See also
- Nicknames of Houston
- List of city nicknames in Texas
- Culture of Houston
- Clutch, the mascot of the Houston Rockets, unveiled after their 1994 NBA Championship.
Clutch City is a nickname given to the city of Houston, Texas after the city's National Basketball Association (NBA) club, the Houston Rockets.
"Choke City" was a Houston Chronicle front-page headline in 1994, given to the city of Houston after the Houston Rockets blew two consecutive commanding fourth-quarter leads at The Summit in the first two games of their Western Conference semifinals match-up versus the Phoenix Suns in the 1994 NBA Playoffs. This in effect took the series to Phoenix, Arizona down 0-2 in the best-of-seven series. It was feared at the time that the Rockets would follow the same fate as the city's National Football League (NFL) club at the time (the Houston Oilers) did; the Oilers blew a 32-point lead during a January 3, 1993 NFL playoff game versus the Buffalo Bills; the Bills won the game 41-38 in overtime. The following year, the Oilers took an 11-game winning streak into the postseason. After a first-round bye, they drew the Kansas City Chiefs at home. After leading for much of the game, the Oilers would ultimately squander a 10-point lead at home to Joe Montana and the Chiefs, leading to a 28-20 upset. The Houston Astros had similar playoff hearbreaks: in the decisive Game 5 of the 1980 National League Championship Series, the Astros had a 5-3 lead going into the 8th inning over the Philadelphia Phillies at the Astrodome trying to go to their first World Series. The Phillies would score 5 runs in the 8th and win 8-7 in extra innings. In the Game 6 of the 1986 National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, the Mets held a 3-2 series lead while the Astros looked to send it to a Game 7 with Cy Young pitcher Mike Scott waiting in the wings. Houston led by 3 for most of the game until New York tied it in the top of the 9th, sending the game to extra innings and eventually prevailing 7-6 in 16 innings at the Astrodome. During this era, no Houston-based professional sports team from an existing sports league (the NFL, NBA, or Major League Baseball) had won a championship.
In Rudy Tomjanovich's second full season as head coach, the Rockets began the 1993–94 season by tying an NBA record with start of 15–0. [1] Led by Hakeem Olajuwon, who was named the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, [2] the Rockets won a franchise-record 58 games. [3] [4] The Rockets in the second round of the playoffs recovered from losing the first two games at home to the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the playoffs after blowing multiple big leads in the first two games, eventually winning in seven games [5] to advance to the NBA Finals. This series is widely regarded as the birth of the term nickname "Clutch City". [3] Houston once again went down by three games to two to the New York Knicks, but managed to win the last two games on their home court, and claim their first championship in franchise history, of which at the end of Game 6 Olajuwon blocked a championship-winning 3-point field goal attempt by John Starks, forcing a Game 7. [4] Olajuwon was awarded the Finals MVP, after averaging 27 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots per game. [2]
The Rockets initially struggled in the first half of the 1994–95 season, [6] and ended up winning only 47 games, which was 11 games lower than their previous year's total. [3] [7] In a midseason trade with Portland, the Rockets obtained guard Clyde Drexler, a former teammate of Olajuwon at the University of Houston, [8] in exchange for Otis Thorpe. [9] Houston entered the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Western Conference, but managed to defeat the 60–22 Utah Jazz in the first round, winning the last two games after being down 2-1 including the decisive Game 5 road win. [7] They fell behind 3–1 to the 59–23 Phoenix Suns in the second round, but won three straight to win the series, and became only the first team in NBA history to overcome both a 2–0 and a 3–1 series deficit in a seven-game series during the same postseason. [10] The Rockets then beat the 62-20 San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals, [7] to reach the Finals against the Orlando Magic, led by Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. [11] When Houston swept the series in four straight games, [7] they became the first team in NBA history to win the championship as a sixth seed, and the first to beat four 50-win teams in a single postseason en route to the championship. [12] Olajuwon, who had averaged 35.3 points and 12.5 rebounds against the Spurs and regular-season MVP David Robinson in the conference finals, [13] was named the Finals MVP, becoming only the second player after Michael Jordan to win the award two years in a row. Shaquille O'Neal (00-02), Kobe Bryant (09-10), LeBron James (12-13) and Kevin Durant (17-18) have since accomplished this. [12]
The name Clutch City would be used by the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) club (the Houston Astros) after their first World Series appearance in 2005, and by the city's Major League Soccer (MLS) club (the Houston Dynamo) after they won the MLS Cup in their inaugural season in 2006. The name Clutch City is now also associated with the Houston Aeros and their triumphant march to the Calder Cup Finals – the biggest stage in AHL hockey.
One variation of the name was Crush City, which was used in 2015 to support the Astros in their playoff run.
The Houston Rockets used the brand name Clutch Gaming for their League of Legends Championship Series team. [14]
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center, located in Downtown Houston. Throughout its history, Houston has won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles. It was established in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego. In 1971, the Rockets relocated to Houston.
Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon, formerly Akeem Olajuwon, is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. He is considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He was nicknamed "The Dream" during his basketball career after he dunked so effortlessly that his college coach said it "looked like a dream." From 1984 to 2002, he played the center position in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors. He led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. In 2008, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2016, he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame.
