Every NBA team’s greatest point guard of all time

Houston Rockets — Calvin Murphy

1970-1983
17.9 points per game
4.4 assists per game
2.1 rebounds per game

This one’s hard. There are a bunch of future Hall of Famers who spent a season or two with the Rockets. Chris Paul was awesome for two seasons. Russell Westbrook was actually really good for his short time in Houston as well. Steve Francis was a superstar, but the supernova that was his star expiring was just as long as his time being great. That leaves us with the great Calvin Murphy.

Murphy was one of the point guards who overcame his short stature to become a Hall of Famer. He used his quickness to overcome the fact that he was 5-foot-9. He was one of the best free-throw shooters in history. He is in the top ten for free-throw percentage over a career, and he has the second-best season free throw percentage. In 1980-81, Murphy missed nine out of his 215 free throws. He was as automatic as possible. Only Jose Calderon ever had a better season from the free-throw line.

Prior to the great years in Rockets history led by Hakeem Olajuwon, Murphy held most of the Rockets’ records for offensive performance. He was a great scorer for his time, and he was an inspiration to many watching the league. In the land of giants, Murphy found a way to dominate on the scoresheet against men with an entire foot on him.

Murphy was able to bring the Rockets to the NBA Finals in 1981. The Rockets got Moses Malone on the team, and the two of them brought the Rockets further than they ever got before.