Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are a National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas.
- Founded: 1967
- Formerly known as: San Diego Rockets (1967-71)
- Home Arena: Toyota Center (new for 2003)
- Uniform colors: Blood Red, White, and Silver
- Logo design: A gothic-style R, appearing to move upwards, with a ring around the bottom of it; one version of the logo includes "HOUSTON" at the left and "ROCKETS" at the right.
- NBA Championships: 1994, 1995
The Rockets went 47-35 in 1978-79, Nissalke's last season as coach, finshing second in the Central Division losing two straight to Atlanta in a best-of-three first-round series.
Del Harris replaced Nissalke at the helm for the 1979-80 campaign. The Rockets finished the year at 41-41, tying the San Antonio Spurs for second place in the Central Division. After beating the Spurs, two games to one, in the first-round playoff series, they being swept by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The arrival of a third NBA team in Texas, the Dallas Mavericks, caused a reshuffling in 1980-81 that sent Houston to the Midwest Division of the Western Conference, which also included San Antonio, Kansas City, Denver, Utah, and Dallas.
Houston playoff run began by drawing the defending NBA-champion Lakers and Magic Johnson in the first round. The Rockets upset Los Angeles, two games to one, then got past the Spurs and George Gervin, four games to three, in the western conference semifinals. This set up an unlikely conference finals matchup with Kansas City. The Kings, led by Otis Birdsong, Scott Wedman, and Phil Ford fell to the Rockets in five games. The Houston Rockets finally made it to finals, the first time a team from Houston played for a championship in basketball, football, or baseball. The championship series with Boston was fought to six games. Unfortunately, the Celtics with Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Cedric Maxwell, and Kevin McHale were too strong.
Franchise History
1967-1968: Beginning in San Diego
The San Diego Rockets entered the NBA in 1967-68 as expansion teams along with the Seattle SuperSonics, the same year that the American Basketball Association launched itself as a rival league. 1968-1971: The "Big E" coin toss
The Rockets Won the coin toss with the Baltimore Bullets, selected Elvin "the Big E" Hayes from the University of Houston as the #1 draft pick. Hayes brought respectablity, though without ultimate victory, to the fledgling franchise.1971-1972: Back to Houston
Real estate broker Wayne Duddleston and banker Billy Goldberg, bought the franchise for $5.6 million bringing home town hero Hayes back to football-crazed Houston, Texas. The Rockets played home games at the Astrodome and AstroHall, at HemisFair Arena in San Antonio, at Hofheinz Pavilion on the University of Houston campus, and in Waco. Legend has it that one Wednesday night the local churches in Waco drew more people than the Rockets. The team played well, however, adding two sparkling young players in Calvin Murphy and Rudy Tomjanovich.1972-74: Hayes traded
Trading Hayes to the Baltimore Bullets for Jack Marin did little to capture an improved record or the city's attention. 1974-76: Playoffs
With Coach John Egan's guidance and Tomjanovich, Murphy, and Mike Newlin leading the way, the Rockets made their first appearance in the playoffs since arriving in Houston. The rockets defeated the New York Knicks (with Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Bill Bradley, and Jerry Lucas) in the first round and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals losing to the Boston Celtis.1976-77: A savior
At the insistence of new coach Tom Nissalke a trade with the Buffalo Braves marked the arrival of Moses Malone, who as a high school star made the unprecedented decision of bypassing college basketball to sign on as a professional with the Utah Stars of the ABA in 1974. The Rockets, now led by Tomjanovich, Murphy, Newlin, Malone, Kevin Kunnert, and rookie guard John Lucas took the Central Division title. Malone, then a skinny 21-year old, outbattled Unseld and Hayes to help the Rockets to a playoff victory in six games against the Washington Bullets. The Rockets' hopes ended against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals on a controversial charging call against Lucas in the final moments of Game 6.1977-78: The punch felt 'round the world
In a December 9 game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Kunnert got into a fight with the Lakers' Kermit Washington. As Tomjanovich ran over to the two, Washington turned and blindly swung his fist. The powerful blow landed squarely on the face of a running Tomjanovich, causing massive jaw, eye, and cheek injuries; Tomjanovich's skull was also fractured when his head hit the floor. That shocking scene became the defining moment of not only the Rockets' 1977-78 season (a conference finals team the previous year, collapsed into last place with a 28-54 record) but also of two basketball players' professional careers. Tomjanovich, possessing the "heart of a champion", spent the next five months in rehab returning to play as an NBA all-star.1978-80: Malone shines, slow playoff progress
Malone receives the league's MVP Award. Malone, not exceptionally big or quick, used subtle moves, perfect positioning, and bulldog determination to become a superb center. Malone, Murphy, and Tomjanovich (who had returned to average 19.0 points) all played in the 1979 NBA All-Star Game.
Rick Barry also joined the team that year as a free agent, with the Rockets sending John Lucas to Golden State Warriors as compensation. The future Hall of Famer, now in the twilight of his career, averaged a modest 13.5 points. He did set a new NBA record, however, by posting a .947 free-throw percentage for the season. He would play one more year for the Rockets before retiring in 1980.1980-81: The promised land
Malone carries the Rockets to NBA finals. Murphy, the shortest player in the league, sets two NBA records, sinking 78 consecutive free throws to break Rick Barry's mark of 60 set in 1976 achieving a free-throw percentage of .958 breaking Rick Barry's record set with the Rockets in 1979. Other members of the 80-81 team were Rudy Tomjanovich, Robert Reid, Mike Dunleavy, Allen Leavell, Billy Paultz, Bill Willoughby, Calvin Garrett, Tom Henderson, and Major Jones. Houston tied with Kansas City for second place in the Midwest behind San Antonio with regular season at 40-42. Players of note
Basketball Hall of Famers:
Not to be forgotten:
Retired numbers:
Current stars:
External links