By Adam Hart
Introduction
The Houston Rockets are a professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. They are one of three NBA franchises (the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks) from Texas. They have been playing in Houston since 1971 after moving to Houston from San Diego. While in San Diego, they were known as the San Diego Rockets, founded in 1967. Due to financial hardship, then-owner Robert Breitbard suddenly sold the team to Houston Sports Investments; thus, the team moved to Houston and was renamed the “Houston Rockets”. As of 2021, the team is worth about 2.5 billion U.S. dollars.
The Houston Rockets are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The team started as an expansion team in 1967, with NBA star Elvin Hayes leading them to great success.
The Rockets won back-to-back championships in the 1994 and 1995 seasons. In addition, they have had four different players win Most Valuable Player trophies, one each for their era. They have also had two head coaches who were inducted into Basketball.
If you are a Rockets fan, check out our facts about the Houston Rockets below.
1. Tilman Fertitta owns the team. Fertitta is the sole owner of the team, one of the few owners in the NBA who owns their team outright without an ownership group. Tilman is worth an estimated 4.5 billion dollars.
2. The team was founded in 1967 in San Diego under then-owner Robert Breitbard. 4 years later, the team moved to Houston – in 1971.
3. The Rockets call the Toyota Center home, where they play home games.
4. The team won two NBA titles in the following years: 1994 and 1995. They have also won 4 Conference titles (1981, 1986, 1994, 1995) and 8 Division titles (1977, 1986, 1993, 1994, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020).
5. The Houston Rockets have retired six jersey numbers (11, 22, 23, 24, 34, 45).
6. Other players that have played for the team include Calvin Murphy, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, Dwight Howard, Patrick Patterson and James Harden.
7. The current head coach is Stephen Silas, and the general manager is Rafael Stone.
8. The team’s colors are Red, black, grey, anthracite, and white.
9. Throughout the team’s history, they have had players from all over the world, such as Russia, Spain, Lithuania, China and more.
10. Since drafting James Harden in 2012, the team has been a perennial championship contender for almost a decade. But it is worth noting that James Harden now plays for the Brooklyn Nets as of 2020.
11. One of the team’s biggest rivals is the San Antonio Spurs.
12. They were the second franchise to move from a small market (San Diego) into a large market (Houston). The first was the Baltimore Bullets to become the Capital Bullets in 1974, and then the Washington Bullets in 1973.
13. As the NBA’s newest team in 1967, the team only won 15 games.
14. On December 9, 2004, Tracy McGrady scored an impressive 13 points in 33 seconds to defeat the San Antonio Spurs.
15. Legendary player, coach, and executive Pat Riley was the team’s first draft pick in 1967 (7th overall). Today, Pat Riley is the president of the Miami Heat.