Houston Rockets · Franchise era 6 of 8
Yao and T-Mac: the Houston Rockets story
The story in one sentence
Yao's touch and size paired with McGrady's scoring imagination. Their ceiling was obvious, but health repeatedly interrupted the playoff breakthrough.
Two brilliant stars fighting through injuries
Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Shane Battier gave the era its recognizable core.
Its ending created the conditions for the harden experiment.
Timeline
How it unfolded
Before 2004–05
What came before
The aging contender took one last swing before a young, explosive backcourt gave the post-Hakeem Rockets a different personality.
- 29TradeJune 29, 2004
June 29, 2004
The seven-player swap that paired Tracy McGrady with Yao Ming
Houston wanted a perimeter superstar beside Yao Ming; Orlando needed a new core after McGrady requested a move.
To HOUDraftPICKround asset+1 assets
To ORLDraftPICKround assetMcGrady–Francis blockbusterHOU receives Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue + 1 moreORL receives Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Kelvin Cato7 original assets · 1 outcomes tracedOpen trade → 2005
Western Conference First Round: Houston Rockets vs Dallas Mavericks
2007
Western Conference First Round: Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz
2009
Western Conference Semifinals: Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers
After 2010–11
What came next
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.
The core