Opening Night Has Not Been Kind To The Rockets

The Houston Rockets are just one day away from taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder on the first day of the regular season. The Rockets enter the year with one of their best teams in years, beginning the season with legitimate championship aspirations. Houston hopes to get off to a fast start this season with a win in game one. However, recent trends for the franchise have not been favorable for the Rockets in their first game of the past several seasons.

The Rockets have lost the past seven opening night games in a row, many of which happened with significant margins of defeat.

The last opening night victory came in the 2017-18 season. That year, the Rockets would go on to have one of their best seasons in franchise history, ending with a conference finals appearance against the Golden State Warriors.

The season began against those same Warriors, as the Rockets won a tight 122-121 contest with James Harden leading the team in scoring and assists.

The Rockets have struggled to win since then, taking losses even during years the franchise was competitive.

Houston had the same championship aspirations the following year, but opened the season with a 131-112 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans that still had Anthony Davis and Julius Randle on the roster.

The following year featured Russell Westbrook's Rockets debut, coming out with a strong 24-point, 16-rebound performance against the Milwaukee Bucks despite the 117-111 loss.

The tanking seasons began after 2020 bubble playoffs. The Rockets fell short against the Portland Trailblazers to start the 2020-21 season, despite 44 points from Harden. He left the team shortly after the season began, and a difficult rebuild began for Houston.

The next year, the Rockets took on a team that was building upon a rebuild in the opening game. The Minnesota Timberwolves dominated, led by Karl Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards.

Houston's luck in the opening game of the season hasn't swung back in the Rockets' favor.

In 2022-23 they were defeated by the Atlanta Hawks, the following year, they were blown out by the Orlando Magic in the start of the newest era of Rockets basketball, and Houston lost a tight game against the Charlotte Hornets to start the season.

Opening night has not been kind to the Rockets for nearly a decade, and it will be difficult to change their fortunes this season. If they can, it would be a statement for a team that is trying to prove it has a legitimate chance at a championship this season.