First round: ’15 Harden vs. ’05 McGrady / ’93 Olajuwon vs. ’01 Francis / ’18 Harden vs. ’89 Olajuwon / ’82 Malone vs. ’74 Tomjanovich / ’19 Harden vs. ’13 Harden / ’17 Harden vs. ’14 Harden / ’94 Olajuwon vs. ’16 Harden / ’79 Malone vs. ’81 Malone
Over their 53 years in existence, the Rockets are among the NBA’s most successful franchises by nearly any metric.
Houston ranks in the league’s all-time Top 10 in wins and winning percentage by franchise. They’ve won the NBA Finals on multiple occasions (1994, 1995) and the Western Conference four different times, along with seven division titles and 33 total playoff appearances.
Individual greatness has largely driven their team success. The Rockets have had three players win MVP in a Houston uniform (Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, James Harden), and they’ve had 62 total All-Star selections. They have six retired numbers, with Olajuwon and Malone joined by Calvin Murphy, Rudy Tomjanovich, Clyde Drexler, and Yao Ming.
All are among the 12 Hall of Famers to have played for the Rockets, and recent stars such as Harden, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, and Dwight Howard will further add to that list in the years ahead. But of all those NBA legends, who has had the greatest individual season of all? Rockets Wire aims to answer that question, with your help.
Methodology: In an effort to be as neutral as possible, the 16 seedings are ranked by Win Shares, as listed on Basketball Reference. These Win Shares are based on statistics during each regular season, rather than the playoffs. However, if you’d like to add playoff performance in that year to your criteria, that’s absolutely your prerogative! The suspended 2019-20 season is not included, as we hope it resumes at some point.
Without further delay, let the balloting begin. First-round voting will continue until Wednesday night. Vote early and often!
First round: 2014-15 James Harden vs. 2004-05 Tracy McGrady
No. 1 seed: 2014-15 James Harden: 27.4 points (44.0% FG, 37.5% 3-pointers), 7.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 steals per game
Harden’s 2014-15 season is perhaps best remembered for how he picked up the slack for issues around him. Co-star Dwight Howard missed 41 games in the regular season, and starters Pat Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas each had their seasons end early due to injury. Veteran castoffs like Pablo Prigioni and Jason Terry were thrust into key roles.
Nonetheless, largely due to Harden’s leadership, the often shorthanded Rockets still went 56-26 in the regular season and earned the No. 2 seed in the West. They won Houston’s first division title in 21 years, and then advanced in the playoffs to the franchise’s first Western Conference Finals in 18 years. Harden posted 4.2 defensive win shares that year, which remains the most of his career, and his 61.8% true shooting percentage is the second-highest of Harden’s eight seasons in Houston.
After the 2014-15 season concluded, “The Beard” was voted by fellow NBA players as the league’s MVP.
No. 16 seed: 2004-05 Tracy McGrady: 25.7 points (43.1% FG, 32.6% 3-pointers), 6.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.7 steals per game
Considering that back and knee issues limited McGrady’s prime, it probably isn’t a surprise that McGrady’s best year in Houston was his first one. McGrady’s 78 games played were by far the most of any of his six seasons played in Houston, and his scoring average and efficiency marks were at or near the top of his Houston tenure, too.
Led by McGrady, the Rockets improved by six games (45-37 to 51-31) in the Western Conference standings and moved up from the No. 7 seed to No. 5. They lost in seven games in the first round to rival Dallas.
First round: 1992-93 Hakeem Olajuwon vs. 2000-01 Steve Francis
No. 2 seed: 1992-93 Hakeem Olajuwon: 26.1 points (52.9% FG), 13.0 rebounds, 4.2 blocks, 3.5 assists per game
The Rockets didn’t win the NBA title until a year later, but it was 1992-93 that put Houston on the map as a contender. Led by their star center, the Rockets improved from 42-40 and missing the playoffs in 1991-92 to 55-27 and tied for second place. In the playoffs, they lost a very tight second-round series to Seattle in an overtime Game 7 on the road.
Olajuwon’s 52.9% shooting, as well as his 13.0 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game, were higher than in either of the two ensuing title seasons. “The Dream” finished second to Charles Barkley in 1993 MVP voting.
No. 15 seed: 2000-01 Steve Francis: 19.9 points (45.1% FG, 39.6% 3-pointers), 6.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.8 steals per game
In a loaded 2000-01 Western Conference, even a 45-37 season wasn’t quite enough to get the Rockets into the playoffs. But led by the springy second-year point guard out of Maryland, it represented a significant improvement of 11 games over the previous campaign and was Houston’s first winning season since 1996-97.
The 39.6% clip on 3-pointers was the best by Francis over his five seasons in Houston, and it came on his peak volume at 4.2 attempts per game. He also averaged the fewest turnovers (3.3) of his Rockets tenure.
