1991–92 Houston Rockets season

The 1991–92 NBA season was the Rockets' 25th season in the National Basketball Association, and 21st season in the city of Houston. The Rockets started the season defeating the Los Angeles Lakers at The Summit in double-overtime 126–121, and got off to a fast start winning nine of their first twelves games. However, they would start to struggle losing five consecutive games afterwards, but managed to hold a 25–22 record at the All-Star break. By February 21, they hovered at .500 with a mediocre 26–26 record when head coach Don Chaney was fired and replaced with assistant Rudy Tomjanovich.

Under Tomjanovich, the Rockets would win eleven of their first 15 games. However, they struggled losing ten of their last 15 games, as Hakeem Olajuwon missed 12 games due to a hamstring injury, which the Rockets' management accused him of faking because of a contract dispute, and suspended him. The Rockets lost their final three games to close the season, finishing third in the Midwest Division with a 42–40 record, missing the playoffs by just one game behind the 8th-seeded Lakers, who were without All-Star guard Magic Johnson, who had retired due to HIV.

Olajuwon averaged 21.6 points, 12.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 4.3 blocks per game, while Otis Thorpe averaged 17.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Olajuwon and Thorpe were both selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game. In addition, Vernon Maxwell provided the team with 17.2 points and 4.1 assists per game, while Kenny Smith contributed 14.0 points and 6.9 assists per game, sixth man Sleepy Floyd provided with 9.1 points per game off the bench, and Buck Johnson contributed 8.6 points per game. Following the season, Johnson signed as a free agent with the Washington Bullets.

Draft picks

Main article: 1991 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School or club team
1	20	John Turner	PF	United States	Phillips
2	47	Keith Hughes	PF	United States	Rutgers
2	51	Žan Tabak	C	Croatia	KK Split (Croatia)

Roster

1991–92 Houston Rockets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
PF	50	Bullard, Matt	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1967–06–05	Iowa
SG	21	Floyd, Sleepy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1960–03–06	Georgetown
PF	7	Herrera, Carl	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1966–12–14	Houston
SG	32	Jamerson, Dave	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1967–08–13	Ohio
PG	6	Johnson, Avery	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1965–03–25	Southern
SF	1	Johnson, Buck	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1964–01–03	Alabama
SF	11	Maxwell, Vernon	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1965–09–12	Florida
C	34	Olajuwon, Hakeem	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	1963–01–21	Houston
C	15	Rollins, Tree	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	1955–06–16	Clemson
PG	30	Smith, Kenny	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1965–03–08	North Carolina
PF	13	Smith, Larry	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1958–01–18	Alcorn State
PF	33	Thorpe, Otis	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1962–08–05	Providence
PF	40	Turner, John	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	1967–11–30	Phillips

Head coach

Rudy Tomjanovich

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster
Last transaction: January 30, 1992

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	—	37–4	18–23	20–6
x-San Antonio Spurs	47	35	.573	8	31–10	16–25	18–8
Houston Rockets	42	40	.512	13	28–13	14–27	12–14
Denver Nuggets	24	58	.293	31	18–23	6–35	8–18
Dallas Mavericks	22	60	.268	33	15–26	7–34	11–15
Minnesota Timberwolves	15	67	.183	40	9–32	6–35	9–17

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Portland Trail Blazers	57	25	.695	–
2	y-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	2
3	x-Golden State Warriors	55	27	.671	2
4	x-Phoenix Suns	53	29	.646	4
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	47	35	.573	10
6	x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	10
7	x-Los Angeles Clippers	45	37	.549	12
8	x-Los Angeles Lakers	43	39	.524	14

9	Houston Rockets	42	40	.512	15
10	Sacramento Kings	29	53	.354	28
11	Denver Nuggets	24	58	.293	33
12	Dallas Mavericks	22	60	.268	35
13	Minnesota Timberwolves	15	67	.183	42

