosen as the Most Improved Player of the season the Rockets could not make it to the playoffs finishing 42 40 3rd in the Southwest Division At that time the Rockets set an NBA record for best record by a team with no All Stars 128 129 The Rockets would also finish ninth in the Western Conference for the following two seasons 130 131 with Yao Ming getting a season ending injury seven games into the 2010 11 season and deciding to retire during the 2011 off season 132 Said off season which saw the NBA going through a lockout had Adelman dismissed 133 and general manager Daryl Morey deciding to start a revamp of the Rockets based on advanced statistical analytics similar to sabermetrics in baseball in player acquisitions and style of play Kevin McHale was named head coach and the roster saw significant changes 134 2012 2021 The James Harden era After the roster moves made by Morey during the 2012 NBA off season 134 only four players were left from the 2011 12 Rockets roster Chandler Parsons Greg Smith Marcus Morris and Patrick Patterson 135 with the latter two leaving through trades during the 2012 13 season 134 The most important acquisition was reigning Sixth Man of the Year James Harden who Morey called a foundational player expected to be Houston s featured player after a supporting role in the Oklahoma City Thunder 136 Harden caused an immediate impact as part of the starting lineup for the Rockets with 37 points 12 assists 6 rebounds 4 steals and a block in the season opener against the Detroit Pistons 137 and an average of 25 9 points a game through the season Combining Harden s performance and McHale s up tempo offense the Rockets became one of the highest scoring offenses in the NBA leading the league in scoring for the majority of the season 134 138 In the postseason the Rockets fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round losing the series 4 2 139 nbsp James Harden arrived in Houston in 2012 and became a franchise player for the Rockets Eager to add another franchise player to their team the Rockets heavily pursued and then acquired free agent center Dwight Howard in the 2013 off season He officially signed with the Rockets on July 13 2013 140 Led by the new inside out combination of Howard and James Harden and with a strong supporting cast including Chandler Parsons Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik the Rockets were expected to jump into title contention in the upcoming season 141 However that postseason the Rockets were defeated in the first round by the Portland Trail Blazers losing the series 4 2 142 Still in the 2014 15 season without Lin and Parsons but reinforced by Trevor Ariza the Rockets started the season well winning the first four games of the season for the first time since 1996 97 143 and winning each of their first six games by 10 points or more the first team to accomplish this feat since the 1985 86 Denver Nuggets 144 Though the Rockets had many key players miss time throughout the entire season James Harden took it upon himself to keep the Rockets near the top of the conference turning him into an MVP front runner He became the first Rocket to score 50 points in a game since Hakeem Olajuwon 145 as well as the only player in franchise history to record multiple 50 point games in a season 146 On April 15 2015 the Rockets beat the Jazz to claim their first ever Southwest Division title and first Division crown since 1994 and by completing 56 wins finished with the third best regular season record in franchise history 147 During the playoffs the Rockets beat the Mavericks 4 1 in the first round and overcame a 3 1 deficit against the Los Angeles Clippers to win the Western semifinals and return to the Conference Finals for the first time in 18 years 148 In the Conference Finals the Rockets were defeated by the Golden State Warriors 4 1 149 The 2015 16 season saw Kevin McHale fired after a bad start where the team only won 4 of its first 11 games and assistant J B Bickerstaff took over coaching duties 150 Inconsistent play led to the Rockets struggling to remain in the playoff qualifying zone 151 and surrounded by trade rumors 152 Houston only clinched its 2016 playoffs spot by winning its last game finishing the season 41 41 to earn an eight seed and a match up against the Warriors 153 Like in the previous year the Rockets were once again defeated by Golden State in five games 154 During the 2016 off season Mike D Antoni was named as the Rockets new head coach 155 and Dwight Howard opted out of his contract s final year becoming a free agent 156 In the following free agency period the Rockets looked to embrace the play styles of both coach D Antoni and Harden through the signings of Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon