Rumors

Mark Berman: Hall of Famer Rudy Tomjanovich on future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant ( @KDTrey5 ) joining the @HoustonRockets : “I’m very excited. One of the greatest players of all time coming in…I think this mix is gonna be perfect…He’ll fit in beautifully.”

Twitter

Joining Jeff Teague and Club 520 Podcast, Vernon Maxwell spoke about Drazen Petrovic, also drawing a comparison with one of the most important players in today’s NBA landscape. “Oh boy, [Drazen] Petrovic. That mother**cker was something else, man. God bless you. I used to tell Rudy Tomjanovich “Treat this mother**cker like you treat Michael Jordan”, he opened.

EuroHoops.net

Vernon Maxwell: ‘Oh boy, Petrovic. That motherf*cker was something else, man. God bless you. I used t tell Rudy Tomjanovich ‘treat this motherf*cker like you treat Michael Jordan.’ When he come out the game bring my ass out the game, when he come to the goddamn table let me meet him at the table. I don't want nobody else guard this motherf*cker… He was a killer. Q. They kind of compare him with Luka Doncic. Maxwell: I agree, Luka is a killer too.

YouTube

Rudy Tomjanovich: I really believe [Horry] belongs in the Naismith Hall of Fame. He’s proven it time and time again. He’s made so many teams champions playing a role, and that’s so important. It isn’t about just the stats. It’s about getting results. I pray that one day he’s going to be able to stand up there and accept that honor.

Rockets Wire

Jonathan Feigen: Rudy Tomjanovich, while accepting the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement award, advocates for Sam Cassell to land a head coaching job and for Robert Horry to be in the Hall of Fame. Said he wants to hear Sam cuss at his players the way he did at Sam.

Twitter

Marc J. Spears: “You don’t keep the same plays every year. You change them for the players you have,” said former Houston Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich, the recipient of the 2024 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award.

Twitter

Jonathan Feigen: The NBA Coaches Association just announced that Rudy Tomjanovich is the recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award. nbacoaches.com/rudy-tomjanovi… ICYMI, our story this morning about why Tomjanovich was so worthy, and how much the award means to him. houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-n…

Twitter

Asked what his team found in Minneapolis during these two road games, Denver coach Michael Malone quoted former Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich. "What I found is Rudy T is right, man," Malone said. "'Never underestimate the heart of a champion.' They were quick to write us off, but these guys, we won a championship a year ago. We went into Miami [in the NBA Finals], won two games in a row. This team has been tested time and time again, and we found a way to solve whatever's been thrown at us. "This series is a long way from being over. We're not celebrating. It's 2-2. ... But what I found about our group is that they do believe in themselves. And more importantly, they believe in the man next to them. We have a group that is acting as you would hope a championship team would act."

ESPN

Ohm Youngmisuk: Asked Michael Malone what the Nuggets found or regained in Minnesota. He quoted Rudy T and said, "never underestimate the heart of a champion."

Twitter

Dave Mason: Adrian Griffin lasted 43 games as Bucks head coach. It's one of the shortest coaching tenures in NBA history. -Rudy Tomjanovich lasted 43 games with Lakers -Bob Weiss lasted 30 games with the Sonics -Jerry Tarkanian lasted 20 games with the Spurs

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Nothing, however, might have better displayed the Rockets’ growth more than Şengün’s late-game hustle plays. “Last year … energy was different,” Şengün said, agreeing that he likely would not have made those plays last season. “We are winning right now, five in a row. You want to win every game and you want to fight for every ball.” He scored as he has all season. With 24 points on 11 of 15 shooting, he is averaging 19 points on 61.7% shooting. The only other Rockets players to have averaged at least 19 points while shooting 60% or better through the first eight games of a season are Dwight Howard in 2014-15 and Rudy Tomjanovich in 1976-77.

Houston Chronicle

But time has not dimmed the sequence of events as he learned of Reggie Lewis’ death. “I’ll never forget that day ever,” said Cassell. “I was with the Rockets at my first summer league as a rookie, and we were at the Rocky Mountain Revue. This was before social media and all that, and Rudy Tomjanovich (Houston coach) told me to come to his room at the Embassy Suites. He said, ‘I just want to tell you Reggie Lewis passed away.’ “And before he could say anything else, I just fell to my knees. That was so hard, man.”

Heavy.com

“I’ll never forget that day ever,” said Cassell. “I was with the Rockets at my first summer league as a rookie, and we were at the Rocky Mountain Revue. This was before social media and all that, and Rudy Tomjanovich (Houston coach) told me to come to his room at the Embassy Suites. He said, ‘I just want to tell you Reggie Lewis passed away.’ “And before he could say anything else, I just fell to my knees. That was so hard, man.”

Heavy.com

The Professional Basketball Writers Association will soon announce Mike Brown has won the 2023 Rudy Tomjanovich Award, a league source told The Sacramento Bee. The award honors an NBA coach for his cooperation with the media and fans along with his excellence on the court.

Sacramento Bee