Houston Rockets: Tomjanovich inducted into Houston Sports Hall of Fame

Although former Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich hasn’t gotten inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame, he was recently inducted in the Houston Sports Hall of Fame.

Next January, Rudy Tomjanovich will be inducted into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame. He’ll join a class that includes former University of Houston track and field star Carl Lewis and Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton. Tomjanovich will also join former Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon in the Houston Sports Hall of Fame, as The Dream was inducted in 2018 also.

Tomjanovich, Lewis and Retton will be honored on January 21st at the Hilton Americas located in downtown Houston. The ceremony will take place in between the Rockets games against former Rockets guard Chris Paul and the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 20th and the Denver Nuggets on January 22nd.

It’s a disgrace that Rudy T hasn’t gotten inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, as he’s more than deserving. He led the Rockets to back to back NBA titles in 1994 and 1995, which are the only championships in franchise history. Not only that, Tomjanovich ranks 29th all-time in career coaching wins, yet coached the fewest number of games and total seasons amongst anyone ahead of him.  In addition, Rudy T has a career win percentage of 55.9 percent, which puts him at 10th all time amongst coaches who have coached for at least 13 years.

Tomjanovich also was heavily involved in the national USA basketball team, as he served as the head coach in the 1998 FIBA World Championships, where Team USA earned a bronze medal. After the success of 1998 world championships, Tomjanovich was named the head coach of the 2000 Olympics, as he coached the team to a gold medal in Sydney, Australia.

Aside from his coaching career, Tomjanovich also played for the Rockets for 11 years, posting averages of 17.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, while also being named to five All-Star teams as a player.

Here’s to hoping Tomjanovich is soon inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as well, as he’s more than deserving.