Former Rockets Guard Recalls Downfall of Houston's Hall of Fame Trio

The Rockets have seen several NBA Hall of Famers don their uniform throughout the team's rich history, and while some of these legends were able to bring back a championship to Houston, there is one trio of legends that were unable to get the job done despite the talent on paper for the Rockets in 1998.

That trio being the Rockets' three legends, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen.

Olajuwon being the Rockets most infamous and dominant player, pairing him with Charles Barkley for the 1996 season seemed like a recipe for success, but after being unable to get back into the championship picture, Houston's front office decided it was time to add yet another NBA superstar to the fray which came in the form of Scotting Pippen.

Former Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley recently sat down with NBA superstar Paul George on his podcast, in which Mobley details what essentially went wrong between the three Hall of Famers in Houston.

"Scottie bumped heads with Charles because Charles wasn't dedicated anymore in the game. But Charles was super smart, and he got away with the way he played because he was just so smart. He didn't really focus on his body," said Mobley. "Hakeem showed you how to be a pro. Scottie showed you how to be a pro. Then Charles showed you how to stay in the league, because he did something the opposite of what you should be doing, like not taking care of your body as much. You know, no filter, right? It's just like things like that,"

This was not the first time a player from this Houston Rockets team has chimed in on Charles Barkley's lack of effort at this stage in his career.

"In fact, Charles started out working out with me, and he was all dedicated," Pippen said on a basketball podcast. "Working out, me, him, and [Tim] Grover. I took Grover down and he lasted about a month. It was too much for [Barkley]. He wanted to enjoy his nightlife. And our workouts were predicated on getting up in the morning and training before practice."

This dream was short-lived with the trio, as Mobley recalls that by his second NBA season, Pippen was shipped off to Portland. It was by this time that both Olajuwon and Barkley had seemingly put their best years behind them, allowing players like Mobley and Rockets legend Steve Francis to blossom into their players. However, Mobley still would have appreciated a savvy veteran to assist in his and Francis's growth.

"I think Steve Francis and I would have been even bigger if we would have had veterans our second, third, fourth, fifth year," said Mobley to George.

Mobley and Francis both turned out to be a terrific backcourt combo despite not having the best leadership, but had that 1996 Rockets team actually gotten it together, they could have potentially brought another championship back to Houston.