two predominately perimeter players and good fits in Houston s up tempo offense style 157 When the 2016 17 season started Harden was off to a great start and was widely considered a top MVP runner along with Kawhi Leonard alongside former teammate Russell Westbrook 158 When the season ended the Rockets were third in both the Western Conference and overall rankings a major improvement from the season before D Antoni was named the NBA Coach of the Year Eric Gordon the Sixth Man of the Year and Harden finished second in MVP voting to Russell Westbrook 159 In the playoffs the Rockets faced the sixth seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in a battle of the MVP frontrunners as the winner was not announced until after the finals 160 The Rockets won the series 4 1 including Nene Hilario s perfect 12 12 in field goals in Game 4 161 In the following round Houston opened with a dominating 27 points win over the San Antonio Spurs lost the following two games and then tied the series again 162 The fifth game went into overtime and had both Manu Ginobili blocking James Harden s game tying three point attempt at the final second 163 and Nene injuring himself out of the postseason 164 Without Nene the Rockets could not guard LaMarcus Aldridge who scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the series closing match 165 During the 2017 off season the Rockets were purchased by Houston restaurant billionaire Tilman Fertitta for 2 2 billion 166 breaking the record for the price to purchase an American professional sports team 167 The team also acquired 8 time All NBA player and 9 time All Star Chris Paul in a trade from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for seven players cash considerations and a top three protected 2018 first round draft pick 168 169 Even if Paul missed many games due to a knee injury he was a key addition to the Rockets 170 The team finished the season with 65 wins a record both league leading and the best in franchise history 171 During the playoffs Houston beat the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz in five games before another confrontation with the Golden State Warriors 172 In Game 5 of the Conference Finals the Rockets took a 3 2 lead in the series but they saw Paul leave with an injured hamstring His absence was felt in the two remaining games where Houston led by halftime in Game 7 only to suffer a comeback by Golden State 173 The Rockets had one draft pick entering the off season and they used it to select De Anthony Melton packaging him in a trade with the Phoenix Suns alongside Ryan Anderson to receive Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss 174 In free agency they signed James Ennis III Michael Carter Williams and Carmelo Anthony They started the season with a 1 4 record and after 13 games where they went 6 7 Houston and Anthony mutually agreed to part ways who was eventually traded to the Chicago Bulls and subsequently waived 175 176 After falling to the 14th seed in the Western Conference James Harden went on a 32 game streak scoring at least 30 points per game the second longest in NBA history with Harden averaging 41 1 points per game in that run He drove the Rockets through a 21 11 push in that streak and after beginning the season 11 14 the Rockets finished the season 42 15 winning 20 of their last 25 games and finishing fourth in the Western Conference after losing the final two games of the season which would have potentially given them the second or third seed 177 178 After what was determined to be poor fits of the acquisitions made in free agency on top of injuries Daryl Morey traded the players acquired in the off season at the trade deadline and replaced them with Austin Rivers Kenneth Faried Danuel House and Iman Shumpert during the season On April 7 2019 against the Phoenix Suns Houston became the first team in NBA history to make 25 two pointers and 25 three pointers in the same game outscoring their last four opponents by 117 points second best in a four game span in franchise history 127 in February 1993 additionally the Rockets 149 points tied the fourth most in franchise history and are the most since February 1993 citation needed They beat their own record for most three pointers made by one team in a single game in NBA history two times with 26 and 27 179 180 and they are just the fourth team in NBA history to win four consecutive games by 24 or more points the others are the 1990 91 Chicago Bulls the 1992 93 Rockets and the 1995 96 Bulls citation needed The Rockets clinched a division title and a playoff berth for a seventh straight appearance 181 After defeating the Utah Jazz in five games Houston faced Golden State for the