The vibrant, eye-catching hues of the Houston Rockets have become an integral part of the team’s identity and spirit. Over the years, the Rockets’ official colors have been a source of pride, joy, and energy.

Historically, the Rockets’ colors have been a vibrant red, yellow, and navy blue combination that reflects the spirit and energy of the team’s fan base.

Red has always been a major component of the Rockets’ visual identity. It's a bold, vibrant hue that radiates power and enthusiasm. The Rockets have used the color all the way back to their first season in the late 1960s. Red has been a part of the team’s jersey designs throughout the years, and it is frequently used in other graphical design elements. Red is an extremely passionate color, conveying enthusiasm, strength, and power.

The Rockets also use yellow as part of their official colors. Yellow is a bright and cheerful hue that conveys optimism, positivity, and warmth. The Rockets’ jerseys, particularly in their early years, featured light yellow panels along with their red and navy blue accents. Yellow also adds a friendly and inviting touch to the team’s branding.

Perhaps the most recognizable component of the Rockets’ color palette is their navy blue. Navy blue is a deep, powerful color that conveys strength and authority. The Rockets have used navy blue since the team’s inception in the late 1960s, and it has been a consistent part of the team’s branding over the years. The navy blue shade pairs nicely with the vibrancy of the red and yellow, creating a bold, energetic visual.

Houston Rockets color codes: RGB, CMYK, Pantone, Hex

The combination of these three key colors -- red, yellow, and navy blue -- form the Houston Rockets' signature official colors. The bright, vivid shades of red and yellow blend perfectly with the power and strength of navy blue to create a visual that reflects the intensity and enthusiasm of the Rockets’ fan base. Every single time the Rockets take the court, they proudly flaunt these vibrant colors in order to energize the team's loyal fan base.

Red	Hex color:	#ce1141
	RGB:	206 17 65
	CMYK:	100 65 15
	Pantone:	PMS 200 C

Silver	Hex color:	#c4ced4
	RGB:	196 206 211
	CMYK:	5 0 0 20
	Pantone:	PMS 877 C

Black	Hex color:	#000000
	RGB:	6 25 34
	CMYK:	30 0 0 100
	Pantone:	PMS Black C

Houston Rockets Overview

The Houston Rockets are a professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center, downtown Houston. 

They have won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles. The team was established as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego, in 1967. In 1971, the Rockets moved to Houston. 

This article will discuss Houston Rockets' overview, including history, stats, score, player...

Houston Rockets History

The Houston Rockets are a Houston-based American basketball franchise. The Rockets have won four Western Conference championships and two National Basketball Association (NBA) championships (1994 and 1995).

After four losing seasons, the franchise, originally known as the San Diego Rockets, moved to Houston in 1971. Elvin Hayes, who had excelled for the University of Houston, and the small Calvin Murphy led the early Rockets teams, along with Rudy Tomjanovich, who would eventually coach the Rockets for 12 seasons.

Both players would go on to become Hall of Famers. Two games into the 1976–1977 campaign, Houston made a deal for star center Moses Malone, and that year the Rockets had their first winning campaign and reached the conference finals.

The Rockets exceeded this feat in the 1980–81 season when, despite having a dismal record of 40–42 losses in the regular season, Houston managed to win three straight playoff series upsets and advance to the NBA finals, where they fell to the Boston Celtics. In 1982, Malone left the franchise, and as a result, the Rockets dropped to the NBA's bottom division.

Another future Hall of Fame center (and fellow University of Houston graduate) named Hakeem Olajuwon was selected by the Rockets in the 1984 draft, and he rapidly rose to the position of the team's face.

Olajuwon led the Rockets to another NBA finals appearance in 1986, but they were once again defeated by the Celtics. Olajuwon paired up with another towering post player, Ralph Sampson (both were over 7 feet [2.13 meters] tall).

The Rockets continued to make the playoffs throughout the 1980s, but for the remainder of the decade, they were unable to make it past the second round. Midway through the 1991–92 season, Tomjanovich assumed the position of head coach, beginning the most prosperous stretch in the franchise's history.

Olajuwon's inspirational play and the important contributions of guard Sam Cassell, forward Robert Horry, and (during the 1994–95 season) forward Clyde Drexler helped Houston win back-to-back NBA championships in the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons (yet another former University of Houston star).

