Houston’s a football town and a baseball town, sure. But ask anybody who was here in the ’90s and they’ll tell you: Clutch City was born on the basketball court. Here’s the Rockets story in a nutshell, so you know where we’re coming from when we talk hoops on LFG Houston.
They didn’t start here
The Rockets came into the NBA in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets. After four seasons out west, the team was sold and moved to Houston in 1971, making it the first NBA team in Texas. The name fit even better here, with NASA’s Johnson Space Center right down the road.
Back-to-back in ’94 and ’95
The high point is still the one every Houston fan knows by heart. Led by Hakeem Olajuwon, the Rockets won the NBA championship in 1994 and did it again in 1995. That second run, as a lower seed knocking off team after team, is where the “Clutch City” name really stuck. It’s been part of the city’s identity ever since.
Toyota Center era
The Rockets moved into Toyota Center downtown for the 2003-04 season. That building has seen a lot since then: deep playoff pushes, a 22-game win streak in 2007-08, and plenty of rebuilding years too. Through all of it, the crowd keeps showing up.
What we’ll cover
On LFG Houston we’re watching the young core, the rotation, the trade talk, and what every stretch of the season means for a team trying to get back to where Houston expects it to be. Two banners hang in the rafters. We want a third.
See where this year’s team stands in our recaps of the Rockets season-opening win over Dallas and Amen Thompson’s game-saving block on Wembanyama. Then read the Texans and Astros history pieces.
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