fourth time in five years The series began with a tight Game 1 decided by four points along with officiating that received scrutiny 182 With both teams winning their home games putting the series at 2 2 Golden State won the next two games to eliminate the Rockets for the second year in a row along with the fourth time in five years During the 2019 off season Morey sought out to once again retool the roster As part of a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder the Rockets traded Chris Paul two future first round picks and two future first round pick swaps in exchange for James Harden s former Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook 183 Nearing the trade deadline of the 2019 20 season the Rockets were involved in a blockbuster four team trade which was centered around bringing Robert Covington back to the Rockets and sending centers Clint Capela and Nene to the Atlanta Hawks 184 The trade cemented the Rockets total commitment to a small ball 5 out offense a style of play which was considered revolutionary for its time 185 In their first twelve games since going 6 7 or shorter in their lineups the Rockets went 10 2 being in the top percentile in win percentage offensive rating and point differential 186 In February the month they made the trade the double MVP backcourt of Harden and Westbrook became the first teammates in NBA history to average 30 points and 5 assists per game 187 By the end of the season Harden and Westbrook scored a combined 61 5 points per game breaking Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O Neal s previous record for the highest scoring basketball duo since the ABA NBA merger 188 Following the suspension of the 2019 20 NBA season the Rockets were one of the 22 teams invited to the NBA Bubble to participate in the final eight games of the regular season 189 After the Rockets were eliminated in the playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers D Antoni and Morey informed the Rockets that they would both not return to the team for the 2020 21 season 190 191 During the off season Westbrook was traded to the Washington Wizards in December 2020 192 193 Rafael Stone was hired as the general manager after serving in general counsel and as an assistant general manager 194 Stephen Silas was hired as the Rockets head coach In January 2021 Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a four team trade 195 B The Rockets began the season with an 11 10 start but ended up with a 17 55 record note 1 the worst in the league despite with many injuries and trades 2021 present Rebuilding Phase In the 2021 NBA draft the team selected Jalen Green with the second overall pick out of the NBA G League Ignite pairing him alongside Kevin Porter Jr who was acquired via trade the season prior for a top 55 protected second round pick Because of their additions in the draft including first round selections in Alperen Sengun and Josh Christopher the team began focusing on developing and rebuilding around their young core which resulted in John Wall being benched for the entire season 196 In the 2021 22 season the Rockets were once again bottom of the league with a 20 62 record Jalen Green was selected to the NBA All Rookie First Team with averages of 17 3 points 3 4 rebounds and 2 6 assists 197 nbsp Alperen Sengun In the 2022 NBA draft the Rockets selected Jabari Smith Jr with third overall pick and Tari Eason with the 17th overall picks The Rockets made some adjustments by sending forward Christian Wood to the Dallas Mavericks in an exchange for Boban Marjanovic Sterling Brown Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss and traded all of them to the Oklahoma City Thunder during the off season to develop their young core while keeping Marjanovic During the off season the Rockets bought out John Wall s contract who had been demanding a trade for a while and did not participate for the Rockets 2021 22 season 198 On February 9 2023 The Rockets traded long time veteran Eric Gordon to the Clippers in three team trade in exchange of Danny Green and John Wall and were later on waived The Rockets ended the 2022 23 regular season with a 22 60 record tying with the San Antonio Spurs for last in the Western Conference The Rockets fired head coach Stephen Silas after they chose not to pick up his fourth year option and replaced him with former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka One Time All Star Fred VanVleet joined the Rockets via Free Agency The Houston Rockets selected Amen Thompson with the fourth pick in the 2023 NBA draft Alperen Sengun improved this season averaging 21 1 Points Per Game 9 3 Rebounds Per Game and 5 Assists Per Game He was announced out for the season on March 21st with an