The

1997–98 NBA season The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third straight championship and sixth in the last eight years, beating the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in the 19 ...

was the Rockets' 31st season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

, and 27th season in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. After a slow 3–5 start to the season, the Rockets went on a nine-game winning streak winning 12 of their first 17 games. The team traveled to

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Mex ...

, where they defeated the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

108–106 on December 6, 1997, which was the first NBA regular season game played in Mexico. However, as the season progressed,

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian Americans, Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Ass ...

went down with a knee injury and only played just 47 games, as the Rockets began to slip under .500, showing their age and the wear and tear of long playoff runs as they played mediocre basketball all season, holding a 22–24 record at the All-Star break. Olajuwon would eventually return as the Rockets finished fourth in the Midwest Division with a 41–41 record, and qualified the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

as the #8 seed in the Western Conference.

Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association ...

led the team with 18.4 points, 5.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while

Kevin Willis Kevin Alvin Willis (born September 6, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player mostly known for playing with the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 7-foot power forward/center. Excluding players ...

stepped up in Olajuwon's absence, averaging 16.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, Olajuwon provided the team with 16.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.0 blocks per game, and

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the Natio ...

provided with 15.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, and played half of the season off the bench as the team's sixth man. In addition, second-year guard and three-point specialist

Matt Maloney Matthew Patrick Maloney (born December 6, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early years Maloney was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, but grew up in ...

contributed 8.6 points per game, while

Mario Elie is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

and Eddie Johnson both contributed 8.4 points per game each, and three-point specialist

Matt Bullard Matthew Gordon Bullard (born June 5, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player in the NBA and former color analyst for the Houston Rockets on AT&T SportsNet Southwest. Bullard played 12 years professionally and 11 years in the NBA ...

provided with 7.0 points per game. In the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, in a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals, the Rockets took a 2–1 series lead over the top-seeded

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

. However, in Game 4, Barkley went down with a torn triceps muscle injury in a 93–71 home loss to the Jazz. Without Barkley, the Rockets would lose Game 5 to the Jazz on the road, 84–70, thus losing the series in five games. It was the first time the Rockets lost in the opening round of the playoffs since 1991. The Jazz would go on to lose in six games to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

in the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

for the second straight year. This marked the final season for Drexler, who received a standing ovation after the Rockets' Game 5 loss to the Jazz at the

Delta Center Vivint Arena (stylized as vivint arena), formerly known as Delta Center, EnergySolutions Arena and Vivint Smart Home Arena, is an indoor arena located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Assoc ...

. He then retired to take over the head coaching job at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, where he had played college basketball along with Olajuwon, ending his fifteen-year career in the NBA. Drexler also won the 2Ball competition along with Cynthia Cooper of the WNBA's

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

during the All-Star Weekend in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Also following the season, Willis was traded to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

, and Elie signed as a free agent with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

Offseason

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

* Rookie center

Serge Zwikker Serge Zwikker (born April 28, 1973) is a Dutch former basketball player. High School career Zwikker, the son of a police officer and a mother who worked in the flower business, first came to the United States in 1988, playing for Don Kent at Mo ...

was placed on the inactive list, and never played for the Rockets.

Regular season

Season standings

:z – clinched division title :y – clinched division title :x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , April 23 , @

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

W 103–90
,

(22) ,

(14) ,

(6) ,

19,911 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 25 , @

L 90–105
,

(16) ,

(12) ,

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19,911 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , April 29 ,

W 89–85
,

(28) ,

(12) , Drexler,

Maloney Maloney is a surname of Irish origin. The name 'Maloney' is derived from the Irish ''Ó Maoldhomhnaigh''. The surname is a sept of an Irish clan Dál gCais'' who were a powerful group in Ireland during the 10th century. The name may refer to: Pe ...

(5) , Compaq Center
16,285 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , May 1 ,

L 71–93
,

(27) ,

(15) ,

(5) , Compaq Center
16,285 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 3 , @

L 70–84
,

(16) ,

(11) , three players tied (3) ,

19,911 , 2–3 , -

Player statistics

NOTE: Please write the players statistics in alphabetical order by last name.

Offseason

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also