NBA franchise story

Houston Rockets

Houston's history is a succession of dominant centers and radical offensive ideas: Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, the Twin Towers, Hakeem Olajuwon's title teams, Yao and McGrady, then James Harden turning isolation and three-point volume into a yearly contender.

Every era · The defining players · Five essential games

The franchise timeline

Every era of the Houston Rockets.

Move through the franchise chronologically. The jerseys identify each chapter’s central cast, and every curated card opens the complete story of that era.

Historical reference: Houston Rockets official franchise records and history ↗

The beginning

Franchise era

1967–68—1975–76

Elvin Hayes

Calvin Murphy

Rudy Tomjanovich

A new franchise finds its first stars

From San Diego to Houston

The Rockets began in San Diego, moved to Houston in 1971 and built their first lasting identity around Hayes, Murphy and Tomjanovich.

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Chapter 01

1967–68—1975–76

Franchise era

1976–77—1982–83

Moses Malone

Calvin Murphy

Rudy Tomjanovich

Rebounding, force and an unexpected 1981 run

Moses and the first Finals

Moses Malone became the league's most punishing rebounder and carried a 40-win Houston team through the West to the 1981 NBA Finals.

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Chapter 02

1976–77—1982–83

Franchise era

1983–84—1992–93

Hakeem Olajuwon

Ralph Sampson

Robert Reid

Ralph Sampson and Hakeem reshape the franchise

The Twin Towers—and Dream takes over

Houston paired Sampson with Olajuwon, reached the 1986 Finals and then reorganized around Hakeem as injuries dissolved the original Twin Towers plan.

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Chapter 03

1983–84—1992–93

Franchise era

1993–94—1996–97

Hakeem Olajuwon

Clyde Drexler

Robert Horry

Two championships built through Hakeem

Clutch City

Olajuwon became the league's defining two-way center. Houston survived elimination games, won back-to-back titles and added Drexler for the second run.

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Chapter 04

1993–94—1996–97

Franchise era

1997–98—2003–04

Charles Barkley

Scottie Pippen

Steve Francis

Veteran swings, then Francis and Mobley

The bridge to a new backcourt

The aging contender took one last swing before a young, explosive backcourt gave the post-Hakeem Rockets a different personality.

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Chapter 05

1997–98—2003–04

Franchise era

2004–05—2010–11

Yao Ming

Tracy McGrady

Shane Battier

Two brilliant stars fighting through injuries

Yao and T-Mac

Yao's touch and size paired with McGrady's scoring imagination. Their ceiling was obvious, but health repeatedly interrupted the playoff breakthrough.

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Chapter 06

2004–05—2010–11

Franchise era

2011–12—2019–20

James Harden

Chris Paul

Dwight Howard

Isolation, threes and a new offensive geometry

The Harden experiment

The 2012 trade made Harden a franchise player. Houston kept rebuilding the roster around his creation until the 2018 team came within one win of the Finals.

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Chapter 07

2011–12—2019–20

Franchise era

2020–21—present

Jalen Green

Alperen Şengün

Amen Thompson

Draft development after the superstar cycle

The young-core rebuild

After Harden's departure, Houston accumulated young talent and shifted from open-ended rebuilding toward defense, internal growth and another playoff chase.

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Chapter 08

2020–21—present

Present day

The essential watchlist