In 1996, Houston acquired Charles Barkley, but even with three of the NBA's top 50 players ever (Olajuwon, Drexler, and Barkley) on the squad, Houston was unable to go past the Western Conference Finals.

By 2001, all three of the aging players had left the team, and the Rockets of the early twenty-first century, led by superstars Tracy McGrady and 7-foot-6-inch (2.29-metre) Yao Ming from China, continued the pattern of consistent respectability during the regular season followed by underperformance in the postseason.

Yao retired in 2011 after missing most of the previous two seasons due to injury, and the Rockets started a rebuilding phase after McGrady was moved away in 2010.

The team made a name for itself throughout its rebuilding process by relying on sophisticated statistical analytics (akin to sabermetrics in baseball) to make player acquisitions.

The Rockets, who had the NBA's youngest roster in 2012–13 and included the exceptional shooting guard James Harden, made the playoffs as a result of their unconventional approach to the Rockets best players all time.

The following off-season, the team added star center Dwight Howard, and the Rockets improved upon their record from the previous campaign and once more made it to the postseason. The 2014–15 club reached the Western Conference finals before falling to the Golden State Warriors, posting its greatest record (56-26) since the Olajuwon era.

The following year, the team struggled to get going, which prompted an early coaching change. However, the new staff was unable to address the Rockets' chemistry and effort problems. With a 41-41 record that year, Houston earned a playoff spot as the eighth seed but was promptly eliminated in five games. 

This prompted another off-season coaching change, and Harden was moved to point guard as new head coach Mike D'Antoni implemented his high-efficiency and quick-paced approach. As a result, the Rockets achieved a 55-win season and a second-round playoff exit while setting an NBA record with 1,181 made three-pointers in the 2016–17 campaign.

The Rockets shattered their own league record for three-pointers made and set a new franchise mark for regular-season victories in 2017–18, thanks to the addition of star point guard Chris Paul in the offseason (1,256).

Houston made it to the conference finals, but the Warriors were able to win that series in seven games thanks to a poorly timed injury to Chris Paul in game five of that series. Despite their early-season struggles in 2018–19, the Rockets were one of the NBA's hottest teams going into the postseason.

The Warriors once again eliminated Houston from the postseason despite this momentum, this time in the conference semifinals.

Notable Player

Carmelo Anthony

One of the most prolific scorers in National Basketball Association (NBA) history was Carmelo Anthony, also known by the nickname Melo, an American professional basketball player.

Anthony's mother decided to send him to school in western Virginia so that he could learn in a more conducive environment after growing up in a high-crime area of Baltimore, Maryland. During his freshman year at Syracuse University in 2002–2003, Anthony helped the basketball team win its first NCAA title. 

Anthony won the Most Outstanding Player honor at the NCAA Final Four in part due to the 33 points he scored in the semifinal contest. He was also voted the Big East Conference's top rookie. Anthony departed Syracuse to play professionally after only one season of college basketball.

The Denver Nuggets selected Anthony, a forward, with the third overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. He played an average of 36.5 minutes per game as a rookie, starting all 82 of the regular-season games.

During that season, he had averages of 21 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He contributed to the Nuggets' 43 victories, more than doubling their victory total from the previous campaign and securing the team a playoff spot. Only LeBron James, a forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers, had a better rookie season than Anthony's.

Anthony improved in his first season, scoring 5,000 points at the second-youngest age in NBA history while averaging 28.9 points per game in the 2006–07 campaign. He aided the Denver Nuggets in their advancement to the Western Conference Finals in 2008–09, where they fell to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers.

However, Anthony's time in Denver was characterized by the team's playoff failures, as the Nuggets fell in the opening round of six of the seven postseasons that he guided them to. Anthony was moved to the Knicks in February 2011 amid much discussion about how the small-market Nuggets would pay Anthony, a free agent, at the end of the season.

Anthony was dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the following offseason. He was not his team's leading scorer with the Thunder for the first time in his career, and during the 2017–18 season, he scored a career-low 16.2 points per game.

The following off-season, he signed with the Houston Rockets after being traded to and dismissed by the Atlanta Hawks. Anthony played in just 10 games for Houston before being dropped from the team's rotation because the ball dominance and volume scoring that had made him famous a decade earlier had fallen mostly out of favor in the NBA by 2018–19.

