1997–98 Houston Rockets season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 31st season for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association, and their 27th season in Houston, Texas.^[1] After a slow 3–5 start to the regular season, the Rockets went on a nine-game winning streak winning 12 of their first 17 games. The team traveled to Mexico City, Mexico, where they defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 108–106 on December 6, 1997, which was the first NBA regular season game played in Mexico.^[2][3][4]

1997–98 Houston Rockets season
Head coach	Rudy Tomjanovich
General manager	Carroll Dawson
Owner(s)	Leslie Alexander
Arena	Compaq Center
Results
Record	41–41 (.500)
Place	Division: 4th (Midwest) Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Jazz 2–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KHTV Fox Sports Southwest
Radio	KTRH
< 1996–97 1998–99 >

However, as the season progressed, Hakeem Olajuwon went down with a knee injury and only played just 47 games,^[5][6][7] as the Rockets began to slip under .500, showing their age and the wear and tear of long playoff runs as they played mediocre basketball all season, holding a 22–24 record at the All-Star break.^[8] Olajuwon would eventually return as the Rockets finished in fourth place in the Midwest Division with a 41–41 record, and earned the eighth seed in the Western Conference.^[9]

Clyde Drexler led the team with 18.4 points, 5.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and contributed 106 three-point field goals, while Kevin Willis stepped up in Olajuwon's absence, averaging 16.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, Olajuwon provided the team with 16.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.0 blocks per game, and Charles Barkley provided with 15.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, and played half of the regular season off the bench as the team's sixth man.^[10][11][12] In addition, second-year guard and three-point specialist Matt Maloney contributed 8.6 points per game, and led the Rockets with 126 three-point field goals, while Mario Elie and Eddie Johnson both contributed 8.4 points per game each, and three-point specialist Matt Bullard provided with 7.0 points per game.^[13]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1998 NBA playoffs, in a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals, the Rockets took a 2–1 series lead over the top-seeded Utah Jazz.^[14][15][16] However, in Game 4, Barkley went down with a torn triceps muscle injury in a 93–71 home loss to the Jazz.^[17][18][19] Without Barkley, the Rockets would lose Game 5 to the Jazz on the road, 84–70, thus losing the series in five games.^[20][21][22] It was the first time the Rockets lost in the opening round of the playoffs since 1991. The Jazz would go on to lose in six games to the 2-time defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls in the 1998 NBA Finals for the second straight year.^[23][24][25]

This marked the final season for Drexler, who received a standing ovation after the Rockets' Game 5 loss to the Jazz at the Delta Center; he then retired to take over the head coaching job at the University of Houston, where he had played college basketball along with Olajuwon, ending his fifteen-year career in the NBA.^[20][26][27] Drexler also won the inaugural NBA 2Ball Contest along with Cynthia Cooper of the WNBA's Houston Comets during the NBA All-Star weekend in New York City, New York.^[28][29][30]

Also following the season, Willis was traded to the Toronto Raptors,^[31][32][33] while Elie signed as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs,^[34][35][36] and reserve center Charles Jones, the oldest player in the league during the season, retired at age 41.^[31]

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	24	Rodrick Rhodes	SG	United States	USC
2	29	Serge Zwikker	C	Netherlands	North Carolina

Roster

1997–98 Houston Rockets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 4 Charles Barkley 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 252 lb (114 kg) 1963–02–20 Auburn F 50 Matt Bullard 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1967–06–05 Iowa G 15 Emanual Davis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1968–08–27 Delaware State G 22 Clyde Drexler 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1962–06–22 Houston G/F 17 Mario Elie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1963–11–26 American International F/C 32 Othella Harrington 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1974–01–31 Georgetown F 8 Eddie Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1959–05–01 Illinois F/C 27 Charles Jones 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1957–04–03 Albany State G 12 Matt Maloney 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1971–12–06 Penn C 34 Hakeem Olajuwon 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1963–01–21 Houston G 20 Brent Price 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1968–12–09 Oklahoma G/F 1 Rodrick Rhodes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1973–09–24 USC F 41 Joe Stephens 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1973–01–28 Little Rock F/C 42 Kevin Willis 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1962–09–06 Michigan State

Head coach Rudy Tomjanovich Assistant(s) Bill Berry Jim Boylen Larry Smith Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Roster Notes

• Rookie center Serge Zwikker was placed on the inactive list, and never played for the Rockets.

