All-Time Houston Rockets Team

The All-Time Houston Rockets team is…missing somebody. When I started this tournament, I thought it was important to put certain rules in place to ensure that each player had a long-lasting impact on his franchise. Thus, every player must have played (at least part of) four years with the franchise in question, plus 200 or more games. The only exception is for the newest expansion teams, who have no chance of advancing in the tournament anyway. Unfortunately, James Harden, who is well on his way to becoming the greatest guard in franchise history, just completed his third year with the team, and does not yet qualify for inclusion. I’m sorry Houston. My arbitrary rules really hurt you here. Despite this omission, this team will be very difficult to play, due in large part to their collection of quality big men.

Ironically, one of the biggest teams in the tournament has one of the smallest players as their starting lead guard. Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy, the “Pocket Rocket,” only stood at 5’9”, but was lightning-quick and emerged as one of the greatest free throw shooters in NBA history. Surprisingly, he made only one all-star game in his career, but he was a valuable offensive player who could play at either guard position. He’s joined in the backcourt by fellow Hall-of-Famer Clyde Drexler. In his Houston years, Drexler was no longer charged with being his team’s go-to-guy, but he was still an excellent all-around player who fit in perfectly with their Hall-of-Fame center (more on him momentarily). They’re backed up by guards Kenny Smith and Steve Francis. Smith will be an integral role player on this team; he’s by far their best three-point shooter, and does not need the ball in his hands to be effective. Francis was a ball-dominant guard who won a Rookie of the Year award and made three all-star games with the Rockets before his career disintegrated. Although he might not be the best fit on this team with other (and better) scorers, he’s another talented offensive weapon that can hurt opposing defenses.

Tracy McGrady is the starting small forward. Already, I chronicled his amazing peak years; in Houston, he didn’t quite hit the heights of his Orlando years, but he was still a brilliant all-around offensive weapon (this will always go down as one of the great sequences in league history). He’ll combine with Drexler to give this team a versatile and lengthy wing combination. He’s joined in the starting lineup by two of the greatest centers in NBA history. Moses Malone won two MVP awards as a Rocket, and established his reputation as perhaps the greatest offensive rebounder of the modern era (he currently ranks first in NBA history, though this stat was not officially recorded until the 1973-74 season). Hakeem Olajuwon led the franchise to its only two championships with his clutch play and all-around brilliance. He raised his game in the playoffs, averaging 26.6 PPG, 11.4 RPG, and 3.3 BPG while shooting 52.8% in 140 playoff games with Houston. In three Finals appearances, he averaged 27.5 PPG, 10.6 RPG, and 3.2 BPG while shooting 48.8% in 17 games against four of the greatest centers ever (Robert Parish and Bill Walton in 1986, Patrick Ewing in 1994, and Shaquille O’Neal in 1995). They’re backed up by five-time all-star Rudy Tomjanovich, a natural power forward who will have to play some time at the three for this team, and a host of power players. Elvin Hayes was a 20-10 man for the Rockets who currently ranks in the top 10 in NBA history in total points and rebounds. Otis Thorpe was a solid power forward who will play sparingly in this stacked frontcourt. The backup centers are two of the tallest players in NBA history, 7’5” Yao Ming and 7’4” Ralph Sampson. Both suffered from injuries that derailed their careers, but each was very effective in their time with the Rockets. Sampson was a versatile big man who played alongside Hakeem Olajuwon in their second NBA Finals appearance, and Ming was a dominant offensive player, who, if he qualified, would rank 11th in NBA history in true shooting percentage and 17th in PER.

Expect this team to play two big men at all times, and to experiment with some three-big lineups. They should play at a slow pace, and pound the ball inside on offense. The 12th seeded team in our tournament, they have a fascinating first-round match up with the All-Time Suns.

Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich (he’ll be pulling double-duty as a player-coach)

All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .517