Kobe Bryant (L) of the Los Angeles Lakers holds the Larry O'Brian trophy as teammate Shaquille O'Neal (L) hold the MVP trophy after winning the NBA Championship against Indiana Pacers 19 June, 2000, after game six of the NBA Finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers won the game 116-111 to take the NBA title 4-2 in the best-of-seven series. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 NBA franchises since the year 2000
SHANGHAI, CHINA: Tracy McGrady (R) of the Houston Rockets answers questions as teammate Chinese basketball star and Shanghai native Yao Ming (L) listens during a press conference after a practice session at Shanghai Stadium, 13 October 2004. Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings will play the NBA pre-session matches on 14 October in Shanghai and 17 October in Beijing, NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 NBA franchises since the year 2000. AFP PHOTO/LIU Jin (Photo credit should read LIU JIN/AFP via Getty Images)
NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 NBA franchises since the year 2000: 5. Houston Rockets
A hugely controversial start here. The Houston Rockets have not won a championship in the 22 years we are talking about and never even made the NBA Finals. Compare that to the Celtics or the Detroit Pistons (also unlucky to miss out), and it would appear to be a tough sell. But here is the reason they sneak in at number five.
Across two different eras (2002 – 2007 & 2012 – 2021), the Rockets had some of the most beloved and important players in the league. Steve Francis (loved in hindsight more than he was at the time), Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, and of course, James Harden. This equated to plenty of regular season wins, as well as some postseason success.
Most famously getting to the Western Conference Finals and going 3-2 up on the Golden State Warriors. The Rockets, led by Harden and another Hall of Fame player in Chris Paul, could not get it done because of a hamstring injury to Paul. It was the closest they have come to a championship since the year 2000, and there were several very bad collapses in there as well.
So why did they make this list, then? The Rockets have won only 58 playoff games in this timeframe. Even the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets (61) boast more. But you could also legitimately make the case that between 2013 – 2019, there was no better regular season player in the league than Harden.
Frustrating to watch at times, he also piled up wins and led was at the forefront of the “threes or shots in the paint” movement. He is going to the Hall of Fame, McGrady and Ming are already in there, and Houston is a city that players love to come to.
Since 2000 and with only small gaps in between (even now, they are rebuilding rapidly), the Rockets have always been relevant, always in the hunt, and usually with an elite player or two leading the way.
