While they may not be the most storied American professional sports team in the NBA, the Houston Rockets usually find a way to remain relevant. Whether it was through title contending teams, fun rosters that fostered different opinions in the basketball community, or some of the league’s very best players, Houston fans have been treated to many special moments throughout the Rockets’ existence.
Houston Rockets History: The Early Years
There probably aren’t too many fans that remember the Rockets being based in a city other than Houston. But they actually got their start in San Diego, and their nickname actually turned out to fit both of their host cities.
Why are the Houston Rockets called that?
The connection between Houston and “rockets” is pretty clear when considering NASA’s presence in that city, but there was a logical explanation for selecting that moniker when they were based in Southern California as well. San Diego was in development of the Atlas missile, and also had a rocket program of their own as an area with a historically strong military presence.
Back in the late 1960’s, the NBA made a concerted effort to grow the game across the entire country. At that time, their teams were very much concentrated in the eastern part of the United States, and wanted some more teams out on the west coast.
San Diego icon Robert Breitbard was more than happy to oblige, having helped develop the city’s sports infrastructure earlier in the decade. He was one of the central figures who helped push the construction of the San Diego Sports Arena, which still exists to this day. He ended up paying an expansion fee to the NBA of nearly $2 million to facilitate the San Diego Rockets’ entry into the NBA.
As an expansion team, the Rockets initially struggled. They never finished over .500 during the first four years of their existence in San Diego. However, San Diego secured the number one pick in the 1968 NBA Draft, and selected one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Elvin Hayes came into the league as an unstoppable force. Even though the team was not very good, he put up mind boggling statistics. During his first three years, he averaged 28 points per game, and hauled in 16 rebounds a night, as verified on basketball-reference.com.
Why did the San Diego Rockets move to Houston?
Unfortunately for fans of the San Diego sports scene, the Rockets’ stay in the city was shortlived. Breitbard was faced with an increasing financial burden, and could not afford to continue to own the franchise. He ended up selling the team to moguls Wayne Duddleston and Billy Goldberg for $5.6 million, who promptly moved them to Houston.
While the team would only have Hayes for one season after their move to Houston, Rockets fans in Texas would be introduced to arguably the most impactful individual in the history of the organization. Before he was ever an inspiration on the bench, Rudy Tomjanovich was an excellent player. He made five All-Star teams in the 1970’s, and averaged over 20 points per game four times in his career.
Tomjanovich never played for another franchise besides the Rockets. His trademark determination and hustle engrained himself to the fan base, and the Michigan native found a second home for life.
The team spent its first nine seasons in Houston competing in the Eastern Conference, and had a couple of memorable seasons. Tomjanovich, Calvin Murphy and Moses Malone led the team to the Conference Finals in the 1976-1977 campaign. Murphy would be another player who would become a part of the Rockets family for life, as he would spent much of his post-playing career as a local broadcaster for the team.
A Dream Right Down the Road
The 1980’s proved to be an eventful time for the Houston Rockets. For starters, they were relocated to the Western Conference before the 1980-1981 campaign, where they have stayed up until the present day. The triumvirate of Tomjanovich, Murphy and Malone led the Rockets to their first NBA Finals appearance, where they were defeated by Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics. That team effectively signified the end of the first era of Rockets basketball.
The team wasn’t down for very long, however. Houston ended up landing back to back number one overall picks in the 1983 and 1984 NBA Draft. They opted for size both times, selecting Virginia’s Ralph Sampson(who stood 7’4”) in 1983, and Hakeem(back then he was known as Akeem) Olajuwon in 1984. Olajuwon was 7’0”, and played his basketball at the University of Houston, so Rockets’ scouts did not have to go very far to watch him play.
Who were the Twin Towers in basketball?
For their first two years playing together, the “twin towers” combination of Sampson and Olajuwon was a problematic tandem for teams to defend. Both players were athletic, skilled, and committed to protecting the rim.
Getting off a quality shot in the paint for an opponent proved to be a difficult task. During the 1985-1986 season, Houston rode their powerful paint duo right into the NBA Finals. The feat was made all the more impressive considering that they displaced the dynastic Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals that year.
Once again, Bird and the Celtics were there to end Houston’s title hopes. They had a lot of front line size and skill with Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Bill Walton, making them a formidable matchup for Houston.
That was pretty much the last time Sampson and Olajuwon would accomplish anything together. Sampson started to break down after that season, and had a lot of trouble staying on the floor. He was eventually traded to the Golden State Warriors. Sampson was reasonably productive as an NBA center for the remainder of his NBA career, but never played more than 61 regular season games after leaving the Rockets.
Olajuwon would remain with the team, and have some fantastic seasons in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. However, the Rockets were not able to get over the hump in those years, and current NBA fans might liken Olajuwon’s struggles during that time to what Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is experiencing currently.
However, Houston’s fortunes started to change in 1992 when they decided to bring in a familiar face to coach the team; none other than Rudy Tomjanovich. After taking over midway through the 1991-1992 campaign, Tomjanovich was able to get the most out of the roster, which previous coaches had struggled with.
The nucleus of something special was building in 1992-1993. The Houston Rockets lost in a hard fought seven game series to the Seattle SuperSonics, but players who would play big roles in the future got some much needed experience together. Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell and Otis Thorpe were getting comfortable playing around Olajuwon, and rookie Robert Horry provided versatility that the team needed.
Don’t Ever Underestimate The Heart Of A Champion
In the 1993-1994 season, it all came together for Houston. There were many teams that season who were thrilled to avoid the looming specter of Michael Jordan in the playoffs, but it was the Rockets who would take advantage of it to its fullest extent. They had a superb regular season, winning 58 games and earning the second seed in the Western Conference.
