It’s been a long time since the Houston Rockets won their championships. It’s been about that same amount of time since former Rockets guard Vernon Maxwell has been in Houston. But there he was with 12 other members of the Rockets only two title teams during a photo session and luncheon, joking around and catching up with the “Clutch City” Rockets. His departure from the second title team in 1994-95, during the playoffs, has long been discussed, though not often by Maxwell. He discussed it at length in the video below, expressing regret over how he handled the situation after the Rockets traded for Clyde Drexler and his own playoff role was diminished. He said it took a long time to get past the title that the team won after his exit.
Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Otis Thorpe, Mario Elie, Robert Horry, Maxwell, Matt Bullard, Pete Chilcutt, Chris Jent, Earl Cureton, Charles Jones and Tim Breaux were honored at a luncheon following the photo session and will be part of a huge celebration Thursday night at halftime of their game against the Denver Nuggets. Here are some photos.
Here are some additional photos I posted on my facebook page.