[1] In the 2001 NBA draft, the Rockets selected Richard Jefferson from the University of Arizona with the thirteenth overall pick,[2] but soon traded him to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for top draft pick Eddie Griffin out of Seton Hall University.
[8] In their first season without All-Star center Hakeem Olajuwon, the Rockets got off to a 7–5 start, but then suffered a dreadful 15-game losing streak.
Rice only played just 20 games due to a knee injury,[9] and Maurice Taylor missed the entire season with a ruptured Achilles tendon.
[10][11] Due to injuries that hindered their roster for parts of the year, the Rockets played mediocre basketball all season long, losing 15 of their final 18 games, and finishing fifth in the Midwest Division with a disappointing 28–54 record.
[12] Team captain Steve Francis averaged 21.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game, and made his first All-Star appearance being selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[13][14][15][16][17] but he only played 57 games, and starting 56 of them due to recurring foot injuries and migraines.