Houston Rockets Franchise History
From Hoopedia
The Rockets franchise entered the NBA as the San Diego Rockets prior to the 1967-68 season, along with the Seattle SuperSonics, as the league expanded to 12 teams. The Rockets received their team name because it kept with San Diego’s then-theme of a “city in motion,” while reflecting the growth of space-age industries in San Diego. The 1967-68 Rockets compiled a league-worst 15-67 record, but were able to select University of Houston’s Elvin Hayes with the first overall pick in the 1968 NBA Draft. As a rookie, Hayes scored an NBA-leading 28.4 points per game, helping the team to a 37-45 record and a playoff berth. The Rockets drafted Rudy Tomjanovich and Calvin Murphy in the 1970 NBA Draft, but were unable to produce a winning record in any of their four seasons in San Diego.
In June 1971, a group named Texas Sports Investments bought the Rockets franchise for $5.6 million and moved the team to Houston. During their first year in Texas, the Rockets played home games in Houston, San Antonio and Waco. In 1972, Hayes was traded to Baltimore. The 1974-75 Rockets produced the franchise’s first season at .500 or better and first playoff series win. The franchise further improved two seasons later with the additions of John Lucas, the top pick in the 1976 NBA Draft, and Moses Malone, who had starred in the ABA the previous two years. The 1976-77 Rockets registered a 49-33 record and won their first division title, as 1977 NBA Coach of the Year Tom Nissalke guided them to the Conference Finals. Houston’s record slipped the following season, as the team played most of the year without an injured Tomjanovich. He returned the following season to join Malone and Murphy in the 1979 NBA All-Star Game. That season, Malone averaged 24.8 points and an NBA-leading 17.6 rebounds to give the Rockets their first-ever NBA MVP. After the 1978-79 Rockets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, Del Harris was hired as head coach. In Harris’ first season, the Rockets advanced to the Conference Semifinals.
The 1980-81 Rockets qualified for the playoffs in the season’s final weekend with a 40-42 record. Malone averaged 27.8 points and an NBA-best 14.8 rebounds, while Murphy set NBA records with 78 consecutive free throws made and a single-season free-throw percentage of .958. Despite their sub-.500 record, the Rockets advanced to their first-ever NBA Finals, losing to Boston but becoming the first team from Houston to play for a championship in basketball, football or baseball. The following season, Hayes returned to replace a retired Tomjanovich, but the Rockets were unable to recapture the postseason magic. Despite Malone winning his second NBA MVP award with averages of 31.1 points and 14.7 rebounds, the 1981-82 Rockets lost in the first round of the playoffs. Malone was then traded to Philadelphia and the 1982-83 Rockets logged a franchise-worst 14-68 record. The Rockets replaced Del Harris with Bill Fitch as head coach at the season’s end.
Houston used back-to-back poor seasons to obtain the first overall selection in both the 1983 and 1984 NBA Drafts. The Rockets picked 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson in 1983 and 7-foot Hakeem Olajuwon from the University of Houston the following year to assemble the tallest frontcourt the league had ever known. Sampson won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in his first season, while Olajuwon finished second in balloting to Michael Jordan a year later. The 1984-85 Rockets compiled a 48-34 record during Sampson’s and Olajuwon’s first season together, but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The following year, the Rockets rolled to a 51-31 record, won the Midwest Division, and upset the defending NBA champion L.A. Lakers to advance to the NBA Finals, where the team fell to Boston for the second time in six years.
The 1986-87 Rockets advanced to the Conference Semifinals, as Olajuwon earned his first of three straight All-NBA First-Team selections and Sampson struggled with injuries. The next year Houston traded Sampson and Steve Harris to Golden State for Joe Barry Carroll and Eric “Sleepy” Floyd, marking the first time that two first overall selections had been traded for one another. After the 1987-88 Rockets lost in the first round of the playoffs, Don Chaney replaced Fitch as head coach. During the 1988-89 season, Olajuwon became the first player to collect 200 steals and 200 blocks in the same season. Despite the addition of Otis Thorpe, the 1988-89 Rockets lost in the first round of the playoffs. The following season, a trade for Vernon Maxwell could not prevent another first-round exit. With the addition of Kenny Smith, the 1990-91 Rockets overcame losing Olajuwon to injury for 26 games to finish with a 52-30 record and earn Don Chaney NBA Coach of the Year honors. A first-round exit followed by a 26-26 start to the 1991-92 season cost Chaney his job. Tomjanovich was promoted from assistant coach to interim head coach during the season before being named permanent head coach at the season’s end. That offseason, the Rockets added Robert Horry via the 1992 NBA Draft.