Samuel James Cassell Sr. is an American professional basketball coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall in the 1993 NBA draft out of Florida State, Cassell played for eight different teams during his 15-year career. He was selected to the NBA All-Star Game and All-NBA Team once, both in the 2003–04 season. He played the point guard position.
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1983.
Robert Keith Horry is an American former professional basketball player and current sports commentator. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning seven championships, the most of any player not to have played on the 1960s Boston Celtics. He is one of only four players to have won NBA championships with three teams; he won two with the Houston Rockets, three with the Los Angeles Lakers and two with the San Antonio Spurs. He earned the nickname "Big Shot Rob", because of his clutch shooting in important games; he is widely considered to be one of the greatest clutch performers and winners in NBA history. Horry now works as a commentator on Spectrum SportsNet for the Lakers.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), though the 50th anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals to win their fourth championship.
The 1994 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1993–94 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Houston Rockets played the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks for the championship, with the Rockets holding home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series. The Rockets defeated the Knicks 4 games to 3 to win the team's first NBA championship.
The 1995 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1994–95 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. The series pitted the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic against the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Houston Rockets. The pre-series hype and buildup of the Finals was centered on the meeting of the two centers opposing each other: Shaquille O'Neal of the Magic and Hakeem Olajuwon of the Rockets. Going into the series the matchup was compared to the Bill Russell–Wilt Chamberlain matchup of the 1960s.
The 1993 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1992–93 NBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. It featured the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference playoff champion Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, and the Western Conference playoff champion Phoenix Suns, winners of 62 games and led by regular season MVP Charles Barkley. The Bulls became the first team since the legendary Boston Celtics of the 1960s to win three consecutive championship titles, clinching the "three-peat" with John Paxson's game-winning 3-pointer that gave them a 99–98 victory in Game 6.
The 1986 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1985–86 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It pitted the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics against the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets, in a rematch of the 1981 NBA Finals, though the Rockets were a rebuilt team; only Allen Leavell and Robert Reid remained from the Rockets' 1981 team. It was the second and last NBA Championship Series of the 1980s not to feature the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 1995 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1994–95 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets defeating the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. Hakeem Olajuwon was named NBA Finals MVP for the second straight time.
The 1994 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1993-94 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Hakeem Olajuwon was named NBA Finals MVP.
The Jazz–Rockets rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets. The rivalry began in the 1990s when the Rockets, led by dominant center Hakeem Olajuwon and college teammate Clyde Drexler, and the Jazz, led by the pick-and-roll duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton, were playoff powers in the Midwest Division. The teams faced each other four times in the NBA playoffs during the decade. In all four instances, the winner was the eventual Western Conference champion and played in the NBA Finals. In 2007, the rivalry was restored as the two teams met again in the playoffs and a showdown of two of the best 1–2 combos of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming of the Rockets and Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer of the Jazz. In 2018, the rivalry was once again restored as the two teams met in the Western Conference Semifinals, where the Rockets won the series 4–1. In 2019, the two teams met once again in the playoffs, but in the First Round, with the Rockets once again winning the series 4–1.
The 1993–94 NBA season was the Houston Rockets' 27th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season in Houston. During the offseason, the Rockets acquired Mario Elie from the Portland Trail Blazers. The Rockets went off to a great start, winning their first fifteen games to tie the 1948–49 Washington Capitols for the best unbeaten record to open a season, before the Golden State Warriors surpassed it in 2015. After losing to the Atlanta Hawks on December 3, the Rockets won the next seven games as well, falling just one victory shy of tying the 1969–70 Knicks (23–1) for the best record with one defeat in NBA history. However, the Rockets would cool off as the season progressed, at one point losing four games in a row. Still, they finished first place in the Midwest Division with a 58–24 record, a franchise record that stood until the 2017-18 team recorded their 59th win.
The 1994–95 NBA season was the Rockets' 28th season in the National Basketball Association, and 24th season in Houston. After winning their first championship, the Rockets went on to win their first nine games of the season. However, with increased competition in the West, management felt a change was needed to win another title. On February 14, the Rockets traded Otis Thorpe to the Portland Trail Blazers for All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, a former teammate of Hakeem Olajuwon at the University of Houston. However, after the trade, the Rockets struggled in the second half of the season posting a record of 17–18 on their way to finishing third in the Midwest Division with a 47–35 record. Olajuwon was selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the Rockets' 30th season in the National Basketball Association, and 26th season in Houston. During the offseason, the Rockets acquired All-Star forward Charles Barkley from the Phoenix Suns, and signed free agents Kevin Willis and Brent Price. The Rockets blasted off to a 21–2 start, but later on struggled posting a six-game losing streak between January and February. Barkley averaged 19.2 points per game, but appeared in just 53 games due to ankle and hip injuries. At midseason, the Rockets signed free agents Eddie Johnson and Sedale Threatt as they finished second in the Midwest Division with a 57–25 record. Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and head coach Rudy Tomjanovich represented the Western Conference during the 1997 NBA All-Star Game. However, Barkley and Drexler did not play due to injuries.
The Rockets–Spurs rivalry is an NBA rivalry between the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs. It is also known as the I-10 Rivalry since San Antonio and Houston lie on Interstate 10, it is one of the three National Basketball Association rivalries between teams from Texas, the others featuring Houston and San Antonio versus the Dallas Mavericks.
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before moving to Houston, Texas.