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The Houston Rockets are a professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The Rockets were founded in 1967 in San Diego, California, where they played their home games at the San Diego International Sports Center. The team moved to Houston in 1971 and changed their colours from green and gold to red and gold, with the city name featured prominently on their uniforms. The Rockets have since become one of the most well-known basketball teams in the world, with players like James Harden and Jeremy Lin achieving worldwide fame during their time with the team.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Team Name | Houston Rockets |
| Team Logo | A stylized 'R' in the shape of a rocket during takeoff, surrounded by a red orbit streak |
| Team Colors | Red, silver, and black |
| Previous Team Colors | Green and gold |
| Previous City | San Diego |
| Current City | Houston |
| Arena | Toyota Center |
| Arena Capacity | 18,500 |
| Notable Players | James Harden, Jeremy Lin, Ömer Aşık, Elvin Hayes |
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What You'll Learn
The Houston Rockets were originally the San Diego Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego, California.
The Rockets played in San Diego for four years before moving to Houston, Texas, in 1971. In their debut season, they won only 15 games. The team's colours were green and gold, and their uniforms featured the city name in a serifed block lettering. The Rockets were established following a visit by National Basketball Association commissioner J. Walter Kennedy to San Diego in 1966. Kennedy witnessed the support for the Western Hockey League's San Diego Gulls and invited the team owner, Robert Breitbard, to the next NBA owners' meeting.
Breitbard owned the Gulls and their arena, the San Diego International Sports Center, and the league wanted to add franchises in the Western United States, which at the time were only represented by the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Francisco Warriors. San Diego was chosen as an expansion team location due to its economic and population growth, as well as the success of the Gulls. The Rockets' inaugural game was held on 14 October 1967 at the International Sports Center, with 8000 fans in attendance.
In 1971, the Rockets were sold to a Houston-based investment group, Texas Sports Investments, for $5.6 million. The team relocated to Houston before the start of the 1971-1972 season and became the first NBA team in Texas. The nickname "Rockets" took on greater relevance after the move, given Houston's long connection to the space industry and its NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. The team's colours were changed from green to red, and the city name and logo were updated to reflect the new location.
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The Rockets moved to Houston in 1971
The Houston Rockets are a professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The team was established in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego, California.
In 1971, the Rockets relocated to Houston. The move came about due to a combination of factors, including poor performance, low attendance, and financial difficulties faced by the team's owner, Robert Breitbard. Breitbard was dealing with significant financial losses due to a controversial ongoing tax-assessment issue related to the San Diego Sports Arena, as well as the construction debt incurred from building the arena with private funding.
Fan attendance had also slowed down, and Breitbard was facing the prospect of eviction. On June 23, 1971, Breitbard abruptly sold the team to Texas Sports Investments, a Houston-based investment group, for $5.6 million. The NBA quickly approved the sale, believing the franchise was at risk of collapse. The new owners immediately relocated the team to Houston, making them the first NBA team in Texas.
The Rockets' nickname, "Rockets," gained even greater relevance after the move to Houston due to the city's long-standing connection to the space industry and its proximity to NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. The team's colours were changed from green and gold to red and gold, reflecting the new colour scheme. The classic yellow and red logo and uniforms, which would be used until the end of the 1994-95 season, were introduced around this time as well.
During their first season in Houston, the Rockets did not have a permanent stadium. They played their home games at various venues within the city and in other cities like Waco, San Antonio, and even their former home of San Diego. In 1975, they finally settled into their own arena, The Summit.
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The Rockets' colours were originally green and gold
The Houston Rockets basketball team is based in Houston, Texas. The team was previously known as the San Diego Rockets, having debuted in San Diego in 1967.
In 1971, the Rockets moved to Houston and replaced green with red in their uniforms. They kept the same design from their San Diego days, including the city name and a logo of a player with a spinning basketball launching upward, with boosters on his back, leaving a trail of red and gold flames. The words "Houston Rockets" were featured below this logo.
For the 1972-73 season, the Rockets introduced a new logo featuring a gold basketball surrounded by two red trails, with "Houston" atop the first trail and "Rockets" surrounding the basketball. The home uniforms for this season featured the city name, numbers, and serifed player names in red with gold trim, while the away uniforms had the same elements in gold with white trim.
During the 2022-23 season, the Rockets wore special "Hardwood Classic" edition uniforms on six occasions, reverting to the green, gold, and white colours of their San Diego roots.
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The Rockets' logo features a rocket with a basketball
The Houston Rockets basketball team has had a long and varied history with their logos and uniforms. The team originated in San Diego in 1967, and their first logo featured a blue rocket on an orange basketball. The rocket is placed diagonally on the basketball, moving upright, and symbolizing progress and growth. The badge also featured a yellow inscription around its perimeter.
Upon moving to Houston in 1971, the Rockets replaced green with red in their logo and uniforms. The logo used is of a player with a spinning basketball launching upward, with boosters on his back, leaving a trail of red and gold flames and the words "Houston Rockets" below it. This logo was short-lived, as the team introduced a new logo for the 1972-73 season. This logo featured a gold basketball surrounded by two red trails, with "Houston" atop the first red trail and "Rockets" surrounding the basketball. This logo earned the nickname "ketchup and mustard" from fans.
The Rockets continued to tweak their uniforms and logos over the years, with minor modifications in the number fonts and color schemes. In 1995, a new logo was designed, featuring a red basketball with a stylized "Rockets" lettering in white and grey, surrounded by a smooth blue orbit, and a rocket flying above. In 2003, the team introduced a simplified logo, a stylized "R" in the shape of a rocket during takeoff, surrounded by a red orbit streak that resembles the central circle of a basketball court. This logo won the Merit Award from Graphis in their Logo Design 6 competition.
The Houston Rockets logo has continued to evolve, with slight tweaks made to uniforms and color schemes. The team's visual identity is famous for its unique and memorable logos, reflecting the team's bold energy and spirit.
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The Rockets have played home games at the Toyota Center since 2003
The Houston Rockets are a professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference.
The Rockets moved to Houston from San Diego in 1971. For their first two seasons in Houston, the team played at various venues across the city, including the Astrodome, AstroHall, Sam Houston Coliseum, and Hofheinz Pavilion. The Rockets adopted the latter as their home arena until 1975, when they moved to The Summit, which had a capacity of 16,611 spectators.
In 1995, Rockets owner Leslie Alexander began to request a new arena, citing the outdated nature of The Summit, which had been built in the 1970s. After a series of negotiations and proposals, construction on a new arena began in July 2001. The new arena, named the Toyota Center, officially opened in October 2003, with the first event being a Fleetwood Mac concert on October 6. The Toyota Center has a seating capacity of 18,500 for basketball games, with the Rockets playing their first game at the new arena against the Denver Nuggets on October 30, 2003.
The Toyota Center has been the home of the Houston Rockets since the 2003-04 season, with the team achieving notable success during their tenure at the arena. The 2007-08 season saw the Rockets achieve a 22-game winning streak, averaging 17,379 spectators. The arrival of James Harden in 2012 further boosted attendance, with the team averaging 18,123 spectators during the 2013-14 season and selling out 39 out of 41 home games. The Toyota Center has also played host to a variety of other events, including UFC, WWE, and concerts.
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Frequently asked questions
The Rockets are from Houston, Texas. They moved to Houston from San Diego in 1971.
The Rockets' colours are red, silver and black. When the team was based in San Diego, their colours were green and gold.
Some notable players who have played for the Houston Rockets include James Harden, Jeremy Lin, Ömer Aşık, Elvin Hayes, and Jack Marin.
