History of the Rockets
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 AllStar 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 199192 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 CoRookie 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, number-one pick to come from an international basketball league. Following the
2002-03 season, Tomjanovich stepped down as head coach 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 2004-05,
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 American
Airlines Center.
The 2005-06 campaign was highlighted with Houston hosting the 2006 NBA All-Star Game,
which marked the second time the contest was played in “Space City.” Houston first held the
midseason classic in 1989 before a then-record crowd of 44,735 at the Astrodome. McGrady
scored a game-high 36 points for the West, while Yao led all players in votes received for a
second straight season. The Rockets finished 2005-06 with a 34-48 mark, 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. With the addition of
Battier along with strong play from Yao and McGrady, the 2006-07 Rockets blasted off to one of
their best starts in recent years. Yao was named Western Conference Player of the Month for
games played through Nov., becoming the first Rockets player to receive this recognition since
Olajuwon. When Yao suffered a small fracture on his right anterior medial tibial plateau vs. the
L.A. Clippers on Dec. 23, McGrady put the team on his back and helped lead the Rockets to a 2012 record over the 32 games Yao was out with the injury. Also playing a huge role was reserve
center Dikembe Mutombo, who moved past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar into second on the NBA’s alltime blocked shots list. Houston finished the season with a 52-30 mark, but lost a heartbreaking
Game Seven to the Utah Jazz in the opening round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs.
On May 10, 2007, Alexander announced that Morey officially assumed his role as General
Manager of the franchise. Morey took over the position from retiring Carroll Dawson, who was
honored by Alexander with “Carroll Dawson Tribute Night” on April 16, 2007, where a banner
bearing his name was hung from the rafters of Toyota Center in tribute to Dawson’s 27 seasons
with the Rockets organization. The offseason changes did not stop there, as the team and Van
Gundy decided to part ways. Alexander then hired Rick Adelman as head coach and
commissioned Morey to build a roster to fit his system. In the 2007 NBA Draft, Morey selected
Aaron Brooks in the first round and traded for the draft rights to Carl Landry. The team also
acquired from San Antonio the draft rights to Argentine forward Luis Scola on July 12, 2007.
In his first season, Adelman led the 2007-08 Rockets to a 55-27 mark. Houston actually captured
22 victories in a row (1/29/08-3/16/08), which stands as the third-longest winning streak in NBA
history. The team went 13-0 in Feb. 2008, while recording 12 consecutive wins away from
Toyota Center (1/4/08-3/12/08) to mark the longest road winning streak in club annals. The
accomplishments were even more noteworthy since Yao was lost for the remainder of the
season after undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot on March 3, 2008.
Another highlight during this record-setting season was Alexander honoring Olajuwon for his
many contributions to the Rockets organization with the unveiling of a commissioned bronze
sculpture in front of Toyota Center during a special ceremony on April 11, 2008. Despite a
growing number of injuries, Houston battled to the end, but dropped their opening-round series
with Utah in the 2008 NBA Playoffs.
The Rockets began the 2008-09 campaign by trading for Ron Artest and completed their run by
taking the eventual NBA Champion L.A. Lakers to a Game Seven of the 2009 Western
Conference Semifinals. Led by the scoring of Brooks, Houston went the full seven games with
the Lakers despite playing without McGrady (microfracture surgery on left knee) and losing the
services of Yao (broken bone in left foot) for the final four contests of the series. The Rockets
advanced to face the Lakers by defeating Portland in the opening round, which marked the
club’s first series win in the playoffs since 1997. The memorable postseason came after a 53-29
regular season, which gave Houston its third consecutive 50-win campaign for the first time in
franchise history.
Despite playing the entire 2009-10 campaign without Yao (foot surgery), Houston registered a
42-40 mark to become the only team in the past 20 NBA seasons to finish above .500 without an
All-Star. It marked just the 26th time in NBA history for a team to finish a season with a winning
record and not make the playoffs. Brooks became the sixth player in league annals to make at
least 200 3-pointers (209) and dish out 400 or more assists (434) in the same season en route to
capturing the NBA’s 2009-10 Most Improved Player award. The Rockets were also involved in a
three-team, nine-player trade that brought Kevin Martin to Houston from Sacramento on Feb.
18, 2010, while sending McGrady to the New York Knicks and Landry to the Kings.
The Rockets secured a 43-39 mark in 2010-11, joining the 1970-71 and 1971-72 Phoenix Suns as
the only two teams to miss the playoffs in two straight seasons despite finishing with a winning
record in both campaigns. Houston’s 2010-11 season also marked one of change, which began
with Yao enduring yet another season-ending surgery. The Rockets transition continued at the
trade deadline with Battier rejoining the Grizzlies and the acquisition of Goran Dragic from the
Suns in exchange for Brooks. Following the season, the Rockets and Adelman mutually agreed to
part ways.
Houston would name Hall-of-Famer Kevin McHale as the 12th head coach in team history on
June 1, 2011. Yao, who established himself as one of the top centers in the NBA and a global
phenomenon, also announced his retirement from the NBA in his hometown of Shanghai, China
on July 20, 2011. In his first campaign with Houston, McHale guided the 2011-12 Rockets to a
34-32 record. Second-round draft pick Chandler Parsons moved into a starting role and captured
2011-12 NBA All-Rookie Second Team accolades.
In 2012-13, the Rockets began the start of a new era with the signing of restricted free agents
Jeremy Lin and Omir Asik, while seeing the departures of Scola and Dragic. On Oct. 27, 2012,
Houston made a blockbuster deal to acquire James Harden from Oklahoma City and sent Martin
to the Thunder. Led by this new core of players, the Rockets went 45-37 and made a return trip
to the postseason. Harden recorded one of the most dynamic offensive campaigns in Rockets
history by setting the team single-season record for free throws made (674) and becoming just
the fifth player in club annals to reach 2,000 points in one campaign (2,023). The NBA All-Star
Game returned to Houston in 2013, where Harden was selected to his first game. Harden also
went on to collect 2012-13 All-NBA Third Team. In addition, Asik led the NBA in total rebounds
(956).
After reaching the 2013 NBA Playoffs with the youngest team in the NBA, Alexander and his
Rockets made yet another bold move to become one of the most promising young contenders
in the league. Houston highlighted the 2013 NBA free agency period with the signing of threetime NBA Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard.