History of the Houston Rockets

This gave Houston two straight first overall picks, used to bring future Hall of Famers Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon, who eventually got the Rockets all the way to the 1986 Finals, where they lost again to Boston.

In the 2014–15 NBA season, led by head coach Kevin McHale and guard James Harden, the Rockets won their first division title in 21 years, and reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1997.

The league wanted to add other franchises in the Western United States, by then only represented through the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Francisco Warriors, and the owners liked Breitbard's input during the meeting.

[16][17] Because of poor performance and attendance, Breitbard sold the team in 1971 to Texas Sports Investments, which was led by real estate broker Wayne Duddleston and banker Billy Goldberg.

[19] Houston previously was awarded an NBA expansion franchise along with Buffalo, Cleveland and Portland on February 6, 1970,[20] but the new entry folded six weeks later on March 20 when its investment group led by Alan Rothenberg failed to make the $750,000 down payment on the $3.7 million entrance fee required before the league's college player draft.

[34] Tomjanovich spent the next five months in rehabilitation and returned to appear in the 1978 All-Star Game, but his averages significantly declined after the injury,[35] and Houston finished with just 28 wins in the season.

[32] The Rockets also sent John Lucas II to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Rick Barry, who went on to set the NBA record at the time for free throw percentage in a season by shooting 94.7%.

[42] In Harris's second season, Houston tied with Kansas City for second place in the Midwest Division behind San Antonio with a 40–42 record, and qualified for the playoffs with just one game left.

[48] Although Malone won the MVP in that season,[32] and new owner Charlie Thomas expressed interest in renewing his contract,[40] in the following offseason, the Rockets traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caldwell Jones,[32] to avoid paying his salary.

[53] In his first season, Olajuwon finished second to Michael Jordan in NBA Rookie of the Year balloting,[54] and the Rockets record improved by 19 games, although they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

During the playoffs, the Rockets swept the Sacramento Kings before a hard-fought series with Alex English's Denver Nuggets, including one game going to double overtime in the exhausting altitude of the Mile-High City.

Embarrassed by the loss, Olajuwon and the Rockets stormed back to shock the star-studded defending champions with 4 straight wins in an impressive four games to one series victory, a feat that no other Western Conference team had come close to doing against the Showtime Lakers.

[61][62] In the next year, the Rockets started poorly, winning only 15 of the first 33 games amidst injuries among the star players and off-court controversies for the rest of the roster, such as Lewis Lloyd and Mitchell Wiggins getting suspended for cocaine use.

[83][86] In a midseason trade with Portland, the Rockets obtained guard Clyde Drexler, a former teammate of Olajuwon at the University of Houston,[87] in exchange for Otis Thorpe.

[89] The Rockets then beat in the conference finals the 62–20 San Antonio Spurs, which included that season's MVP David Robinson, with Olajuwon, averaging 35.3 points and 12.5 rebounds.

[91] During the offseason, the Rockets went for a change of visual identity, making navy blue and silver the new primary colors while adopting a new cartoon-inspired logo and pinstriped jerseys.

[113] In the following season, Houston began playing in their new arena, the Toyota Center,[114] and redesigned their uniforms and logo,[115] as long-time coach Tomjanovich resigned after being diagnosed with bladder cancer,[116] and was replaced by Jeff Van Gundy.

[138] Despite the stellar play of Martin and Aaron Brooks, with the latter being named the NBA Most Improved Player, the Rockets could not make it to the playoffs, finishing 42–40, 3rd in the Southwest Division.

[142] The team entered April with chances of qualifying for the postseason, but for the second straight season the Rockets failed to make the playoffs after losing to the New Orleans Hornets in Louisiana with three games remaining.

The Rockets also sent Jordan Hill to the Lakers in return for Derek Fisher (who was waived shortly after and signed with the Thunder) and a first-round pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

Early in July, they traded Kyle Lowry to the Toronto Raptors,[155] let Goran Dragić return to the Phoenix Suns via free agency,[156] and saw the arrival of 2011 pick Donatas Motiejūnas from Lithuania, who was signed to a multiyear deal.

[159] Lin achieved worldwide fame with a 25-game stretch of high performance basketball play known as "Linsanity", where he stepped up in place of the Knicks' injured players.

[160] On October 27, 2012, the Rockets traded Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and two future first-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder for reigning sixth man of the year James Harden, along with Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook, and Lazar Hayward.

[166] On February 20, 2013, the Rockets acquired Thomas Robinson, the fifth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, in a trade with the Sacramento Kings where Houston sent Marcus Morris and Patrick Patterson.

[169] Even more remarkable was that only two players – starting forward Chandler Parsons and backup forward/center Greg Smith (who rarely played in his rookie season) – were left from the 2011–12 roster.

Head coach Kevin McHale ran an up-tempo offense that put emphasis on transition baskets, shooting three-pointers, and playing at a fast pace.

[174] Led by the new inside-out combination of Howard and James Harden, and with a strong supporting cast including Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin, and Ömer Aşık, the Rockets were expected to jump into title contention in the upcoming season.

[190] Prior to the 2015–16 season, the Rockets acquired Ty Lawson from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, and a 2016 first round draft pick.

[205][206] It was reported on 5 September 2017, that Houston restaurant billionaire Tilman Fertitta had reached an agreement with Rockets owner Leslie Alexander to purchase the team, pending league approval.

[218] In February, the month they made the trade, the MVP backcourt of Westbrook and Harden became the first teammates in NBA history to average 30+ points and 5+ assists per game.