Ranking the Houston Rockets 5 greatest draft picks

As the Houston Rockets season nears an end the franchise’s attention will turn to the upcoming 2021 NBA draft. The Rockets haven’t had a first-round pick since 2015 but head into this year’s draft armed with three first-round picks and a 52-percent chance to land a top-four pick.

After years of flipping draft picks to build a title-worthy roster, the Rockets will are primed to make up for lost time. It’s incredible but not a single player on this season’s roster was drafted by the franchise but that looks set to change as the franchise enters a rebuild.

If the Rockets were to land the first overall pick it would be the franchise’s sixth time selecting at the top of a draft and the first time since 2002 when they selected Yao Ming. While the Rockets have recently eschewed the draft altogether, the franchise, historically, has had its fair share of draft successes.

What the criteria are for the Houston Rockets greatest draft picks

Over the course of the franchise’s existence, the Rockets have made 270 selections. There have been Hall of Famers, busts, draft day trades, and everything in between. Deciding who were the best five selections came down to their production, their time spent with the franchise, and their draft position.

There are notable admissions and players who don’t qualify because they either weren’t selected in the draft by the Rockets, such as Steve Francis who was traded to the Rockets after being drafted by the Vancouver Grizzlies, or because their most productive years came in another team’s uniform, such as Sam Cassell whose best seasons came well after he left the Rockets. For the players who were drafted and performed at the peak of their powers for the Rockets, these are the definitive top-five picks in the history of the franchise.

Next: Pick #5

Houston Rockets greatest draft picks #5: Elvin Hayes

The fifth greatest draft pick in Rockets’ history came in only their second-ever draft. After the franchise set the then NBA record for losses with 67 in their inaugural season they won a coin flip with the Baltimore Bullets to secure the first overall pick of the 1968 draft and selected Elvin Hayes.

Hayes made an immediate impact for the Rockets as they improved to 37 wins and made it to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The playoff appearance was the only time the franchise would make the playoffs while in San Diego.

Hayes’ statistical output with the Rockets was incredible and showed why he was worthy of the number one overall pick. He led the league in scoring his rookie season with 28.4 points per game and averaged 27.4 points and 16.3 rebounds per game over his initial four-year run with the Rockets.

Hayes’ brief time in his prime with the Rockets is what ultimately pushes him down the list. Following the franchise’s move to Houston, the Rockets’ hired Tex Winter to be their head coach and there was instant friction between the two.

Winter is today known as the most famous proponent of the triangle offense but his offensive principles predicated on movement and sharing the ball did not sit well with the prolific Hayes. One season in Texas and with Tex was enough for Hayes and he demanded a trade following the season which brought an end to his first stint with the Rockets.

Hayes would rejoin the Rockets at the very end of his career but he wasn’t nearly the same player. However, in the seven seasons with the Rockets Hayes averaged 20.6 points and 12.2 rebounds per game.

Whenever you draft a Hall of Famer you’ve done something right. Hayes would be much higher on this list if he had spent his entire career with the franchise, but alas, he and the offensive architect of Phil Jackson’s first nine title teams simply couldn’t see eye to eye.

Next: Pick #4

Houston Rockets greatest draft picks #4: Clint Capela

When evaluating a team’s All-time greatest draft picks you have to take into account where a player was selected. Clint Capela was not only incredibly productive for the Rockets but he was selected with the 25th pick of the 2014 NBA draft.

On average the 25th player selected in the draft produces 6.2 win shares over the first four years of their career and 15.6 over its entirety. Capela managed 20.6 win shares over his first four seasons and 36.4 in the six seasons he spent in Houston.

The chemistry Capela developed with James Harden in the pick and roll was for multiple seasons the Rockets’ offensive engine. His ability to screen for Harden and then rim run allowed him to routinely place among the league leaders in field-goal percentage and offensive efficiency.

All of this is to say that Capela dramatically overperformed his draft position and that’s with the reality that he basically didn’t play his first season in the league. Capela is only 26-years-old and is having perhaps his finest season with the Atlanta Hawks.

The Rockets got incredible value from Capela and he’ll go down as one of the greatest players selected with the 25th pick but he could have ranked much higher if he was still a member of the team. While Capela is one of the Rockets’ greatest draft picks, he’s, unfortunately, one of their worst trades as well.

Next: Pick #3

Houston Rockets greatest draft picks #3: Yao Ming

Yao Ming, commercially, is easily the greatest draft pick in the history of the NBA. He brought the NBA and specifically the Rockets to China and in the process completely changed the economics of the sport.

