2020–21 Houston Rockets season

2020–21 Houston Rockets season
2020–21 Houston Rockets season
Head coach	Stephen Silas
General manager	Rafael Stone
Owners	Tilman Fertitta
Arena	Toyota Center
Results
Record	10–9 (.526)
Place	Division: 3rd (Southwest); Conference: 10th (Western)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	AT&T SportsNet Southwest
Radio	Sportstalk 790
< 2019–20	2021–22 >

The 2020–21 Houston Rockets season will be the 54th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and their 50th in the Houston area.^[1]

On September 13, 2020, Mike D'Antoni informed the Rockets that he would not return as head coach after coaching the team for four seasons.^[2] On October 30, 2020, the Rockets hired Stephen Silas as their new head coach.^[3] On October 15, 2020, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey resigned from the position. Rafael Stone then was named as the general manager for the Rockets.^[4]^[5]^[6] This was also James Harden's final season in Houston, as he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster 4 team deal trade. It reunited him with former Thunder teammate Kevin Durant for the first time since the 2011–12 season.

Draft

The Rockets did not hold any picks for the 2020 NBA draft. This was the fourth time in franchise history that they did not hold any picks in the draft; the last time was in 2015.

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
C	12	Adams, Steven	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	1993-07-20	Pittsburgh
G/F	9	Brooks, Dillon	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1996-01-22	Oregon
G/F	25	Bullock, Reggie (FA)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1991-03-16	North Carolina
F	17	Eason, Tari	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	2001-05-10	LSU
G	4	Green, Jalen	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	2002-02-09	Prolific Prep (CA)
F	32	Green, Jeff (FA)	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1986-08-28	Georgetown
F	—	Griffin, AJ	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	222 lb (101 kg)	2003-08-25	Duke
G/F	14	Hinton, Nate (TW, FA)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1999-06-08	Houston
G	0	Holiday, Aaron (FA)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1996-09-30	UCLA
C	2	Landale, Jock	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	1995-10-25	Saint Mary's
C	51	Marjanović, Boban (FA)	7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)	290 lb (132 kg)	1988-08-15	Serbia
F	00	Samuels, Jermaine (TW, FA)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1998-11-12	Villanova
C	28	Şengün, Alperen	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	243 lb (110 kg)	2002-07-25	Turkey
G	15	Sheppard, Reed	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	2004-06-24	Kentucky
F	10	Smith, Jabari Jr.	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	2003-05-13	Auburn
F	8	Tate, Jae'Sean	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1995-10-28	Ohio State
G/F	1	Thompson, Amen	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2003-01-30	Pine Crest (FL)
G	5	VanVleet, Fred	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	1994-02-25	Wichita State
F	7	Whitmore, Cam	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	2004-07-08	Villanova
G/F	19	Williams, Nate (TW, FA)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1999-02-12	Buffalo

Head coach

Ime Udoka

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
(GL) On assignment to G League affiliate
(TW) Two-way affiliate player
Injured

Roster
Last transaction: July 2, 2024

Standings

Division

Southwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
y – Dallas Mavericks	42	30	.583	–	21‍–‍15	21‍–‍15	7–5	72
x – Memphis Grizzlies	38	34	.528	4.0	18‍–‍18	20‍–‍16	6–6	72
pi – San Antonio Spurs	33	39	.458	9.0	14‍–‍22	19‍–‍17	6–6	72
New Orleans Pelicans	31	41	.431	11.0	18‍–‍18	13‍–‍23	6–6	72
Houston Rockets	17	55	.236	25.0	9‍–‍27	8‍–‍28	5–7	72

Conference

Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	z – Utah Jazz *	52	20	.722	–	72
2	y – Phoenix Suns *	51	21	.708	1.0	72
3	x – Denver Nuggets	47	25	.653	5.0	72
4	x – Los Angeles Clippers	47	25	.653	5.0	72
5	y – Dallas Mavericks *	42	30	.583	10.0	72
6	x – Portland Trail Blazers	42	30	.583	10.0	72

7	x – Los Angeles Lakers	42	30	.583	10.0	72
8	pi – Golden State Warriors	39	33	.542	13.0	72
9	x – Memphis Grizzlies	38	34	.528	14.0	72
10	pi – San Antonio Spurs	33	39	.458	19.0	72

