Editor’s note: players only qualify if they logged at least one playoff appearance in their respective championship years. Also, the list is based on their entire career, not just their span of time with the Rockets. 

16) Chris Jent (1994)

One of four players on the ’93-’94 Rockets championship team that had been plucked from CBA obscurity, Jent was playing for the Columbus Horizon in April of 1994 when the Rockets signed him. They needed someone to fill out bench minutes at forward after a Matt Bullard injury and Jent thrived, playing huge minutes off the bench in the final three regular season contests, averaging 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. It was an impressive enough performance to get him on the postseason roster, but his playing time was limited with Bullard coming back. Jent totaled 13 points and nine rebounds in 11 postseason games as the Rockets won the title. He returned to the CBA ranks from there but did get three more appearances with the Knicks in ’96-’97. He is one of only four players in NBA history with more career postseason games (11) than regular season ones (six), and the only person on that list to earn a ring.

15) Zan Tabak (1995)

Before he reached the NBA in 1994 with the Rockets, Tabak already had three EuroLeague titles, playing on KK Split in his native Croatia, as a teammate with fellow countrymen and future NBA players Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja. His job in Houston was one of the easiest in NBA history, backing up the indefatigable Hakeem Olajuwon. Tabak had the lowest minutes per game average of any Rockets player during the ’94-’95 playoffs, but did appear in eight games, though none of the NBA Finals match-ups. A seven footer back when that meant something, Tabak was subsequently given chances to succeed in Toronto, Boston, and Indiana but never panned out. He did become the first foreign born player to reach the NBA Finals with two different teams, having also played on the ’99-’00 Pacers.

14) Pete Chilcutt (1995)

Though he comes in pretty low on this list, Chilcutt was actually the starting small forward for Houston for most of the 1995 playoffs. He initially slotted into the starting lineup in February that year, after the Rockets dealt Otis Thorpe at the trade deadline, but was soon replaced by converted small forward Robert Horry. Chilcutt’s second chance as a starter came late in the regular season when Olajuwon rested up for the playoffs and the Rockets went small ball for 14 games. Then, starting forward Carl Herrera dislocated his shoulder in the first round series against the Jazz, allowing Chilcutt another go in the starting lineup.  He had some strong performances early but as the playoffs progressed, Chilcutt’s playing time was cut and he was benched in the NBA Finals against the Magic, ultimately logging just three minutes of playing time in the series and not scoring a single point. A first round draft pick out of North Carolina in 1991, he managed to last nine seasons in the NBA, also spending time with the Kings, Pistons, Grizzlies, Jazz, Cavaliers, and Clippers.

13) Carl Herrera (1994 and 1995)

While not part of the group of four Rockets with CBA experience, Herrera was a cast-off in his own right, starting his career in La Liga after the Heat drafted him in the second round in 1990. He came to the Rockets via trade in 1991 and over four seasons averaged just 6.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, but did earn two championship rings in the process. He actually started at power forward down the stretch of the ’94-’95 season after the Rockets traded away Otis Thorpe but then dislocated his shoulder in a first round series against Utah and missed the remainder of the postseason. In the 1994 NBA Finals against the Knicks, Herrera scored 10 points off the bench in game one, 11 points in game five, and had 12 points and five rebounds in game six. He signed with the Spurs for the ’95-’96 season and put up career highs in scoring but lasted just parts of four more seasons due to injuries.

12) Charles Jones (1995)

A longtime journeyman center, Jones officially retired after the Pistons waived him late in the ’93-’94 season but was coaxed back by the Rockets in March of 1995. With Hakeem Olajuwon sidelined with a neck injury, Houston needed warm bodies at the center rotation and the 37-year-old Jones was a steady hand. After 11 previous seasons that had never included a playoff run past the first round, he was now a backup center for a championship team, playing in 19 postseason contests after appearing in just three regular season games. The Knicks were so impressed with his veteran presence and defensive IQ that he hung around for three more seasons with the team, finally retiring again in 1998 at age 40. One of four brothers who all played in the NBA, Charles became the first to win a championship, though oldest brother Wil had previously secured an ABA title in 1975 with the Kentucky Colonels.

11) Matt Bullard (1994)

Nicknamed “Air Bullard” sincerely for his high-arching long range shot and sarcastically for his lack of vertical leap, Bullard was a lightly used shooting specialist for the Rockets for four years. He peaked at 7.3 points per game in ’92-’93 but the ’93-’94 title season was an arduous one. Not only was Bullard struggling to recover from offseason knee surgery, which greatly affected his playing time and stats, he was also almost traded early in the season to the Pistons, along with Robert Horry, in exchange for Sean Elliott (the deal fell through when Elliott failed a physical). Bullard appeared in just 10 games in the 1994 postseason title run, never scoring more than four points in any of them. Unable to secure a contract that summer, he spent ’94-’95 in Greece while the Rockets won a second straight title before returning to the NBA for seven more seasons with the Hawks, Rockets, and Bulls. He is now a television broadcaster for Houston, trading off color commentating duties with Clyde Drexler on AT&T Sportsnet.

10) Scott Brooks (1994)

Un-drafted out of UC Irvine in 1988, Brooks had developed into a solid backup point guard by the time he was traded to the Rockets in 1992. He was typically the first guard off the bench behind Vernon Maxwell and Kenny Smith in ’92-’93 but in ’93-’94, his role reduced in favor of rookie Sam Cassell as the season wore on. This reportedly didn’t sit well with Brooks, especially when he barely left the bench during the 1994 postseason, playing just 4.6 minutes per game in five appearances, none of which occurred in the NBA Finals. He clashed with coach Rudy Tomjanovich over playing time in ’94-’95, and just a few days after the Rockets bolstered their back court depth by acquiring Clyde Drexler, Brooks was dealt to the Mavericks for a second round pick. He played three more seasons from there with Dallas, New York, and Cleveland, before a knee injury in 1999 cut his career short. Brooks is now more well known as a coach and almost secured another championship ring in that regard in 2012, when he guided the Thunder to the NBA Finals.

9) Earl Cureton (1994)

It was a long, strange career for Cureton, a journeyman center who spent 12 seasons in the NBA stretched out over 17 years, winning titles in 1983 with the 76ers and in 1994 with the Rockets, with a brief stop in between with his hometown Pistons in the early “Bad Boys” days. He was over three years removed from his last NBA appearance and touring with the Magic Johnson All-Stars across the world when the Rockets signed him in April of 1994. The team wanted one more veteran big man on the bench and it came in handy in the Conference Finals against Utah, when Cureton averaged 11.8 minutes per game, appearing in all five of them. He was the only player on either side of the ball in the 1994 Finals, Rockets or Knicks, that had previously won a championship ring and his only appearance in the came late in game seven with the series secured.

8) Chucky Brown (1995)

Along with Chris Jent, Mario Elie, and Charles Jones, Brown was one of four members of the ’94-’95 Rockets team that had previously played in the CBA, but held the additional distinction of winning both NBA and CBA championships in the same calendar year, doing so with the Rockets and the Yakima Sun Kings. Initially signed with a 10-day contract in February of 1995, Brown impressed enough to stick with the team for the remainder of the season. With Otis Thorpe traded away, the Rockets were desperate for front court depth and Brown was willing to do all the little things on the court, especially use his fouls, which he did so much in playoff match-ups against titans like Charles Barkley and Karl Malone that he fouled out twice in the 1995 postseason, despite averaging just 16 minutes per game. Brown was eventually traded to Phoenix in 1996 as part of the blockbuster Barkley deal and ultimately spent his 13-year NBA career with 12 different franchises.

7) Mario Elie (1994 and 1995)

Though he came off the bench for most of his time with the Rockets, Elie’s defensive fortitude (he was nicknamed “Junkyard Dog”) and knack for big shots typically landed him in crunch time lineups late in playoff games. His most notable moment was in game seven of the 1995 Conference Semifinals on the road against the Suns. With seven seconds left and the score tied, Elie nailed a corner three-pointer for the win, then blew kisses to the Phoenix crowd, lending the shot its “Kiss of Death” nickname. It was only his second made basket of the game and capped off an incredible 3-1 series comeback for the Rockets. He came up big again in game one of the Finals against Orlando, scoring 18 points in a tone-setting win. In addition to his two titles with Houston, Elie was a champion again in ’98-’99 with the Spurs. 

6) Vernon Maxwell (1994 and 1995)

Like so many of his Rockets teammates, Maxwell had a circuitous route to playing on a championship team, and faced plenty of professional adversity. He was a second round pick in 1988 and had already been traded twice by the time he reached the Rockets in 1990. With a new stability in Houston, he quickly developed into a reliable secondary scorer and ball handler and earned the nickname “Mad Max” both for his fearless shooting and his fiery temper. In the 1994 playoffs, Maxwell was second on the Rockets in scoring (13.8 points per game) and assists (4.2 per game) and was arguably the difference maker in game seven of the NBA Finals, scoring 21 points while shutting down John Starks defensively. Then, things fell apart completely in ’94-’95 with Maxwell sulking first over his contract situation, then later over his dwindling playing time after the Rockets traded for Clyde Drexler. Houston tried to trade away their mercurial star after he received a 10-game suspension for entering the stands to a fight a Trail Blazers fan, but couldn’t find a buyer at the deadline. Things finally came to a head after game one of their first round series against the Jazz, when Maxwell reportedly tried to fight coach Rudy Tomjanovich after logging just 16 minutes on the court. He was dismissed from the team indefinitely and had to watch on television as they clinched a second straight title. Waived that summer by the Rockets, he had some decent seasons later on for the Sixers and Spurs but never returned to his career heights in Houston.