He was moved to the Chicago Bulls; however, in February 2019, he was let go. For the balance of the season, Anthony was unable to join another team. He signed with the Portland Trail Blazers in November and played there for two seasons before agreeing to play for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021.

Yao Ming

Yao Ming, a Chinese basketball player with the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association, rose to fame internationally (NBA).

Yao was born to successful basketball players who were each over 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall. He joined the Chinese Basketball Association's Shanghai Sharks in 1997. Yao had already established himself as a national hero by the time he guided the Chinese team to a solid 10th-place finish at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

The Houston Rockets selected Yao, who stands 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 meters), with the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. He was chosen by the public to start for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game in the 2002–03 season, and he also received a unanimous vote for the league's All-Rookie team.

Yao contributed to the Rockets' 43-39 record in 2003, a remarkable turnaround from their 28-54 record the previous season when they nearly missed the NBA playoffs. Yao helped the Rockets to playoff appearances in five of the following six seasons while earning all-star honors for his delicate shooting touch and nimble passing skills (2004, 2005, and 2007–09).

Nevertheless, during his first seven seasons with the Rockets, he shattered numerous bones in his legs and feet. His 2008–09 season was cut short in the playoffs due to a broken foot that later failed to heal correctly. Although he had surgery the next off-season, the damage was so extensive that he was forced to sit out the whole 2009–10 NBA season.

Before suffering a stress fracture in his ankle and missing the rest of the 2010–11 season, Yao returned for five games at the start of the season. In July 2011, Yao, who had a string of injuries, gave up playing basketball professionally. In 2016, he received his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

After serving as president and franchise owner of the CBA's Shanghai Sharks since 2009, he was elected CBA president the following year.

Yao's influence on basketball culture went far beyond his performance on the floor. Wherever the Rockets played, he drew sizable crowds, and games in Houston were transmitted to sizable audiences in China and other Asian nations.

Yao was a favorite of the media and served as a spokesperson for a number of businesses. He was also the focus of the NBA's attempts to promote the league internationally.

Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley, also known by his aliases Sir Charles and the Round Mound of Rebound, is a professional basketball player and television personality from the United States whose larger-than-life demeanor made him one of the most well-known individuals in NBA history.

He became the fourth player to reach 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 4,000 assists during the course of his 16-year NBA career.

In each of his three years at Auburn, he was named to the all-conference team. In 1984, the Philadelphia 76ers selected him with the fifth overall choice in the NBA Draft. Barkley was very undersized for a forward, listed at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 meters), but most estimates place him about 2 inches (5 cm) shorter.

Barkley quickly became one of the best rebounders in the game thanks to his outstanding leaping ability and ability to establish position around the basket using his considerable strength, though.

He participated in the 1987 All-Star Game for the first time in a streak of 11 appearances, although the 76ers' collective success was modest. During his eight seasons in Philadelphia, Barkley and the 76ers never made it past the second round of the playoffs, with the exception of a run to the Eastern Conference finals during his rookie season (on a team that featured future Hall of Famers Julius Erving and Moses Malone).

Some have questioned whether he should be regarded as a player of the true top caliber due to his inability to win the 76ers a championship. In 1992, the franchise made the decision to move Barkley to the Phoenix Suns due to this as well as the fact that he was vocal and therefore unpopular with the top office of the team.

In his first season with the franchise, Barkley contributed to the Suns having the best record in the NBA, and he was named the league's Most Valuable Player. He guided the Suns to the NBA finals the following playoffs, where they were defeated by the Chicago Bulls in six games.

The best part of Barkley's time in Phoenix was that season, and in 1996, he was traded to the Houston Rockets. He once more had an immediate good effect on a team, as evidenced by the 1996–1997 Rockets' appearance in the conference finals. However, Barkley was unable to capture the championship he had long aspired to in Houston, and he retired in 2000.

Barkley played on two American men's basketball teams that captured Olympic gold (1992, 1996). He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 after being selected as one of the greatest NBA players of all time in 1996.

Season-By-Season Record

Home Arenas

The San Diego Sports Arena, with 14,400 seats, served as the Rockets' home arena for the four years they resided in San Diego. The Rockets played their first two seasons in Houston at a variety of locations, including the Astrodome, AstroHall, Sam Houston Coliseum, and Hofheinz Pavilion, the latter of which eventually became their home arena until 1975.

