Houston Rockets: Why Rudy Tomjanovich deserves to be a Hall of Famer

One of the Houston Rockets greatest sons is up for a distinctive honor. Yes, once again, Rudy Tomjanovich has been selected as a finalist to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. This isn’t the first time he was a finalist but he certainly has greater odds of making it in this season. Here’s why.

The Houston Rockets have been an organization that is traditionally-centered around winning and seasons of futility are few-and-far between. There’s a certain level of expectations that this franchise has and the bar remains as high as possible to ensure that the legacy lives on from each era to the next.

One fixture of the Championship Era in specific is former Houston Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich. Outside of Hakeem Olajuwon, I don’t think any individual has made such a tremendous impact on the team’s success outside of Rudy T. His laid-back yet stern approach to detail with how his teams operated night and out was an amazing thing to watch during his tenure from 1992 to 2003.

His story of how he elevated to the man he became is nothing short of amazing. Starting from his hearty beginnings in Hamtramck, Mich. to his stardom at the University of Michigan to his illustrious career with the Houston Rockets as a player and coach is certainly one to admire.

His courage continued to enamor after suffering one of the most devastating sports injuries to this day, where he was the recipient of a tumultuous roundhouse punch delivered by then-Los Angeles Lakers’ forward Kermit Washington in a match up in early December 1977. Rudy had run to center court to break up a scuffle that involved Washington, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kevin Kunnert but Washington had apparently thought he was going after him so he retaliated.

Abdul-Jabbar had compared the moment to the sound of a melon dropping on concrete. That’s just beyond gruesome to even fathom the magnitude of such a notion.

Rudy’s recovery involved multiple reconstructive surgeries to his jaw and skull and although he healed just five months later to make a successful return back to the court, he had to retire just a few seasons later in 1981. This was because of lingering injuries associated with that unfortunate incident.

If you haven’t read The Punch by John Feinstein, it’s a highly-recommended add to your sports books stable. It truly provides a clear depiction of how that moment changed both Rudy’s and Washington’s life forever.

Also Robert Land and R.G. Seal of the Houston Sports Talk pod do a sit-down with former Houston Post Rockets beat writer Robert Falkoff, talking about Rudy T. and just a step back to those days. Falkoff also authored “Dreamland: The Inside of Story of the ’93-’94 Houston Rockets Championship Season” and “A Rocket at Heart: My Life and My Team,” two of my favorite books of all-time.

Take a look at the latest pod:

But despite the odds, Tomjanovich charged on, quickly rising through the ranks of the Houston Rockets’ assistant coaching positions through the 1980s and early 1990s, being a fixture on both Bill Fitch’s and Don Chaney‘s staff. But after Chaney was fired in the middle of the 1991-92 season after going 26-26, Rudy was his replacement. Then-owner Charlie Thomas had felt he had seen enough and that a change was needed. Chaney’s teams had qualified for the playoffs every season but had the inability to get out of the first round.

Here’s a impactful quote I found in the Feb. 19, 1992 edition of the Chicago Tribune in regard to Rudy T. taking over the reins:

"“It’s been frustrating the way we’ve been playing,” Tomjanovich said. “There is so much potential here. I’ll try my approach and we’ll see what happens.”"

Little did we know how such a simple quote became such a prophetic referendum of the most successful era in Houston Rockets history.

Tomjanovich went 16-14 the rest of the way to finish that season at 42-40 — missing the playoffs — but it was clearly obvious that the tide had turned under his helm. His gritty, in-your-face style of coaching with a multitude of emotions as he paced up and down the sidelines became something of a fixture that fans and players alike wanting to see more of. I was only 11-years-old at the time but I still remember the transition as if it were yesterday.

It’s important to note that his team still was ranked 10th in defensive rating at 108.0 which is a remarkable feat.

His style of continuous ball movement to find the open man to make one pay coupled with bone-crunching, hard-nosed defense became Tomjanovich’s calling card and certainly is attributed to his success.

Two NBA championships, an Olympic gold medal and more than 500 wins later, he now is once-again a finalist for the Hall of Fame. He has been eligible since 2011 but has gotten passed over time and again for candidates the Hall feels are more favorable.

He’s going to pitted up against 12 other candidates this year and here’s that exclusive list: Houston Comets’ star Tina Thompson, Chris Webber, Ray Allen, Maurice Cheeks, Charles “Lefty”

More from House of Houston

Driesell, Hugh Evans, Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Baylor women’s head coach Kim Mulkey, Katie Smith and the 1954-58 Wayland Baptist University women’s basketball teams.

But the TIME IS NOW and Rudy T. has waited long enough as I feel his candidacy is as strong as ever to make the Hall, not just for how he transformed this franchise with his style but the fact he helped bring home what most Houston sports fans treasured for the past two decades. That was, of course, until the Houston Astros won the World Series this past season. I’m positive he would’ve had more milestones if it wasn’t for some setbacks with his health. And for that reason, the Hall voters should take that into consideration.

His use of the three-pointer as a weapon proved fruitful — with Olajuwon as the anchor to kick things outside to open shooters — as the Houston Rockets offense elevated themselves as game-changers and one of the most-prolific in history until Mike D’Antoni stepped onto the scene. Although the offense back then was far from volume shooting from beyond-the-arc as it is now, his guys were coached intensively to know when and where to strike. Teams started to emulate this concept and things would never be the same in the NBA.

Will he finally get it in this year? I certainly hope so but as with past years, it’s a crowded field and tough to gauge where the voter’s intentions are. His resume speaks for itself and his relentless preparation and desire to be the best is second to none.

Next: Houston Sports: Three reasons why people despise the newfound swagger

The 69-year-old coached the Rockets to a 503-397 record through 12 seasons on the bench, making him the all-time winningest coach in franchise history.

Good luck Rudy T. — go Rockets.

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