The Rockets aren’t championship contenders, but fans hope the foundation for a third title is being laid.
As the 1995 Houston Rockets took the stage at center court of the Summit to raise the Larry O’Brien trophy for the second consecutive year, the great Bob Costas asked head coach Rudy Tomjanovich why the ’95 team was better than the previous year’s championship team. His answer would provide one of the most iconic quotes in the history of sports.
“I can’t take anything away from last year’s team, that was special. This is a new team, and no one has ever done what this team’s done. Come from the sixth seed, down in series… we won nine road games, and we had nonbelievers all along the way. I have one thing to say to those nonbelievers… Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion.”
As we approach the 29th anniversary of the Rockets repeating as champions of the NBA, I don’t think any rational Rockets fan is expecting that the Rockets will be celebrating the third title in franchise history. However, there is an immense amount of hope and optimism that the foundation has been laid to make such a run in the near future.
The heart of a champion is something I always believed only those who have won a championship can possess. But as I reflect on the last 30 years of Rockets basketball, I think it’s fair to say that having the “heart of a champion” doesn’t always result in wining a title.
The 1995 team was not the last Houston Rockets team to have championship aspirations. Two years later, Charles Barkley would join Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and the Rockets via trade. Though they were all past their prime, they were still very good players and hoped to give Barkley one last shot at the ever illusive title he had been seeking.
The Rockets would have their hearts broken in Game Six of the WCF on a John Stockton three-pointer at the buzzer. That’s the closest Barkley would ever again get to winning a championship. Did Charles Barkley lack “the heart of a champion”?
When the Rockets acquired Yao Ming with the first pick in the NBA draft in 2002, some believed it was a mistake. After a rocky first few weeks as an NBA pro, Yao quickly began to show that he was a legitimate big man in a league that at the time was still dominated by big men. He became what many believed to be the needed piece to propel the fallen Rockets back to championship contention.
In 2008-2009, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady would be joined by Ron Artest via trade, and the Rockets once again had legitimate championship hopes. Sadly, McGrady would miss most of the season, and though Yao and the Rockets did win their first playoff series since ’97, Yao would be unavailable for the second round series after he suffered yet another foot injury in a Game three against the Los Angeles Lakers.
A scrappy Rockets team lead by Artest, Shane Battier, and Chuck Hayes would take the eventual NBA champs to seven games, but Yao Ming would miss the entire next season, and only play five games in the 2010-2011 season before injuring himself again, sending him into an early retirement. Did Yao Ming lack “the heart of a champion”?
The acquisition of James Harden from the OKC Thunder in 2012 and subsequent max contract extension was viewed as a gamble, but he immediately established himself as a superstar in the league. Teaming him up with with stars like Dwight Howard in 2013 and then later Chris Paul in 2018 put the Rockets firmly in the conversation of “championship contender” for several years. Yet, they were never able to reach the pinnacle.
Those seasons were among so many “What if” seasons for the Rockets in the last 29 years. What if the refs didn’t allow Karl Malone to bear hug Mario Elie, forcing Barkley to have two recover late to John Stockton in that Game Six of the ’97 WCF? (Yeah, I’m still a little bitter.)
What if Yao, McGrady, and Artest played the entire season healthy together in 2009? What if in 2014 Damian Lillard’s shot with 0.9 seconds left in game six of the Western Conference Semis had clanked off the rim sending the series to game seven in Houston? What if Chris Paul didn’t pull his hamstring in Game Five of the 2018 WCF?
I would argue that Barkley, Yao, McGrady, and Chris Paul each displayed “the heart of a champion” at different points of their career, but the chips just didn’t fall their way. None of that takes away the pain of those gut wrenching losses for Rockets fans.
There are 11 NBA teams that have never won a title. As Houstonians, we can count ourselves lucky that we aren’t among them. But I would argue that in some ways, having enjoyed the sweet taste of a championship victory and then being so close multiple times in the decades since, only to have our hearts broken, makes our craving for a third title that much stronger than that of a fan base that has never won or even come close to seeing their team win a title.
For the city of Houston, a third title would mean the exorcism of all those demons of the last three decades. Though we aren’t expecting the team to make that type of run this season, Rockets fans are ready to witness a team that at least shows the heart of a champion. I often wonder how aware the young Rockets are of the proud history of this franchise. How conscious they are of the longing this city’s basketball fans have to return Houston back into “Clutch City.”
Will Jalen Green, who now approaches a fork in the road of his career, not only be self-motivated to achieve his own personal greatness, but will he and his teammates understand and long to heal the open wounds of this city? Do they have the heart of a champion? Better yet, do they long to truly be NBA champions? Time will tell.
Although Rockets fans have suffered many heartbreaks over the years, we are always very quick to remember those players who may not have won an NBA title fondly if they played with the heart of a champion. Barkley, Yao, McGrady… I imagine Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, and even James Harden once he hangs it up, will all probably be more remembered for their greatness rather than than the heartache their teams caused us.
If Jalen, Alpi, Jabari, Tari, Amen, Cam, and now Reed Sheppard, can show they have the heart of a champion, then I believe their talent and the leadership of Ime Udoka are enough that they all could be a part of a Rockets team that is hoisting the O’Brien trophy toward the city of Houston someday. For those of us who remember what that felt like, there is nothing we want more than to see these young talented players etch their names forever in the storied history of this franchise we love so much by winning another NBA championship.