Houston still measures every era against the 1994 and 1995 titles, and the analytics habits Daryl Morey installed still shape how this team is judged. A 128-110 opener over Dallas sends a 1-0 team to San Antonio, the rival that dates to the 1981 playoff run.
October 22, 1977
Forty-nine years ago today, Houston beat Boston 110-98 at home. Moses Malone, acquired from the ABA, had just carried the Rockets to the 1976-77 Eastern Conference finals, and The Summit was in its third season as home. That team ran through one dominant big man. Houston makes the same bet now with Alperen Sengun, 24, who averaged 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists last season.
1981
Malone took Houston to its first NBA Finals, a six-game loss to Boston, and that playoff run started the in-state rivalry with San Antonio. Forty-five years later, the Spurs set the standard in Texas again: 62-20 last season, a plus-8.4 net mark, and Victor Wembanyama at 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in 29.2 minutes. Houston finished ten games behind them.
1994 and 1995
Under Rudy Tomjanovich, Hakeem Olajuwon led a then-record 58-win team past the Knicks for the franchise's first title. With Clyde Drexler added, Houston swept Orlando for the second one a year later. Those two banners are still the measuring stick. Nothing since has matched them, and every result of the Durant era, including last spring's playoff exit to the Lakers, gets weighed against that ceiling.
2012 to 2020
Daryl Morey's front office built around James Harden, acquired in 2012, and made Houston synonymous with advanced analytics in roster building and shot selection. Harden played nine seasons without a losing record and reached two conference finals, both lost to Golden State. When Morey and Mike D'Antoni left before 2020-21, Harden asked out. The rebuild that followed drafted Sheppard, Smith, Thompson, Eason and Sengun.
October 21
That drafted core, plus Kevin Durant, opened with a 128-110 win over Dallas and a lead that reached 37. Durant and Smith scored 30 apiece, with Smith hitting 4 of 8 threes. Sengun posted 23 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists and a team-best plus-23. Fred VanVleet dished 11 assists without a turnover. The Athletic described a "new, fast-paced identity" after last season's 97.0 pace.
When did the Rockets-Spurs rivalry start?
It dates to Houston's 1981 playoff run, the season Moses Malone led the Rockets to their first NBA Finals.
How many championships have the Houston Rockets won?
Two, in 1993-94 and 1994-95, both under coach Rudy Tomjanovich with Hakeem Olajuwon leading the way.
