First round: 1981-82 Moses Malone vs. 1973-74 Rudy Tomjanovich

No. 4 seed: 1981-82 Moses Malone: 31.1 points (51.9% FG), 14.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks per game

The 6-foot-10 big man led the NBA in rebounding and was second in scoring, earning him yet another MVP award. Unfortunately for Houston, it also led to Malone earning a huge contract offer from Philadelphia in free agency after the season, which Houston said it couldn’t match.

In many respects, Malone’s final season was the end of an era, with Hall of Famers Calvin Murphy and Rudy Tomjanovich each retiring soon after that campaign. The 1981-82 Rockets were coming off the franchise’s first NBA Finals berth in the previous season, but they finished 46-36 in 1981-82 and lost in the first round of the playoffs.

With the roster in transition, Houston had losing seasons in each of the next two years and earned the NBA Draft’s No. 1 overall pick in 1983 and 1984. Those picks were used on Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon, which set them up for the next generation. But in a franchise known for its “Legacy of Bigs,” it was Malone who came before them.

No. 13 seed: 1973-74 Rudy Tomjanovich: 24.5 points (53.6% FG), 9.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists per game

The Rockets were still in their relative infancy in 1973-74, seeing as how it was just their seventh season overall and only the franchise’s third in Houston. They had yet to even achieve a .500 campaign.

But even in a 32-50 season, Tomjanovich and Calvin Murphy showed there were better days ahead. “Rudy T” led the team in scoring and shooting percentage, and he was second in rebounding. That set the table for a breakthrough in the next season (1974-75), when Houston hit .500 for the first time and won its first playoff series.

[crowdsignal poll=10541773]

First round: ’15 Harden vs. ’05 McGrady / ’93 Olajuwon vs. ’01 Francis / ’18 Harden vs. ’89 Olajuwon / ’82 Malone vs. ’74 Tomjanovich / ’19 Harden vs. ’13 Harden / ’17 Harden vs. ’14 Harden / ’94 Olajuwon vs. ’16 Harden / ’79 Malone vs. ’81 Malone