Ankle Injury Season by season recordList of the last five seasons completed by the Rockets For the full season by season history see List of Houston Rockets seasons Note GP Games played W Wins L Losses W L Winning percentage Season GP W L W L Finish Playoffs 2019 20 72 44 28 611 1st Southwest Lost in Conference Semifinals 1 4 Lakers 2020 21 72 17 55 236 5th Southwest Did not qualify 2021 22 82 20 62 244 5th Southwest Did not qualify 2022 23 82 22 60 268 4th Southwest Did not qualify 2023 24 82 41 41 500 3rd Southwest Did not qualifyHome arenas nbsp The Summit later Compaq Center hosted the Rockets from 1975 to 2003 and was also the site where the Rockets won both of their NBA titles in 1994 and 1995 Today the site is the worship center for Lakewood Church nbsp Toyota Center is the current home of the Houston Rockets During the four years the Rockets were in San Diego they played their games in the San Diego Sports Arena 12 which had a seating capacity of 14 400 199 In their first season after moving to Houston the Rockets did not have their own arena and they played their first two years at various venues in the city including the Astrodome AstroHall Sam Houston Coliseum and Hofheinz Pavilion the latter eventually being adopted as their home arena until 1975 They also had to play home games in other cities such as San Antonio Waco Albuquerque and even San Diego in efforts to extend the fan base During their first season the Rockets averaged less than 5 000 fans per game roughly half full and in one game in Waco there were only 759 fans in attendance 12 Their first permanent arena in Houston was the 10 000 seat Hofheinz Pavilion on the campus of the University of Houston which they moved into starting in their second season They played in the arena for four years before occupying The Summit in 1975 The arena which could hold 16 611 spectators 200 was their home for the next 28 years It was renamed the Compaq Center from 1998 to 2003 12 Following the 1994 title the Rockets had a sellout streak of 176 consecutive home games including the playoffs which lasted until 1999 However the struggling 2000 01 and 2001 02 seasons saw Houston having the worst attendance average in the league with less than 12 000 spectators each season 201 For the 2003 04 season the Rockets moved into their new arena the Toyota Center with a seating capacity of 18 500 115 During the 2007 08 season where the team achieved a 22 game winning streak the Rockets got their best numbers to date averaging 17 379 spectators 202 These were exceeded once James Harden joined the team in 2012 The Rockets averaged 18 123 spectators during the 2013 14 season selling out 39 out of the 41 home games 203 204 The 2014 15 season had even better numbers with 40 sellouts and an average of 18 230 tickets sold 205 Team identityUniforms and logos When the Rockets debuted in San Diego their colors were green and gold Road uniforms featured the city name while the home uniforms feature the team name both in a serifed block lettering This was the only uniform design the Rockets would use throughout their years in San Diego The Rockets first logo featured a rocket streaking with a basketball surrounded by the team name 15 Upon moving to Houston in 1971 the Rockets replaced green with red 13 They kept the same design from their San Diego days save for the change of color and city name The logo used is of a player with a spinning basketball launching upward with boosters on his back leaving a trail of red and gold flames and the words Houston Rockets below it 13 For the 1972 73 season the Rockets introduced the famous ketchup and mustard logo so dubbed by fans featuring a gold basketball surrounded by two red trails with Houston atop the first red trail and Rockets all capitalized save for the lowercase E and T in black surrounding the basketball The initial home uniforms used until the 1975 76 season features the city name numbers and serifed player name in red with gold trim while the away uniforms feature the city name all capitalized except for the lower case T and N numbers and serifed player name in gold with white trim 13 In the 1976 77 season the Rockets modified their uniforms featuring a monotone look on the Cooper Black fonts and white lettering on the road uniforms On the home shorts the team logo is located on the right leg while the away shorts feature the team name wordmark on the same location With minor modifications in the number font this version was used in all four of their NBA Finals appearances including their 1994 and 1995 championships 13 Following the 1995 title the Rockets opted to modernize their look After a fan contest with over 5 000 entries the team went with the idea of Missouri City artist