1997–98 Houston Rockets season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the Rockets' 31st season in the National Basketball Association, and 27th season in Houston.[1] After a slow 3–5 start to the season, the Rockets went on a nine-game winning streak winning 12 of their first 17 games. The team traveled to Mexico City, Mexico, where they defeated the Dallas Mavericks 108–106 on December 6, 1997, which was the first NBA regular season game played in Mexico.[2] However, as the season progressed, they began to slip under .500, showing their age and the wear and tear of long playoff runs as they played mediocre basketball all season. Hakeem Olajuwon missed most of the first half of the season with a knee injury, only playing just 47 games.[3] Without their star center, Kevin Willis would step into the lineup, averaging 16.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.[4] Olajuwon would eventually return as the Rockets finished fourth in the Midwest Division with a 41–41 record, and qualified the playoffs as the #8 seed in the Western Conference.[5]

1997–98 Houston Rockets season
Head coachRudy Tomjanovich
General managerCarroll Dawson
Owner(s)Leslie Alexander
ArenaCompaq Center
Results
Record41–41 (.500)
PlaceDivision: 4th (Midwest)
Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finishFirst Round
(Lost to Jazz 2–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKHTV
Fox Sports Southwest
RadioKTRH

Clyde Drexler led the team with 18.4 points, 5.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while Olajuwon averaged 16.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.0 blocks per game, and Charles Barkley provided the team with 15.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, and played half of the season off the bench as the team’s sixth man.[6] In addition, second-year guard and three-point specialist Matt Maloney provided with 8.6 points per game, and Mario Elie and Eddie Johnson both contributed 8.4 points per game each.[4]

In the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, in a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals, the Rockets took a 2–1 series lead over the top-seeded Utah Jazz.[7] However, they would lose the series in five games. Barkley sat out Game 5 with a torn triceps muscle as the Jazz defeated the Rockets 84–70.[8] It was the first time the Rockets lost in the opening round of the playoffs since 1991.

This marked the final season for Drexler, who received a standing ovation after the Rockets' Game 5 loss to the Jazz at the Delta Center. He then retired to take over the head coaching job at the University of Houston, where he had played college basketball along with Olajuwon, ending his fifteen-year career in the NBA.[9] Drexler also won the 2Ball competition along with Cynthia Cooper of the WNBA’s Houston Comets during the All-Star Weekend.[10] Also following the season, Willis was traded to the Toronto Raptors,[11] and Elie signed as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs.[12]

Offseason

Draft picks
Main article: 1997 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
124Rodrick RhodesSG United StatesUSC
229Serge ZwikkerC NetherlandsNorth Carolina

Roster
1997–98 Houston Rockets roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F 4 Barkley, Charles  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 252 lb (114 kg) 1963–02–20 Auburn
F 50 Bullard, Matt 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1967–06–05 Iowa
G 15 Davis, Emanual 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1968–08–27 Delaware State
G 22 Drexler, Clyde 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1962–06–22 Houston
G/F 17 Elie, Mario 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1963–11–26 American International
F/C 32 Harrington, Othella 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1974–01–31 Georgetown
F 8 Johnson, Eddie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1959–05–01 Illinois
F/C 27 Jones, Charles 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1957–04–03 Albany State
G 12 Maloney, Matt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1971–12–06 Pennsylvania
C 34 Olajuwon, Hakeem (C) 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1963–01–21 Houston
G 20 Price, Brent 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1968–12–09 Oklahoma
G/F 1 Rhodes, Rodrick 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1973–09–24 Southern California
F 41 Stephens, Joe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1973–01–28 Little Rock
F/C 42 Willis, Kevin 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1962–09–06 Michigan State
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Roster Notes
  • Rookie center Serge Zwikker was placed on the inactive list, and never played for the Rockets.

