History of the Houston Rockets

70s - The Big 3

The Rockets Franchise began in San Diego in 1967 before relocating to Houston in 1971. A young Calvin Murphy and Rudy Tomjanovich led the beginning years of the decade and eventually made the playoffs in 1975. Once they added eventual 3 time MVP winner, Moses Malone they started to become contenders.

80s - Twin Towers

In 1981 the Big 3 took a 42 win Rockets to the NBA finals upsetting the Lakers ini the first round but eventually losing to the Celtics. All 3 ended up leaving the team but it didn’t take long for them to get back to a great team. They drafted 7’4 Ralph Sampson and 7’0 Hakeem Olajuwon in back to back drafts giving the duo the nickname “The Twin Towers”. This duo again beat the Lakers en route to the Finals in 1986 and again lost to the Cletics for the championship.

90s - Clutch City

Throughout the 90s, Hakeem continued to grow into one of the best greatest big men of all time. He won two Defensive Player of the Year awards while leading the Rockets to back to back NBA championships in ‘94 and ‘95. After their second ring they were named “Clutch City” for being the lowest seed to ever win the Finals.

00s - New Big Man

After Hakeem left the Rockets, they began the search for a new big man which didn’t take long. In 2002 they draft Yao Ming out of China who became an all star in his rookie year. After pairing him with Tracy McGrady they became a playoff lock. The furthest they got was to the second round where they lost to the eventual-champion Lakers in 7 games.

10s - Threes and Layups

In 2012, the Rockets trade for James Harden who wastes no time becoming a superstar. Four years later they hire Mike D’Anotni who adopts the philosophy that the team would only shoot threes and layups. This along with adding Chris Paul led them to becoming one of the most dominant offenses in the league. In their best season they, again, lost to the eventual-champion Warriors in 7 games.