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–	36–5	26–15	22–2
x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6	31–10	25–16	18–6
x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17	26–15	19–22	14–10
x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21	24–17	17–24	14–10
Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42	13–28	7–34	9–15
Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43	14–27	5–36	4–20
Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51	9–32	2–39	3–21

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	1
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	1
4	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	6
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21
9	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	35
10	Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42
11	Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43
11	Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	43
13	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45
14	Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1997-98 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	—	2–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	4–0
Boston	1–2	—	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
Charlotte	0–4	2–1	—	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Chicago	3–1	3–1	3–1	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–2
Dallas	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1
Denver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	0–2	0–2	2–2
Golden State	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	—	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	—	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–0	0–4	3–1	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	—	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Miami	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	—	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	—	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–2
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
New Jersey	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	—	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
Orlando	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–4	—	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Philadelphia	1–3	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Portland	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	—	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	—	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Toronto	0–4	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	0–3
Utah	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	—	4–0	0–2
Vancouver	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–4	—	1–1
Washington	0–4	2–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	—

Game log

Playoffs

1998 playoff game log
First Round: 2–3 (home: 1–1; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 23 @ Utah W 103–90 Clyde Drexler (22) Kevin Willis (14) Clyde Drexler (6) Delta Center 19,911 1–0 2 April 25 @ Utah L 90–105 Hakeem Olajuwon (16) Kevin Willis (12) Matt Maloney (6) Delta Center 19,911 1–1 3 April 29 Utah W 89–85 Hakeem Olajuwon (28) Hakeem Olajuwon (12) Drexler, Maloney (5) Compaq Center 16,285 2–1 4 May 1 Utah L 71–93 Hakeem Olajuwon (27) Hakeem Olajuwon (15) Clyde Drexler (5) Compaq Center 16,285 2–2 5 May 3 @ Utah L 70–84 Kevin Willis (16) Kevin Willis (11) three players tied (3) Delta Center 19,911 2–3
1998 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

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Charles Barkley	68	41	33.0	.485	.214	.746	11.7	3.2	1.0	.4	15.2
Matt Bullard	67	24	17.8	.450	.416	.741	2.2	.9	.5	.4	7.0
Emanual Davis	45	0	13.3	.444	.375	.838	1.0	1.3	.4	.1	4.1
Clyde Drexler	70	70	35.3	.427	.317	.801	4.9	5.5	1.8	.6	18.4
Mario Elie	73	59	27.2	.452	.291	.833	2.1	3.0	1.1	.1	8.4
Othella Harrington	58	3	15.6	.485	.000	.754	3.6	.4	.2	.5	6.0
Eddie Johnson	75	1	19.9	.417	.333	.831	2.0	1.2	.4	.0	8.4
Charles Jones	24	0	5.3	.700		.500	1.0	.2	.0	.3	.6
Matt Maloney	78	78	28.4	.408	.364	.833	1.8	2.8	.8	.1	8.6
Hakeem Olajuwon	47	45	34.7	.483	.000	.755	9.8	3.0	1.8	2.0	16.4
Brent Price	72	2	18.5	.413	.390	.786	1.5	2.7	.7	.1	5.6
Rodrick Rhodes	58	13	18.4	.367	.250	.617	1.2	1.9	1.1	.2	5.8
Joe Stephens	7	0	5.3	.357	.300	.667	.9	.1	.3	.0	3.9
Kevin Willis	81	74	31.2	.510	.143	.793	8.4	1.0	.7	.5	16.1

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Charles Barkley	4	0	21.8	.522	.000	.571	5.3	1.0	1.3	.0	9.0
Matt Bullard	5	4	14.0	.333	.300	1.000	1.6	1.0	.2	.0	3.4
Clyde Drexler	5	5	36.4	.309	.192	.757	5.4	4.6	1.6	.6	15.0
Mario Elie	5	1	26.6	.444	.333	.667	2.6	1.2	.4	.0	6.6
Othella Harrington	3	0	7.7	.500	.000	.800	2.3	.0	.0	.3	5.3
Eddie Johnson	5	0	17.8	.333	.300	.875	1.6	.2	.0	.0	5.6
Charles Jones	4	0	2.8			1.000	.8	.3	.0	.0	.5
Matt Maloney	5	5	33.0	.333	.250	.889	1.6	3.6	.4	.4	6.6
Hakeem Olajuwon	5	5	38.0	.394	.000	.727	10.8	2.4	1.0	3.2	20.4
Brent Price	5	0	15.0	.400	.385	.667	1.8	1.2	.8	.0	3.8
Rodrick Rhodes	3	0	2.3	.667		.500	.3	.0	.3	.0	2.0
Kevin Willis	5	5	33.6	.400	.000	.750	10.6	1.0	1.6	.6	11.2

Player Statistics Citation:^[13]

Awards and records

Transactions