The Houston Rockets have been my favorite basketball team for as long I can remember. Well, not exactly, because I did not always enjoy watching basketball. I favored the Los Angeles Lakers for several years to spite my brother, a die hard Rockets fan. But ever since, I really began paying attention and following the National Basketball Association, or NBA, the Rockets have been my team.

In the beginning, it was not all that exciting to be a Houston fan. We had not made it to the finals since 1995, and I do not recall any notable athletes until 2012. That was the year when things became interesting. The Rockets traded for Jeremy Lin, who sadly did not live up to many fans’ expectations, and James Harden, who is still our star player and team leader. Fast forward to 2017, when we picked up Chris Paul, a stellar point guard to help our shooting guard Harden, and we were looking like a championship contender.

All Rockets fans know that, yet again, our hopes were crushed. We were defeated in the Western Conference Finals in game 7. The Golden State Warriors proved that they were still the dominant team in the west. A year later, we would lose to the Warriors in the second round, in game 6. Paul left in the off season afterwards.

Following the trend, we traded Paul for Russell Westbrook, another great point guard and longtime friend of Harden. They played together on the Oklahoma City Thunder and made it to the finals in 2012, but lost to the Miami Heat. Both Westbrook and Harden are off to a solid start this year, but as Rockets fans we must be weary of getting our hopes up too soon. We do not want to experience the same despair and disappointment yet again. Still, I remain optimistic and wait for the playoffs to come around in the summer. After all, this could be our year to win big and bring the trophy home.