Ghosts of Christmas’ Past Remind Rockets of Past Success

The Houston Rockets were home to watch the Christmas Day slate of NBA games. They'll dream of being back on the schedule on Christmas like they've been in the past.

Dec 23, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (1) dunks past Charlotte Hornets guard DaQuan Jeffries (3) during the second half at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images / Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

The NBA on Christmas Day is a tradition that dates back to some of the league's earliest history. It's usually a showcase of some of the top teams in the league or a recent rivalry. The Rockets have a brief history of Christmas Day games, but they'll have to maintain their spot as one of the league's top teams to truly be considered for the holiday tradition.

Houston's history in Christmas Day games isn't long, but there has been turbulence as the Rockets have lost as many games as they've won. They appeared in 12 Christmas games, with their latest coming in 2019 against the Warriors. Houston's record is six wins to six losses in their all-time Christmas appearances.

The Rockets first appeared on the Christmas slate in 1967, when they still made their home in San Diego. They secured a 104-101 home victory against the Los Angeles Lakers, a team led by Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. Once the Rockets moved to Houston, they held their ground at home for the holidays: they're undefeated in home Christmas-Day games. Houston beat the San Antonio Spurs in 2015 before taking another home victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Winning on Christmas hasn't come as easy for the franchise away from home. Houston has a 3-6 record for Christmas games on the road. Their most recent loss was in 2019 to the Golden State Warriors following Houston's defeat to Golden State in the Western Conference Finals the season before.

Each of their other losses has been rather close as well. Excluding Golden State and a ten-point loss to the Phoenix Suns in 1993, the Rockets lost their other games by an average of just over three points.

The franchise was in a different position during these competitive seasons. Save a few exceptions, each of those Rockets' teams featured either a notable player or a team that had the potential to compete for a championship. That's a factor that has been missing from the recent iteration of the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets haven't had anything to play for since 2020. They've had to stomach a rebuild that saw their franchise bottom out and struggle to play basketball that resembled anything close to competitive.

The culmination of their efforts and commitment has birthed this new version of the Rockets, filled with young talent and quality contributions from veteran players. Houston has created a team that has the opportunity to compete in high-stakes games including its run through the NBA Cup.

Now that the Rockets have earned this opportunity, they'll have to work hard to maintain their relevance if they want to return to the bright lights of Christmas. To prove Houston has a team worthy of showcasing, it will need wins in big games this regular season and the postseason.

National media describes the team as a talented group that still needs to learn to win games at the highest level. Houston is close to figuring out that lesson, but the Rockets will continue watching games on Christmas instead of playing in them until then.

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