How Well Do You Know the Rockets?: The Rockets, along with the Seattle SuperSonics, entered the NBA in 1967 as an expansion team based in San Diego. They selected Pat Riley with their first draft pick in 1967.
The 1970 NBA Draft brought Calvin Murphy and Rudy Tomjanovich to the Rockets - both significant to the franchise during and after their playing careers were over.
The 1970 NBA Draft brought Calvin Murphy and Rudy Tomjanovich to the Rockets - both significant to the franchise during and after their playing careers were over.
A Great Move to Houston: In 1971, real estate broker Wayne Duddleston and banker Billy Goldberg bought the franchise for $5.6 million and relocated the team from San Diego. The Rockets originally had been named for San Diego slogan, "A City in Motion," but with the move to Houston their name took on even greater relevance. Houston is home to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center and Mission Control, which received national attention during Project Apollo.
Did You Know?: The Rockets current mascot is a bear named "Clutch," who was named the 5th-most recognizable mascot in sports by USA Today in February 2005, and was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2006
New Year, New Coach: Houston began the 2007-08 season with recently hired Rick Adelman as the team's 11th head coach.
Yao Ming: Yao Ming is currently the tallest player in the NBA, standing at 7'6". He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) for five years, before being selected by Houston as the 1st overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft.