"moved the team to Houston. The franchise became the first NBA team in Texas, and the team's nickname of ""Rockets"" took on even greater relevance after the move since Houston is home to NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Upon their arrival, many were in disbelief that the Rockets could thrive in Houston. They were coming to a city that did not have a suitable arena, and had not shown much interest in professional basketball. Houston was previously home to the Houston Mavericks of the American Basketball Association for only two seasons between 1967 and 1969, where the average attendance"
"Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association (ABA), but changed its name to Rockets before the first season. It changed its name again to the Nuggets in 1974. After the name change, the Nuggets played for the final ABA Championship title in 1976, losing to the New York Nets. The team has had"
"Clutch City Clutch City is a nickname given to the city of Houston, Texas after the city's National Basketball Association (NBA) club, the Houston Rockets. ""Choke City"" was a ""Houston Chronicle"" front-page headline in 1994, given to the city of Houston after the Houston Rockets blew two consecutive commanding fourth-quarter leads at The Summit in the first two games of their Western Conference semifinals match-up versus the Phoenix Suns in the 1994 NBA Playoffs. This in effect took the series to Phoenix, Arizona down 0-2 in the best-of-seven series. It was feared at the time that the Rockets would follow"
"franchise player James Harden in 2012 has launched the Rockets back into championship contention in the mid-2010s. Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon and James Harden have been named the NBA's Most Valuable Player while playing for the Rockets, for a total of four MVP awards. The Rockets, under general manager Daryl Morey, are notable for popularizing the use of advanced statistical analytics (similar to sabermetrics in baseball) in player acquisitions and style of play. The Rockets were founded in 1967 in San Diego by Robert Breitbard, who paid an entry fee of US $1.75 million to join the NBA as an"
"in 2003, is home to the NBA Houston Rockets. From 2004 to 2007, Toyota Center was also home to the now defunct WNBA Houston Comets. The Theater District is one of the largest in the country as measured by the number of theater seats. Houston is one of only five cities in the United States with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing art disciplines of opera, ballet, music, and theater. Venues in the theater district include the Wortham Center (opera and ballet), the Alley Theatre (theater), the Hobby Center (resident and traveling musical theater, concerts, events),"
"current NBA cities Oklahoma City and New Orleans. It has previously hosted the Kansas City Kings from 1972 to 1985 until they moved to Sacramento. As does Pittsburgh, it has a more recently built arena, the Sprint Center, that has hosted Big 12 and both the men's and women's NCAA tournaments. The city is also home to the College Basketball Hall of Fame. The city of Vancouver previously hosted an NBA team (the Vancouver Grizzlies) before it relocated to Memphis, Tennessee in 2001 and became the Memphis Grizzlies. The city has a solid fan base and the city already has"
"Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team is largely owned by retired NBA player Michael Jordan, who acquired controlling interest in the team in 2010. The Hornets play their home games at the Spectrum Center in Uptown Charlotte. The original Hornets franchise was established in 1988 as an expansion team, owned by George Shinn. In 2002, Shinn's franchise relocated to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Hornets. In 2004,"
"were based in St. Louis, and the Washington Wizards won in 1978 when they were known as the Bullets, while the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets have not won any NBA titles as of 2018) and they remain the only expansion team in the past 25 years to ever win a title. | align=""left"" | || 1 || 0 || 2.1 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 | align=""left"" | || 1 || 0 || 4.7 || 1.000 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0"
"For individual game statistics, scroll further downwards. (*) As a result of the original franchise's relocation to New Orleans, the NBA team in Charlotte suspended operations for the 2002–03 and the 2003–04 seasons, before a new team, named the Bobcats, was established for the 2004–05 season. In 2014, the original Hornets were renamed the Pelicans and obtained the records during their time in New Orleans and Oklahoma City from 2002 to 2013. The Bobcats became the second incarnation of the Charlotte Hornets, and retained the history and records of the Hornets organization from 1988 to 2002. (*) the number in"
"San Diego Rockets and the Buffalo Braves. The Rockets represented the city of San Diego from 1967 until 1971. After the conclusion of the 1970–1971 season, they moved to Texas where they became the Houston Rockets. Seven years later, a relocated NBA franchise (the Buffalo Braves) moved to town and was renamed the San Diego Clippers. The Clippers played in the San Diego Sports Arena from 1978 until 1984. Prior to the start of the 1984–1985 season, the team was moved to Los Angeles, and is now called the Los Angeles Clippers. Sports in San Diego Sports in San Diego"
"(MLS), Houston Dash (NWSL), and Houston SaberCats (MLR) . Houston does not have an NHL team. The Astros won the 2017 World Series for the first World Series win in franchise history. In 2006, the Dynamo won the MLS Cup in their first year after moving from San Jose, California, and in 2007 became the first MLS franchise since 1997 to repeat a championship. The Rockets won back-to-back NBA titles in 1994 and 1995. Minute Maid Park (home of the Astros) and Toyota Center (home of the Rockets) are located in Downtown Houston—contributing to an urban renaissance that has transformed"
"their home city the Kansas City franchise was relocated to Denver and named the Denver Larks. Trindle had ongoing financial problems with the team, leading Boryla to resign and ultimately to the team being sold to J. William Ringsby, the owner of Rocket Truck Lines. Ringsby soon renamed the team the Denver Rockets in homage to his trucking business. The Denver Rockets played in the ABA from 1967 through 1974. In 1974 the team became the Denver Nuggets and played as such through the ABA's final two seasons. With the ABA-NBA merger in 1976 the Denver Nuggets joined the NBA"
"play two seasons at the Coliseum before taking up residence at a new venue now known as Spectrum Center in Uptown. After the 2012–13 NBA season, New Orleans changed their franchise name to the New Orleans Pelicans. The franchise rights to the Hornets name and logo, plus the history of the original Charlotte Hornets, were given back to the city of Charlotte after the 2013–14 NBA season, at the same time the Charlotte Bobcats became the Charlotte Hornets. North Carolina Tar Heels legend Michael Jordan is the majority owner of the Hornets. In 2016, Greensboro was awarded with the Hornets'"
"Tapscott and Ray Turner, as the Rockets took out the best-of-three grand final series in a clean sweep, defeating the Mackay Meteors 2–0. Turner took out the MVP award for Game 2 for his efforts of 31 points and 15 rebounds. Rockhampton Rockets The Rockhampton Rockets are an Australian basketball team based in Rockhampton, Queensland. The Rockets compete in the Men's Queensland Basketball League (QBL) and play their home games at Hegvold Stadium. The team is affiliated with Rockhampton Basketball Inc., the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. Rockhampton Basketball Inc., originally known as the Rockhampton Amateur Basketball Association,"
"and Texas hosts three NBA teams: the San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets, and the Dallas Mavericks. All three have won championships, however the Spurs having won at least 50 games over the past 15 seasons and 5 NBA championships, are arguably the best professional franchise in Texas sports and are considered one of the best NBA franchises in history. The Houston Rockets did however distinguish themselves as the first team in Texas to win an NBA Championship and are currently the only team in Texas to have back-to-back NBA Championships. Texas is home to one WNBA team, the Dallas"
"Olajuwon's former college teammate Clyde Drexler. With only 47 wins, the Rockets entered the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Still, a strong playoff run that earned Houston the nickname ""Clutch City"" had the Rockets defeating the West's top three seeds – the Jazz, Suns and Spurs – to reach back-to-back finals, this time against the Orlando Magic, led by Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee ""Penny"" Hardaway. When Houston swept the series in four straight games, they became the first team in NBA history to win the championship as a sixth seed, and the first to beat four"
"City"". In 2017, he was traded to the Houston Rockets, and helped the team win a franchise-record 65 games in his debut season. Off the court, Paul has served as the National Basketball Players Association president since August 2013. One of the highest-paid athletes in the world, he holds endorsement deals with companies such as Nike and State Farm. Paul was born on May 6, 1985, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Charles Edward Paul and Robin Jones. He has an older brother named Charles ""C.J."" Paul. A former athlete himself, Charles Sr. taught his sons basketball and football and coached"
"New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays their home games in the Smoothie King Center (formerly known as the New Orleans Arena). The Pelicans were established as the New Orleans Hornets in the when then-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, George Shinn, relocated the franchise to New Orleans. Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the franchise temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City, where they"
"New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays their home games in the Smoothie King Center (formerly known as the New Orleans Arena). The Pelicans were established as the New Orleans Hornets in the when then-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, George Shinn, relocated the franchise to New Orleans. Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the franchise temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City, where they"
"Stockton Kings The Stockton Kings are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League, based in Stockton, California. They are owned and operated by their NBA parent club, the Sacramento Kings. The Kings compete in the G League's Western Conference Pacific Division, beginning play in the 2008–09 season with their home games at the Reno Events Center as the Reno Bighorns. The Reno Bighorns began play in the 2008–09 season with their home games at the Reno Events Center. Their namesake was the desert bighorn sheep, which is the state animal of Nevada. The Bighorns were primarily affiliated"
"1967 NBA Expansion draft The 1967 NBA Expansion Draft was the third expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 1, 1967, so that the newly founded San Diego Rockets and Seattle SuperSonics could acquire players for the upcoming 1967–68 season. Seattle and San Diego had been awarded the expansion teams on December 20, 1966, and January 11, 1967, respectively. The Rockets moved to Houston, Texas, in and are currently known as the Houston Rockets. The SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City, in 2008 and are currently known as the Oklahoma City Thunder. In an"
"Invitational (CBI). Their record is 0–1. Toledo Rockets men's basketball The Toledo Rockets men's basketball team represents the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 1980. Their current head coach is Tod Kowalczyk. The Rockets have appeared in four NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–4. The Rockets have appeared in eight National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Their combined record is 5–9. The Rockets have appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Their record is 1–1. The Rockets"
"Rockets 103–99 in Houston. The Jazz went on to face the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors, who were coming off a historic upset of the number 1-seeded Dallas Mavericks. However, the Jazz easily handled the Warriors, and won the series 4–1. The Jazz then faced the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals, but lost to the more experienced Spurs, 4 games to 1 in the series. The Spurs eventually won the NBA championship that season by defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. During the off-season, the Jazz gained a hometown NBA Development League"