11	New Orleans Pelicans	31	41	.431	21.0	72
12	Sacramento Kings	31	41	.431	21.0	72
13	Minnesota Timberwolves	23	49	.319	29.0	72
14	Oklahoma City Thunder	22	50	.306	30.0	72
15	Houston Rockets	17	55	.236	35.0	72

Game log

Preseason

2020 preseason game log
Total: (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1)

Preseason: 3–1 (home: 2–0; road: 1–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	December 11	@ Chicago	W 125–104	Bruno Caboclo (17)	Bruno Caboclo (7)	John Wall (9)	United Center	1–0
2	December 13	@ Chicago	L 91–104	John Wall (21)	DeMarcus Cousins (6)	John Wall (4)	United Center	1–1
3	December 15	San Antonio	W 112–98	John Wall (15)	DeMarcus Cousins (11)	James Harden (4)	Toyota Center	2–1
4	December 17	San Antonio	W 128–106	Christian Wood (27)	Christian Wood (10)	James Harden (9)	Toyota Center	3–1

2020–21 season schedule

Regular season

2020–21 game log
Total: 10–9 (Home: 4–4; Road: 6–5)

December: 1–2 (home: 1–0; road: 0–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	December 23	Oklahoma City	POSTPONED				Toyota Center
2	December 26	@ Portland	L 126–128 (OT)	James Harden (44)	Christian Wood (13)	James Harden (17)	Moda Center 0	0–1
3	December 28	@ Denver	L 111–124	James Harden (34)	Jae'Sean Tate (7)	James Harden (8)	Ball Arena 0	0–2
4	December 31	Sacramento	W 122–119	James Harden (33)	Christian Wood (12)	John Wall (9)	Toyota Center 0	1–2

January: 8–7 (home: 3–4; road: 5–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
5	January 2	Sacramento	W 102–94	John Wall (28)	Christian Wood (15)	John Wall (6)	Toyota Center 0	2–2
6	January 4	Dallas	L 100–113	Christian Wood (23)	Christian Wood (7)	James Harden (10)	Toyota Center 0	2–3
7	January 6	@ Indiana	L 107–114	John Wall (28)	DeMarcus Cousins (14)	James Harden (12)	Bankers Life Fieldhouse 0	2–4
8	January 8	Orlando	W 132–90	Christian Wood (22)	Christian Wood (15)	James Harden (13)	Toyota Center 0	3–4
9	January 10	L.A Lakers	L 102–120	Christian Wood (23)	John Wall (10)	James Harden (9)	Toyota Center 0	3–5
10	January 12	L.A Lakers	L 100–117	Christian Wood (18)	DeMarcus Cousins (10)	James Harden (7)	Toyota Center 0	3–6
11	January 14	@ San Antonio	W 109–105	Christian Wood (27)	Christian Wood (15)	Jae'Sean Tate (10)	AT&T Center 0	4–6
12	January 16	@ San Antonio	L 91–103	Jones, Wood (24)	Christian Wood (18)	Jae'Sean Tate (5)	AT&T Center 0	4–7
13	January 18	@ Chicago	L 120–125	Victor Oladipo (32)	Christian Wood (9)	Victor Oladipo (9)	United Center 0	4–8
14	January 20	Phoenix	L 103–109	Gordon, Oladipo (22)	Christian Wood (11)	Victor Oladipo (6)	Toyota Center 0	4–9
15	January 22	@ Detroit	W 103–102	Eric Gordon (20)	DeMarcus Cousins (15)	DeMarcus Cousins (7)	Little Caesars Arena 0	5–9
16	January 23	@ Dallas	W 133–108	Eric Gordon (33)	DeMarcus Cousins (17)	John Wall (8)	American Airlines Center 0	6–9
17	January 26	@ Washington	W 107–88	John Wall (24)	DeMarcus Cousins (11)	John Wall (5)	Toyota Center 2,996	7–9
18	January 28	Portland	W 104–101	Victor Oladipo (25)	Christian Wood (12)	John Wall (6)	Toyota Center 3,154	8–9
19	January 30	@ New Orleans	W 126–112	Christian Wood (27)	Tate, Wood (9)	John Wall (9)	Smoothie King Center 1,440	9–9

February: 1–0 (home: 0–0; road: 1–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
20	February 1	@ Oklahoma City	W 136–106	Eric Gordon (25)	Christian Wood (11)	Victor Oladipo (7)	Chesapeake Energy Arena 0	10–9

