3 Fun Facts About the Houston Rockets
Did you know the Houston Rockets started out in San Diego? The San Diego Rockets were a 1967 NBA expansion team. 1967 was a a crazy year. That year the Rolling Stones released “Let’s Spend the Night Together.” A rock historian said, “Later that year they released, ‘No, I Don’t Have Time for Breakfast With You.'”
Like many new teams, they didn’t fare well, only winning 15 games that first season. Things picked up in 1968 when they drafted Elvin Hayes, who took them to their first playoff appearance. After 16 years in the NBA, Hayes returned to the University of Houston to finish the last few credits he had left for his degree. One professor asked, “Where have you been? You said you were going to make a phone call, and you disappeared for 16 years!”
Things really improved for the Rockets when they picked up Moses Malone in 1976, who took them to the conference finals that season. Malone was first drafted in 1974 with the Utah Stars, the first team in the league to employ the pre-game shootaround. One basketball expert explained: “Before that, the players just sat on lawn chairs on the court, sipping Cokes and watching reruns of “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.”