Thomas Nash of a rocket orbiting a basketball which was then reworked by Houston designer Chris Hill 95 Nash would later sue the Rockets for breach of contract given they were using his idea despite not having paid the contest prizes 206 207 The NBA suggested that the identity should follow the cartoon inspired imagery that other teams adopted during the 1990s leading to a rocket painted with sharkmouth nose art orbiting a basketball Red was retained but navy blue and silver became the uniform s primary colors Both the home white and away navy uniforms featured gradient fading pinstripes and futuristic number fonts with side stripes of navy fading to red This was used until the 2002 03 season 13 208 The Rockets released simplified logos and uniforms in the 2003 04 season 116 which were created by New York based agency Alfafa Studio in association with Japanese designer Eiko Ishioka The logo is a stylized R in the shape of a rocket during takeoff surrounded by a red orbit streak that can be interpreted as the central circle of a basketball court Said R inspired the team s new custom typeface designed so that every single digit could be read well from a distance whether in the arena or on television Red once again became the dominant color with silver and black as secondary 209 210 In 2009 the Rockets invoked the championship years with an alternate red uniform featuring gold numbers and side stripes 211 212 The Rockets had two sleeved alternate jerseys for the 2015 16 season an alternate silver colored uniform whose design referenced the design of NASA s Gemini Titan rocket and a red and gold jersey featuring the nickname Clutch City 213 For the 2016 17 season the Rockets began to wear a black alternate uniform Following the switch to Nike in 2017 the Rockets made some slight tweaks to the uniform While the black Statement uniform remained mostly unchanged the red Icon and white Association uniforms now feature truncated side striping that no longer wrap around the shoulders The Rockets also wore a City uniform that was similar to their red Icon uniforms but with Chinese lettering in place of Rockets in front the design was tweaked the following season with a deeper red and old gold accents On June 6 2019 the Rockets unveiled a new secondary logo that depicts a basketball as a planet and the ring has the Houston Rockets displayed with the classic R in the middle 214 A new uniform set was unveiled two weeks later The red Icon and white Association designs featured updated block lettering and bold side panels that depict a launching rocket The black Statement uniform remained with a few alterations In addition the Rockets brought back their throwback ketchup and mustard 1976 95 red uniform as part of Nike s Classic series 215 For the 2019 20 City uniform the Rockets eschewed the Chinese New Year themed designs and went with a NASA inspired space theme 216 The Rockets City uniform for the 2020 21 season featured a powder blue base as a nod to the city of Houston The colors resembled those of Houston s former NFL team the Houston Oilers For the 2021 22 season the Rockets announced a partnership with Credit Karma to be featured on the team s jerseys as a sponsor 217 The 2021 22 Rockets City uniform referenced various uniform designs from the past The navy base and white pinstripes were taken from the 1995 2003 uniforms The modified ketchup and mustard logo on the waist as well as a diagonally arranged Houston wordmark and block numbers paid tribute to the 1975 1995 uniforms The modern R logo and white double arches on the side were an homage to the 2003 2019 uniforms 218 The Rockets retained this City uniform in the 2022 23 season 219 For the 2023 24 City uniform the Rockets drew inspiration from the uniforms worn by the Phi Slama Jama era Houston Cougars of the early 1980s A nod to both teams legends Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler the white based uniform featured H Town in red cursive letters with white and blue trim along with block numbers 220 The uniforms would also be paired with an alternate court specific to the 2023 NBA in season tournament featuring a red base with a middle blue strip and silhouettes of the NBA Cup 221 nbsp Clutch the Bear is the Rockets mascot Mascots The mascot was introduced on March 14 1995 formerly known as Clutch From 1993 to 1995 the mascot was Turbo a costumed man that performed acrobatic dunks and other maneuvers 222 In 1995 the Rockets debuted Clutch the Bear as a second mascot a large teddy bear like mascot that performs a variety of acts during the games After eight years of serving as dual mascots the performer playing Turbo retired making Clutch the sole mascot for the team 223 The mascot was considered and