First round: ’15 Harden vs. ’05 McGrady / ’93 Olajuwon vs. ’01 Francis / ’18 Harden vs. ’89 Olajuwon / ’82 Malone vs. ’74 Tomjanovich / ’19 Harden vs. ’13 Harden / ’17 Harden vs. ’14 Harden / ’94 Olajuwon vs. ’16 Harden / ’79 Malone vs. ’81 Malone
First round: 2017-18 James Harden vs. 1988-89 Hakeem Olajuwon
No. 3 seed: 2017-18 James Harden: 30.4 points (44.9% FG, 36.7% 3-pointers), 8.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals per game
This was Harden’s lone MVP season as voted on by media, and it was also the most successful Rockets season by record (65-17) in franchise history. His new partnership with Chris Paul paid immediate dividends, and the Rockets cruised to the West’s No. 1 seed in the regular season.
While Harden’s win shares for the season are below his 2014-15 campaign, that’s primarily because he missed 10 games with minor injuries in 2017-18. Adjusted for minutes played (WS/48), 2017-18 remains the best individual season of Harden’s NBA career, and his 61.9% true shooting percentage is the best of his eight seasons in Houston.
In the playoffs, the 2017-18 Rockets appeared poised to knock off defending champion Golden State and secure the franchise’s first NBA crown in over 20 years… right up until Paul’s hamstring went out late in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, with Houston up 3-2 in the series. The Warriors rallied to win the series after Paul’s exit, but that season clearly showed that the Harden-led Rockets could win a title.
No. 14 seed: 1988-89 Hakeem Olajuwon: 24.8 points (50.8% FG), 13.5 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, 2.6 steals per game
The 1988-89 season was one of transition for the Rockets. Within the past year, multiple big names from the 1985-86 NBA Finals team such as Ralph Sampson, Robert Reid, Rodney McCray had moved on to other teams, leaving Olajuwon as the franchise’s clear centerpiece.
Led by “The Dream,” who played in all 82 games, the Rockets went 45-37 and finished No. 5 in the West. Houston didn’t yet have the optimal supporting cast that it would by the early 1990s, but Olajuwon’s showing offered strong evidence that he was capable of anchoring a championship contender in the years ahead with better personnel.
First round: ’15 Harden vs. ’05 McGrady / ’93 Olajuwon vs. ’01 Francis / ’18 Harden vs. ’89 Olajuwon / ’82 Malone vs. ’74 Tomjanovich / ’19 Harden vs. ’13 Harden / ’17 Harden vs. ’14 Harden / ’94 Olajuwon vs. ’16 Harden / ’79 Malone vs. ’81 Malone
First round: 1981-82 Moses Malone vs. 1973-74 Rudy Tomjanovich
No. 4 seed: 1981-82 Moses Malone: 31.1 points (51.9% FG), 14.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks per game
The 6-foot-10 big man led the NBA in rebounding and was second in scoring, earning him yet another MVP award. Unfortunately for Houston, it also led to Malone earning a huge contract offer from Philadelphia in free agency after the season, which Houston said it couldn’t match.
In many respects, Malone’s final season was the end of an era, with Hall of Famers Calvin Murphy and Rudy Tomjanovich each retiring soon after that campaign. The 1981-82 Rockets were coming off the franchise’s first NBA Finals berth in the previous season, but they finished 46-36 in 1981-82 and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
With the roster in transition, Houston had losing seasons in each of the next two years and earned the NBA Draft’s No. 1 overall pick in 1983 and 1984. Those picks were used on Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon, which set them up for the next generation. But in a franchise known for its “Legacy of Bigs,” it was Malone who came before them.
No. 13 seed: 1973-74 Rudy Tomjanovich: 24.5 points (53.6% FG), 9.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists per game
The Rockets were still in their relative infancy in 1973-74, seeing as how it was just their seventh season overall and only the franchise’s third in Houston. They had yet to even achieve a .500 campaign.
But even in a 32-50 season, Tomjanovich and Calvin Murphy showed there were better days ahead. “Rudy T” led the team in scoring and shooting percentage, and he was second in rebounding. That set the table for a breakthrough in the next season (1974-75), when Houston hit .500 for the first time and won its first playoff series.
First round: ’15 Harden vs. ’05 McGrady / ’93 Olajuwon vs. ’01 Francis / ’18 Harden vs. ’89 Olajuwon / ’82 Malone vs. ’74 Tomjanovich / ’19 Harden vs. ’13 Harden / ’17 Harden vs. ’14 Harden / ’94 Olajuwon vs. ’16 Harden / ’79 Malone vs. ’81 Malone
First round: 2018-19 James Harden vs. 2012-13 James Harden
No. 5 seed: 2018-19 James Harden: 36.1 points (44.2% FG, 36.8% 3-pointers), 7.5 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 steals per game
Fresh off the winningest season in franchise history and coming up just one game short of the NBA Finals, the 2018-19 Rockets entered the season with championship expectations. They then got off to a rocky 11-14 start and lost co-star Chris Paul to a Grade 2 hamstring pull, leaving some to wonder if they’d even make the playoffs at all.
