By finishing 41-41, the 19-win year-on-year improvement by the Houston Rockets was the most of any NBA team during the 2023-24 season.
Between new head coach Ime Udoka and a promising core of talented young players, fans certainly seemed to have noticed.
Gretchen Sheirr, president of business operations for the Rockets, tells Chandler France of the Houston Business Journal:
“(The successes) verified what we had hoped, which was if we were transparent with the fans, if we had a clear path and direction on how we were going to get back to a competitive, championship-caliber team, that the fans would support that initiative,” Sheirr told the Houston Business Journal.
Those successes are poised to continue into next season. The season ticket renewal rate is above 90% — trending toward the highest renewal rate since 2018 — and new sales are up 15%, Sheirr said. Additionally, courtside seating and Lexus Lounge memberships remain sold out for the 2024-25 season.
In 2018, the Rockets were coming off a 65-17 season, which remains by far the most successful (by win percentage) in team history.
The current Rockets aren’t back to that level yet, but there is a palpable increase in enthusiasm after emerging from the depths of three rebuilding seasons between 2020-21 and 2022-23.
Houston sold out 28 of its 41 home games at Toyota Center — its highest mark since 2019-20 — and set a franchise record for single-game ticketing revenue, according to the Houston Business Journal.
Houston won an impressive 27 of 41 home games this season.
