The 2006 Rockets: I Lead the Twin Towers to a Championship

In 2006, the NBA was a battlefield of rising powers. The Spurs were rock-solid in the West, the Suns ran opponents ragged with their fast-paced offense, LeBron James was emerging in the East, and the Pistons remained as tough as ever. The Houston Rockets had spent years hovering on the edge of the playoffs. Their longtime owner had lost heart and stepped aside, leaving a transmigrated heir to take command of this underachieving team built around Yao Ming. Determined to make a championship run, the new owner overhauled the roster. He swallowed hard and offered a rich package in a trade with the Bobcats, landing the fourth overall pick and Gerald Wallace. At the draft, he targeted Roy to build the team's core. Against all objections, he cleared Tracy McGrady's massive contract, then made a precise trade with the Grizzlies to acquire Pau Gasol and form the Yao-Gasol twin towers. He took the starting point guard spot from Rafer Alston, whose tactical awareness was weak, and signed Steve Blake to control the tempo on both ends, while moving Alston to the second unit to make the most of his chaos-inducing play. From trade negotiations in the offseason to roster chemistry during the regular season, from fierce clashes with the West's strongest teams to battles at a distance with Eastern powerhouses, all 30 teams had plans of their own, and the league's balance of power was shifting beneath the surface. The new owner plotted his course, while the core of Yao Ming, Pau Gasol, Roy, and Wallace steadily grew and the team's system on both ends of the floor matured. This is the legendary story of taking charge of an NBA team, the Rockets' iron-willed quest to break free of their constraints and challenge for a championship, and a basketball epic woven from trade battles, tactical refinement, player growth, and a league-wide clash of titans.