Led by Malone, the Rockets reached their first NBA Finals in 1981, becoming only the second team in NBA history to do so with a losing record. During the 1980–81 season, the Rockets finished the regular season with a 40–42 record but still made the playoffs. Malone went on to win the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award twice while playing with the Rockets and led Houston to the Eastern Conference Finals in his first year with the team. The Rockets did not finish a season with a winning record for almost a decade until the 1976–77 season, when they traded for All-Star center Moses Malone. In the 1968 NBA draft, the Rockets were awarded the first overall pick and selected power forward Elvin Hayes, who would lead the team to its first playoff appearance in his rookie season. The Rockets won only 15 games in their debut season as a franchise in 1967. In 1971, the Rockets relocated to Houston. It was established in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego. Throughout its history, Houston has won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center, located in Downtown Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division.
93 94 HOUSTON ROCKETS ROSTER PROFESSIONAL
Though a win in Atlanta on would have set a new record, it’s safe to say the Rockets were satisfied with how the season ended.The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. Hakeem Olajuwon’s “Dream” season was one for the ages. Olajuwon was named league MVP, NBA Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBA First Team.
93 94 HOUSTON ROCKETS ROSTER SERIES
The Rockets won the series 4-3, securing their first title in NBA history. Not since 1975 had there been a Finals series in which the margin of victory in every game was less than 10 points, until this one. For the first time since the introduction of the shot clock in 1954-55, neither team reached 100 points in any game of a seven-game playoff series.
The Rockets versus Knicks Finals was one of the most physical in NBA history, even to this day, thanks to each team’s emphasis on tough defense and a grind it out approach on offense, working the ball through Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing, respectively. In the Western Conference Finals, the Rockets over powered the Utah Jazz 4-1, setting up a Finals match-up with the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks. The Rockets won three in a row, lost game six in Phoenix and then returned to Houston for the decisive game seven victory. After easily dispatching the Portland Trailblazers 3-1 in round one, The Rockets nearly had an early postseason exit when they lost the first two games of the conference semifinals to Phoenix at The Summit in Houston. The up and down nature of the season continued in the playoffs as well. On pace for a video game like four loss season, the Rockets came back to earth from then on and finished a subdued 36-23 over the final 59 games. After the loss, the Rockets would win the next seven games in a row, running their record to an impressive 22-1. With a chance to set the NBA record for longest unbeaten streak to start a season, the Rockets couldn’t overcome a game Atlanta Hawks team during an entertaining 133-111 Hawks victory in Atlanta. Just as it did for the 1995 Chicago Bulls, a hot start to the season ultimately culminated in a championship for the Houston Rockets.
25 years ago on 12/3/93, The Houston Rockets lost their first game of the year. The 15-0 start to the season tied the all-time record for longest winning streak to start an NBA season set by the Washington Capitols in 1948-49.
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