A familiar face was in attendance on Thursday night for the Houston Rockets game against the New York Knicks. Hall of Fame head coach Rudy Tomjanovich was honored by the Rockets for his induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this year.
“It is going to be awesome,” said Tomjanovich about the addition of his Hall of Fame honor added to his retired jersey at Toyota Center. “I didn’t get into the game for that kind of stuff. It’s kind of personal, playing the game and doing your job. “It’s just that feeling of accomplishment that you did something well.
Tomjanovich played his entire career for Houston and was a five-time All-Star and is currently fourth all-time on the Rockets scoring list. After he retired from the NBA, he joined Houston’s coaching staff in 1981 as a team scout and became an assistant for two years.
When head coach Don Chaney resigned in 1992, Tomjanovich took over as interim and was eventually given the permanent job. During his tenure as the Rockets head coach, he helped lead them to back-to-back NBA Championships in 1994 and 1995.