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1991-92 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	2–2	0–5	0–5	2–0	2–0	1–4	1–1	2–0	1–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	1–3	—	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	5–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1
Charlotte	2–2	1–3	—	0–4	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–4	1–1	0–2	3–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–3	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–2
Chicago	5–0	3–1	4–0	—	3–2	2–0	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	3–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0
Cleveland	5–0	1–3	3–2	2–3	—	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	5–0	1–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0
Dallas	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	—	3–2	0–2	0–4	4–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	1–4	0–2
Denver	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–3	—	0–2	0–4	2–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–4	1–3	1–5	1–1
Detroit	4–1	0–4	4–1	1–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–2	3–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Golden State	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	—	2–2	2–0	3–2	3–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	5–0	2–2	3–2	1–3	2–0
Houston	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–4	3–2	0–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	3–2	1–3	1–4	2–0
Indiana	4–1	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–5	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	—	0–2	2–0	3–1	4–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–2
L.A. Clippers	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–3	2–2	2–0	—	2–3	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–3	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–3	2–2	0–2	3–2	—	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–3	1–4	4–1	1–3	1–4	1–3	1–1
Miami	2–2	2–3	3–1	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	—	4–0	2–0	2–2	1–4	3–1	1–4	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–0
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	3–2	2–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	—	2–0	0–4	1–3	3–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Minnesota	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	1–1	0–4	2–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	0–6	0–4	2–3	0–2
New Jersey	1–3	3–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	4–0	2–0	—	2–3	3–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–3
New York	2–2	2–3	4–0	0–4	0–4	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	4–1	3–1	2–0	3–2	—	4–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–0
Orlando	2–2	0–5	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–3	1–4	—	3–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–3
Philadelphia	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	4–1	1–3	2–0	2–3	1–3	2–3	—	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	5–0
Phoenix	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–3	3–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	—	3–2	4–1	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0
Portland	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	3–2	1–3	2–0	3–2	4–1	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3	—	5–0	2–2	4–1	2–2	2–0
Sacramento	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	0–5	1–3	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–4	0–5	—	1–3	1–4	1–3	2–0
San Antonio	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	5–0	4–1	1–1	2–2	2–3	0–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	6–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	—	3–1	1–4	0–2
Seattle	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–3	3–1	2–0	3–2	4–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–3	1–4	4–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	5–1	1–1	3–1	4–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–1	1–3	—	2–0
Washington	2–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–4	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	1–3	2–0	3–2	0–4	3–2	0–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

Regular season

1991–92 game log
Total: 42–40 (Home: 28–13; Road: 14–27)

November: 9–4 (home: 7–0; road: 2–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
3	November 5	Portland	W 106–99	The Summit	2–1
4	November 7	Cleveland	W 105–86	The Summit	3–1
5	November 9	Phoenix	W 96–95	The Summit	4–1
9	November 19	New York	W 90–79	The Summit	7–2

December: 7–9 (home: 2–5; road: 5–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
17	December 7	Utah	L 91–96	The Summit	9–8
18	December 10	@ Portland	W 108–106	Memorial Coliseum	10–8
29	December 30	@ Cleveland	L 89–121	Richfield Coliseum	16–13

January: 8–6 (home: 6–2; road: 2–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
35	January 11	Seattle	W 119–115	The Summit	19–16
38	January 18	@ Utah	L 80–108	Delta Center	20–18
41	January 25	@ Chicago	L 100–114	Chicago Stadium	22–19
43	January 30	Chicago	W 105–102	The Summit	24–19

February: 6–8 (home: 5–1; road: 1–7)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
44	February 1	@ Phoenix	L 92–106	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	24–20
46	February 5	@ Boston	L 85–98	Boston Garden	25–21
47	February 6	@ New York	L 85–102	Madison Square Garden	25–22
48	February 11	@ Seattle	L 99–105	Seattle Center Coliseum	25–23
50	February 14	Boston	W 105–99	The Summit	26–24
54	February 21	@ Utah	L 97–124	Delta Center	27–27

March: 7–9 (home: 5–3; road: 2–6)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
59	March 3	@ Phoenix	L 107–112 (2OT)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	31–28
66	March 15	Utah	W 106–97	The Summit	36–30
68	March 19	Seattle	L 91–112	The Summit	37–31
70	March 24	@ Seattle	L 106–128	Seattle Center Coliseum	37–33
72	March 28	@ Portland	L 95–115	Memorial Coliseum	37–35

April: 5–4 (home: 3–2; road: 2–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
79	April 14	Portland	W 108–96	The Summit	42–37
80	April 15	@ Utah	L 98–130	Delta Center	42–38
82	April 19	Phoenix	L 97–100	The Summit	42–40

1991–92 schedule

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

NOTE: Please write the players statistics in alphabetical order by last name.