"formerly of the Houston Rockets, testing the skills of the younger Olajuwon, then just a college player with the University of Houston. Fonde has been featured as a playable location in several NBA video games, including the NBA Live series, along with other well-known underground hoops hotbeds such as New York's Rucker Park, Goat Park, and The Cage, Chicago's Jackson Park Cages and Venice Beach. While many NBA players still play in Houston during the summer, many now play at the privately owned Westside Tennis Club. However, Fonde remains a mecca of basketball, with the Nike Houston Pro City Summer"
"with, the Rockets. Lenny Wilkens would not make the finals again for the remainder of his coaching career; the closest he would advance was in the 1992 conference finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers. As of the 2017–18 NBA season this remains the last Finals appearance, and indeed the last ""Conference"" Finals appearance, for the Bullets/Wizards franchise. The SuperSonics would not return until 1996. That would be their last Finals appearance in Seattle, since they relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 and were renamed as the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder played in the 2012 NBA Finals, where they lost to"
"Rockets the same day. He was assigned to Rio Grande Valley immediately and took part in the 2018 G League Showcase. On January 14, 2018 Jackson was signed to a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers and NBA G-League affiliate the Delaware 87ers. He was re-signed to a second two-way deal for the 2018–19 season. Jackson, a South Bend native, is the son of Juanita Jones. Jackson lived in two different foster homes after the age of twelve, before finally settling with the Whitfields, the family of then basketball teammate Michael Whitfield. As a student in the University of Notre"
"the Houston Rockets. He finished the game with 16 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 30 minutes. By December 15 he led starter rookies in offensive and defensive rating, besides having the third most True Scoring % and best Turnover-to-Assist ratio for a non-guard. On April 3, 2018, he hit his first ever buzzer beater, against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Anunoby was born in London, England to Nigerian parents and raised in Jefferson City, Missouri, where his father is a professor at Lincoln University. His brother, Chigbo Anunoby, has played for the Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans and Minnesota"
"stage in AHL hockey. One variation of the name was Crush City, used in 2015 to support the Astros in their playoff run. The Houston Rockets will also be using the brand name Clutch Gaming for their League of Legends Championship Series team. Clutch City Clutch City is a nickname given to the city of Houston, Texas after the city's National Basketball Association (NBA) club, the Houston Rockets. ""Choke City"" was a ""Houston Chronicle"" front-page headline in 1994, given to the city of Houston after the Houston Rockets blew two consecutive commanding fourth-quarter leads at The Summit in the first"
"Leslie Alexander (businessman) Leslie L. Alexander (born 1944) is an American attorney, businessman and financier. He is a former bond trader from New Jersey. He formerly owned the National Basketball Association (NBA) team Houston Rockets for 24 years, from 1993 to 2017. Leslie L. Alexander was born in 1944, to a Jewish family in New Jersey. In 1965, he graduated from New York University with a bachelor's degree in economics and later earned his juris doctor from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Alexander began his career as an attorney. From 1978 to 2009, he was a member of the"
"2017–18 Houston Rockets season The 2017–18 Houston Rockets season was the 51st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and their 47th in the Houston area. The Rockets acquired star point guard Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers due to a multitude of trades after the 2017 NBA draft on June 28, 2017, as well as for being the team's first under current owner Tilman Fertitta. Prior to signing with the Rockets, Paul also considered possibly returning to the Los Angeles Lakers after he was famously vetoed by David Stern from joining them in 2011. The"
"position's best in the West award. Veteran Dallas Thompson was named team captain, and the total make-up of the team's roster ultimately propelled the Rockets to a second-place finish in the West. The 1995–96 season saw significant change to the entire Rockets organization: not only the loss of defenceman Aleksandr Alekseyev and captain Dallas Thompson due to age, but the decision to relocate the Rockets to Kelowna, British Columbia. After long deliberation and consideration for the City of Tacoma and the many dedicated fans who supported the Rockets, the 22,000-seat Tacoma Dome was no longer a long-term viable home for"
"The Rockets averaged 18,123 spectators during the 2013–14 season, selling out 39 out of the 41 home games. The 2014–15 season had even better numbers, with 40 sellouts and an average of 18,230 tickets sold. When the Rockets debuted in San Diego, their colors were green and gold. Road uniforms featured the city name, while the home uniforms feature the team name, both in a serifed block lettering. This was the only uniform design the Rockets would use throughout their years in San Diego. The Rockets' first logo featured a rocket streaking with a basketball surrounded by the team name."
"inside of the 'R' in white. While all other logos and patches alternate colours depending on the home or away jersey, the main logo remains blue on both the red and white jerseys. Laval Rocket The Laval Rocket () is a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) as an affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Montreal Canadiens. Based in Laval, Quebec, Canada, the Rocket play their home games at Place Bell. The franchise was previously based out of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador as the St. John's IceCaps. On July 11, 2016, the AHL"