Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are a professional basketball team in the NBA, based in Houston and playing in the Western Conference’s Southwest Division. Their home court is the Toyota Center in downtown Houston. The franchise has won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles. It began in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team, before moving to Houston in 1971.

The Rockets lost 67 games in their first season, winning only 15. In the 1968 draft, they had the first overall pick and chose power forward Elvin Hayes, who led them to their first playoff appearance as a rookie. The team didn’t post a winning record until the 1976–77 season, after trading for All-Star center Moses Malone from the ABA. Malone took Houston to the Eastern Conference finals that year. In 1980–81, despite a 40–42 regular season, the Rockets made the playoffs and, led by Malone, reached their first NBA Finals, losing in six games to the Boston Celtics.

With the first overall pick in the 1984 draft, Houston selected center Hakeem Olajuwon, who became the foundation of the franchise’s most successful era. Paired with 7-foot Ralph Sampson, they formed the “Twin Towers” frontcourt and reached the 1986 NBA Finals, again losing to Boston. The Rockets made the playoffs through the late 1980s but couldn’t get past the first round after 1987. Rudy Tomjanovich became head coach midway through the 1991–92 season, starting the team’s peak period. Led by Olajuwon, Houston set a then-franchise record with 58 wins in 1993–94, then won its first championship by beating the New York Knicks in the Finals. The next season, with the addition of All-Star Clyde Drexler, the Rockets repeated as champions, sweeping the Orlando Magic.

All-star power forward Charles Barkley joined in 1996, but the team couldn’t advance past the Western Conference finals. By 2001, Olajuwon, Drexler, and Barkley had all left. In the early 2000s, the Rockets were led by Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, who delivered consistent regular-season success but struggled with injuries and playoff disappointments. After Yao’s early retirement in 2011, Houston rebuilt its roster.

The acquisition of James Harden in 2012 brought the Rockets back to perennial contention. During Harden’s nine seasons, the team never had a losing record and reached the Western Conference finals twice, both times losing to the Golden State Warriors. Before the 2020–21 season, head coach Mike D’Antoni and general manager Daryl Morey departed, leading Harden to request a trade. He was sent to the Brooklyn Nets, starting another rebuilding phase.

Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, and James Harden have each won NBA MVP awards while with the Rockets, totaling four such honors. Under Morey, the team became known for popularizing advanced statistical analytics in player acquisitions and playing style.