The Houston Rockets are a professional American basketball team situated in Houston, Texas. They play under the Western conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team franchise was established in 1967. The team is currently under the head coach Stephen Silas. Red, White and Silver are the official colors of the Rockets. In their debut season of 1967-68 the Rockets went on to lose 67 games.
In the 1967-68 season the Rockets traded with the Buffalo Braves to acquire Moses Malone who was the only player at that time to make it directly from high school level to the professional level. Moses then led the team to 49 games victory in the regular season which was the best record in the franchise history. The Rockets finished at the top of the central division and advanced to the Eastern conference finals for the first time in history, but later went down to the Philadelphia 76ers 4-2.
| Country |
United States
|
| City | Houston, Texas |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Ground | Toyota Center |
| Coach | Stephen Silas |
In the 1980-81 season the Rockets were transferred from the central division to the Midwest division of the Western conference. The team had made it to the playoffs this time. They defeated the Lakers 2-1 and then went on win against the Spurs in the semi-finals. The Rockets were the only team in history to make it to the finals after having the worst loosing record at the start of the season. In the finals the Rockets went down to the Boston Celtics. In the following season the Rockets improved their season by a 46-36 record but were eliminated out of the first round. Despite loosing the finals Moses Malone won the league’s Most Valuable Player award.
The 1993-94 season started off with a bang for the Houston Rockets. They won their first 15 games consecutively. The amazing team spirit and hard work took the Rockets to the NBA finals against the New York Knicks. They defeated the Knicks in a series of seven games and achieved their first ever NBA Championship title in the team’s history led by Finals MVP Hakeem Olajuwon.
The team was successful in defending their NBA title in the following season also. Houston swept the series in four straight games. The Rockets became the first team in NBA history to win the championship as a sixth seed. They also became only the second team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit without home-court advantage. In addition, the team became the first in NBA history to beat four 50-win teams in a single postseason en route to the championship.
More recently, the Rockets won three straight division titles from 2018 to 2020 with James Harden in the side but were unable to reach the NBA Finals in any of those seasons.
The Houston rockets play all their home games at the Toyota Center an indoor arena located in Houston. The basketball arena has a maximum capacity of 18,055.
Many famous names from the team like Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, Clyde Drexler and Olajuwon have made it to the Hall of Famers.
Major achievements
- 8 Division titles
- 4 Conference titles
- 2 NBA championships (1994, 1995)
