Yao Ming #11 in 2010. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Many great NBA players from the 90s were shut out from getting a championship ring by the presence of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. However, Hakeem Olajuwon and his teammates were able to sneak in and snag a couple of rings while Jordan was on his baseball sabbatical. The Dream, not surprisingly, heads this list of the greatest Rockets. A few of these guys started their careers when the Rockets were in San Diego. The Rockets have had a number of great players wind down their careers in a Rockets uniform. All in all, the Rockets have a fairly rich history of outstanding players. Let’s get started.
10: Tracy McGrady
Tracy spent six seasons of his illustrious 15-year career with the Rockets. While Tracy was at his best during the first five years of his career while with the Orlando Magic, he was still pretty good when he came to the Rockets. He averaged 22.7 ppg to go with 5.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists. Tracy was a volume shooter, hitting only .435 of his shots. McGrady was a two-time all-star with the Rockets. Tracy got the nod on this list over a number of other memorable shooting guards, including Vernon “Mad Max” Maxwell, Steve Francis, and Kenny “The Jet” Smith.
9: Clyde Drexler
“The Glide” was winding down his career by the time he came to the Rockets. Clyde spent 3+ seasons in Houston, putting up a line 19.0–6.1–5.4. That’s very impressive and is illustrative of Clyde’s balanced game. Clyde was a two-time all-star while in Houston. Drexler is the choice for “greatest performance by a hall of famer winding down his career in a Rockets uniform” over Charles Barkley.
8: Calvin Murphy
While Calvin wasn’t as prolific on the court as he was off it, he still had an excellent career. Calvin spent all of his 13 seasons in the NBA with the Rockets, scoring 17.9 ppg to go with 4.4 assists. Not surprisingly for a guy who was 5’9” he averaged only 2.1 rebounds per game. Calvin started his career with the Rockets when they were based in San Diego. His best season was the 1977–78 campaign when he averaged 25.2 ppg. Murphy was one of the great free-throw shooters in NBA history, hitting .892 from the line. Calvin started his career before the three-point line was in place. The last two years of his career, the three-pointer was in place, Calvin just didn’t use it much. Murphy was an efficient scorer, hitting .482 from the field.
7: James Harden
James’ legacy with the Rockets would have been greater if his departure hadn’t been so ugly. He didn’t exactly stick the landing. Harden was always been a big-time scorer with the Rockets, averaging between 25.4 and 30.4 with the Rockets. Those 30.4 points per game, led the NBA in the 2017–18 season. He repeated as the scoring leader in the next two seasons, topping out at 36.1 ppg during the 2018–19 season. In the 2016–17 James led the NBA with 11.2 assists per game. Dude seriously dominated the ball. He averaged 7.7 assists with the Rockets to go with 6.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals. Harden has been an all-star in all eight of his full seasons with the Rockets and was the NBA’s MVP 2017–18 season. Maybe I should have put him higher on this list. Naw.
6: Rudy Tomjanovich
Rudy T also started his Rockets career when the team was in San Diego. While Rudy may be remembered as the guy on the receiving end of a devastating punch from Kermit Washington there was so much more than that to his career. Tomjanovich spent all 11 of his seasons in the NBA with the Rockets. Rudy averaged 17.4 ppg for his career, though he averaged about 20 points a game at his peak. He also averaged 8 rebounds and 2 assists to go with his scoring. Tomjanovich was a five-time all-star. Rudy gets bonus points for coaching the Rockets to their two NBA championships.
5: Yao Ming
Yao was like a Chinese Bill Walton, a great big man hindered by bad feet. Yao played seven seasons, plus five games in another season in his time in the NBA. Yao averaged 19 ppg, but at his peak scored 25 ppg. at his apex. Throw in 9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and two blocks a game, and you have a great player. Yao shot,524 from the field, and an excellent .833 from the line. He was also good in the playoffs. Ming was an eight-time all-star and a generally fun guy.
4: Elvin Hayes
Hayes spent the first three seasons of his career with the Rockets while they were in San Diego. Elvin led the NBA in scoring in his rookie season, averaging 28.4 ppg. He surpassed that by scoring 28.7 ppg in the 1970–71 campaign. Hayes’ time with the Rockets totaled seven seasons. They bookended his career. His first four seasons were with the Rockets, and he finished his career with them, playing his last three years with the team. Hayes was an all-star for his first four seasons with the team. Hayes’s shooting percentage was low for a high-scoring big guy, but he was strong on the boards, pulling down about 16 rebounds a game during his first four seasons. He led the NBA in rebounding with 16.9 rebounds a game during the 1969–70. Hayes finally got a ring with the Washington Bullets after leaving the Rockets.
3: Moses Malone
Speaking of guys who were monsters on the boards, here’s Moses Malone. Moses was especially active on the offense boards, leading the NBA in that category all six of his seasons with the Rockets. Moses’ raw stats with the Rockets were 24 points and 15 rebounds a game. Moses played in six All-Star games with the Rockets. Moses shot for the best FG percentage of his career while in Houston, hitting .514 from the field and .736 from the line. Malone was well-traveled in his career, but Houston got him at his peak.
2: Ralph Sampson
Ralph teamed with Hakeem Olajuwon to form a Twin Towers operation. It’s easy to forget how good Sampson was. Sampson put up 19.6 ppg and 10.5 rebounds in 4+ seasons in Houston. He was an all-star every year he played with the Rockets. Sampson was 7’4’ but played with a lot of finesse. Some would say too much finesse. Injuries slowed Sampson prematurely, but at his peak, he was a real force.
1: Hakeem Olajuwon
Was there any doubt who would be number one on this list? How good was Olajuwon? He was the number one pick in the draft when Michael Jordan was the number three pick and the Rockets take little heat for it. Probably, in part, because Hakeem led the Rockets to two championships. Olajuwon spent 17 of his 18 NBA seasons with the Rockets. Olajuwon’s numbers are pretty much what you expect, 22,5 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. Hakeem was the NBA’s MVP for the 1993–94 season as well as the MVP for the NBA Finals in 1994 and 1995. In summary, it was a dream career.
