1996–97 Houston Rockets season

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Rockets' 30th season in the National Basketball Association, and 26th season in Houston. During the off-season, the Rockets acquired All-Star forward Charles Barkley from the Phoenix Suns, and signed free agents Kevin Willis, Brent Price, undrafted rookie guard Matt Maloney, and re-signed former Rockets forward and three-point specialist Matt Bullard, who was a member of the championship team from the 1994 NBA Finals.

The Rockets began the season with a 21–2 start, but later on struggled posting a six-game losing streak between January and February, and held a 32–16 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team signed free agents Eddie Johnson and Sedale Threatt, as the Rockets won 14 of their final 17 games, finishing second in the Midwest Division with a 57–25 record.

Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 23.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and finished in seventh place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Barkley averaged 19.2 points and 13.5 rebounds per game, but only played 53 games due to ankle and hip injuries, and Clyde Drexler provided the team with 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game, but only played 62 games due to a hamstring injury. Olajuwon, Barkley, Drexler and head coach Rudy Tomjanovich all represented the Western Conference during the 1997 NBA All-Star Game. However, Barkley and Drexler did not play due to injuries; it was also the final All-Star selections for Olajuwon, Barkley and Drexler.

In addition, Mario Elie contributed 11.7 points per game, while Willis provided with 11.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, and Maloney contributed 9.4 points per game, led the team with 154 three-point field goals, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

In the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Rockets swept the Minnesota Timberwolves in three straight games. In the Western Conference Semi-finals, they jumped out to a 3–1 series lead over the Seattle SuperSonics. However, the Sonics would win the next two games to even the series at three games a piece. The Rockets would win Game 7 and advanced to the Western Conference finals, where they faced regular season MVP Karl Malone, John Stockton and the Utah Jazz. The Jazz won the first two games at home, but the Rockets would even the series at two games a piece as Johnson hit a three-point buzzer beater to win Game 4, 95–92 at home. However, the Rockets would lose to the Jazz in six games. The Jazz lost in the NBA Finals to the defending champion Chicago Bulls in six games.

Following the season, Threatt retired and three-point specialist Sam Mack was traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies. The Rockets did not reach the conference finals again until 2015, where they were defeated by the Golden State Warriors in five games.

Offseason

During the 1996 offseason, Charles Barkley was traded from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mark Bryant, and Chucky Brown. Barkley chose Houston specifically because he hoped to win an NBA Championship with the team.

Draft picks

Main article: 1996 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	30	Othella Harrington	PF/C	United States	Georgetown
2	42	Randy Livingston	SG/PG	United States	LSU
2	50	Terrell Bell	C	United States	Georgia

Roster

1996–97 Houston Rockets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
F	4	Barkley, Charles	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	252 lb (114 kg)	1963–02–20	Auburn
F	50	Bullard, Matt	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1967–06–05	Iowa
G	15	Davis, Emanual	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1968–08–27	Delaware State
G	22	Drexler, Clyde	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1962–06–22	Houston
G/F	17	Elie, Mario	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1963–11–26	American International
F	32	Harrington, Othella	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1974–01–31	Georgetown
G/F	8	Johnson, Eddie	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1959–05–01	Illinois
F/C	27	Jones, Charles	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1957–04–03	Albany State
G	3	Livingston, Randy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	1975–04–02	LSU
F	5	Mack, Sam	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1970–05–26	Houston
G	12	Maloney, Matt	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	1971–12–06	Penn
C	34	Olajuwon, Hakeem	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	1963–01–21	Houston
G	20	Price, Brent	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1968–12–09	Oklahoma
G	2	Threatt, Sedale	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1961–09–10	West Virginia Tech
F/C	42	Willis, Kevin	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1962–09–06	Michigan State

Head coach

Rudy Tomjanovich

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Roster

Regular season

In his first game with the Houston Rockets, Charles Barkley got 33 rebounds, a career high.

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Utah Jazz	64	18	.780	–	38–3	26–15	19–5
x-Houston Rockets	57	25	.695	7	30–11	27–14	19–5
x-Minnesota Timberwolves	40	42	.488	24	25–16	15–26	16–8
Dallas Mavericks	24	58	.293	40	14–27	10–31	9–15
Denver Nuggets	21	61	.256	43	12–29	9–32	7–17
San Antonio Spurs	20	62	.244	44	12–29	8–33	8–16
Vancouver Grizzlies	14	68	.171	50	8–33	6–35	6–18

1996–97 NBA West standings
#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Utah Jazz	64	18	.780	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	57	25	.695	7
3	x-Houston Rockets	57	25	.695	7
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	8
5	x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	15
6	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	40	42	.488	24
7	x-Phoenix Suns	40	42	.488	24
8	x-Los Angeles Clippers	36	46	.439	28

9	Sacramento Kings	34	48	.415	30
10	Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	34
11	Dallas Mavericks	24	58	.293	40
12	Denver Nuggets	21	61	.256	43
13	San Antonio Spurs	20	62	.244	44
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	14	68	.171	50

c – clinched conference title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1996–97 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	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–1
Boston	1–3	—	0–4	0–4	1–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–4
Charlotte	3–1	4–0	—	0–4	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–2	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Chicago	3–1	4–0	4–0	—	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–1
Cleveland	1–3	2–1	1–3	1–3	—	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	4–0	1–3	2–2	3–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–3
Dallas	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	3–1	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–1	0–4	3–1	1–1
Detroit	3–1	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–0	4–0	1–2	2–2	2–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	4–0
Golden State	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	0–2	—	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	1–3	4–0	0–4	2–0	0–4	3–1	0–2
Houston	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	—	1–1	3–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0
Indiana	1–3	2–1	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–3
L.A. Clippers	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	3–1	1–3	0–2	—	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–0	1–3	4–0	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–3	1–1	2–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	2–0
Miami	2–1	4–0	2–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Milwaukee	0–4	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	—	0–2	2–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–3
Minnesota	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	0–4	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–3	4–0	1–1
New Jersey	1–3	4–0	0–4	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–2	0–2	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–3	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
Orlando	1–3	4–0	2–1	0–3	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–3	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–3
Philadelphia	0–4	3–1	0–4	0–4	0–3	0–2	1–1	1–2	0–2	0–2	0–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–3	2–2	—	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	2–0	1–3
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	—	1–3	4–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1
Portland	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	—	2–2	4–0	1–3	0–2	2–2	4–0	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	2–0	4–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	1–1	0–4	4–0	0–2
San Antonio	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	—	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
Seattle	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–3	1–1	3–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	—	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0
Toronto	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	3–0	0–3	0–4	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	1–1	2–2
Utah	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	—	4–0	2–0
Vancouver	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	0–4	1–1	0–4	—	1–1
Washington	1–2	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	0–4	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	—

