When NBA teams arrived at the Disney World “bubble” complex in July for the the restart of the 2019-20 season, they were segmented by seeding into one of three resort hotels: the Grand Destino, the Grand Floridian, and the Yacht Club. The Destino was for the eight teams seeded in the top four of their conference at the time of the NBA’s hiatus in March.
Meanwhile, the Floridian was for the eight teams seeded from five through eight, while the Yacht Club was for the six teams who entered the restart outside of the playoff picture altogether.
Though the Rockets ultimately finished No. 4 in the West for the regular season, they were No. 6 in early March, which meant a stay at the Grand Floridian. Now, after the first round of the playoffs and with only eight NBA teams left standing, nearly all are among the Destino group.
Sources: NBA teams Disney hotels based on seeding:
-Grand Destino: Bucks, Lakers, Raptors, Clippers, Celtics, Nuggets, Jazz, Heat
-Grand Floridian: Thunder, 76ers, Rockets, Pacers, Mavericks, Nets, Grizzlies, Magic
-Yacht Club: Blazers, Kings, Pelicans, Spurs, Suns, Wizards— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 16, 2020
The Rockets, after their Game 7 victory over Oklahoma City, are the lone exception. That win effectively evicted the Thunder from their Grand Floridian hotel, leaving Houston as the lone residents.
“What I’m taking pride in is that our campus which housed, I think, eight teams, now we just have one,” Houston head coach Mike D’Antoni said after his team’s Game 7 victory.
“So we’re kind of lonely over there,” he added. “But it’s a great feeling. We’ll have the whole Grand Floridian section to ourselves, so it’s good.”
In a perfect world, Disney would have the Rockets join the other seven Grand Destino teams, since that would allow them to open up more of the property to sell to the general public. And with Utah sent home following a first-round series loss, there is room for Houston to move in.
But packing up and moving is a hassle during the playoffs, so the NBA is reportedly giving the Rockets the option to stay where they are until the conference finals (should they again advance).
Also on the line in Game 7: The right to be called champions of the Grand Floridian. Houston and OKC are the only two teams left at that property. The series winner, I'm told, has the right to join everyone else in the Gran Destino … or stay put until the conference finals
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 1, 2020
According to All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, the Rockets have no interest in going anywhere. His comments from after Game 7:
I like it. We get to go back to a campus where it’s just us. No other team, just us at the Grand Floridian.
With the series victory, Westbrook and the Rockets now move on to the second round of the playoffs for a star-studded matchup versus LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Tip-off of Game 1 is set for 8:00 p.m. Central on Friday, with the game broadcast nationally on ESPN.