voted fifth for the most recognizable mascot in the league and was also inducted in the 2006 mascot Hall of Fame 224 Rivalries Main articles Rockets Spurs rivalry and Jazz Rockets rivalry The Rockets have developed many rivalries within the Western Conference ever since the team returned there in 1980 Two are intrastate rivalries with the San Antonio Spurs who moved along with the Rockets after four years with them in the Eastern Conference 225 and the Dallas Mavericks introduced that very season 226 Houston has faced both Texas teams in the playoffs since 1980 beating the Spurs three times and losing once The Rockets lost twice to the Mavericks while beating them once 227 Other famed rivalries were with the Los Angeles Lakers who in the 1980s Showtime era only missed the NBA Finals when beaten by the Rockets 228 and the Utah Jazz who the Rockets beat in both championship seasons but were defeated by Utah in five other occasions 229 Honors and statisticsIndividual honors NBA Most Valuable Player Award Moses Malone 1979 1982 230 Hakeem Olajuwon 1994 231 James Harden 2018 232 NBA Finals MVP Hakeem Olajuwon 1994 1995 231 NBA Scoring Champions Elvin Hayes 1969 233 James Harden 2018 2019 2020 234 NBA Defensive Player of the Year 235 Hakeem Olajuwon 1993 1994 NBA Rookie of the Year 235 Ralph Sampson 1984 Steve Francis 2000 NBA Sixth Man of the Year 235 Eric Gordon 2017 NBA Most Improved Player 235 Aaron Brooks 2010 NBA Coach of the Year 235 Tom Nissalke 1977 Don Chaney 1991 Mike D Antoni 2017 NBA Executive of the Year Ray Patterson 1977 236 Daryl Morey 2018 237 J Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award Calvin Murphy 1979 238 Dikembe Mutombo 2009 239 NBA All Defensive First Team 235 Hakeem Olajuwon 1987 1988 1990 1993 1994 Rodney McCray 1988 Scottie Pippen 1999 Patrick Beverley 2017 NBA All Defensive Second Team 235 Moses Malone 1979 Hakeem Olajuwon 1985 1991 1996 1997 Rodney McCray 1987 Shane Battier 2008 2009 Ron Artest 2009 Patrick Beverley 2014 240 NBA All Rookie First Team 235 Elvin Hayes 1969 Calvin Murphy 1971 Joe Meriweather 1976 John Lucas 1977 Ralph Sampson 1984 Hakeem Olajuwon 1985 Steve Francis 2000 Yao Ming 2003 Luis Scola 2008 Jae Sean Tate 2021 Jalen Green 2022 NBA All Rookie Second Team 235 Robert Horry 1993 Matt Maloney 1997 Cuttino Mobley 1999 Michael Dickerson 1999 Eddie Griffin 2002 Luther Head 2006 Carl Landry 2008 Chandler Parsons 2012 Tari Eason 2023 Jabari Smith Jr 2023 All NBA First Team 235 Moses Malone 1979 1982 Hakeem Olajuwon 1987 1988 1989 1993 1994 1997 James Harden 2014 2015 2017 2018 2019 2020 All NBA Second Team 235 Moses Malone 1980 1981 Ralph Sampson 1985 Hakeem Olajuwon 1986 1990 1996 Yao Ming 2007 2009 Tracy McGrady 2007 Dwight Howard 2014 241 All NBA Third Team 235 Hakeem Olajuwon 1991 1995 1999 Clyde Drexler 1995 Yao Ming 2004 2006 2008 Tracy McGrady 2005 2008 James Harden 2013 Russell Westbrook 2020 All Star Weekend All Star 242 Don Kojis 1968 1969 Elvin Hayes 1969 1972 Jack Marin 1973 Rudy Tomjanovich 1974 1977 1979 Moses Malone 1978 1982 Calvin Murphy 1979 Ralph Sampson 1984 1987 Hakeem Olajuwon 1985 1990 1992 1997 Otis Thorpe 1992 Charles Barkley 1997 Clyde Drexler 1996 1997 Steve Francis 2002 2004 Tracy McGrady 2005 2007 Yao Ming 2003 2009 2011 James Harden 2013 2020 Dwight Howard 2014 Russell Westbrook 2020 All Star head coach 242 Rudy Tomjanovich 1997 Mike D Antoni 2018 All Star Game MVP 235 Ralph Sampson 1985 61 Three Point Contest champion 242 Eric Gordon 2017 Skills Challenge champion 242 Patrick Beverley 2015 Statistics and records Main article Houston Rockets statistics and records Franchise leaders Bold denotes still active with team Italics denotes still active but not with team Points scored regular season as of the end of the 2022 23 season 243 1 Hakeem Olajuwon 26 511 2 James Harden 18 365 3 Calvin Murphy 17 949 4 Rudy Tomjanovich 13 383 5 Elvin Hayes 11 762 6 Moses Malone 11 119 7 Yao Ming 9 247 8 Robert Reid 8 823 9 Mike Newlin 8 480 10 Otis Thorpe 8 177 11 Cuttino Mobley 7 448 12 Steve Francis 7 281 13 Tracy McGrady 6 888 14 Allen Leavell 6 684 15 Vernon Maxwell 6 002 16 Ralph Sampson 5 995 17 Eric Gordon 5 944 18 Kenny Smith 5 910 19 Luis Scola 5 597 20 Rodney McCray 5 059 21 Sleepy Floyd 5 030 22 Stu Lantz 4 947 23 Trevor Ariza 4 863 24 Lewis Lloyd 4 384 25 Clyde Drexler 4 155 26 Buck Johnson 4 139 27 John Block 4 138 28 Clint Capela 4 075 29 Don Kojis 4 037 30 John Lucas II 3 756 Other Statistics regular season as of the end of the 2022 23 season 243 Minutes Played 1 Hakeem Olajuwon 42 844 2 Calvin Murphy 30 607 3 Rudy Tomjanovich 25 714 4 James Harden 23 006 5 Robert Reid 21 718 Rebounds 1 Hakeem Olajuwon 13 382 2 Elvin Hayes 6 974 3 Moses Malone 6 959 4 Rudy Tomjanovich 6 198 5 Otis Thorpe 