Game log

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Team points	Opponent score	Record	Streak	OT
1	November 1	vs Sacramento	Win	96	85	1-0	Won 1
2	November 2	at Phoenix	Win	110	95	2-0	Won 2
3	November 4	at Utah	Win	75	72	3-0	Won 3
4	November 5	at Sacramento	Win	102	80	4-0	Won 4
5	November 7	at Denver	Win	110	108	5-0	Won 5	OT
6	November 9	vs Utah	Win	91	85	6-0	Won 6
7	November 12	vs LA Lakers	Loss	115	126	6-1	Lost 1	2OT
8	November 14	vs Indiana	Win	90	88	7-1	Won 1
9	November 16	vs Golden State	Win	115	103	8-1	Won 2
10	November 19	vs Minnesota	Win	122	93	9-1	Won 3
11	November 21	vs Phoenix	Win	115	105	10-1	Won 4
12	November 23	at Golden State	Win	120	115	11-1	Won 5	OT
13	November 24	at LA Lakers	Win	90	85	12-1	Won 6
14	November 26	vs Portland	Win	102	101	13-1	Won 7	OT
15	November 29	at Boston	Win	120	94	14-1	Won 8
16	November 30	at Washington	Win	103	99	15-1	Won 9
17	December 2	at Toronto	Loss	89	100	15-2	Lost 1
18	December 4	vs Boston	Win	94	89	16-2	Won 1
19	December 7	vs Philadelphia	Win	123	108	17-2	Won 2
20	December 10	at Minnesota	Win	96	94	18-2	Won 3
21	December 12	vs Detroit	Win	115	96	19-2	Won 4
22	December 14	at Seattle	Win	109	100	20-2	Won 5
23	December 15	at Portland	Win	99	89	21-2	Won 6
24	December 17	at Vancouver	Loss	92	93	21-3	Lost 1
25	December 19	vs San Antonio	Loss	101	115	21-4	Lost 2
26	December 21	vs Miami	Loss	66	86	21-5	Lost 3
27	December 23	vs Milwaukee	Loss	76	81	21-6	Lost 4
28	December 26	at Milwaukee	Win	101	90	22-6	Won 1
29	December 28	vs Golden State	Win	104	95	23-6	Won 2
30	December 30	vs Seattle	Win	99	91	24-6	Won 3
31	January 2	vs Portland	Loss	96	112	24-7	Lost 1
32	January 4	vs LA Clippers	Loss	91	95	24-8	Lost 2
33	January 7	at Minnesota	Win	104	95	25-8	Won 1
34	January 8	at Cleveland	Win	81	78	26-8	Won 2
35	January 10	at Philadelphia	Win	120	99	27-8	Won 3
36	January 11	at Chicago	Loss	86	110	27-9	Lost 1
37	January 14	vs New York	Win	106	86	28-9	Won 1
38	January 16	vs Sacramento	Win	89	80	29-9	Won 2
39	January 17	at Dallas	Win	88	78	30-9	Won 3
40	January 19	vs Chicago	Win	102	86	31-9	Won 4
41	January 21	at Charlotte	Loss	108	114	31-10	Lost 1
42	January 23	vs New Jersey	Win	111	104	32-10	Won 1
43	January 25	vs Utah	Loss	100	105	32-11	Lost 1	OT
44	January 30	vs Denver	Loss	109	113	32-12	Lost 2
45	January 31	at Indiana	Loss	74	100	32-13	Lost 3
46	February 2	at Orlando	Loss	90	103	32-14	Lost 4
47	February 4	at New York	Loss	95	99	32-15	Lost 5
48	February 6	at Detroit	Loss	87	96	32-16	Lost 6
49	February 11	vs Vancouver	Win	106	97	33-16	Won 1
50	February 14	at Seattle	Loss	85	105	33-17	Lost 1
51	February 15	at Portland	Loss	105	109	33-18	Lost 2
52	February 17	vs Atlanta	Win	127	98	34-18	Won 1
53	February 20	vs Toronto	Win	107	97	35-18	Won 2
54	February 21	at Atlanta	Loss	74	76	35-19	Lost 1
55	February 23	vs San Antonio	Win	95	85	36-19	Won 1
56	February 25	vs LA Lakers	Win	100	96	37-19	Won 2
57	February 27	vs Charlotte	Loss	95	106	37-20	Lost 1
58	March 1	vs Dallas	Win	89	80	38-20	Won 1
59	March 4	at LA Clippers	Win	113	109	39-20	Won 2
60	March 5	at Golden State	Win	90	85	40-20	Won 3
61	March 7	at LA Lakers	Win	111	90	41-20	Won 4
62	March 9	at Dallas	Win	88	83	42-20	Won 5
63	March 11	at San Antonio	Win	103	79	43-20	Won 6
64	March 12	vs Orlando	Loss	95	96	43-21	Lost 1
65	March 16	at Miami	Loss	80	101	43-22	Lost 2
66	March 18	at New Jersey	Win	97	89	44-22	Won 1
67	March 20	vs Washington	Win	96	90	45-22	Won 2
68	March 22	vs Phoenix	Loss	99	104	45-23	Lost 1
69	March 25	vs Minnesota	Win	112	103	46-23	Won 1
70	March 27	vs Cleveland	Win	107	89	47-23	Won 2
71	March 29	vs Denver	Win	120	105	48-23	Won 3
72	April 1	at Denver	Win	116	99	49-23	Won 4
73	April 2	at Phoenix	Loss	96	109	49-24	Lost 1
74	April 4	at Sacramento	Win	108	94	50-24	Won 1
75	April 6	at Vancouver	Win	94	85	51-24	Won 2
76	April 8	at LA Clippers	Win	127	117	52-24	Won 3
77	April 10	vs Vancouver	Win	102	94	53-24	Won 4
78	April 11	at Utah	Loss	83	104	53-25	Lost 1
79	April 13	vs Seattle	Win	113	73	54-25	Won 1
80	April 15	vs LA Clippers	Win	123	119	55-25	Won 2
81	April 18	vs Dallas	Win	112	102	56-25	Won 3	OT
82	April 20	at San Antonio	Win	103	99	57-25	Won 4

