Rebuilding the Dream: The Next Era of Houston Rockets Basketball – Episode 9

Rebuilding the Dream: The Next Era of Houston Rockets Basketball – Episode 9

On November 4th, one night ahead of the 2024 US Election, the Houston Rockets welcomed the New York Knicks into Toyota Centre for the 7th game of their season and 4th at home. Attendance dipped to sixteen thousand four hundred and seventeen after the first 3 home contests attracted crowds of 18 thousand fifty five. The lower bowl was typically slow to fill up as the seats gradually filled as the 1st quarter progressed. The late arrivals and unattended seats that have become the norm in Toyota Centre have been attributed to a large number of these tickets being sold to companies who don’t always make use of them. Tonight, a discernible and vocal scattering of Knicks fans were in attendance. Away fans hijacking the atmosphere wasn’t an uncommon phenomenon at Houston basketball games.

Engagement with basketball has always been a complicated issue in the city of Houston. The main reason usually cited for the cities apparent lack of enthusiasm for the sport are its deeply embedded love of football. However, there have also been historical organisational failings to promote, structure and invest in the city’s basketball teams.

In 1969, the first professional basketball team to call the city of Houston its home, the Mavericks of the A B A, closed their doors after just 2 seasons due to poor fan attendance and a lack of profits. Two years later the NBA moved the San Diego Rockets and hometown legend Elvin Hayes to Houston, but the new team also struggled to draw the crowds early on due to a number of issues.

The Big E clashed with Head Coach Tex Winter and demanded a trade after just one season in Houston. Two years later, the Rockets attendance had plummeted to a historical franchise low of just three thousand eight hundred and fifty five fans per game.

In the late 70’s and early 80’s the NBA grew in popularity due to its merger with the A B A and the arrival of rookies Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. This coincided with the Houston Rockets becoming a truly competitive basketball team after a decade of finding their feet in the league. In 1980 they achieved their highest attendance as a franchise to date, averaging ten thousand seventy two fans per game. After the team traded away two-time MVP Moses Malone, attendance once again dipped, just as it had in 1974 after the previous star of the franchise, the Big E, left for Washington. The trend predictably continued this way, attendance to games would rise and fall with the success of the franchise. The peaks that the Rockets achieve on the court, however, are rarely matched by numbers in the stands. Even during their successful eras the team usually only reached the middle of the pack in overall attendance comparative to other franchises. When they bottom out after losing superstar players their crowd numbers are among the worst in the entire league.

Despite being the first franchise in the state of Texas, the Houston Rockets have struggled to garner the local support that the cities of San Antonio and Dallas have shown for their franchises. Over the past ten years both have higher in game attendance than the Rockets. Dallas attracts the 2nd largest crowds in the entire league and San Antonio, while only being marginally better attended than the Rockets, does so with a significantly lower population than that of Houston.

In Stephen Silas’ final season as Head Coach the team ranked 28th overall in attendance. During Ime Udoka’s first season the year prior, they rose to 22nd overall. Now that Phase 2 was fully underway, Tillman Fertitta was hoping that his team’s performance, both on the court and in the ticket booth, were going to continue on an upward trajectory.

Fred VanVleet and Alperen Sengun got the Rockets rolling on offence early in the first half as Dillon Brooks pestering defence limited Karl Anthony Towns to an inefficient shooting half. After surrendering the lead, Houston came out of the locker room strong and once again pulled ahead behind the Alpy and Fred two-man game. As the 2nd half progressed, Amen Thompson and Tari Eason upped their defensive intensity as New York mounted another comeback attempt.

By their 8th game of the season, and third against San Antonio, the Houston Rockets were looking like a well oiled machine on both ends of the floor. They blew out Wembanyama and the Spurs by 27, leading the game from beginning to end in convincing fashion.