Regular season

Season standings
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
z-Utah Jazz 6220.756–36–526–1522–2
x-San Antonio Spurs 5626.683631–1025–1618–6
x-Minnesota Timberwolves 4537.5491726–1519–2214–10
x-Houston Rockets 4141.5002124–1717–2414–10
Dallas Mavericks 2062.2444213–287–349–15
Vancouver Grizzlies 1963.2324314–275–364–20
Denver Nuggets 1171.134519–322–393–21
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Utah Jazz6220.756–
2 y-Seattle SuperSonics6121.7441
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers6121.7441
4 x-Phoenix Suns5626.6836
5 x-San Antonio Spurs5626.6836
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers4636.56116
7 x-Minnesota Timberwolves4537.54917
8 x-Houston Rockets4141.50021
9 Sacramento Kings2755.32935
10 Dallas Mavericks2062.24442
11 Vancouver Grizzlies1963.23243
11 Golden State Warriors1963.23243
13 Los Angeles Clippers1765.20745
14 Denver Nuggets1171.13451
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1997-98 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA TOR UTA VAN WAS
Atlanta —2–14–01–34–02–02–02–22–01–11–32–00–21–33–10–21–22–22–23–10–21–12–01–11–14–00–22–04–0
Boston 1–2—1–21–31–31–11–12–21–11–10–42–01–10–42–21–12–22–22–23–10–21–11–10–21–13–00–22–03–2
Charlotte 0–42–1—1–32–22–02–03–11–12–03–12–01–13–13–11–12–21–33–12–11–12–01–11–11–14–01–12–02–2
Chicago 3–13–13–1—2–21–12–03–12–02–02–22–01–12–14–01–14–04–03–12–11–11–12–02–01–14–00–22–03–1
Cleveland 0–43–12–22–2—1–12–03–12–01–12–22–01–11–32–22–03–11–22–23–12–01–12–00–20–23–11–12–01–2
Dallas 0–21–10–21–11–1—3–10–21–30–41–11–30–40–20–22–20–21–10–20–20–40–40–40–42–21–10–44–01–1
Denver 0–21–10–20–20–21–3—0–21–30–40–22–20–40–20–21–30–20–20–20–20–42–21–30–40–40–20–41–31–1
Detroit 2–22–21–31–31–32–02–0—2–01–11–32–00–21–22–20–22–22–21–23–11–10–21–11–10–24–00–20–22–2
Golden State 0–21–11–10–20–23–13–10–2—1–30–21–31–30–20–20–40–21–11–10–20–41–32–21–31–30–20–41–30–2
Houston 1–11–10–20–21–14–04–01–13–1—1–14–01–30–21–11–31–11–10–21–11–31–34–02–21–32–00–43–11–1
Indiana 3–14–01–32–22–21–12–03–12–01–1—2–00–23–14–02–02–12–13–14–01–11–12–00–20–24–01–12–04–0
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–20–20–23–12–20–23–10–40–2—0–40–20–20–41–10–20–21–10–40–43–11–30–41–11–31–30–2
L.A. Lakers 2–01–11–11–11–14–04–02–03–13–12–04–0—1–12–04–01–11–11–10–22–22–24–04–01–32–03–14–01–1
Miami 3–14–01–31–23–12–02–02–12–02–01–32–01–1—3–11–13–12–23–14–00–22–02–00–20–24–01–12–02–2
Milwaukee 1–32–21–30–42–22–02–02–22–01–10–42–00–21–3—1–10–43–12–12–20–22–02–00–21–13–10–21–11–2
Minnesota 2–01–11–11–10–22–23–12–04–03–10–24–00–41–11–1—2–01–10–22–03–11–33–11–31–31–11–34–00–2
New Jersey 2–12–22–20–41–32–02–02–22–01–11–21–11–11–34–00–2—2–23–13–11–11–12–01–10–23–10–22–01–3
New York 2–22–23–10–42–11–12–02–21–11–11–22–01–12–21–31–12–2—4–02–22–01–11–10–21–13–10–22–01–3
Orlando 2–22–21–31–32–22–02–02–11–12–01–32–01–11–31–22–01–30–4—4–00–22–00–20–21–13–10–22–03–1
Philadelphia 1–31–31–21–21–32–02–01–32–01–10–41–12–00–42–20–21–32–20–4—1–11–11–10–20–22–20–22–03–1
Phoenix 2–02–01–11–10–24–04–01–14–03–11–14–02–22–02–01–31–10–22–01–1—2–23–13–12–22–01–34–01–1
Portland 1–11–10–21–11–14–02–22–03–13–11–14–02–20–20–23–11–11–10–21–12–2—3–12–20–42–03–12–21–1
Sacramento 0–21–11–10–20–24–03–11–12–20–40–21–30–40–20–21–30–21–12–01–11–31–3—0–41–31–12–22–21–1
San Antonio 1–12–01–10–22–04–04–01–13–12–22–03–10–42–02–03–11–12–02–02–01–32–24–0—2–22–01–34–01–1
Seattle 1–11–11–11–12–02–24–02–03–13–12–04–03–12–01–13–12–01–11–12–02–24–03–12–2—2–02–24–01–1
Toronto 0–40–30–40–41–31–12–00–42–00–20–41–10–20–41–31–11–31–31–32–20–20–21–10–20–2—0–21–10–3
Utah 2–02–01–12–01–14–04–02–04–04–01–13–11–31–12–03–12–02–02–02–03–11–32–23–12–22–0—4–00–2
Vancouver 0–20–20–20–20–20–43–12–03–11–30–23–10–40–21–10–40–20–20–20–20–42–22–20–40–41–10–4—1–1
Washington 0–42–32–21–32–11–11–12–22–01–10–42–01–12–22–12–03–13–11–31–31–11–11–11–11–13–02–01–1—