5) Kenny Smith (1994 and 1995)

An All-American at North Carolina, the sixth overall pick in 1987, and a Rookie of the Year runner-up for the Kings, Smith looked like a budding star early in his career but things quickly became tumultuous for him in Sacramento and Atlanta. The Rockets traded for him in a steal in 1990 and he took over as the starting point guard for five seasons, averaging 13.3 points and 5.5 assists over that stretch. Like so many other players on this list, Smith’s true contributions to the Rockets came in big postseason moments, most notably game one of the 1995 NBA Finals against the Magic, when his buzzer beater three-pointer forced overtime in an eventual win. Soon after the back-to-back titles, injuries started to catch up with “The Jet” and after brief stops with the Pistons, Magic, and Nuggets, he retired in 1997 at the age of 32.

4) Otis Thorpe (1994)

Efficient offensively and stout defensively, Thorpe was a perfect complement to Hakeem Olajuwon as a power forward, and he held the starting job in Houston steadily for seven seasons after they traded for him in 1988. His consistency in his first four years with the Rockets was astounding, robotically averaging around 17 points and 10 rebounds per game each season, and even getting named to the 1992 All-Star team, until a rookie Robert Horry started to cut into his playing time in ’92-’93. This rankled Thorpe, even as he averaged a double-double in the ’93-’94 title season, finishing fourth on the Rockets in playoff scoring and second in rebounding. Feeling further spurned by his contract situation heading into ’94-’95, Thorpe was becoming a full-on distraction and the team responded by trading him at the deadline for Clyde Drexler. Though he never regained his All-Star form, he was still effective for a few more seasons with the Blazers, Pistons, and Grizzlies before starting to break down in the ’00s due to injuries.

3) Sam Cassell (1994 and 1995)

In his first two seasons in the league, Cassell won two championships, then he capped his career 13 years later with a third title before retiring. Brash beyond his status as a late first round pick in 1993, he stepped in right away as a combo guard backup to Kenny Smith and Vernon Maxwell. His breakout performance came in game seven of the 1994 Conference Semifinals against Phoenix, when Cassell poured in 22 points and seven assists to help the Rockets advance. Though he came off the bench still in the 1995 playoffs, Cassell was the fourth leading scorer with 11.0 points per game as the Rockets secured a second consecutive championship. His time with the team ended soon after, as he was traded to the Suns as part of the huge 1996 Charles Barkley deal. He eventually averaged 19+ points per game in a season for three different teams (Bucks, Timberwolves, and Nets), was an All-Star in 2004, and earned that third title ring with the Celtics in 2008.

2) Robert Horry (1994 and 1995)

This is already Horry’s second appearance on one of these lists and it won’t be his last, as we’ll eventually rank Tim Duncan’s teammates. His seven championships are the most all-time by anyone who wasn’t Bill Russell or a teammate of his on the ’60s Celtics, and, along with John Salley, he’s the only player to win titles with three different franchises. Horry’s career started with the Rockets as a first round pick in 1992 and so did his reputation as “Big Shot Bob.” In game one of the 1995 Conference Finals, he hit a buzzer beater that stole a win in San Antonio, and in game three of the ensuing NBA Finals, he nailed a game-winning three-pointer that broke Orlando’s will and gave Houston an insurmountable 3-0 series lead. And to think that the Rockets tried to trade away Horry to the Pistons at the deadline in 1994 but the deal fell through when Sean Elliott failed his physical. After averaging a career high 12.0 points per game for Houston in ’95-’96, Horry was traded for real this time, to the Suns as part of the package exchanged for Charles Barkley, but soon after plied his craft as a role player for three title winning teams in Los Angeles and two more in San Antonio.

1) Clyde Drexler (1995)

In what is still arguably the most famous and impactful in-season trade of all-time, Drexler came to the Rockets on Valentine’s Day in 1995. He certainly wasn’t the same player by then who had carried the Trail Blazers to Finals appearances in 1990 and 1992, but Drexler was still a premier scorer in ’94-’95 and added a lot to Houston’s second title run. Not that things worked out perfectly from the start. Attempts to trade their incumbent starting shooting guard Vernon Maxwell fell through, leaving the Rockets with a logjam in the back court and Maxwell even more disgruntled than before. Drexler also struggled some to find his footing in the new offense but after a month or so the 32-year-old was throwing down turn-back-the-clock performances, like 41 points and 18 rebounds in a late March win over the Clippers that Hakeem Olajuwon sat out with a neck injury. There were some struggles in the playoffs as well but Drexler was terrific overall, averaging 20.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game and finally earning that championship ring for which he had waited for 12 seasons. He hung around in Houston for three more seasons, dealing with some injuries but still averaging 18.5 points per game over that stretch, and even getting named to two more All-Star teams.