Where Does This Season Rank in Recent Rockets History?

This season has been nothing short of incredibly fun for the Houston Rockets. After years of losing, drafting, and rebuilding, the Rockets have officially clinched a playoff spot after last night's 143-105 blowout win over the Utah Jazz. They hold the second seed in the Western Conference and have hit 50 wins for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

It's been a long five years since Houston last made the playoffs. This time, it will look different, as it will be the Rockets' first postseason game since the James Harden era.

10 years ago, in the 2014-15 season, Houston made the Western Conference Finals but would fall to the up-and-coming Golden State Warriors. The Rockets went 56-26, one of the most entertaining seasons in the franchise's history. It was the first Conference Finals run under Harden, and would ignite years of title contention.

Just three years later, the Rockets would find themselves in the Western Conference Finals once again, this time with a new co-star, Chris Paul. Houston would take Golden State to seven games, but an injury to Paul would keep the Rockets from clinching their first NBA Finals berth since 1994.

Even if Houston doesn't make a deep playoff run this year, this season still ranks up there with the previous two mentioned in terms of the last 10 years. There's a lot that goes into it, but a big reason is that the Rockets now have a sustainable contender for years to come with such a young, exciting core.

While Alperen Sengun is considered the team's best player amid making his first All-Star Game, any other Rocket could go off on any given night. Jalen Green and Amen Thompson have also emerged as elite talents for a winning team, while Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks round out the starting five.

Perhaps the biggest reason is the expectation this team had going into the season. While Houston had been improving year after year, nobody expected this team to hit 50 wins and hold a top-three seed in such a crowded conference. All of this has culminated in a season that Rockets fans will look back on and recognize as the start of something special.

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