Ranking the 10 best passers in Houston Rockets history

2. Calvin Murphy

Another member of the “synonymous with the city of Houston” club, Calvin Murphy had a legendary career with the Rockets. Starting his career with the San Diego Rockets in 1970, Murphy played all of his 13 seasons with the franchise, averaging 17.9 points, 4.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Calvin was one of the greatest free throw shooters in NBA history, never shooting less than 82 percent in a season (which occurred during his rookie year). Besides his spectacular shooting and quickness, Murphy was always a very underrated passer.

The Hall of Famer had a career-high 603 assists in the 1973-74 season and followed that up with 596 two seasons later in the prime of his career. Murphy was also a key part of the Rockets’ improbable run to the NBA Finals in 1981, averaging three assists per game in the playoffs that year.

While his 4.4 assists per game average doesn’t quite crack the top 10 in franchise history, the volume of assists sure does.

Calvin Murphy was the all-time assists leader for the Rockets until James Harden surpassed him last December. As such, Murphy is now second all-time in assists in Clutch City with 4,402, and will likely hold the spot for years to come.

Murphy continues to be heavily involved in the Rockets organization, currently a member of their TV broadcast team.

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