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Matt Bullard	80	7	16.0	.459	.386	.760	2.8	.9	.3	.3	6.4
Sleepy Floyd	82	3	20.3	.406	.301	.794	1.8	2.9	.7	.3	9.1
Dan Godfread	1	0	2.0				.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Gerald Henderson	8	0	4.3	.364	.000	.667	.3	.6	.0	.0	1.5
Carl Herrera	43	7	13.2	.516	.000	.568	2.3	.6	.4	.6	4.4
Dave Jamerson	48	0	7.9	.414	.286	.926	.9	.7	.4	.0	4.0
Avery Johnson	49	1	15.8	.464	.300	.609	.9	3.4	.8	.1	5.1
Buck Johnson	80	69	27.5	.458	.111	.727	3.9	2.0	.9	.6	8.6
Vernon Maxwell	80	80	33.8	.413	.342	.772	3.0	4.1	1.3	.4	17.2
Hakeem Olajuwon	70	69	37.7	.502	.000	.766	12.1	2.2	1.8	4.3	21.6
Tree Rollins	59	5	11.8	.535		.867	2.9	.3	.2	1.1	2.0
Kenny Smith	81	80	33.8	.475	.394	.866	2.2	6.9	1.3	.1	14.0
Larry Smith	45	7	17.8	.543	.000	.364	5.7	.7	.5	.2	2.3
Otis Thorpe	82	82	37.3	.592	.000	.657	10.5	3.0	.6	.5	17.3
John Turner	42	0	8.2	.439		.525	1.9	.3	.1	.1	2.8
Kennard Winchester	4	0	4.3	.333			.0	.0	.0	.0	.5

References

1991-92 Houston Rockets
Heisler, Mark (November 2, 1991). "Perkins Is Hurt; Lakers Beaten in Double Overtime: Pro Basketball: Worthy's Three-Pointers Help L.A. Stay in It, But Rockets Prevail, 126-121". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
"Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets Box Score, November 1, 1991". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
"NBA Games Played on February 6, 1992". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
"Struggling Rockets Fire Chaney as Their Coach". Los Angeles Times. February 19, 1992. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
"Rockets Fire Coach Don Chaney". United Press International. February 18, 1992. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
"Tomjanovich Gets Rockets Head Coaching Job". United Press International. May 20, 1992. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
"SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Olajuwon Suspended for His Failure to Play". The New York Times. March 24, 1992. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
"Houston Suspends Olajuwon". Los Angeles Times. Staff and Wire Reports. March 24, 1992. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
"Rockets Suspend Hakeem for Refusing to Play Ball". Deseret News. Associated Press. March 24, 1992. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
Hafner, Dan (March 25, 1992). "NBA ROUNDUP: Olajuwon Sits Out Again and Rockets Lose Again". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
"1991–92 Houston Rockets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
Stevenson, Richard W. (November 8, 1991). "BASKETBALL; Magic Johnson Ends His Career, Saying He Has AIDS Infection". The New York Times. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
Brown, Clifton (November 8, 1991). "BASKETBALL; A Career of Impact, a Player with Heart". The New York Times. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
Heisler, Mark (November 8, 1991). "Magic Johnson's Career Ended by HIV-Positive Test: Sports: The Announcement Stuns His Public. The Lakers Star Emphasizes That He Does Not Have AIDS. 'I Plan to Go on Living for a Long Time,' He Says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
"Magic Blames Weakness in Numbers: HIV: He Says He Can't Pinpoint When He Was Infected, Because There Were Many Women. He Says He Had No Homosexual Experiences". Los Angeles Times. November 13, 1991. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
Heisler, Mark (February 9, 1992). "Comeback or Farewell, a Magical All-Star Game". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
"1992 NBA All-Star Game: West 153, East 113". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
"1991–92 Houston Rockets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
Aldridge, David (September 22, 1992). "Johnson Set to Sign on Bullets' Frontline". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
"SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Bullets Sign Buck Johnson, a Free Agent". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 23, 1992. Retrieved December 15, 2021.

1991–92 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Miami New Jersey New York Orlando Philadelphia Washington
Central	Atlanta Charlotte Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee

Western

Midwest	Dallas Denver Houston Minnesota San Antonio Utah
Pacific	Golden State L.A. Clippers L.A. Lakers Phoenix Portland Sacramento Seattle

v t e Houston Rockets
Founded in 1967 Played in San Diego (1967–1971) Based in Houston, Texas
Franchise	History All-time roster Draft history 1967 Records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Pechanga Arena Hofheinz Pavilion Astrodome HemisFair Arena The Summit/Compaq Center Toyota Center
Personnel	Owner(s) Tilman Fertitta President Gretchen Sheirr General manager Rafael Stone Head coach Ime Udoka
G League affiliate	Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Retired numbers	11 22 23 24 34 44 45
NBA championships	1994 1995
Rivalries	Dallas Mavericks San Antonio Spurs Utah Jazz
Culture and lore	Red Rowdies ClutchFans Clutch City Clutch the Rockets Bear Dancing Barry The Kiss of Death The Dream Shake 13 points in 35 seconds 22 wins in a row The Year of the Yao June 17th, 1994 27 consecutive 3-pointers missed