The Rockets did not have their own arena during their first season after relocating there. In an effort to grow their fan base, they were also required to play "home" games in other towns like San Antonio, Waco, Albuquerque, and even San Diego. The Rockets' first season saw an average of fewer than 5,000 fans per game (about half full), while only 759 people showed up for one game in Waco.

The 10,000-seat Hofheinz Pavilion on the University of Houston campus served as their first permanent venue in Houston, which they relocated into at the beginning of their second season.

They performed there for four years prior to moving into The Summit in 1975. They spent the following 28 years living in the arena, which had a capacity of 16,611 spectators.

From 1998 until 2003, the building went by the name Compaq Center. After winning the championship in 1994, the Rockets went on a run of 176 straight home games that included the playoffs that lasted until 1999. Houston had the lowest league-average attendance throughout the unsuccessful 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons, with fewer than 12,000 spectators per season.

The Rockets relocated to the Toyota Center, a new venue with 18,500 seats, for the 2003–04 season. The Rockets saw their highest attendance totals to date in the 2007–08 season, when they amassed a 22–game winning run. Once James Harden joined the club in 2013, these were surpassed.

During the 2013–14 season, the Rockets drew 18,123 viewers on average and sold out 39 of their 41 home games. Even higher results were achieved in the 2014–15 season, with 40 sellouts and an average of 18,230 tickets sold.

Team Identity

Logos And Dress Codes

The Rockets' primary colors when they first played in San Diego were green and gold. The team name appears on home clothes while the city name appears on the road uniforms, both in serif block letters. Throughout their time in San Diego, the Rockets wore only this particular uniform style. The original Rockets logo included the team name enclosed by a rocket streaking with a basketball.

When the Rockets relocated to Houston in 1971, red took the place of green. With the exception of the new color and city name, they preserved the same design from their time in San Diego. The team name "Houston Rockets" is shown beneath the image of a player with a spinning basketball who is launching skyward while wearing boosters on his back.

Fans gave the Rockets' iconic "ketchup and mustard" emblem, which featured a gold basketball surrounded by two red trails and the words "Houston" above the first red trail with the exception of the lowercase 'E' and 'T,' the nickname "ketchup and mustard," for the 1972–73 season.

The city name, numbers, and serifed player name are all capitalized on the home uniforms, which were in use until the 1975–76 season, whereas the city name, numbers, and serifed player name are all capitalized on the away uniforms, which are in use since the 1976–77 season.

The Houston basketball NBA changed their uniforms for the 1976–1977 season, adding white writing to the home uniforms and giving the Cooper Black fonts a monotone appearance.

The team name wordmark can be found in the same spot on the away shorts as it is on the home shorts' right leg. This version, which was used in all four of their NBA Finals appearances, including their titles in 1994 and 1995, had minor changes made to the number font.

After winning in 1995, the Rockets decided to update their appearance. After receiving over 5,000 submissions for a fan contest, the club decided on Thomas Nash's concept of a rocket orbiting a basketball, which was later updated by Houston designer Chris Hill.

Nash would eventually take the Rockets to court for breach of contract after discovering that they had used his concept without compensating him for the contest prizes. The NBA recommended that the logo embrace the cartoon-inspired design that other teams used in the 1990s, which resulted in a rocket with shark mouth nose art orbiting a basketball.

Red was kept, but navy blue and silver were made the main hues of the clothing. With side stripes of red fading to navy, the home white and away navy outfits both included pinstripes that faded in a gradient and futuristic number font. Up to the 2002–03 campaign, this was in use.

In preparation for the 2003–04 season, the Rockets unveiled streamlined versions of their logos and uniforms, which were developed by the New York-based Alfafa Studio in collaboration with Japanese designer Eiko Ishioka. The stylized "R" in the logo is shaped like a rocket taking off, and it is encircled by a red orbital streak that resembles the center circle of a basketball court.

The team's new bespoke typeface was created with said "R" in mind and was created so that every single digit could be read clearly from a distance, whether in the arena or on television.

Once more, red took center stage, with silver and black coming in second. The Rockets wore an alternative red uniform in 2009 that featured side stripes and gold numbers to honor their championship seasons.