5 010 Assists 1 James Harden 4 796 2 Calvin Murphy 4 402 3 Allen Leavell 3 339 4 Hakeem Olajuwon 2 992 5 Mike Newlin 2 581 Steals 1 Hakeem Olajuwon 2 088 2 Calvin Murphy 1 165 3 James Harden 1 087 4 Allen Leavell 929 5 Robert Reid 881 Blocks 1 Hakeem Olajuwon 3 740 2 Yao Ming 920 3 Moses Malone 758 4 Ralph Sampson 585 5 Clint Capela 491 PersonnelCurrent roster For the complete list of Houston Rockets players see Houston Rockets all time roster For the players drafted by Houston Rockets see List of Houston Rockets first and second round draft picks Houston Rockets rostervte Players Coaches Pos No Name Height Weight DOB From C 12 Adams Steven nbsp 6 ft 11 in 2 11 m 265 lb 120 kg 1993 07 20 Pittsburgh G F 9 Brooks Dillon 6 ft 6 in 1 98 m 225 lb 102 kg 1996 01 22 Oregon G F 25 Bullock Reggie 6 ft 6 in 1 98 m 205 lb 93 kg 1991 03 16 North Carolina F 17 Eason Tari nbsp 6 ft 8 in 2 03 m 215 lb 98 kg 2001 05 10 LSU G 4 Green Jalen 6 ft 4 in 1 93 m 186 lb 84 kg 2002 02 09 Prolific Prep CA F 32 Green Jeff 6 ft 8 in 2 03 m 235 lb 107 kg 1986 08 28 Georgetown G F 14 Hinton Nate TW 6 ft 5 in 1 96 m 210 lb 95 kg 1999 06 08 Houston G 0 Holiday Aaron 6 ft 0 in 1 83 m 185 lb 84 kg 1996 09 30 UCLA C 2 Landale Jock 6 ft 11 in 2 11 m 255 lb 116 kg 1995 10 25 Saint Mary s C 51 Marjanovic Boban 7 ft 4 in 2 24 m 290 lb 132 kg 1988 08 15 Serbia F 00 Samuels Jermaine TW 6 ft 6 in 1 98 m 230 lb 104 kg 1998 11 12 Villanova C 28 Sengun Alperen nbsp 6 ft 11 in 2 11 m 243 lb 110 kg 2002 07 25 Turkey F 10 Smith Jabari Jr 6 ft 11 in 2 11 m 220 lb 100 kg 2003 05 13 Auburn F 8 Tate Jae Sean nbsp 6 ft 4 in 1 93 m 230 lb 104 kg 1995 10 28 Ohio State G F 1 Thompson Amen 6 ft 7 in 2 01 m 200 lb 91 kg 2003 01 30 Pine Crest FL G 5 VanVleet Fred 6 ft 0 in 1 83 m 197 lb 89 kg 1994 02 25 Wichita State F 7 Whitmore Cam 6 ft 7 in 2 01 m 230 lb 104 kg 2004 07 08 Villanova G F 19 Williams Nate TW 6 ft 5 in 1 96 m 205 lb 93 kg 1999 02 12 Buffalo Head coach Ime Udoka Assistant coach es Josh Bostic Will Dunn Cam Hodges Royal Ivey Garrett Jackson Mike Moser Tiago Splitter Ben Sullivan Legend C Team captain DP Unsigned draft pick FA Free agent S Suspended GL On assignment to G League affiliate TW Two way affiliate player nbsp Injured Roster Last transaction April 6 2024 Retained draft rights The Rockets currently do not own the draft rights to unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA A drafted player either an international draftee or a college draftee who is not signed by the team that drafted him is allowed to sign with any non NBA teams In this case the team retains the player s draft rights in the NBA until one year after the player s contract with the non NBA team ends 244 This list includes draft rights that were acquired from trades with other teams Draft Round Pick Player Pos Nationality Current team Note s Ref 2018 2 44 Issuf Sanon G nbsp Ukraine Prometey Latvia Acquired from the Washington Wizards via New York 2017 2 60 Alpha Kaba F C nbsp Guinea Valencia Spain Acquired from the Atlanta Hawks 245 Retired numbers Houston Rockets retired numbers No Player Position Tenure Ceremony date 11 Yao Ming C 2002 2011 February 3 2017 22 Clyde Drexler G 1995 1998 February 3 2000 23 Calvin Murphy G 1970 1983 March 17 1984 24 Moses Malone C 1976 1982 April 19 1998 34 Hakeem Olajuwon C 1984 2001 November 9 2002 44 Elvin Hayes F C 1968 19721981 1984 November 18 2022 45 Rudy Tomjanovich F1 1970 1981 January 28 1982 CD Carroll Dawson Assistant coachGeneral manager2 1980 2007 April 16 2007 1 Also served as head coach 1991 2003 2 As Dawson did not play for the Rockets the team used his initials 246 The NBA retired Bill Russell s No 6 for all its member teams on August 11 2022 247 248 Basketball Hall of Famers Houston Rockets Hall of Famers 249 250 Players No Name Position Tenure Inducted 24 Rick Barry F 1978 1980 1987 1144 Elvin Hayes C F 1968 19721981 1984 1990 23 Calvin Murphy G 1970 1983 1993 2124 Moses Malone C F 1976 1982 2001 22 Clyde Drexler 1 G F 1995 1998 2004 4 Charles Barkley 1 F 1996 2000 2006 34 Hakeem Olajuwon C 1984 2001 2008 33 Scottie Pippen 1 F 1999 2010 50 Ralph Sampson C F 1983 1987 2012 55 Dikembe Mutombo C 2004 2009 2015 11 Yao Ming C 2002 2011 2016 13 Tracy McGrady G F 2004 2010 2017 Coaches Name Position Tenure Inducted Alex Hannum Head coach 1969 1971 1998 Pat Riley Player 1967 1970 2008 Tex Winter Head coach 1971 1973 2011 Bill Fitch Head coach 1983 1988 2019 45 Rudy Tomjanovich 2 Head coach 1992 2003 2020 12 Rick Adelman 4 Head coach 2007 2011 2021 Contributors Name Position Tenure Inducted Pete Newell 3 General manager 1968 1971 1979 Del Harris Assistant coachHead coach 1976 1979 1979 1983 2022 Notes 1 All three players were also inducted to the Hall of Fame as members of the 1992 