1987–88 Houston Rockets season

1987–88   Houston Rockets season
Head coach	Bill Fitch
General manager	Ray Patterson
Owner	Charlie Thomas
Arena	The Summit
Results
Record	46–36 (.561)
Place	Division: 4th (Midwest) Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Mavericks 1–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KTXH Home Sports Entertainment
Radio	KTRH
< 1986–87 1988–89 >

The 1987–88 Houston Rockets season was the 21st season for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association, and their 17th season in Houston, Texas. ^[1] During the off-season, the Rockets signed free agents, former All-Star guard World B. Free and Lester Conner. ^[2] The Rockets also made two separate trades with the Golden State Warriors; shortly before the start of the regular season in early November, the team traded Dave Feitl to the Warriors in exchange for Purvis Short, ^{[3] [4]} then in December traded All-Star center Ralph Sampson, and Steve Harris in exchange for All-Star guard Sleepy Floyd, and All-Star center Joe Barry Carroll; Sampson and head coach Bill Fitch both feuded with each other during the season, which resulted in the trade. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

The Rockets got off to a 7–6 start in November, and held a 25–17 record at the All-Star break. ^[8] The team won 9 of their 13 games in February, finished in fourth place in the Midwest Division with a 46–36 record, and earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference. ^[9]

Akeem Olajuwon averaged 22.8 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 2.7 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, Short played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 14.3 points per game, while Floyd provided the team with 13.1 points and 6.2 assists per game in 59 games after the trade, Barry Carroll contributed 12.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game off the bench in 63 games, and Rodney McCray provided with 12.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, and was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Meanwhile, Allen Leavell averaged 10.2 points, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game, Jim Petersen provided with 8.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, Free contributed 6.4 points per game, and Robert Reid contributed 6.3 points per game. ^[10]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, Olajuwon was selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team; Olajuwon scored 21 points along with 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, despite the Western Conference losing to the Eastern Conference, 138–133. ^{[11] [12] [13]} He finished in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and also finished in seventh place in Most Valuable Player voting. ^{[14] [15]}

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1988 NBA playoffs, the Rockets lost in four games to the Dallas Mavericks. ^[16] Following the season, Fitch was fired as head coach, ^{[17] [18] [19]} while Barry Carroll and Conner were both traded to the New Jersey Nets, ^{[20] [21] [22]} McCray and Petersen were both traded to the Sacramento Kings, ^{[23] [24] [25]} Reid was dealt to the Charlotte Hornets expansion team, ^{[26] [27]} and Free retired.

Draft picks

Main article: 1987 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Club team
2	35	Doug Lee	SG/SF	United States	Purdue
4	82	Josh Niego		United States	Lewis
5	104	Andre LaFleur		United States	Northeastern
6	129	Fred Jenkins		United States	Tennessee
7	151	Clarence Grier		United States	Campbell

Roster

Houston Rockets roster

• v
• t
• e

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 2 Joe Barry Carroll 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1958-07-24 Purdue PG 7 Lester Conner 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1959-09-17 Oregon State PG 11 Sleepy Floyd 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1960-03-06 Georgetown SG 21 World B. Free 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1953-12-09 Guilford SF 1 Buck Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1964-01-03 Alabama SG 30 Allen Leavell 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1957-05-27 Oklahoma City SF 18 Cedric Maxwell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1955-11-21 Charlotte SF 22 Rodney McCray 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1961-08-29 Louisville C 34 Akeem Olajuwon 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1963-01-21 Houston PF 43 Jim Petersen 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1962-02-22 Minnesota SG 33 Robert Reid 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1955-08-30 Saint Mary's SF 10 Purvis Short 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957-07-02 Jackson State PG 13 Andre Turner 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1964-12-13 Memphis

Head coach Bill Fitch Assistant(s) Carroll Dawson Rudy Tomjanovich Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: December 13, 1987

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Denver Nuggets	54	28	.659	–	35–6	19–22	18–12
x-Dallas Mavericks	53	29	.646	1	33–8	20–21	20–10
x-Utah Jazz	47	35	.573	7	33–8	14–27	18–12
x-Houston Rockets	46	36	.561	8	31–10	15–26	13–17
x-San Antonio Spurs	31	51	.378	23	23–18	8–33	12–18
Sacramento Kings	24	58	.293	30	19–22	5–36	9–21