Beginning with the 1992-93 season, Olajuwon’s All-Star play elevated to an even higher level for a four-year stretch. In 1993, he won the first of consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards, finished second in MVP voting, and earned the first of consecutive selections to the All-NBA First Team. The 1992-93 Rockets set a franchise record with an NBA season-best 15 consecutive wins and won the Midwest Division with a 55-27 record before losing in the Conference Semifinals.
On July 30, 1993, Leslie Alexander purchased the Rockets. The 1993-94 Rockets opened the year by tying an NBA record with a perfect 15-0 start. Houston went on to set the franchise record for wins with a 58-24 record, claiming the Midwest Division title. Olajuwon averaged 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.71 blocked shots to win both the NBA MVP award and the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. In the Conference Semifinals, two home losses to Phoenix prompted a Houston newspaper to post the headline “Choke City,” but the Rockets responded to win the seven-game series and earn the moniker “Clutch City.” Houston then defeated Utah in the Conference Finals to advance to the 1994 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. No team reached 100 points in any game in the Finals and every contest was decided by less than 10 points. The Rockets won the seven-game series to secure the first-ever professional championship for a sports team from Houston. Olajuwon earned the Finals MVP award, becoming the first player to ever win this honor along with both the regular season MVP award and the Defensive Player of the Year award in the same season.
With another NBA Championship in 1995, the Rockets became the fifth franchise in league history to boast back-to-back titles. The Rockets played the role of underdog in their bid to repeat as champions, entering the postseason as the sixth seed in the conference with a 47-35 record. The Rockets midseason trade of Thorpe reunited Houston native Clyde Drexler with Olajuwon, his former teammate at the University of Houston. The Rockets became the lowest seed ever to win a title and the first team to ever eliminate four teams that had each won 50 or more regular-season games, knocking off Utah, Phoenix, San Antonio and Orlando. The Rockets swept Orlando in the 1995 NBA Finals, as Olajuwon repeated as the NBA Finals MVP.
During the 1995-96 season, Olajuwon became the NBA’s all-time blocked shots leader and Tomjanovich became the franchise’s all-time winningest coach. In the playoffs, the Rockets were unable to repeat as champions, falling in the Conference Semifinals. Prior to the 1996-97 season, the Rockets acquired Charles Barkley, whose addition propelled Houston to a 57-25 record and the Conference Finals. The 1997-98 Rockets hoped to make one last championship run in Drexler’s final season, but Barkley tore a tricep muscle and Houston bowed out in the first round. The next year, the Rockets added Scottie Pippen to fill out the frontcourt of Olajuwon and Barkley. The Rockets notched their 15th consecutive winning season, but lost in the first round of the playoffs. Pippen was then traded to Portland in the offseason.
In the 1999-2000 season, Barkley played his final season and Steve Francis earned NBA Co-Rookie of the Year honors. The following season marked Houston’s last year with Olajuwon, who requested a trade at the season’s end. One year later, the Rockets found a new center with the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. Houston selected China’s Yao Ming, who became the first-ever No. 1 pick to come from an international basketball league. Following the 2002-2003 season, Tomjanovich stepped down as head coach of the Rockets with a franchise-record 503 victories in 900 games.
