Rockets Get Surprising Ranking in Bleacher Report's Top 30 All-Time Franchises

When you think of the most successful NBA franchises in league history, the obvious teams are the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs. All of those teams have captured dynasties with some of the greatest players of all time. They helped build the global league we have today.

The Houston Rockets, although not quite in the pantheon of franchises, have had underrated success in their history. It often goes overlooked because they aren't considered a 'Tier 1' team in terms of winning, but they're better than most.

Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey recently ranked all 30 NBA teams based on historical success, and the Rockets received a surprising ranking at No. 12. While Houston has two championships and multiple MVP winners, it surprisingly doesn't have the stats to make the top 10.

The Houston Rockets are just outside the top 10 in regular-season winning percentage, playoff appearances, playoff winning percentage and Finals appearances," Bailey wrote. "And they're one of 12 teams in league history to win more than one championship.

"A handful of solid teams before and after Hakeem helped solidify Houston's position in the top half of the slideshow, too. Moses Malone took them to the playoffs five times. James Harden won an MVP for the Rockets and took them to eight straight postseasons."

Still, it's hard to see teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks above the Rockets. Before Giannis Antetokounmpo took off in the late 2010s, the Bucks were suffering from years of mediocrity and lottery seasons. Before the Knicks finally got out of the league's basement in the early 2020s, they were a laughing stock compared to the rest of the NBA.

The Rockets, however, have been consistent playoff and title contenders for most of the last 35 years or so. After winning back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995, they haven't been back to the NBA Finals, but they've been in the postseason for the majority of the time.

Since the two championships, Houston has made the playoffs in 18 of 30 seasons, including three trips to the Western Conference Finals in 1997, 2015 and 2018. Not only that, but the Rockets are top six in MVPs won and are one of 10 teams to have multiple MVP winners with the franchise.

The intricate statistics may point to Houston just being outside of the top 10 NBA franchises, but there's a pretty strong case to get into that circle. The Rockets are beginning to find their stride once again, so hopefully they can improve that case soon.