1991–92 Houston Rockets season

The 1991–92 Houston Rockets season was the 25th season for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association, and their 21st season in Houston, Texas.^[1] The Rockets started the regular season by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers at home at The Summit in double-overtime, 126–121 on November 1, 1991.^[2][3]

The Rockets got off to a fast start by winning nine of their first twelves games of the regular season, but then posted a five-game losing streak afterwards, and later on held a 25–22 record at the All-Star break.^[4] By February 17, 1992, the team hovered at .500 in winning percentage with a mediocre 26–26 record when head coach Don Chaney was fired, and replaced with assistant coach Rudy Tomjanovich.^[5][6][7] Under Tomjanovich, the Rockets won 11 of their first 15 games, but then struggled losing 10 of their final 15 games of the season, which included a six-game losing streak in March; Hakeem Olajuwon missed twelve games due to a hamstring injury, which the Rockets' management accused him of faking because of a contract dispute, and suspended him.^[8][9][10] The Rockets lost their final three games to close the season, finishing in third place in the Midwest Division with a 42–40 record,^[11] and missing the NBA playoffs by just one game behind the 8th-seeded Lakers, who were without All-Star guard Magic Johnson, who had retired due to his HIV infection.^[12][13][14]

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, and Vernon Maxwell provided the team with 17.2 points, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and also led the league with 162 three-point field goals. In addition, Kenny Smith contributed 14.0 points, 6.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game, while sixth man Sleepy Floyd provided with 9.1 points and 2.9 assists per game off the bench, and Buck Johnson contributed 8.6 points per game. Meanwhile, second-year forward Matt Bullard contributed 6.4 points per game, rookie power forward Carl Herrera provided with 4.4 points per game, and defensive forward Larry Smith averaged 2.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.^[15]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida, Olajuwon and Thorpe were both selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was Thorpe's first and only All-Star appearance.^[16][17][18] Olajuwon also finished tied in sixth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.^[19][20] The Rockets finished 18th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 592,790 at The Summit during the regular season.^[15][21]

Following the season, Johnson signed as a free agent with the Washington Bullets,^[22][23] and Larry Smith signed with the San Antonio Spurs.