For the 2015–16 season, the Rockets wore two sleeved alternate jerseys: a red and gold jersey bearing the nickname "Clutch City'' and an alternate silver uniform with a pattern inspired by NASA's Gemini–Titan rocket. The Rockets started donning a black alternative kit in 2016–17.

The Rockets made a few minor jersey changes after switching to Nike in 2017. The red "Icon" and white "Association" jerseys now have truncated side stripes that do not reach around the shoulders, in contrast to the mostly-unchanged black "Statement" outfit.

The Rockets also sported a "City" jersey, which was red like their "Icon" uniforms but had Chinese text in place of the word "Rockets" up front; the look was changed the following season to include deeper red and old gold accents.

The Houston Rockets debuted a new secondary logo on June 6, 2019, which features a basketball as a planet and the words "Houston Rockets" shown with the iconic "R" in the center. Two weeks later, a brand-new uniform set was introduced. The white "Association" and red "Icon" designs had bold side panels that showed a rocket taking off, as well as updated block text.

With a few modifications, the black "Statement" uniform stayed the same. Additionally, as part of Nike's "Classic" line, the Rockets reintroduced their vintage "ketchup and mustard" 1976–1995 red outfit.

Mascots

The mascot, formerly known as "Clutch," first debuted on March 14, 1995. Turbo, a costumed guy who did acrobatic dunks and other tricks, served as the team mascot from 1993 to 1995. Clutch the Bear, a sizable teddy bear-like mascot who does a variety of activities during the games, made his debut as the Rockets' second mascot in 1995.

Clutch became the team's only mascot when Turbo, the other mascot, resigned after eight years of service. The mascot was ranked seventh in the league for a most identifiable mascot and was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2006.

Rivalries

Rivalries between the Rockets and Spurs, Mavericks and Rockets, and Jazz and Rockets are the main articles.

Since the Rockets moved back to the Western Conference in 1980, the team has grown to have several rivalries there.

Two of them include the Dallas Mavericks, who just debuted that season, and the San Antonio Spurs, who moved with the Rockets after spending four seasons with them in the Eastern Conference. Since 1980, Houston has met both Texas teams in the playoffs, defeating the Spurs four times while losing only once. 

The Rockets split their games with the Mavericks, winning one and losing two. Other well-known rivalries were those with the Los Angeles Lakers, who in the Showtime period of the 1980s only missed the NBA Finals when they were defeated by the Rockets, and the Utah Jazz, who the Rockets defeated in both championship seasons but five other times.

Honors And Statistics

Individual honors

NBA Most Valuable Player Award

• Moses Malone – 1979, 1982
• Hakeem Olajuwon – 1994
• James Harden – 2018

NBA Finals MVP

• Hakeem Olajuwon – 1994, 1995

NBA Scoring Champions

• Elvin Hayes – 1969
• James Harden – 2018, 2019

NBA Defensive Player of the Year

• Hakeem Olajuwon – 1993, 1994

NBA Rookie of the Year

• Ralph Sampson – 1984
• Steve Francis – 2000

NBA Sixth Man of the Year

• Eric Gordon – 2017

NBA Most Improved Player

• Aaron Brooks – 2010

NBA Coach of the Year

• Tom Nissalke – 1977
• Don Chaney – 1991
• Mike D'Antoni – 2017

NBA Executive of the Year

• Ray Patterson – 1977
• Daryl Morey – 2018

Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award

• Calvin Murphy – 1979
• Dikembe Mutombo – 2009

NBA All-Defensive First Team

• Hakeem Olajuwon – 1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1994
• Rodney McCray – 1988
• Scottie Pippen – 1999
• Patrick Beverley – 2017

NBA All-Defensive Second Team

• Moses Malone – 1979
• Hakeem Olajuwon – 1985, 1991, 1996, 1997
• Rodney McCray – 1987
• Shane Battier – 2008, 2009
• Ron Artest – 2009
• Patrick Beverley – 2014

NBA All-Rookie First Team

• Elvin Hayes – 1969
• Calvin Murphy – 1971
• Joe Meriweather – 1976
• John Lucas – 1977
• Ralph Sampson – 1984
• Hakeem Olajuwon – 1985
• Steve Francis – 2000
• Yao Ming – 2003
• Luis Scola – 2008