On June 11, 2003, Jeff Van Gundy became the 10th head coach in Rockets history. In Van Gundy’s first season, the Rockets moved into their new home Toyota Center, set several defensive records and returned to the playoffs for the first time in five years. On June 29, 2004, Houston acquired Tracy McGrady, trading its backcourt of Francis and Cuttino Mobley in a seven-player deal for the 25-year-old two-time NBA scoring champion. In his inaugural season in Houston, McGrady became the first player in Rockets history to reach 2,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists in a single season. McGrady also became the first-ever Houston player to earn Player-of-the-Week recognition four times in the same campaign. Overall in 2004-2005, the tandem of McGrady and Yao helped lead the Rockets to a 51-31 mark and a first-round playoff series with Dallas, where the Mavericks prevailed in a decisive Game Seven at AmericanAirlines Center.
The 2005-2006 campaign was highlighted with Houston hosting the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, which marked the second time the contest has been played in the “Space City.” Houston first held the midseason classic in 1989 before a record crowd of 44,735 at the Astrodome. McGrady scored the fourth most points in All-Star history with a game-high 36, while Yao led all players in votes received for a second straight season. The Rockets finished 2005-2006 with a 34-48 record, as McGrady and Yao played in just 31 games together due to injuries suffered by both players.
On April 3, 2006, Alexander named Daryl Morey as the team’s Assistant General Manager. The Rockets also acquired Shane Battier from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Stromile Swift and the draft rights to Connecticut forward Rudy Gay on July 12, 2006.
Franchise history
The Rockets, along with the Seattle SuperSonics, entered the NBA in 1967 as an expansion team based in San Diego. They selected Pat Riley with their first draft pick in 1967. They went on to produce a then-NBA record 67-loss season.
San Diego Rockets
In 1968 the Rockets won the coin toss versus the Baltimore Bullets, giving them the first overall pick in the 1968 NBA Draft. They selected Elvin "the Big E" Hayes from the University of Houston. Hayes led the team to the franchise's first ever playoff appearance in 1969. The Rockets lost in the Western divisional semi-final to the Atlanta Hawks two games to four in a best-of-seven series.
The 1970 NBA Draft brought Calvin Murphy and Rudy Tomjanovich to the Rockets - both significant to the franchise after their playing careers were over.
Coached by Jack McMahon and Alex Hannum, the Rockets tallied a 119-209 record over their tenure in San Diego.
Move to Houston
In 1971, real estate broker Wayne Duddleston and banker Billy Goldberg bought the franchise for $5.6 million and relocated the team from San Diego, where fans were more disposed to the Los Angeles Lakers than the Rockets. The Rockets originally had been named for San Diego slogan, "A City in Motion," but with the move to Houston their name took on even greater relevance. Houston is home to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center and Mission Control, which received national attention during Project Apollo. Houston's major league baseball team, the Astros,were similarly named, and their stadium was the Astrodome, all with a futuristic theme. Furthermore, Houston's WNBA team would be named the Comets, in part tribute and association with the Rockets.
1970s
The Rockets began playing at various venues in Houston, including the Astrodome, AstroHall, and Hofheinz Pavilion. They also played games at HemisFair Arena in San Antonio and in Waco. However, fan support was weak in the football and baseball-dominated city, and the Rockets averaged less than 5000 fans per game during their first Houston season. It was mused that the local churches in Waco drew more attendance than the Rockets.
Before the start of the 1971 season, Coach Alex Hannum left for the Denver Nuggets of the American Basketball Association. Tex Winter was hired as the new coach shortly before the team was sold. Coach Winter applied a triple-post offensive system that contrasted with the offensive style to which Hayes was accustomed. Houston soon traded Hayes to the Baltimore Bullets for Jack Marin. Lack of success did little to capture the city's attention, and in the Spring of 1973, following the Rockets 10th straight loss, Winter was relieved of his duties.
In 1975 the Rockets moved into their posh new home, The Summit, which they would call home for the next 28 years. The Summit represented a lavish new breed of sports arena, replete with amenities, that would help the NBA grow from a second-tier professional sport into the multi-billion dollar entertainment industry that it is today.
With Coach Johnny Egan's guidance and Tomjanovich, Murphy, and Mike Newlin leading the way, the Rockets made their first appearance in the playoffs since arriving in Houston. The Rockets defeated the New York Knicks (led by Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe) in the first round, but lost to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.
