Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an NBA basketball team playing at Toyota Center in Houston. Founded in San Diego in 1967, the franchise moved to Houston in 1971.
Contents20 sections
Key facts
January 11, 1967Origins in San Diego
Robert Breitbard received an NBA franchise, establishing the San Diego Rockets. The name came from a fan contest and reflected the city’s aerospace industry.[1]
1971–1975Moving to Houston
Texas Sports Investments purchased the club and moved it to Houston. In 1975 it began playing at the newly opened Summit.[1]
1981–1986Two Finals appearances
In 1981, Moses Malone and the Rockets advanced past the Lakers, Spurs and Kings before losing the Finals 2–4 to the Celtics. In 1986, a team featuring Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson again lost the Finals 2–4 to Boston.[2]
1993Alexander purchases the club
Leslie Alexander bought the franchise.[1]
1994–1995Back-to-back championships
With Rudy Tomjanovich coaching, the team built its attack and defense around Hakeem Olajuwon and won the 1994 NBA title. Clyde Drexler then joined the lineup and helped Houston repeat the following year.[3]
Olajuwon was Finals MVP in both championship seasons and regular-season MVP in 1994.[4]
2002–2011The Yao Ming era
Yao Ming joined as the first overall draft pick and spent his entire NBA career with Houston. He made eight All-Star teams before injuries led to his retirement in 2011.[5]
October 2003Toyota Center opens
The club made Toyota Center in downtown Houston its home. The venue also hosts concerts and touring shows and staged the NBA All-Star Game in 2006 and 2013.[6]
2009Reaching the Western semifinals
Houston eliminated Portland 4–2 before losing 3–4 to the Lakers.[2]
2012
Harden arrived from the Thunder on October 27.[7]
2017
Tilman Fertitta completed his purchase on October 6.[8]
201865 wins and Harden’s MVP
Houston set a franchise regular-season record at 65–17. James Harden led the league with 30.4 points per game and won MVP. The Rockets led the Warriors 3–2 in the Western finals, but Chris Paul missed the last two games and Houston failed to reach the Finals.[9]
2021
Harden was traded to Brooklyn.[10]
April 25, 2023Udoka takes over
Ime Udoka became the franchise’s 15th head coach after previously leading the Celtics to the NBA Finals.[11]
2025Returning to the playoffs
With 52 wins and the West’s second seed, Houston returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. After erasing a 1–3 deficit, it lost Game 7 to the Warriors 89–103.[12]
2025
Durant and Capela arrived on July 6.[13]
2026
A 2–4 first-round loss to the Lakers.[14]
June 4, 2026Red and yellow return
The club unveiled a visual identity restoring its traditional red-and-yellow colors, retaining the R mark and updating the Dunkstronaut and global logos. Its 2026–27 uniforms adopted the new design system.[15]
Home arena and management
Rafael Stone is general manager.[16]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Houston Rockets: Official website: https://www.nba.com/rockets/ (opens in a new window).[17]
Houston Rockets: X: https://x.com/HoustonRockets (opens in a new window).[18]
Houston Rockets: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houstonrockets/ (opens in a new window).[19]
Houston Rockets: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/houstonrockets (opens in a new window).[20]
Houston Rockets: YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialRockets (opens in a new window).[21]
Sources
- Houston Rockets (opens in a new window)
- Rockets in the Playoffs (opens in a new window)
- Rudy Tomjanovich (opens in a new window)
- Hakeem Olajuwon (opens in a new window)
- 火箭队为姚明的11号球衣举行退役仪式 (opens in a new window)
- About Us (opens in a new window)
- Blockbuster Deal Brings James Harden to Houston (opens in a new window)
- Tilman J. Fertitta New Owner of the Houston Rockets (opens in a new window)
- James Harden named NBA’s Most Valuable Player (opens in a new window)
- Rockets Complete Three-Team Trade (opens in a new window)
- Ime Udoka Bio (opens in a new window)
- Houston sent to early playoff exit with103–89 loss to Warriors in Game7 (opens in a new window)
- Rockets Complete Seven-Team Trade to Acquire Kevin Durant and Clint Capela (opens in a new window)
- Lakers at Rockets — May1,2026 (opens in a new window)
- The Houston Rockets Have a New Look (opens in a new window)
- 2026–27 Houston Rockets Media Day (opens in a new window)
- Houston Rockets official website (opens in a new window)
- Houston Rockets — x (opens in a new window)
- Houston Rockets — instagram (opens in a new window)
- Houston Rockets — facebook (opens in a new window)
- Houston Rockets — youtube (opens in a new window)