NBA All-Rookie Second Team

• Robert Horry – 1993
• Matt Maloney – 1997
• Cuttino Mobley – 1999
• Michael Dickerson – 1999
• Eddie Griffin – 2002
• Luther Head – 2006
• Carl Landry – 2008
• Chandler Parsons – 2012

All-NBA First Team

• Moses Malone – 1979, 1982
• Hakeem Olajuwon – 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1997
• James Harden – 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019

All-NBA Second Team

• Moses Malone – 1980, 1981
• Ralph Sampson – 1985
• Hakeem Olajuwon – 1986, 1990, 1996
• Yao Ming – 2007, 2009
• Tracy McGrady – 2007
• Dwight Howard – 2014

All-NBA Third Team

• Hakeem Olajuwon – 1991, 1995, 1999
• Clyde Drexler – 1995
• Yao Ming – 2004, 2006, 2008
• Tracy McGrady – 2005, 2008
• James Harden – 2013

All-Star Weekend

All-Star

• Don Kojis – 1968, 1969
• Elvin Hayes – 1969–1972
• Jack Marin – 1973
• Rudy Tomjanovich – 1974–1977, 1979
• Moses Malone – 1978–1982
• Calvin Murphy – 1979
• Ralph Sampson – 1984–1987
• Hakeem Olajuwon – 1985–1990, 1992–1997
• Otis Thorpe – 1992
• Charles Barkley – 1997
• Clyde Drexler – 1996, 1997
• Steve Francis – 2002–2004
• Tracy McGrady – 2005–2007
• Yao Ming – 2003–2009, 2011
• James Harden – 2013–2019
• Dwight Howard – 2014

All-Star head coach

• Rudy Tomjanovich – 1997
• Mike D'Antoni – 2018
• All-Star Game MVP
• Ralph Sampson – 1985

Franchise Leaders

Points scored (regular season) (as of the end of the 2018–19 season)

1. Hakeem Olajuwon (26,511)
2. Calvin Murphy (17,949)
3. James Harden (15,832)
4. Rudy Tomjanovich (13,383)
5. Elvin Hayes (11,762)
6. Moses Malone (11,119)
7. Yao Ming (9,247)
8. Robert Reid (8,823)
9. Mike Newlin (8,480)
10. Otis Thorpe (8,177)
11. Cuttino Mobley (7,448)
12. Steve Francis (7,281)
13. Tracy McGrady (6,888)
14. Allen Leavell (6,684)
15. Vernon Maxwell (6,002)
16. Ralph Sampson (5,995)
17. Kenny Smith (5,910)
18. Luis Scola (5,597)
19. Rodney McCray (5,059)
20. Sleepy Floyd (5,030)
21. Stu Lantz (4,947)
22. Trevor Ariza (4,863)
23. Lewis Lloyd (4,384)
24. Clyde Drexler (4,155)
25. Buck Johnson (4,139)
26. John Block (4,138)
27. Don Kojis (4,037)
28. John Lucas II (3,756)
29. Kevin Kunnert (3,550)
30. Aaron Brooks (3,465)

Other Statistics (regular season) (as of the end of the 2018–19 season)

Minutes Played

1. Hakeem Olajuwon (42,844)
2. Calvin Murphy (30,607)
3. Rudy Tomjanovich (25,714)
4. Robert Reid (21,718)
5. Elvin Hayes (20,782)

Rebounds

1. Hakeem Olajuwon (13,382)
2. Elvin Hayes (6,974)
3. Moses Malone (6,959)
4. Rudy Tomjanovich (6,198)
5. Otis Thorpe (5,010)

Assists

1. Calvin Murphy (4,402)
2. James Harden (4,201)
3. Allen Leavell (3,339)
4. Hakeem Olajuwon (2,992)
5. Mike Newlin (2,581)

Steals

1. Hakeem Olajuwon (2,088)
2. Calvin Murphy (1,165)
3. James Harden (955)
4. Allen Leavell (929)
5. Robert Reid (881)

Blocks

1. Hakeem Olajuwon (3,740)
2. Yao Ming (920)
3. Moses Malone (758)
4. Ralph Sampson (585)
5. Kelvin Cato (431)

Player

Retained Draft Rights

The following unsigned draft picks who have been competing outside of the NBA have draft rights held by the Rockets. A picked player may sign with any non-NBA team, whether he was selected internationally or out of college and wasn't signed by the team that selected him.

