Quick Intro: Houston Rockets History

Here is a quick intro to the Houston Rockets history. The Houston Rockets have been a NBA franchise since 1967 when they were established originally in San Diego.  They were given the nickname "Rockets" because the Atlas missile program was locally developed.  Their first draft pick was future Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley. The Rockets moved to Houston four years later where they have remained ever since. They only won fifteen games their first season, but quickly changed their fortune after drafting Elvin Hayes first overall in the 1969 NBA draft.  They made the playoffs for the first time in 1969. 

After trading Hayes, the Rockets acquired Moses Malone who won two MVPs and led the team to the conference finals and the NBA finals in 1981 where they were defeated by the Boston Celtics.  Hakeem Olajuwon would be the one to lead them to their first NBA championship.  Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson were nicknamed the "Twin Towers" and they worked together to bring a championship to Houston. After drafting Olajuwon a year after Sampson in 1984, they took took them to the NBA finals in their second year together only  to lose again to the Boston Celtics.  It wasn't until 1994, after seven years of futility in the playoffs, that they won their first championship.  They repeated as champions the next year, but would not return to the playoffs again until 2003.

The next era in Houston Rockets history began when Olajuwon requested a trade in 2001.  The next season was unremarkable; however, Houston was rewarded with the first draft pick.  The Yao Ming era had begun.  Yao Ming led the Houston Rockets with Tracy McGrady to the playoffs in 2003 where they lost to the Lakers. They made the playoffs again in 2009 and made it to the second round only to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers after Yao Ming suffered a fracture in his left foot. Now the Rockets are bracing for a the next decade after signing Trevor Ariza and participating in a three-way trade that brought them Kevin Martin, Jordan Hill, Hilton Armstrong, and Jared Jeffries, but sent Tracy McGrady to New York and Joey Dorsey and Carl Landry to Sacramento.  The Rockets hope for the return of a health Ming to compete once for a playoff berth once again next season.