March: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record

April: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record {{NBA game log section\|Houston Rockets\|May\|first=no\|show=no	home_wins = 0	home_losses = 0	road_wins = 0	road_losses = 0

2020–21 season schedule

Transactions

Trades

November 22, 2020	To Houston Rockets Trevor Ariza Isaiah Stewart First round draft pick (2021)	To Portland Trail Blazers Robert Covington
November 24, 2020	To Houston Rockets Christian Wood First round draft pick (2021) Second round draft pick (2021)	To Detroit Pistons Trevor Ariza Isaiah Stewart Second round draft pick (2027) Cash considerations
November 25, 2020	To Houston Rockets Kenyon Martin Jr.	To Sacramento Kings Second round draft pick (2021) Cash considerations
November 27, 2020	To Houston Rockets Draft rights to Issuf Sanon	To New York Knicks Draft rights to Tadija Dragićević Draft rights to Axel Hervelle Draft rights to Sergio Llull Austin Rivers (sign-and-trade)
November 27, 2020	To Houston Rockets John Wall First round draft pick (2023)	To Washington Wizards Russell Westbrook
January 22, 2021	To Houston Rockets Kevin Porter Jr.	To Cleveland Cavaliers Future second round draft pick

Free agents

Re-signed

Player	Signed
Austin Rivers	November 25, 2020 (sign-and-trade)
Bruno Caboclo	November 26, 2020
Kenyon Martin Jr.	November 30, 2020

Additions

Player	Signed	Date	Former team
Mason Jones	Free agent	November 19, 2020	Undrafted
Kenny Wooten	Free agent	November 21, 2020	Westchester Knicks
Sterling Brown	Free agent	November 25, 2020	Milwaukee Bucks
Jae'Sean Tate	Multi-year contract	November 25, 2020	Sydney Kings
Brodric Thomas	Exhibit 10 contract	November 30, 2020	Undrafted
Trevelin Queen	Exhibit 10 contract	November 30, 2020	Undrafted
Jerian Grant	Free agent	November 30, 2020	Capital City Go-Go
DeMarcus Cousins	Free agent	November 30, 2020	Los Angeles Lakers
Gerald Green	Free agent	November 30, 2020	Denver Nuggets

Subtractions

Player	Reason left	Date	New Team
Austin Rivers	Free agent / sign-and-trade	November 27, 2020	New York Knicks

References

^ "Houston Rockets Franchise Index | Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
^ Reynolds, Tim (September 13, 2020). "Mike D'Antoni tells Rockets he won't return as coach". NBA.com. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
^ "Rockets Name Stephen Silas Head Coach". NBA.com. October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
^ "Daryl Morey stepping down as Houston Rockets GM". ESPN.com. October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
^ "Statements Regarding Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey". NBA.com. October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
^ Rieken, Kristie (October 15, 2020). "Daryl Morey stepping down as Rockets GM after 13 seasons". NBA.com. Retrieved October 15, 2020.

[basketball-reference-1] "Houston Rockets Franchise Index | Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 21, 2020.

[2] Reynolds, Tim (September 13, 2020). "Mike D'Antoni tells Rockets he won't return as coach". NBA.com. Retrieved September 14, 2020.

[3] "Rockets Name Stephen Silas Head Coach". NBA.com. October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.

[4] "Daryl Morey stepping down as Houston Rockets GM". ESPN.com. October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.

[5] "Statements Regarding Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey". NBA.com. October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.

[6] Rieken, Kristie (October 15, 2020). "Daryl Morey stepping down as Rockets GM after 13 seasons". NBA.com. Retrieved October 15, 2020.

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v t e Houston Rockets
Founded in 1967 Played in San Diego (1967–1971) Based in Houston, Texas
Franchise	History All-time roster Draft history 1967 Records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	San Diego Sports Arena Hofheinz Pavilion Astrodome HemisFair Arena The Summit/Compaq Center Toyota Center
Personnel	Owner(s) Tilman Fertitta President Gretchen Sheirr General manager Rafael Stone Head coach Ime Udoka
G League affiliate	Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Retired numbers	11 22 23 24 34 44 45
NBA championships	1994 1995
Rivalries	Dallas Mavericks San Antonio Spurs Utah Jazz
Culture and lore	Red Rowdies ClutchFans Clutch City Clutch the Rockets Bear Dancing Barry The Kiss of Death The Dream Shake 13 points in 35 seconds 22 wins in a row The Year of the Yao June 17th, 1994 27 consecutive 3-pointers missed