Playoffs

1997 playoff game log

First Round: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 24	Minnesota	W 112–95	Mario Elie (21)	Kevin Willis (13)	Clyde Drexler (8)	The Summit 16,285	1–0
2	April 26	Minnesota	W 96–84	Charles Barkley (20)	Charles Barkley (15)	Clyde Drexler (7)	The Summit 16,285	2–0
3	April 29	@ Minnesota	W 125–120	Matt Maloney (26)	Hakeem Olajuwon (11)	Clyde Drexler (9)	Target Center 19,006	3–0

Conference semifinals: 4–3 (home: 2–2; road: 2–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	May 5	Seattle	W 112–102	Clyde Drexler (22)	Hakeem Olajuwon (11)	Mario Elie (8)	The Summit 16,285	1–0
2	May 7	Seattle	L 101–106	Clyde Drexler (25)	Hakeem Olajuwon (12)	Clyde Drexler (8)	The Summit 16,285	1–1
3	May 9	@ Seattle	W 97–93	Hakeem Olajuwon (24)	Hakeem Olajuwon (11)	Sedale Threatt (5)	KeyArena 17,072	2–1
4	May 11	@ Seattle	W 110–106 (OT)	Maloney, Barkley (26)	Charles Barkley (15)	Hakeem Olajuwon (9)	KeyArena 17,072	3–1
5	May 13	Seattle	L 94–100	Hakeem Olajuwon (31)	Charles Barkley (20)	Mario Elie (6)	The Summit 16,285	3–2
6	May 15	@ Seattle	L 96–99	Hakeem Olajuwon (30)	Charles Barkley (12)	Clyde Drexler (6)	KeyArena 17,072	3–3
7	May 17	Seattle	W 96–91	Clyde Drexler (24)	Charles Barkley (14)	Mario Elie (11)	The Summit 16,285	4–3

Conference finals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	May 19	@ Utah	L 86–101	Hakeem Olajuwon (30)	Hakeem Olajuwon (13)	Hakeem Olajuwon (5)	Delta Center 19,911	0–1
2	May 21	@ Utah	L 92–104	Hakeem Olajuwon (30)	Charles Barkley (12)	Clyde Drexler (4)	Delta Center 19,911	0–2
3	May 23	Utah	W 118–100	Eddie Johnson (31)	Charles Barkley (16)	three players tied (6)	The Summit 16,285	1–2
4	May 25	Utah	W 95–92	Hakeem Olajuwon (27)	Charles Barkley (16)	Matt Maloney (6)	The Summit 16,285	2–2
5	May 27	@ Utah	L 91–96	Hakeem Olajuwon (33)	Hakeem Olajuwon (10)	Charles Barkley (5)	Delta Center 19,911	2–3
6	May 29	Utah	L 100–103	Clyde Drexler (33)	Hakeem Olajuwon (11)	Sedale Threatt (9)	The Summit 16,285	2–4

1997 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.