Until one year after the player's contract with the non-NBA team expires, the team in this situation retains the player's NBA draft rights. The draft rights that were obtained through trades with other teams are included on this list.

Draft	Round	Pick	Player	Pos.	Nationality	Current team	Note(s)
2013	2	45	Marko Todorović	F/C	File:Flag of Montenegro.svg Montenegro	Divina Seguros Joventut (Spain)	Acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers
2009	2	34	Sergio Llull	G	File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain	Real Madrid (Spain)	Acquired from the Denver Nuggets
2008	2	54	Maarty Leunen	F	United States	Lavoropiù Fortitudo Bologna (Italy)	Re-acquired from the Dallas Mavericks (via L.A. Clippers)
2008	2	53	Tadija Dragićević	F	File:Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia	Cafés Candelas Breogán (Spain)	Acquired from the Chicago Bulls
2005	2	52	Axel Hervelle	F	File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium	Proximus Spirou (Belgium)	Acquired from the Denver Nuggets

Basketball Hall of Famers

Houston Rockets Hall of Famers[207][208]
Players
No.	Name	Position	Tenure	Inducted
2	Rick Barry	F	1978–1980	1987
4
11	Elvin Hayes	C/F	1968–1972	1990
44			1981–1984
23	Calvin Murphy	G	1970–1983	1993
24	Moses Malone	C/F	1976–1982	2001
22	Clyde Drexler 1	G/F	1995–1998	2004
4	Charles Barkley 1	F	1996–2000	2006
34	Hakeem Olajuwon	C	1984–2001	2008
33	Scottie Pippen 1	F	1998–1999	2010
50	Ralph Sampson	C/F	1983–1987	2012
55	Dikembe Mutombo	C	2004–2009	2015
11	Yao Ming	C	2002–2011	2016
1	Tracy McGrady	G/F	2004–2010	2017
3
Coaches
Name		Position	Tenure	Inducted
Alex Hannum		Head coach	1969–1971	1998
Tex Winter		Head coach	1971–1973	2011
Bill Fitch		Head coach	1983–1988	2019
Contributors
Name		Position	Tenure	Inducted
Pete Newell 2		General manager	1968–1971	1979

FIBA Hall of Famers

Houston Rockets Hall of Famers
Players
No.	Name	Position	Tenure	Inducted
34	Hakeem Olajuwon	C	1984–2001	2016

Management

General managers

GM history
GM	Tenure
Jack McMahon	Mar 1967 – June 1968
Pete Newell	June 1968 – May 1972
Ray Patterson	May 1972 – September 1989
Steve Patterson	September 1989 – August 1993
Tod Leiweke	August 1993–January 1994
Bob Weinhauer	January 1994 – May 1996
Carroll Dawson	May 1996 – May 2007
Daryl Morey	May 2007–present

Owners

Ownership history
Owner	Tenure
Robert Breitbard	January 1967 – June 1971
Billy Goldberg, Wayne Duddlesten, Mickey Herskowitz	June 1971 – December 1973
Irvin Kaplan	December 1973 – February 1975
James Talcott Incorporated	February 1975 – February 1976
Kenneth Schnitzer	February 1976 – May 1979
George J. Maloof, Sr.	May 1979 – November 1980
Gavin Maloof	November 1980 – June 1982
Charlie Thomas	June 1982 – July 1993
Leslie Alexander	July 1993 – October 2017
Tilman Fertitta	October 2017 – present

Coaches

• San Diego Rockets

Coach	Tenure
Jack McMahon	1968–1970
Alex Hannum	1970–1971

Houston Rockets

Coach	Tenure
Tex Winter	1971–1973
Johnny Egan	1973–1976
Tom Nissalke	1976–1979
Del Harris	1979–1983
Bill Fitch	1983–1988
Don Chaney	1988–1992
Rudy Tomjanovich	1992–2003
Jeff Van Gundy	2003–2007
Rick Adelman	2007–2011
Kevin McHale	2011–2015
J. B. Bickerstaff (interim)	2015–2016
Mike D'Antoni	2016–present

Conclusion

The Houston Rockets are a professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The Rockets compete in the NBA as a representative of the Golden State Warriors. They have won three NBA championships: in 2016, 2020, and 2018. The best Houston Rockets of all time are also a favorite team worldwide, as they are well-known for their basketball skills and fans.