Betting on the Houston Rockets
The sudden demise from Western Conference contender is unfortunate for Rockets fans, but the team does have young talent which makes them a fairly attractive bet for some.
Houston Rockets Franchise History
The Rockets’ history began in San Diego in 1967, but they spent only four seasons there before relocating to Houston.
The team experienced up-and-down success for a decade before the arrival of Hall-of-Famer Moses Malone stabilized the franchise.
Malone’s Rockets made four straight playoff appearances, including a trip to the NBA Finals, where they ultimately lost to the Celtics.
It turned out that the brief Malone era was a prelude to something greater. Houston drafted Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon first overall in 1984 – ahead of Michael Jordan – and he immediately became a superstar.
In Olajuwon’s first Finals appearance, the Rockets again fell to the Celtics. Battles with the dynastic Lakers prevented Houston from making deep playoff runs throughout the ‘80s.
When the Lakers’ reign of terror waned and Michael Jordan took a hiatus from basketball, Hakeem’s Rockets won back-to-back championships in the mid-‘90s.
Those remain the Rockets’ only NBA titles.
In the early-2000s, Chinese sensation Yao Ming, who stands 7’6”, arrived in Houston. An all-star, Yao led the Rockets alongside Tracy McGrady, but the team struggled in the playoffs.
Ultimately, Yao’s career was cut short by injuries.
In the last decade, Houston again emerged as a title contender, thanks to the addition of James Harden. Harden, a polarizing superstar, never got over the hump that was the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors bounced the Rockets from the playoffs several times, including the 2018 Western Conference Finals when the Rockets had a 3-2 series lead.
Betting on the Houston Rockets in Texas
Currently, sports betting is illegal in Texas and likely will be for a couple more years.
The 2021 Texas legislative session ended without substantial progress on the sports betting topic. Unfortunately for prospective Texas bettors, the next legislative session doesn’t begin until January of 2023.
Although Texas has lagged behind much of the country during the betting boom, some prominent Texas figures – including Rockets’ owner Tilman Fertitta – support and expect eventual legal betting in the Lone Star state.
Fertitta even owns a 46% stake in Golden Nugget Online gaming.
Updated on: 06/24/2022
New users only, 21 or older. Available in AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, LA, MI, NJ, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY only. Full T&C apply.
If sports betting is eventually legalized, Rockets fans may want to place a bet on their team. Let’s look at a Rockets-Spurs game for example:
· Spurs -5.5
· Rockets +5.5
In this example, the Rockets are underdogs. If a bettor placed a wager on the Rockets to cover the 5.5-point spread, they would need the Rockets to win outright or lose the game by fewer than 6 points.