Harden wasn’t interested in that talk. His 36.1 points per game scoring average was a personal career-best and the most by any NBA player in over 30 years. Harden registered a historic streak of 32 straight games scoring 30 or more points, which took place largely during Paul’s absence. That remains the second-longest such streak in NBA history, and 2018-19 is remembered as Harden’s peak scoring season — at least so far.
Harden’s 36.8% clip on 3-pointers was especially impressive, considering his NBA-record volume of 12.9 attempts per game from behind the arc. (That, of course, reflects Houston’s increasingly 3-point heavy attack endorsed by head coach Mike D’Antoni and GM Daryl Morey.)
Houston finished the season 42-15 over its final 57 regular-season games, helping lift them from the West’s No. 14 seed at their lowest point to the No. 4 seed (and almost the No. 2). They lost in six games in the second round of the playoffs to eventual West champion Golden State, and Harden finished second in MVP voting to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
No. 12 seed: 2012-13 James Harden: 25.9 points (43.8% FG, 36.8% 3-pointers), 5.8 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 1.8 steals per game
Since the Rockets had traded for Harden only days before the 2012-13 season opener, the question was whether his extremely efficient production as a sixth man and the No. 3 option in Oklahoma City was scalable to a role as the clear superstar in Houston. No other player on the 2012-13 Rockets ever made an NBA All-Star team.
With a combined 82 points on 64% shooting in his first two games, the Rockets quickly got their answer. With barely a practice under his belt, Harden made it clear that it was his team. The Rockets finished 45-37 that season and earned a playoff spot for the first time in four years, and the team’s future outlook was as bright as it had been in a very long time.
Harden averaged over 10 free throws per game for the first time in 2012-13, which showed he was durable enough to put up numbers while still taking a pounding due to the workload. As of today, Harden has exceeded 10 free throws per game in seven of his eight years in Houston.
First round: ’15 Harden vs. ’05 McGrady / ’93 Olajuwon vs. ’01 Francis / ’18 Harden vs. ’89 Olajuwon / ’82 Malone vs. ’74 Tomjanovich / ’19 Harden vs. ’13 Harden / ’17 Harden vs. ’14 Harden / ’94 Olajuwon vs. ’16 Harden / ’79 Malone vs. ’81 Malone
First round: 2016-17 James Harden vs. 2013-14 James Harden
No. 6 seed: 2016-17 James Harden: 29.1 points (44.0% FG, 34.7% 3-pointers), 11.2 assists, 8.1 rebounds, 1.5 steals per game
When offensive mastermind Mike D’Antoni took the job as Houston coach prior to the 2016-17 season, many wondered how his scheme might work with the Rockets — whose roster didn’t have a traditional point guard in the mold of Steve Nash on those 2000s Phoenix teams.
Before the season even began, though, D’Antoni made it clear that he thought Harden was capable of doing that job. While some NBA fans were skeptical due to Harden’s high career usage rates, astute observers knew he was a gifted and willing passer. From there, Harden’s first season with D’Antoni proved it, as his career-high 11.2 assists total led the NBA.
Though the Rockets had lost Dwight Howard in free agency and didn’t have a single career All-Star besides Harden on the roster, the 2016-17 squad went 55-27 and earned the West’s No. 3 seed — representing a massive improvement from the 41-41 No. 8 seed of a year earlier.
Harden finished second in MVP voting to former (and future) teammate Russell Westbrook, but “The Beard” won the most important battle between them. That’s because the Rockets eliminated Westbrook’s Thunder by a convincing 4-1 margin in the first round of the playoffs.
No. 11 seed: 2013-14 James Harden: 25.4 points (45.6% FG, 36.6% 3-pointers), 6.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals per game
The first year of Harden’s partnership with All-Star center Dwight Howard saw Houston make a nine-game improvement, from 45-37 (No. 8 seed) in the 2012-13 season to 54-28 (No. 4) in 2013-14. Likely benefiting from Howard’s presence, Harden’s 45.6% shooting clip is still the best of his eight seasons to date in Houston.
Though Harden’s usage rate went down from 29.0% in his 2012-13 debut season in Houston to 27.8% in 2013-14, his assist percentage climbed from 25.7% to 27.3%. His true shooting percentage, which incorporates free throws, rose from 60.0% to 61.8%. That figure remains Harden’s second-highest over his Houston tenure.
