# List of Houston Rockets head coaches

The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. They are a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They have played their home games at Toyota Center since 2003. Founded by Robert Breitbard in San Diego, the team first joined the NBA in 1967 as an expansion team. After fourlosing seasons, however, the team was sold to a group of investors based in Houston. The group subsequently relocated the team to Houston, where the Rockets have remained for 37seasons. The franchise won its only twoNBA titles in 1994 and 1995.
There have been 15 head coaches for the Houston Rockets franchise. Jack McMahon, the team's first head coach, compiled a 61–129 record during his tenure. Rudy Tomjanovich, who led the Rockets to their two championships, is the franchise's all-time leader in both regular-season and playoff games coached and wins. Alex Hannum, Tex Winter, Kevin McHale, Bill Fitch, Rudy Tomjanovich and Rick Adelman have been enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Tom Nissalke, Don Chaney and Mike D'Antoni were named Coach of the Year during their tenures as head coaches. Both Tex Winter and Johnny Egan have spent their entire NBA head coaching careers with the Rockets. Egan, Tomjanovich, and Rick Adelman formerly played for the Rockets.

## Key

| GC | Games coached |
| W | Wins |
| L | Losses |
| Win% | Winning percentage |
| # | Number of coaches |
| * | Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Rockets |
| † | Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach |

## Coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2023–24 season.
| # | Name | Term | GC | W | L | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | Achievements |
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | | Achievements | Reference |
| San Diego Rockets |||||||||||||
| 1 | Jack McMahon | 1967–1969 | 190 | 61 | 129 | .321 | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | |
| 2 | Alex Hannum† | 1969–1971 | 138 | 58 | 80 | .420 | — | — | — | — | |
| Houston Rockets |||||||||||||
| 3 | Tex Winter†* | 1971–1973 | 129 | 51 | 78 | .395 | — | — | — | — | |
| 4 | Johnny Egan* | 1973–1976 | 281 | 129 | 152 | .459 | 8 | 3 | 5 | .375 | |
| 5 | Tom Nissalke | 1976–1979 | 246 | 124 | 122 | .504 | 14 | 6 | 8 | .429 | 1976–77 NBA Coach of the Year |
| 6 | Del Harris | 1979–1983 | 328 | 141 | 187 | .430 | 31 | 15 | 16 | .484 | |
| 7 | Bill Fitch† | 1983–1988 | 410 | 216 | 194 | .527 | 39 | 21 | 18 | .538 | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history |
| 8 | Don Chaney | 1988–1992 | 298 | 164 | 134 | .550 | 11 | 2 | 9 | .182 | 1990–91 NBA Coach of the Year |
| 9 | Rudy Tomjanovich† | 1992–2003 | 900 | 503 | 397 | .559 | 90 | 51 | 39 | .567 | 2 NBA championships (1994, 1995) |
| 10 | Jeff Van Gundy | 2003–2007 | 328 | 182 | 146 | .555 | 19 | 7 | 12 | .368 | |
| 11 | Rick Adelman† | 2007–2011 | 328 | 193 | 135 | .588 | 19 | 9 | 10 | .474 | 4th longest winning streak in NBA history |
| 12 | Kevin McHale | 2011–2015 | 323 | 193 | 130 | .598 | 29 | 13 | 16 | .448 | |
| 13 | J. B. Bickerstaff | 2015–2016 | 71 | 37 | 34 | .521 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | |
| 14 | Mike D'Antoni | 2016–2020 | 318 | 217 | 101 | .682 | 51 | 28 | 23 | .549 | 2016–17 NBA Coach of the Year |
| 15 | Stephen Silas* | 2020–2023 | 236 | 59 | 177 | .250 | — | — | — | — | |
| 16 | Ime Udoka | 2023–present | 82 | 41 | 41 | .500 | — | — | — | — | |
* Alex Hannum was the coach for the Rockets from 1969 to 1971.
* Rudy Tomjanovich led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995.
* Jeff Van Gundy was the coach for the Rockets from 2003 to 2007.
* Kevin McHale was the head coach of the Rockets from 2011 to 2015.
* Mike D'Antoni was the head coach of the Rockets from 2016 to 2020.
* Ime Udoka is the current head coach of the Rockets since 2023.