Ranking the 6 best draft picks in modern Houston Rockets history

As it stands, the Houston Rockets are built through the draft. Sure, they signed some pivotal free agents last summer. The most important players on this roster are still the players that the Rockets handpicked.

That's not how this organization has traditionally operated. The Rockets have often been inclined to acquire their best players through trades. This recent era of Rockets history is an exception, not a rule.

With that said, the Rockets have acquired some key players through the draft in their modern history. Here, we're going to look at the best ones. First, some housekeeping notes:

- We're defining the "modern era" as 1990 onward. Is that arbitrary? Sure. That's why we made the cutoff at our own discretion.

-We're looking at players who were impactful in Houston. That leads to some exclusions. For example, the Rockets drafted Nicolas Batum with the 25th pick in 2008 - and immediately sent him to the Blazers. He was a high value pick, but he doesn't count.

-Neither does Alperen Sengun. The Rockets didn't draft him - the Thunder did. The Rockets traded for him. We included Sengun when looking at Stone's best draft day decisions, but here, we're being stricter with our criteria.

Without further ado...

6. Robert Horry

The Rockets selected Big Shot Bob with the 11th pick in the 1992 draft. Horry wasn't a superstar, but he was more than worthy of a late lottery selection.

Moreover, if you look at the players picked after him, it's easy to feel like Horry was the best player available. Many would argue that Latrell Sprewell at 24th was better value.

Sure. Sprewell was a more decorated player than Horry. On the other hand, Horry was a conssumate professional, while Sprewell was famous for choking his head coach. The Rockets surely don't regret keeping an early prototypical 3-and-D wing who was instrumental in two title runs on their roster.