At the start of the 1977 season, the Rockets negotiated a trade with the Buffalo Braves to acquire Moses Malone, who as a high school star made the unprecedented decision of bypassing college basketball to sign on as a professional with the Utah Stars of the ABA in 1974. The Rockets defeated the Washington Bullets in the 1977 Eastern Conference semi-final, but lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the Conference Finals. Malone made an impressive showing against Washington's Elvin Hayes and waning star Wes Unseld.
On December 9, 1977, in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Kunnert got into a fight with the Lakers' Kermit Washington. As Tomjanovich approached the altercation, Washington turned and threw a punch, landing squarely in the face of an approaching Tomjanovich, causing extensive structural damage to his cranium. The shocking scene became the defining moment of the Rockets' 1977-78 season as well as the playing careers of Tomjanovich and Washington. Tomjanovich spent the next five months in rehabilitation and returned to appear in the 1978 All-Star Game. A book by John Feinstein recording the events surrounding this event and the different paths that Tomjanovich and Washington have taken since that day is entitled "The Punch."
Malone received the 1979 MVP Award. Not exceptionally big or quick, he used footwork and positioning to become a successful center in the NBA. Malone, Murphy, and Tomjanovich all played in the 1979 NBA All-Star Game. Rick Barry was signed for the 1979 season from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for John Lucas. Barry averaged a modest 13.5 points and set a new NBA record, posting a .947 free-throw percentage for the season. He would play one more year for the Rockets before retiring in 1980.
The Rockets went 47-35 in 1978-79, Nissalke's last season as coach. They finished second in the Central Division, losing two straight to Atlanta in a best-of-three first-round series.
Del Harris replaced Nissalke as coach for the 1979-80 campaign. The Rockets finished the year at 41-41, tying the San Antonio Spurs for second place in the Central Division. After beating the Spurs, two games to one, in the first-round playoff series, they were swept by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.
1980s
In 1981, the arrival of a third NBA team in Texas, the Dallas Mavericks, caused the NBA to restructure the conferences and sent Houston to the Midwest Division of the Western Conference, which also included San Antonio, Kansas City, Denver, Utah, and Dallas. Houston tied with Kansas City for second place in the Midwest Division behind San Antonio with a 40-42 record, barely qualifying for the playoffs.
Houston's playoff run began with a draw with the defending NBA Champion Lakers in the first round. The Rockets upset Los Angeles two games to one, then defeated George Gervin's Spurs four games to three in the Western Conference semifinals. This resulted in an unlikely conference finals matchup with Kansas City. The Kings, led by Otis Birdsong, Scott Wedman, and Phil Ford fell to the Rockets in five games. The championship series with Boston lasted six games with Boston claiming the championship.
During the season, Murphy, the shortest player in the league, set two NBA records, sinking 78 consecutive free throws to break Rick Barry's mark of 60 set in 1976 and achieving a free-throw percentage of .958, breaking Barry's record set with the Rockets in 1979. Other members of the 1980-81 team were Rudy Tomjanovich, Moses Malone, Robert Reid, Mike Dunleavy, Sr., Allen Leavell, Billy Paultz, Bill Willoughby, Calvin Garrett, Tom Henderson and Major Jones.
The following season, the Rockets improved their regular season mark to 46-36 but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The bright spot during the 1981-82 season was that Moses Malone won the league's Most Valuable Player award.
In the 1982-83 NBA season, after trading restricted free-agent Malone to the 76ers, the Rockets fell to a league worst 14-68. In an attempt to improve the franchise's performance, Bill Fitch was hired as coach to replace Del Harris, and with the first pick of the 1983 NBA Draft, the Rockets selected Ralph Sampson from the University of Virginia. The following season was a marked improvement on the previous year. A minor footnote to this season is that Houston allegedly lost its last few games of the season intentionally in order to have a better chance to secure the #1 overall pick [1]. This was the last season of the coin-flip process as the NBA installed the Draft Lottery for the next draft to prevent teams from deliberately losing.