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Charles Barkley	53	53	37.9	.484	.283	.694	13.5	4.7	1.3	.5	19.2
Elmer Bennett	4	0	4.0	.333	.333	.833	.3	1.0	.5	.0	2.5
Matt Bullard	71	12	14.4	.401	.366	.735	1.6	.9	.3	.3	4.5
Emanual Davis	13	0	17.7	.444	.444	.625	1.7	2.0	.7	.2	5.0
Clyde Drexler	62	62	36.6	.442	.355	.750	6.0	5.7	1.9	.6	18.0
Mario Elie	78	77	34.4	.497	.420	.896	3.0	4.0	1.2	.2	11.7
Othella Harrington	57	1	15.1	.549	.000	.605	3.5	.3	.2	.4	4.8
Eddie Johnson	24	2	25.3	.447	.388	.854	4.1	1.5	.4	.0	11.5
Charles Jones	12	0	7.8	.400			1.1	.3	.2	.3	.3
Randy Livingston	64	0	15.3	.437	.409	.646	1.5	2.4	.6	.2	3.9
Sam Mack	52	10	17.4	.401	.331	.833	2.0	1.1	.6	.1	5.6
Matt Maloney	82	82	29.1	.441	.404	.763	2.0	3.7	1.0	.0	9.4
Tracy Moore	27	1	8.8	.388	.256	.710	1.0	.7	.2	.0	3.7
Hakeem Olajuwon	78	78	36.6	.510	.313	.787	9.2	3.0	1.5	2.2	23.2
Brent Price	25	0	15.6	.419	.321	1.000	1.2	2.6	.7	.0	5.0
Joe Stephens	2	0	4.5	.200	.333		1.5	.0	1.5	.0	1.5
Sedale Threatt	21	0	15.9	.378	.400	.750	1.1	1.9	.7	.1	3.3
Kevin Willis	75	32	26.2	.481	.143	.693	7.5	.9	.6	.4	11.2

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Charles Barkley	16	16	37.8	.434	.289	.769	12.0	3.4	1.2	.4	17.9
Matt Bullard	2	0	3.5	1.000	1.000		1.0	.0	.0	.0	3.0
Clyde Drexler	16	16	38.9	.436	.373	.778	5.6	4.8	1.6	.4	18.1
Mario Elie	16	16	37.4	.466	.400	.839	3.5	3.8	.9	.3	11.5
Othella Harrington	7	0	2.1	.500		.700	.6	.0	.0	.0	1.3
Eddie Johnson	16	0	17.8	.410	.298	.958	2.3	.6	.3	.0	8.3
Charles Jones	1	0	2.0				.0	1.0	.0	.0	.0
Randy Livingston	2	0	7.5	.250	1.000		.0	2.0	.5	.0	1.5
Matt Maloney	16	16	32.9	.399	.398	.667	1.2	3.1	.6	.2	11.2
Hakeem Olajuwon	16	16	39.3	.590	.000	.731	10.9	3.4	2.1	2.6	23.1
Sedale Threatt	16	0	16.6	.393	.300	.750	1.1	3.0	.4	.3	3.7
Kevin Willis	16	0	18.4	.400	.000	.684	4.7	.7	.6	.3	6.4

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Transactions

Trades

August 19, 1996

To Houston Rockets

Charles Barkley

To Phoenix Suns

Robert Horry
Sam Cassell
Mark Bryant
Chucky Brown

Free agents

Additions

Player'	Signed	Former team

Subtractions

Player	Left	New team

Player Transactions Citation:

References

1996-97 Houston Rockets
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^ "Injuries Cast Pall on Rockets". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. January 29, 1997. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
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Sheridan, Chris (May 21, 1997). "Jazz 104, Rockets 92". Associated Press. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
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"1996–97 Houston Rockets Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2022.

1996–97 NBA season by team

Eastern

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

Western

Midwest	Dallas Denver Houston Minnesota San Antonio Utah Vancouver
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