First round: ’15 Harden vs. ’05 McGrady / ’93 Olajuwon vs. ’01 Francis / ’18 Harden vs. ’89 Olajuwon / ’82 Malone vs. ’74 Tomjanovich / ’19 Harden vs. ’13 Harden / ’17 Harden vs. ’14 Harden / ’94 Olajuwon vs. ’16 Harden / ’79 Malone vs. ’81 Malone
First round: 1993-94 Hakeem Olajuwon vs. 2015-16 James Harden
No. 7 seed: 1993-94 Hakeem Olajuwon: 27.3 points (52.8% FG), 11.9 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals per game
After losing a hard-fought road Game 7 in overtime in the 1992 NBA playoffs to Seattle, the Rockets knew they were capable of winning a title. Led by Olajuwon, they made a big statement as to their readiness with a 15-0 start to 1993-94, which was tied at the time for the longest unbeaten streak in NBA history to begin a season. They finished at 58-24, representing what was then the most wins in one season in team history.
Olajuwon’s 27.3 points per game average was the second-most of his Hall of Fame career, and he did it with strong durability at 80 games played. Most important, of course, is that Olajuwon’s production fully carried over into the playoffs. “The Dream” led the NBA in playoff scoring at 28.9 points per game, and his Rockets went on to win their first NBA championship in June 1994.
Olajuwon was awarded the NBA’s regular-season MVP in 1994 for the first and only time of his 18-year career, and he also won the NBA Finals MVP award — which he did again in 1995, as Houston took its second title.
No. 10 seed: 2015-16 James Harden: 29.0 points (43.9% FG, 35.9% 3-pointers), 7.5 assists, 6.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals per game
Harden’s points per game, assists, and rebounds all rose to career-high levels in 2015-16, and he played all 82 games for the first time as a Rocket. Harden also led the NBA in minutes at 38.1 per game, showcasing his remarkable durability.
The bad news is that Harden had to play that many minutes just to get the Rockets into the playoffs at all. After finishing 2014-15 at 56-26 and the West’s No. 2 seed, which led to a Western Conference Finals berth, they slid to 41-41 and the No. 8 seed in 2015-16. Head coach Kevin McHale was fired after a disappointing 4-7 start, and interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff leaned heavily on Harden to keep them afloat.
The high minutes also seemed to take a toll on Harden’s defense, with his 2015-16 defensive win shares (2.6) the lowest of his Houston tenure.
It was enough to get Houston to the playoffs, but they lost in the first round to the defending champion Warriors. It took until that offseason — with the hiring of Mike D’Antoni, departure of Dwight Howard, and the roster’s retooling with shooters like Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson — for Harden and the Rockets to get back on track as a title contender.
First round: ’15 Harden vs. ’05 McGrady / ’93 Olajuwon vs. ’01 Francis / ’18 Harden vs. ’89 Olajuwon / ’82 Malone vs. ’74 Tomjanovich / ’19 Harden vs. ’13 Harden / ’17 Harden vs. ’14 Harden / ’94 Olajuwon vs. ’16 Harden / ’79 Malone vs. ’81 Malone
First round: 1978-79 Moses Malone vs. 1980-81 Moses Malone
No. 8 seed: 1978-79 Moses Malone: 24.8 points (54.0% FG), 17.6 rebounds, 1.5 blocks per game
Malone earned his first of three MVP awards in 1978-79, and his 17.6 rebounds per game average was the best of his Hall of Fame career.
Most importantly, the Rockets had a major breakthrough as a team — going from 28-54 in the prior season to 47-35 and fourth place in the Eastern Conference. (The Rockets moved back to the West before the 1980-81 season, where they’ve remained since.) That total of 47 wins in 1978-79 was the second-most in the first 17 years of the franchise.
No. 9 seed: 1980-81 Moses Malone: 27.8 points (52.2% FG), 14.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks per game
Though Malone led the league in rebounding in 1980-81 and was again among its top scorers as well, the team appeared to stagnate. At 40-42, it was Houston’s first losing season in three years.
In the playoffs, however, it all changed. Led by Malone and Calvin Murphy, the sixth-seeded Rockets stunningly won the Western Conference and made the NBA Finals for the first time in team history.
First round: ’15 Harden vs. ’05 McGrady / ’93 Olajuwon vs. ’01 Francis / ’18 Harden vs. ’89 Olajuwon / ’82 Malone vs. ’74 Tomjanovich / ’19 Harden vs. ’13 Harden / ’17 Harden vs. ’14 Harden / ’94 Olajuwon vs. ’16 Harden / ’79 Malone vs. ’81 Malone
First-round voting continues until Wednesday night. Keep checking back with Rockets Wire for results and future rounds!
