Houston Rockets

Houston Rockets
2024–25 Houston Rockets season
Conference	Western
Division	Southwest
Founded	1967
History	San Diego Rockets 1967–1971 Houston Rockets 1971–present[1][2][3]
Arena	Toyota Center
Location	Houston, Texas
Team colors	Red, black, gray, anthracite, white[4][5]
Main sponsor	Credit Karma[6]
President	Gretchen Sheirr[7]
General manager	Rafael Stone
Head coach	Ime Udoka
Ownership	Tilman Fertitta[8]
Affiliation(s)	Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Championships	2 (1994, 1995)
Conference titles	4 (1981, 1986, 1994, 1995)
Division titles	8 (1977, 1986, 1993, 1994, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Retired numbers	7 (11, 22, 23, 24, 34, 44, 45)
Website	nba.com/rockets
Association Icon Statement

The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Toyota Center, located in Downtown Houston. Throughout its history, Houston has won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles. It was established in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego. In 1971, the Rockets relocated to Houston.

The Rockets won only 15 games in their debut season as a franchise in 1967. In the 1968 NBA draft, the Rockets were awarded the first overall pick and selected power forward Elvin Hayes, who would lead the team to its first playoff appearance in his rookie season. The Rockets did not finish a season with a winning record for almost a decade until the 1976–77 season, when they traded for All-Star center Moses Malone from the American Basketball Association (ABA). Malone led Houston to the Eastern Conference Finals in his first year with the team. During the 1980–81 season, the Rockets finished the regular season with a 40–42 record but still made the playoffs. Led by Malone, the Rockets reached their first NBA Finals in 1981, losing in six games to the Boston Celtics.

In the 1984 NBA draft, once again with the first overall pick, the Rockets drafted center Hakeem Olajuwon, who would become the cornerstone of the most successful period in franchise history. Paired with 7-foot-4-inch (2.24 m) Ralph Sampson, they formed one of the tallest front courts in the NBA. Nicknamed the "Twin Towers", they led the team to the 1986 NBA Finals where Houston was again defeated by the Boston Celtics. The Rockets continued to reach the playoffs throughout the 1980s, but failed to advance past the first round for several years following 1987. Rudy Tomjanovich took over as head coach midway through the 1991–92 season, ushering in the most successful period in franchise history. Led by Olajuwon, the Rockets dominated the 1993–94 season, setting a then-franchise record 58 wins and went to the 1994 NBA Finals and won the franchise's first championship against the New York Knicks. During the following season, reinforced by another All-Star, Clyde Drexler, the Rockets repeated as champions with a four-game sweep of the Orlando Magic.

The Rockets acquired all-star power forward Charles Barkley in 1996, but were unable to advance past the Western Conference Finals. Each one of the aging trio of Olajuwon, Drexler, and Barkley had left the team by 2001. The Rockets of the early 2000s, led by superstars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, followed the trend of consistent regular season respectability followed by playoff underachievement as both players struggled with injuries. After Yao's early retirement in 2011, the Rockets entered a period of rebuilding, completely dismantling and retooling their roster.

The acquisition of franchise player James Harden in 2012 launched the Rockets back into perennial championship contention throughout the rest of the 2010s, with no losing seasons in Harden's nine-season tenure with the team. Harden led the team to two Western Conference Finals appearances (both times losing to the Golden State Warriors). Prior to the 2020–21 season, head coach Mike D'Antoni and general manager Daryl Morey left the organization, prompting Harden to seek a trade. He was traded to the Brooklyn Nets^[A] which started a rebuilding period.

Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, and James Harden have been named the NBA's MVPs while playing for the Rockets, for a total of four MVP awards. The Rockets, when piloted by Morey, were renowned for popularizing the use of advanced statistical analytics (similar to sabermetrics in baseball) in player acquisitions and style of play.

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