Houston Rockets

Located in Houston, the Houston Rockets are a professional American basketball team. It participates in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a part of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The franchise came into existence in 1967 with the name San Diego Rockets and turned into Houston Rockets in 1971. The team holds its home games at the Toyota Center. In terms of league performance, the Houston Rockets is featured with two NBA championships along with 4 Conference and 8 Division titles. Some of the eminent players who contributed to the team are Elvin Hayes, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Moses Malone.

Houston Rockets Best Players

Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon is undoubtedly the best player in Houston Rockets' history. The franchise will always remember the all-time greatest player for them who brought them two championships. For 15 years, Hakeem was among the top five players in the championship. 

Hakeem Olajuwon was drafted to the Rockets in 1984 and played for seventeen years with the franchise. He is the greatest centre player in the game and outplayed players like O’Neal, David Robinson, and Dikembe Mutombo. In these 17 seasons, Hakeem averaged 22.5 PPG and 11.4 RPG, 3.2 BPG, and 1.8 SPG. 

James Harden

As a true icon of Houston, we cannot miss James Harden from the list. The 6’5” American played nine seasons for the franchise. Harden was traded to Houston Rockets in 2012 from Oklahoma City Thunder. During his tenure and his peak season, he led the team to win three consecutive championships from 2017-2019. He was named the Most Valuable player in 2018 and eight consecutive All-Star.

Moses Malone

The American professional basketball player was traded to Houston Rockets in 1976. He played six seasons with the franchise until 1981 and averaged 24PPG and 15RPG. In Hoston’s history, Moses is the only two times MVP winner, along with five All-Star appearances. Moses is placed in the top three for rebounding and blocks per game.

Yao Ming

A former Chinese professional basketball player was traded with Houston Rockets in 2002. 7’6” was one of the dominant foreign players in NBA history. Yao Ming played in Western Conference NBA for just eight years and left NBA due to injuries. During his tenure of nine years with Hostons, he made it to the All-Star eight times. 

Calvin Murphy

Calvin Murphy, is the man who showed that basketball is also a game for little means. The 5’9” Murphy played exceptionally well against the larger competitors and stunned the crowd with his speed and ball handling. Murphy was traded to Houston in 1970, and Murphy gave a solid start to his career. He won the All-Rookie Team award in his first year and NBA All-Star Team in 1979. With Moses Malone, the team reached to finals in 1981 but eventually lost to Celtics. After his retirement from basketball, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993. 

Houston Rockets Coach

In October 2020, Stephen Silas was named the Houston Rockets' head coach. Silas became the 14th head coach of the franchise. Before joining Houston, Sila was the assistant coach for Dallas Mavericks. Also, he became head coach for one year for Dallas, when their head coach Steve Clifford was ill. Silas was also an assistant coach for Charlotte Hornets (2010-2018), five years for Golden State Warriors, one year for Washington Wizards (2005-2006), and Cleveland Cavaliers (2003-2005). 

In Cleveland- Stephen Silas also played an important part in the development of LeBron James. 

Houston Rockets History

Houston Rockers is an American professional basketball team based in Houston that plays in Western Conference. The team was founded in 1967, first named as San Diego Rockets but then shifted to Houston in 1971. In its early years, Houston was led by Elvin Hayes and Ruby Tomjanovich, who later on was the head coach for 12 seasons.

In 1996, Houston traded Moses Malone, and the franchise won its first title, advancing o the conference finals. With Moses, the team went through to the playoffs three times consecutively. Later in 1982, Moses left the Rockets, and the downgrade of the team started when they drafted Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984. He and Ralph Sampson led the team to the NBA finals in 1986 and lost to Celtics. 

The 1993 and 1994 seasons are known as the best seasons for the franchise when they won back-to-back NBA titles. In 2001, the team was led by Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, who made the team to playoffs eight times. In 2010 and 2011, Tracy was traded, and Yao Ming had to announce his retirement leaving Houston to rebuild the team. Later in the 2012 season, the trade of James Harden was a wonder for the franchise, who led the team to playoffs with Dwight Howard. The same team then advanced to the 2014-15 finals but lost to Golden State Warriors. 

Houston Rockets added Chris Paul as a new addition in the 2017-18 season, and the team went on to set a new record for winning 65 games. The same year, the team advanced to the NBA finals but was again defeated by Golden State Warriors in seven-match series. 

Huston Rockets Owner

In September 2017, Tilman Fertitta made a purchase of the Houston Rockets from Leslie Alexander for $2.2 billion. This payment was approved by the next month when Tilman made the whole payment of this purchase. Tilman made the payment after selling $1.415 billion of bonds along with Beyonce Knowles (Houston’s singer). 

Houston Rockets Rumors

The Houston Rockets reached the Toyota Center after having a 5-game home winning streak but ended with a loss against the Miami Heat.

Sterling Brown has come across an agreement to play in the NBA G League and is still free to sign with any NBA club.

Houston Rockets Depth Chart

O: Out

DD: Day-to-Day

Houston Rockets – Roster 2022-23

Find the roster chart here.

Houston Rockets – Record – Last 10 Years

Houston Rockets – Championships

The Houston Rockets have succeeded to win the NBA championship two times in NBA history. They managed to overtake the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic in the final in 1994 and 1995, respectively. However, the franchise, earlier, also played in the NBA finals in 1981 and 1986 but lost to the Celtics each time. In addition to that, the Houston Rockets have 4 Conference titles (1981, 1986, 1994, and 1995) and 8 Division titles.

Popularly Asked Questions

How many NBA championship titles have the Houston Rockets won before the ongoing (2022-23) season?

The Houston Rockets have 2 NBA titles to their name. The first came in 1994 when they beat the New York Knicks while the 2nd title was conquered in 1995 against the Orlando Magic.

When was the Houston Rockets established?

The Houston Rockets was formed in 1967 as San Diego Rockets. They were renamed the Houston Rockets in 1971.

Who are the best performers for the Houston Rockets?

The Houston Rockets feature several eminent personalities i.e. James Harden, Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, Robert Covington, and Elvin Hayes.

How many Division titles and Conference titles do the Houston Rockets acquire?

The NBA franchise Houston Rockets encompass 4 Conference titles and 8 Division titles in its portfolio.

Where do the Houston Rockets play their home games?

The Toyota Center serves as the home ground for the NBA club Houston Rockets.