Olympic team 2 Tomjanovich also played for the Rockets from 1970 to 1981 and served as assistant coach from 1983 to 1992 3 In total Newell was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice as contributor and as a member of the 1960 Olympic team 4 Adelman also played for the Rockets from 1968 to 1970 FIBA Hall of Famers Houston Rockets Hall of Famers Players No Name Position Tenure Inducted 34 Hakeem Olajuwon C 1984 2001 2016 11 Yao Ming C 2002 2011 2023ManagementGeneral managers GM history GM Tenure Jack McMahon 251 Mar 1967 June 1968 Pete Newell 251 June 1968 May 1972 Ray Patterson 252 May 1972 September 1989 Steve Patterson 253 September 1989 August 1993 Tod Leiweke 254 August 1993 January 1994 Bob Weinhauer 255 January 1994 May 1996 Carroll Dawson 256 May 1996 May 2007 Daryl Morey 257 May 2007 October 2020 Rafael Stone 258 October 2020 presentOwners Ownership history Owner Tenure Robert Breitbard 259 January 1967 June 1971 Billy Goldberg Wayne Duddlesten Mickey Herskowitz 259 June 1971 December 1973 Irvin Kaplan 259 December 1973 September 1975 Wayne Duddlesten and Ray Patterson 260 September 1975 February 1977 Kenneth Schnitzer 261 February 1977 May 1979 George J Maloof Sr 252 May 1979 November 1980 Gavin Maloof 252 November 1980 June 1982 Charlie Thomas 79 June 1982 July 1993 Leslie Alexander 79 July 1993 October 2017 Tilman Fertitta 262 October 2017 present Head coaches Main article List of Houston Rockets head coaches San Diego Rockets 263 Coach Tenure Jack McMahon 1968 1970 Alex Hannum 1970 1971 Houston Rockets 263 Coach Tenure Tex Winter 1971 1973 Johnny Egan 1973 1976 Tom Nissalke 1976 1979 Del Harris 1979 1983 Bill Fitch 1983 1988 Don Chaney 1988 1992 Rudy Tomjanovich 1992 2003 Jeff Van Gundy 2003 2007 Rick Adelman 2007 2011 Kevin McHale 2011 2015 J B Bickerstaff interim 2015 2016 Mike D Antoni 2016 2020 Stephen Silas 2020 2023 Ime Udoka 2023 presentPoliticsOn October 4 2019 the Rockets general manager Daryl Morey issued a tweet that supported the 2019 20 Hong Kong protests which drew criticism from the Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta who said that while Morey was the best general manager in the NBA the Rockets were not a political organization 264 Morey later deleted the tweet 265 Morey s tweet resulted in the Chinese Basketball Association s suspension of its relationship with the Rockets and the issuance of a statement of dissatisfaction from the consulate office of China in Houston 266 On October 6 Morey and the NBA each issued a separate statement addressing the original tweet Morey said that he never intended his tweet to cause any offense while the NBA said the tweet was Regrettable 267 268 The statements drew attention and subsequent bipartisan criticism from several US politicians 266 Chinese media outlets including the Chinese Communist Party run People s Daily described Morey and the NBA s statements as non apologetic and unacceptable because they did not contain the word apologize 269 270 Notes January 16 2021 Brooklyn Nets to Houston Rockets four team trade with Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers 9 10 11 Houston acquired Victor Oladipo Dante Exum Rodions Kurucs a 2022 first round draft selection a 2024 first round draft selection a 2026 first round draft selection rights to swap first round draft selections in 2021 2023 2025 and 2027 and a 2022 first round draft selection from Milwaukee Brooklyn acquired James Harden and a 2024 second round draft selection Cleveland acquired Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince Indiana acquired Caris LeVert and two future second round draft selections January 16 2021 Brooklyn Nets to Houston Rockets four team trade with Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers 9 10 11 Houston acquired Victor Oladipo Dante Exum Rodions Kurucs a 2022 first round draft selection 2024 first round draft selection 2026 first round draft selection rights to swap first round draft selections in 2021 2023 2025 and 2027 and a 2022 first round draft selection from Milwaukee Brooklyn acquired James Harden and a 2024 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com cn People s Daily October 7 2019 Retrieved October 7 2019 NBA官方强调莫雷仅代表个人 全文无惩罚无道歉 NBA officially stressed that Morey only represents himself no punishment no apology issued Sina Sport October 7 2019 Retrieved October 7 2019 External links nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Houston Rockets Official website nbsp Portals nbsp Basketball nbsp Texas Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Houston Rockets amp oldid 1221038264 1967 1971 San Diego Rockets, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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