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Los Angeles Lakers	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Denver Nuggets	54	28	.659	8
3	x-Dallas Mavericks	53	29	.646	9
4	x-Portland Trail Blazers	53	29	.646	9
5	x-Utah Jazz	47	35	.573	15
6	x-Houston Rockets	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Seattle SuperSonics	44	38	.537	18
8	x-San Antonio Spurs	31	51	.378	31
9	Phoenix Suns	28	54	.341	34
10	Sacramento Kings	24	58	.293	38
11	Golden State Warriors	20	62	.244	42
12	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Regular season

1987–88 game log Total: 46–36 (home: 31–10; road: 15–26)
November: 7–6 (home: 3–2; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 2 November 8 9:30 p.m. CST @ L.A. Lakers L 92–101 Olajuwon (26) Olajuwon (11) Conner, Leavell (4) The Forum 17,505 1–1 5 November 14 7:30 p.m. CST Utah W 101–93 Olajuwon (19) Olajuwon (16) Leavell, Maxwell (3) The Summit 16,614 4–1 9 November 21 6:30 p.m. CST @ Atlanta L 94–104 Olajuwon (17) Sampson (9) Leavell, McCray (7) The Omni 16,451 6–3 10 November 24 7:00 p.m. CST Detroit L 83–97 Olajuwon (21) Olajuwon (15) Short (5) The Summit 16,611 6–4 12 November 27 8:30 p.m. CST @ Utah L 96–118 Sampson (19) Sampson (11) Conner, McCray (3) Salt Palace 12,212 7–5
December: 7–6 (home: 5–1; road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 18 December 10 7:30 p.m. CST Utah W 98–93 Leavell (20) Olajuwon (14) Leavell (8) The Summit 16,611 11–7 23 December 22 7:30 p.m. CST Atlanta W 122–103 Floyd (27) McCray, Olajuwon (13) McCray (9) The Summit 16,611 12–11 24 December 26 7:30 p.m. CST @ Dallas L 100–105 Olajuwon (24) Olajuwon (14) Leavell (7) Reunion Arena 17,007 12–12 25 December 29 6:30 p.m. CST @ Detroit W 101–91 Carroll (25) Olajuwon (14) Floyd (6) Pontiac Silverdome 26,498 13–12
January: 9–5 (home: 6–1; road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 28 January 4 7:30 p.m. CST Dallas W 117–107 Olajuwon (31) Olajuwon (11) Floyd (11) The Summit 16,611 16–12 35 January 18 4:00 p.m. CST @ L.A. Lakers L 110–121 Olajuwon (24) Olajuwon (9) Floyd (7) The Forum 17,505 20–15 40 January 30 7:30 p.m. CST @ Dallas W 108–92 Olajuwon (29) McCray (12) Floyd (8) Reunion Arena 17,007 23–17
February: 9–4 (home: 7–2; road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record All-Star Break 43 February 9 7:30 p.m. CST Boston W 129–120 Olajuwon (30) Olajuwon (16) Floyd (7) The Summit 16,611 26–17 48 February 18 7:30 p.m. CST L.A. Lakers L 96–111 Olajuwon (20) Olajuwon (20) Floyd (6) The Summit 16,611 29–19 51 February 25 7:30 p.m. CST Dallas L 106–108 Floyd (22) McCray (13) Floyd (11) The Summit 16,611 31–20
March: 9–7 (home: 6–1; road: 3–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 54 March 1 8:30 p.m. CST @ Utah L 112–113 Olajuwon (27) McCray (13) Short (5) Salt Palace 12,444 32–22 56 March 4 7:00 p.m. CST @ Dallas L 110–118 Olajuwon, Short (22) Olajuwon (12) Leavell, Reid (7) Reunion Arena 17,007 33–23 64 March 22 9:30 p.m. CST @ L.A. Lakers L 95–117 Carroll (16) Olajuwon (10) Leavell (6) The Forum 17,505 38–26 68 March 30 6:30 p.m. CST @ Boston L 110–117 Johnson (18) McCray (10) Floyd, Short (5) Boston Garden 14,890 40–28
April: 5–8 (home: 4–3; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 72 April 7 7:30 p.m. CDT Utah W 113–107 Olajuwon (22) Olajuwon (15) Olajuwon (6) The Summit 16,611 42–30 78 April 17 12 Noon CDT L.A. Lakers W 127–119 Olajuwon (38) Carroll (10) Floyd (9) The Summit 16,611 45–33 79 April 19 7:30 p.m. CDT Dallas L 96–104 Olajuwon (33) Olajuwon (9) Floyd (8) The Summit 16,611 45–34 81 April 23 8:30 p.m. CDT @ Utah L 107–125 Carroll (24) Olajuwon (12) Floyd (7) Salt Palace 12,444 45–36
1987–88 schedule

