1995–96 Houston Rockets season

The 1995–96 Houston Rockets season was the 29th season for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association, and their 25th season in Houston, Texas.^[1] The Rockets entered the regular season as the 2-time defending NBA champions, having defeated the Orlando Magic in a four-game sweep in the 1995 NBA Finals, and winning their second consecutive NBA championship. During the off-season, the team signed free agents Mark Bryant and Eldridge Recasner.^[2][3]

With the addition of Bryant and Recasner, the Rockets got off to a fast start by winning ten of their first eleven games of the regular season, and later on held a 31–18 record at the All-Star break.^[4] However, injuries were an issue all season long, as Clyde Drexler only played 52 games due to knee and ankle injuries,^[5][6][7] while Sam Cassell only played 61 games due to elbow and foot injuries,^[8][9] and Mario Elie only appeared in just 45 games due to wrist and arm injuries.^[10][8] At mid-season, the team signed free agent Sam Mack, who previously played in the Continental Basketball Association.^[11] Despite the injuries and a seven-game losing streak in March, the Rockets finished in third place in the Midwest Division with a 48–34 record, and earned the fifth seed in the Western Conference.^[12]

Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 26.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.9 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Drexler averaged 19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game. In addition, Cassell played a sixth man role, averaging 14.5 points and 4.6 assists per game off the bench, while Robert Horry provided the team with 12.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, and also led them with 142 three-point field goals, Elie provided with 11.1 points per game, and Mack contributed 10.8 points per game. Chucky Brown averaged 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while Bryant provided with 8.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game off the bench, three-point specialist Kenny Smith contributed 8.5 points and 3.6 assists per game, and Recasner contributed 6.9 points and 2.7 assists per game.^[13]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Olajuwon and Drexler were both selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team.^[14][15][16] Olajuwon finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[17][18] and also finished in fifth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[18] while Cassell finished in fourth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[18] and head coach Rudy Tomjanovich finished in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[19][18]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, the Rockets faced off against the 4th–seeded Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by Cedric Ceballos, Nick Van Exel, and All-Star guard Magic Johnson, who came out of his retirement midway through the regular season. The Rockets won Game 1 over the Lakers on the road, 87–83 at the Great Western Forum, but then lost Game 2 on the road, 104–94 as the Lakers evened the series. The Rockets won the next two games at home, which included a Game 4 win over the Lakers at The Summit, 102–94 to win the series in four games;^[20][21][22] after the Lakers' loss to the Rockets, Johnson retired for the second and final time.^[23][24][25]

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the Rockets faced off against the top–seeded, and Pacific Division champion Seattle SuperSonics, who were led by the All-Star trio of Shawn Kemp, Defensive Player of the Year, Gary Payton, and Detlef Schrempf. The Rockets lost the first two games to the SuperSonics on the road at the KeyArena at Seattle Center, and then lost their next two home games, including a Game 4 loss to the SuperSonics at The Summit in overtime, 114–107, thus losing the series in a four-game sweep.^[26][27][28] The SuperSonics would advance to the 1996 NBA Finals, but would eventually lose in six games to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.^[29][30][31]

The Rockets finished 19th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 667,840 at The Summit during the regular season.^[13][32] Following the season, Cassell, Horry, Brown and Bryant were all traded to the Phoenix Suns,^[33][34][35] while Smith signed as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons,^[36][37][38] Recasner signed with the Atlanta Hawks,^[39] and Chilcutt signed with the Vancouver Grizzlies.

For the season, the Rockets changed their primary logo and uniforms, adding dark navy blue, light blue, and silver to their color scheme of red; the team's new logo featured a light blue rocket flying past a red basketball with the team name "Rockets",^[40] while their new uniforms featured pinstripes with the team's new logo on the front of their jerseys, and red side panels to their shorts.^[41][42] However, the new pinstriped uniforms were criticized, and disliked by both the Rockets players and fans, and were considered "ugly"; it was also considered a poor choice, after the Rockets recently won back-to-back NBA championships, in which they wore their previous uniforms of their traditional red and gold color scheme.^[43][44]

The team's new primary logo, and new uniforms would both remain in use until 2003.