The Houston Rockets play basketball.
The 1969 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association 's 1968 -- 69 season . The 1981 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1980 -- 81 NBA season , pitting the 62-win Boston Celtics against the 40-42 Houston Rockets . Houston Rockets . Each one of the aging trio had left the team by 2001 , and the Rockets of the early 21st century , led by superstars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming , followed the trend of consistent regular-season respectability followed by playoff underachievement as both players struggled with injuries . James Edward Harden Jr. ( born August 26 , 1989 ) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) .