The Rockets made the right basketball decision when they selected him with the number one overall pick of the 2002 NBA draft. He joined a team that had won 28 games the season before and as a rookie helped lead them to 43 wins.

Yao’s economic impact will be his most lasting legacy, but he was an incredibly productive player on the court. Putting aside his All-Star appearances, which had the power of a nation of a billion people voting for him, he made five All-NBA teams in his seven seasons where he played at least 40 games.

For his career, he averaged 19 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game on 52.4-percent shooting from the field and 83.3-percent shooting from the free-throw line. Yao could score from anywhere within the 3-point arc and if he had played today he would have used that shooting touch to be a knock-down 3-point shooter.

The biggest thing inhibiting Yao from taking second place is that he simply didn’t last long enough before injuries ended his career. He was effectively out of the league by the age of 28 as a series of foot injuries made it impossible for him to continue playing.

Yao’s overall career didn’t live up to most number one overall picks but on a per season basis, he is well above average. The average first overall pick produces 26.5 win shares over their first four seasons and Yao blew that mark away with 39.3 of his own.

The Rockets landed a ready-made All-NBA quality player who for seven seasons was building an unassailable Hall of Fame case. If it wasn’t for injuries, Yao would be remembered as one of the best centers of all time.

Next: Pick #2

Houston Rockets greatest draft picks #2: Calvin Murphy

The Rockets’ 1970 draft is one of the greatest drafts in the history of the NBA and likely the best in franchise history. With the second pick of the draft the Rockets selected Rudy Tomjanovich who went on to make five All-Star teams and the Hall of Fame, but it’s the Rockets’ second pick who ranks as their second greatest draft pick.

Calvin Murphy was the less heralded of the two but his overall career was better than Tomjanovich, although the two were the best Rockets of all time in terms of overall production at the time of their retirements. Murphy was a model of consistency and spent his entire 13-year career with the Rockets which allowed him to etch his name throughout the franchise’s record book.

His steady production has him third in Rockets’ franchise history in win-shares with 84.1, which is even more impressive considering he was a second-round pick. He was selected with the 18th pick in the 1970 draft, as the NBA only had 17 teams back then Murphy was the first player selected in the second round but ended up with the third most win shares in the draft class.

Murphy was an incredibly efficient scorer for a perimeter player with a career field goal percentage of 48.2-percent (the league average shooting percentage was only 46.8-percent throughout his career) and one of the best free-throw shooters of his era as he converted 89.2-percent of his free throws for his career.

Murphy stood only 5’9 and has an argument to be considered the greatest player ever under six-foot. Somehow Murphy only managed to make one All-Star team even though he averaged 17.9 points, 4.4 assists, and 1.5 steals throughout his career and had five seasons averaging over 20 points per game.

When Murphy retired following the 1982-83 season he held a multitude of franchise records and at that point had an argument as the greatest Rocket ever, although Moses Malone’s six-year run would argue with that. All told, Murphy was an incredible pick considering where he was selected and the fact that he spent his entire career with the Rockets is what pushes him all the way to number two.

Next: Pick #1

Houston Rockets greatest draft picks #1: Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon is the only answer to the question, “who is the greatest draft pick in Houston Rockets’ history?” A player has to be awfully special to be drafted before Michael Jordan and that not be engraved on their tombstone.

Olajuwon was selected with the first pick of the 1984 draft and made an instant impact as he averaged 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game and the Rockets reached the playoffs after winning just 29 games the season before.

While his rookie season would be a career year for most, it represented the floor for him as he essentially equaled or bested those per game marks every season from 1985-86 to 1996-97. Olajuwon is an All-time great and his resume of two defensive player of the year awards and an MVP speak for itself.

Throughout NBA history, the first overall pick has produced an average of 76.9 career win shares. Olajuwon had blown by that mark by his eighth season in the league (83.4 win shares) and that doesn’t even include his two peak seasons in 1992-93 and 1993-94 when he combined for 30.2 win shares.

That two-year stretch saw Olajuwon take home back-to-back defensive player of the year awards and snag his lone MVP in 1993-94. All of his individual success led to the only two championships in Rockets franchise history and two Finals MVP awards to add to his trophy case.

Olajuwon had always performed in the playoffs, but over the course of those two championship runs, he took it to a whole new level. Through 45 playoff games, he averaged 30.9 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks a game and solidified himself as one of the greatest centers in the history of the sport.

Olajuwon is the greatest Rocket of all time. He did everything you could have asked a player and more. The Rockets only had one losing season with him in town and that was when he missed half the season. The greatest draft pick in Rockets history is an easy choice. It’s Hakeem Olajuwon.