Playoffs

1988 playoff game log
Western Conference First Round: 1–3 (home: 0–2; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 28 7:30 p.m. CDT @ Dallas L 110–120 Olajuwon (34) Olajuwon (14) Floyd (11) Reunion Arena 17,007 0–1 2 April 30 2:30 p.m. CDT @ Dallas W 119–108 Floyd (42) Olajuwon (26) Floyd (9) Reunion Arena 17,007 1–1 3 May 3 7:30 p.m. CDT Dallas L 92–93 Olajuwon (35) Olajuwon (12) Floyd (5) The Summit 16,611 1–2 4 May 5 7:00 p.m. CDT Dallas L 97–107 Olajuwon (40) Olajuwon (15) Floyd (9) The Summit 16,611 1–3
1988 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

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Awards and records

• Akeem Olajuwon, All-NBA First Team
• Akeem Olajuwon, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Rodney McCray, NBA All-Defensive First Team

References

1. 1987-88 Houston Rockets
2. "The Houston Rockets Thursday Negotiated a Deal for Guard..." United Press International. October 8, 1987. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
3. "Rockets Acquire Short from Warriors; Lucas Accepts Trail Blazer Offer Sheet". Los Angeles Times. United Press International. November 6, 1987. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
4. Collins, Denis (December 19, 1987). "Golden State Braces for "Ralphomania"". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
5. "Warriors Acquire Sampson". The Washington Post. News Services. December 12, 1987. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
6. "Sampson Traded in 4-Player Deal". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 13, 1987. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
7. "Rockets Deal Sampson to Warriors in Return for Carroll and Floyd". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. December 13, 1987. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
8. "NBA Games Played on February 4, 1988". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
9. "1987–88 Houston Rockets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
10. "1987–88 Houston Rockets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
11. Barnard, Bill (February 7, 1988). "Today's NBA All-Star Game Will Be Homecoming of Sorts for 3 Players". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
12. "1988 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
13. "1988 NBA All-Star Game: East 138, West 133". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
14. "SPORTS PEOPLE; Honor for Jordan". The New York Times. May 14, 1988. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
15. "1987–88 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
16. "1988 NBA Western Conference First Round: Rockets vs. Mavericks". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
17. "Houston Rockets Fire Bill Fitch". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 6, 1988. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
18. "Sports People; Rockets Dismiss Fitch". The New York Times. June 7, 1988. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
19. "Rockets Ditch Fitch for Lack of Progress Good Trades, No Results Cause Firing". Deseret News. Associated Press. June 7, 1988. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
20. Goldaper, Sam (November 3, 1988). "Nets Acquire Rockets' Carroll". The New York Times. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
21. "Rockets Send Joe Barry Carroll to the Nets in a Six-Player Trade". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. November 3, 1988. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
22. "Nets Obtain Carroll from Rockets in 6-Player Deal". Los Angeles Times. November 3, 1988. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
23. "SPORTS PEOPLE; Signed, Then Traded". The New York Times. October 12, 1988. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
24. "Rockets Trade 2 for Sacramento's Otis Thorpe". Los Angeles Times. October 12, 1988. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
25. Aldridge, David (October 12, 1988). "Bullets Lose Out on Thorpe". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
26. "Sports Digest". United Press International. July 18, 1988. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
27. "Sports People; Rockets Trade Reid". The New York Times . July 19, 1988. Retrieved July 26, 2025.

See also

• 1987–88 NBA season