With the first pick of the 1984 NBA Draft the Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon from the University of Houston. With two dynamic All-Star big men, the Rockets enjoyed great success in the 1986 season, winning the Western Conference Championship in five games over the Los Angeles Lakers and competing in the 1986 NBA Finals for only the second time in team history. However, the Celtics defeated the Rockets four games to two.
Clutch City
Between 1987 and 1992, the Rockets had winning records, but they never got past the 2nd round of the playoffs. With new coach Rudy Tomjanovich leading the way, the Rockets won 55 games in 1992-93, but the Seattle SuperSonics knocked them off in the Conference Semifinals.
In Rudy Tomjanovich's second full year, the Rockets began the 1993-94 season with an NBA record start of 15-0. With Hakeem Olajuwon as their center, the Rockets defeated the New York Knicks in seven games to win the championship. After being down three games to two in the 1994 NBA Finals, the Rockets won the last two games on their home court, thanks to a clutch play by Olajuwon. In the waning seconds of the fourth quarter of games 6 the Rockets clung to a 2 point lead when hot shooting guard John Starks, who had scored 27 points up until then, pulled up for a game winning shot. Olajuwon had slipped coming around a screen but recovered to block the shot and preserve the lead as time expired. This is often considered one of the greatest clutch defensive plays in NBA History.
The Rockets struggled in the first half of the 1994-95 season. In a midseason trade with Portland, the Rockets obtained star guard Clyde Drexler, who had played alongside Olajuwon at the University of Houston, in exchange for Otis Thorpe. Houston entered the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Western Conference and were underdogs against the 60-22 Utah Jazz in the first round, the 59-23 Phoenix Suns in the second round (who led the Rockets 3-1 before losing three straight), and the 62-20 San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals. In the fifth game of the San Antonio series, Olajuwon gave a career performance. After a pregame MVP award ceremony honoring David Robinson, Olajuwon dominated the game, outscoring Robinson 42-22 in a Rockets win. Houston won all three series to reach the Finals against the Orlando Magic, whose headline players were Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway. Houston swept the series in four straight games. The Rockets became the first team in NBA history to win the championship as a sixth seed. They also became only the second team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit without homecourt advantage. In addition, the team became the first in NBA history to beat four 50-win teams in a single postseason en route to the championship.
Post-championship
Rockets logo from 1995 to 2003.After an injury riddled 1995-96 campaign, the Rockets beat the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs but were swept by the Seattle Supersonics in the second round. Houston's aging roster and the emergence of the Chicago Bulls drove the Rockets to make a dramatic trade with the Phoenix Suns that swapped Naurin Iqbal, Sam Cassell, Chucky Brown, Mark Bryant and Robert Horry for Charles Barkley. The resulting "Big Three" of Olajuwon, Drexler, and Barkley led the Rockets to a 57-25 record, with a franchise-best 27 road wins. Houston swept Minnesota in the first round and, in a heated 7 game battle, defeated Seattle. The Rockets then fell in the Western Conference Finals to the Utah Jazz, a team they had beaten on their way to championships in '94 and '95.
The 1997-98 season was also marked by injuries, and the team finished 41-41 with the 8th seed in the Western Conference. Houston once again faced the Jazz and lost the series 3-2. Drexler retired after the season and the Rockets made another bold trade to bring in Scottie Pippen to take his place in the Big Three. While Pippen continued to play good defense, he struggled to fit into Houston's offensive system, which was dominated by Barkley and Olajuwon. As a result, the Rockets often struggled. The Rockets lost to the Lakers in the first round 3-1 of the 1999 NBA Playoffs, and during the summer Barkley and Pippen publicly displayed their dislike for each other.
Throughout the post-championship years one of the Rockets main weaknesses was the point guard position. The Rockets had signed Brent Price as the answer at the 1, but he had been severely limited by injuries. That summer the Rockets attempted to address their point guard situation by trading Price, Antoine Carr, Michael Dickerson, Othella Harrington, and a future first round pick to the Vancouver Grizzlies for Steve Francis and Tony Massenburg. Two months later the Rockets dealt the disgruntled Pippen to the Portland Trailblazers in exchange for Walt Williams, Stacey Augmon, Ed Gray, Carlos Rogers, Brian Shaw, and Kelvin Cato. The trade replenished the depth given up to obtain Francis from Vancouver.
