Led by Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon at No. 12, the Houston Rockets have the third-most players of any team on ESPN’s new list of the Top 74 NBA players of all-time, as decided by a media panel.
Other Rockets standouts with high placements include Moses Malone, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook. The former league MVPs came in at No. 18, No. 32, and No. 42 on the list, respectively.
Other players on the ESPN list to have played in Houston included Tracy McGrady, Elvin Hayes, Dikembe Mutombo, Clyde Drexler, Chris Paul, Charles Barkley, Rick Barry, and Scottie Pippen.
In all, of the 74 players ranked by ESPN, 12 had played for the Rockets at some point in their career. Only the Celtics and Lakers, with 17 players each, had more representation on the list.
As determined by games played with the franchise, the Rockets came in fourth with a combined 4,162 games among those 12 players. That total trailed the Celtics (9,080), Lakers (8,376), and the San Antonio Spurs, who had 6,506 games played among their 11 listed players.
By either metric, the Rockets were in the top four of the league’s 30 teams when it comes to starpower. Check out the HoopsHype story for the full rundown of where each team stacks up.
