The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member club of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center, located in downtown Houston. The Rockets have won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles. The team was established as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego, California, in 1967. In 1971, the Rockets moved to Houston.
After the roster moves made by Morey during the 2012 NBA offseason,[109] only four players were left from the 2011–12 Rockets roster: Chandler Parsons, Greg Smith, Marcus Morris and Patrick Patterson,[110] with the latter two leaving through trades during the 2012-13 NBA season.[109] The most important acquisition was reigning sixth man of the year James Harden, who Morey called a "foundational" player which he expected to be Houston's featured player after a supporting role in the Oklahoma City Thunder.[111] Harden caused an immediate impact as part of the starting lineup for the Rockets, with 37 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and a block in the season opener against the Detroit Pistons,[112] and an average of 25.9 points a game through the season. Combining Harden's performance and McHale's up-tempo offense, the Rockets became one of the highest scoring offenses in the NBA, leading the league in scoring for the majority of the season.[109][113] In the post-season, the Rockets fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round, losing the series 4–2