thorpe averaged 14 and 10 the first championship year, then 13 and 8. he was a huge reason we won those two championships, yet no one ever talks about him
I think Jeremy Lin could quite possibly be both the most underrated and overrated player at the same time. Severely overrated by his diehard fans and severely underrated by people on the other side.
Otis Thorpe, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley OT did all the dirty work, picks, defense, boards, and basically NEVER MISSED A GAME (unlike some fragile players we overpaid ) Kenny only gets the Orlando highlights, he was DAMN AWESOME when we first got him. He made smart decisions with the ball and was a consistent shooter Charles Barkley, newbie Rocket fans don't like him cause of TNT, but he played the hardest when he was with the Rockets to try to win a ring. He even stayed when Pippen left. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v8xdNx42DoQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0YHItFncBFE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/F5tQN7Wvqac" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Michael Dickerson. We only had him for a year and then dealt him for Francis. Even as a rookie he looked like he was going to be the real deal and he came into his own in Vancouver then he had to retire like a season later due to injuries. He reminded me of Harden.
Aaron Brooks, before the Manu fiasco. I wonder how he's doing these days... Perhaps his career will end on a good note up in Seattle.
Given the course of events that played out last season with the All-Decade teams, I have to agree with those saying OTIS THORPE is the most underrated Rockets player (if we're focusing only on those also among the BEST Rockets players of all time). In the decade of the '90s, the Houston Rockets had four players make an All-Star team: Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley and Otis Thorpe. OT was a defensive beast and solid scorer with huge hands (he's what you'd get if you could combine Chuck Hayes with Greg Smith). He was probably the second best player on the 1994 championship team; and (as others have mentioned) was viewed so highly by Portland that they traded Clyde Drexler AND (cult hero) Tracy Murray in exchange for Thorpe. Yet, when it came time to pick the Rockets' All-90s team, guess who was left off? Otis. Yes, we all love Mario Elie (the original ClutchFans icon!), and The Kiss of Death was one of the three greatest shots in franchise history, but he didn't deserve to make it onto the All-90s Team ahead of Thorpe (and probably also Barkley, for that matter). I guess they should have made that decade's team larger to account for all the guys who helped Houston win titles. Also, Charles Barkley is VASTLY under-appreciated by Houston Rockets fans. People like to complain that they'd rather have had Horry and Cassell back; but it's a faulty premise that you would have had those guys long-term to begin with. Horry and Cassell both wanted to get PAID after helping Houston win titles, and the Rockets couldn't afford to keep both of them long-term. Given the information at the time, the Barkley trade (together with the simultaneous Kevin Willis free agent acquisition) was a very good move by the Rockets. It FINALLY catapulted the Rockets past Seattle; and they were a few key plays away from possibly making it to the 1997 NBA Finals (something I don't think would have happened without the Barkley trade). But the BIGGEST reason why Barkley was under-appreciated? He made a HUGE sacrifice for the team in 1998. That summer, with Drexler's contract coming off the books (retirement) and Barkley's contract also ending, the Rockets had a bunch of cap room for the first time in a long time. Barkley--still a SUPERSTAR at the time, mind you--could have commanded a huge final long-term contract that summer. Instead, he agreed to play for the Rockets for $1 million. ONE MILLION FREAKING DOLLARS!!! He did this so that the Rockets could go out and sign Scottie Pippen to a huge contract in free agency (although they ended up technically acquiring him via sign-and-trade). Sure, Pippen didn't work out great for the Rockets; but Barkley sacrificed in a way NO OTHER PLAYER playing today ever would, let alone a superstar player. He basically ate an entire year's salary (plus jeopardized his next contract) for the sole purpose of trying to help his team win a championship.
I agree one hundred. I knew we wasnt going to win it because of Jordan but I thought for sure we was going to make it to the finals. I havent liked pippens punk ass since.