Their first postseason statement came against Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns, who made it to the NBA Finals the prior season. The Suns were determined to get back to the pinnacle of the sport, but Olajuwon posted 37 points and 17 rebounds in a game seven victory to dash Phoenix’s hopes. The Rockets then won the Western Conference Finals against the Utah Jazz, setting up a classic matchup in the NBA Finals with Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks.
The Knicks gave the Rockets everything they could handle, and led the series three games to two. Everything the Rockets and Olajuwon had hoped to accomplish was on the brink of ending, but they found a way to persevere. They overcame a great shooting performance by Knicks guard John Starks in Game 6, and locked New York down in the seventh game to secure the title.
With Jordan still (mostly) gone from the NBA landscape, the Rockets had the chance to pull off a special back to back championship accomplishment. However, the journey in 1994-1995 was anything but smooth.
In addition to defending the title, Houston had to figure out how to integrate Clyde Drexler, who they traded for in the middle of the season. Drexler had been the best player on some really good Portland Trail Blazers teams, but would need to fit into a role with the Rockets around Olajuwon. Tomjanovich also had to figure out how to incorporate first round draft pick Sam Cassell, and Mario Elie into his rotation.
The Rockets ended up finishing sixth in the Western Conference that year, and did not look like a strong contender to repeat their success of the past year. They would have to play well on the road if they had any hopes of advancing deep into the playoffs. After getting past the Jazz in the first round, the Rockets were setup for another showdown with the Suns. One of the most memorable plays of that series was Mario Elie’s “kiss of death” three pointer in game seven that allowed Houston’s magical run to continue.
Houston ended up defeating a loaded San Antonio Spurs team in the Western Conference Finals, to improbably make it back to the NBA Finals. Waiting for them was the Orlando Magic, who were a young, hungry team led by Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway.
The Rockets’ title experience ended up being too much for the upstart Magic, who were swept by the defending champions. After the Rockets won, Tomjanovich communicated one of the most memorable quotes in league history: “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion.”
Superteam Experiment
Current fans of the NBA are used to star players teaming to try and win a title. However, in the 1990’s, that did not happen very much. The Houston Rockets were hoping to coax out a few more successful seasons in the tail end of Olajuwon’s prime, and brought in some big names. Having played him multiple times in the playoffs, the Rockets were very familiar with Charles Barkley, and his desire to win a title before his career ended.
Houston brought him in ahead of the 1996-1997 season, and the idea almost worked. If not for a buzzer beating shot by John Stockton in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, Barkley and Olajuwon might have made the NBA Finals together in 1997.
Two years later, they brought in another future Hall of Famer in Scottie Pippen. While the names on the back of the jersey were legendary, the three players struggled to mesh together. In their one campaign together, the team made the playoffs but fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.
Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady
Olajuwon’s fantastic run with the Rockets would end after the 2000-2001 season, but the franchise would not have to wait long to land another tantalizing center prospect. Houston selected 7’6” Yao Ming from China with the first pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, which opened many doors for the league and for the Rockets with the Chinese fanbase. With the eyes of the world watching, Yao did not disappoint. He displayed an elite level of skill and touch around the basket right away, and made the All-Star team in each one of his eight NBA seasons.
The Rockets realized that they needed to bring in a dynamic guard in his prime to play alongside Yao. Steve Francis was an exciting player, but Houston decided they needed to upgrade by bringing in Tracy McGrady. The combination put up great numbers together, but they had trouble advancing out of the first round of the playoffs. The Rockets fell initial round of the postseason in four out of five years from 2003-2008.
Although Yao was a great player, his frame was not able to withstand the pounding of an NBA season for very long. After missing the entire 2009-2010 campaign with a foot injury, he only appeared in five games the following year, effectively ending his career.
Daryl Morey: A Step Ahead
While the team had taken the Yao Ming/Tracy McGrady tandem as far as it could go, general manager Daryl Morey pondered ways to construct a roster that was more fitting for what the league was becoming. With a heavy background in analytics, Morey and his staff did not necessarily believe in the traditional tenets of what many believed constituted winning basketball. Put overly simply, the franchise was looking to emphasize the value of the three point shot.
With one master stroke, the new school general manager refueled the Rockets and garnered immense respect throughout the league. Right before the Rockets began the 2012-2013, the team acquired sixth man extraordinaire James Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a blockbuster trade.
Morey had the foresight to realize that Harden could function as the primary catalyst of a team that could make it deep into the postseason in the 2010’s. Houston entrusted the offense in his hands, knowing that he would either create a scoring chance for himself, or attract the attention of the defense to open up threes or layups for other players.
The Houston Rockets would make the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons, and made the Western Conference Finals twice. Their best chance to make the NBA Finals came in 2018, when the team paired Harden with future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul. They had a three games to two series lead, but unfortunately couldn’t close the deal. Paul was forced to miss the deciding games with an injury, which leads fans to wonder whether they would have won had he was on the floor.
Rebuilding/Current Team
The current edition of the Houston Rockets are building the franchise back from the ground up. The team traded Harden to the Brooklyn Nets in January 2021, setting the stage for what will appear to be a multi-year plan to get the team back into contention.
The Rockets record was the worst in the NBA this season, and they will look to bring in another young cornerstone player in the 2022 NBA Draft. The team selected Jalen Green with the second pick of the 2021 NBA Draft, who has shown exciting flashes of athleticism and scoring. We will see if the current front office and coaching staff decide on a direction and a unique style for the way the team plays.
Who is the best Houston Rocket player of all time?
While there are some other contenders like Tracy McGrady and James Harden, Hakeem Olajuwon is the undisputed number one in the Houston Rockets roster.