Early in the 2000 season Barkley ruptured the quadriceps tendon in his left knee in a game against Philadelphia. When considering his career-ending injury, Barkley displayed his trademark wit by observing, "I'm just what America needs - another unemployed black man." Barkley would go on to rehab and make a token appearance towards the end of the season. With injuries to Barkley and Olajuwon, the rebuilt Rockets went 34-48 and missed the playoffs.
21st century
In 2001, the Rockets worked their way to a 45-37 record and swept every Central Division team, but still did not make the playoffs. An older, waning Olajuwon was traded to the Toronto Raptors in 2001 which left Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley to fill leadership roles. The following season was unremarkable, as the team was mostly made up of rookies and journeymen. Injuries to star player Steve Francis forced him to miss many games. The first season without Hakeem in almost 20 years was a disappointing 28-54.
The abysmal 2002 season had its silver lining, as the Rockets were awarded the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. The Rockets selected Yao Ming, a 7 foot and 6 inch Chinese center, who played for the Shanghai Sharks. The 2002-03 basketball season saw marked improvement for the Rockets, with the trio of Yao, Francis, and Mobley leading the team to a 43-39 record.
With a 2003-04 regular season record of 45-37, the Rockets earned their first playoff berth since their first round exit to the Lakers in 1999. However, the Lakers again handed the Rockets a loss in the first round. The offseason saw major changes in the roster and dynamic of the team as Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato were traded to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines.
McGrady and Yao led the Rockets to their best record in 10 years, finishing at 51-31 and seeded 5th in the Western Conference Playoffs. Their season ended in the first round of the playoffs as they lost to their in-state rival, the Dallas Mavericks four games to three. During the 2005 offseason the Rockets obtained Stromile Swift, and Derek Anderson. They also traded Mike James to the Toronto Raptors for Rafer Alston.
Injuries plagued the 2005-06 season. Bob Sura had surgery on his knee the summer prior, Tracy McGrady fought an injured back throughout the season, Yao Ming required surgery to treat an infection in his toe, and David Wesley even fractured a rib falling into a courtside cameraman near the end of the season. With Yao and McGrady rarely on the court at the same time, the Rockets floundered. The team was much more successful during the few portions of the season when its players were relatively healthy. However Jeff Van Gundy and his team frequently expressed the need to play beyond injuries and to not use bad luck as an excuse for losing. By the end of the season, the Rockets led the league in most games missed by players on the roster. The team finished with a 34-48 record.
The Rockets drafted Rudy Gay of the University of Connecticut with the 8th pick of the first round in the 2006 NBA Draft. Gay was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies along with Stromile Swift in exchange for Shane Battier. Many fans were upset at losing the young prospect in Gay, but many were also excited to acquire the acclaimed work ethic and team orientation of Battier. The Rockets also acquired Kirk Snyder from the New Orleans Hornets for cash consideration, and an exchange of 2nd round draft picks. They also signed Vassilis Spanoulis, a 2004 draft pick from Greece; Steve Novak a 2006 second round draft pick from Marquette University; and summer league stand-out John Lucas III. Near the end of the offseason, the Rockets made their biggest offseason acquisition and signed Bonzi Wells for a 2 year, $5 million deal with the second year being a player option.
In the 2006-07 NBA season, the Rockets are currently 44-25, and have suffered familiar injuries to both superstars: an injured back for McGrady and a fractured right tibia bone bone for Yao. Fortunately for the Rockets, McGrady returned just after Yao got injured and had six consecutive games of at least 30 points.
The Rockets at present have the 5th best record in the West and 6th best in the league. Many pundits consider them a threat for the championship if they stay fit despite the strength of the West. On Sunday March 18, 2007 the Houston Rockets recorded a season-high in points at 124, but held the Philadelphia 76ers to 74 in a 50 point blowout at the Wachovia Center.