Playoffs
1998 playoff game log
First Round: 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 23 @ Utah W 103–90 Clyde Drexler (22) Kevin Willis (14) Clyde Drexler (6) Delta Center
19,911		 1–0
2 April 25 @ Utah L 90–105 Hakeem Olajuwon (16) Kevin Willis (12) Matt Maloney (6) Delta Center
19,911		 1–1
3 April 29 Utah W 89–85 Hakeem Olajuwon (28) Hakeem Olajuwon (12) Drexler, Maloney (5) Compaq Center
16,285		 2–1
4 May 1 Utah L 71–93 Hakeem Olajuwon (27) Hakeem Olajuwon (15) Clyde Drexler (5) Compaq Center
16,285		 2–2
5 May 3 @ Utah L 70–84 Kevin Willis (16) Kevin Willis (11) three players tied (3) Delta Center
19,911		 2–3
1998 schedule

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

NOTE: Please write the players statistics in alphabetical order by last name.

Season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Charles Barkley
Matt Bullard
Emanual Davis
Clyde Drexler
Mario Elie
Othella Harrington
Eddie Johnson
Charles Jones
Matt Maloney
Hakeem Olajuwon
Brent Price
Rodrick Rhodes
Joe Stephens
Kevin Willis

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Charles Barkley
Matt Bullard
Clyde Drexler
Mario Elie
Othella Harrington
Eddie Johnson
Charles Jones
Matt Maloney
Hakeem Olajuwon
Brent Price
Rodrick Rhodes
Kevin Willis

References
  1. 1997-98 Houston Rockets
  2. "IN MEXICO, ROCKETS EDGE MAVS". Washington Post. December 7, 1997. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  3. "Olajuwon Has Knee Surgery". Los Angeles Times. November 25, 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  4. "1997–98 Houston Rockets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  5. "1997–98 Houston Rockets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  6. "Rockets Use Super Sub To Drub Sonics Barkley Comes Off Bench To Grab 21 Rebounds, Score 12 In 97-83 Win". The Spokesman-Review. February 11, 1998. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  7. "NBA: PLAYOFFS; Utah Loses And Nears Elimination". New York Times. April 30, 1998. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  8. "N.B.A.: PLAYOFFS -- HOUSTON; Injury Ends Barkley's Season". New York Times. May 3, 1998. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  9. "THE N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Youthful Sprint Wears Out Houston". New York Times. May 4, 1998. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  10. Popper, Steve (February 8, 1998). "N.B.A. ALL-STAR WEEKEND: Kids Slam and Ham, but a Grown-Up Shoots for Dough; Houston Pair Win in 2Ball". The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  11. "N.B.A.: HOUSTON; Rockets Trade Willis to Raptors". New York Times. June 10, 1998. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  12. "Elie, Other Free Agents Pushed Spurs to Top". www.sfgate.com. June 15, 1999. Retrieved October 13, 2021.

See also
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