The Houston Rockets have been in the headlines ever since the NBA gave a glimpse of the city-edition jerseys and in-season tournament courts. They caught the very essence of their origin and were in line with the theme of ‘Hometown Heroes‘ that the NBA decided for this season. However, their in-season tournament court is being compared to the city-edition court, and the latter is getting more votes.
Fans have been demanding to get the ‘Dunk Astronaut‘ design back to the Rockets’ court. One tweeted, “Dunkstronaut Court >>>> IST Court”, whereas, another said, “The other court is way better please make the dunk astronaut the main stay new logo or rebrand the whole concept and uniforms are clean”. Additionally, one fan confidently said that the Dunk Astronaut is 1000x better than the in-season tournament court.
What is the significance of ‘H-Town’ to the Rockets?
The Houston Rockets‘ city-edition jersey and their courts including the in-season tournament and city-edition has ‘H-Town‘ in bold red mentioned. It is undeniably among the most noticeable features that the Rockets have crafted this season.
Furthermore, the significance of ‘H-Town‘ to the Rockets is their origin. It is in a nutshell a nickname for the Houston town that the team resonates with. It has been a part of their identity for years now and drew them closer to the local fans.
The IST court is down 👀
Who’s ready for our first game tonight? pic.twitter.com/6ulDaT6MrM
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) November 10, 2023
Additionally, the Dunk Astronaut that the fans worldwide have been in love with was also an attempt to capture the essence of the town. The astronaut that is dunking into the basketball is outlined with red and blue colors. It is a nod to the rich history of Houston filled with space.
Jae’Sean Tate finds the Rockets IST court exciting to play in
Jae’Sean Tate is a key player for the Houston Rockets with three years of professional experience. He plays at the forward position and has career-high points of 33. Speaking about the in-season tournament court, Tate revealed that he finds it fresh and new.
In his own words, “It’s fairly new. Just seeing all the colors in the court and all the stuff that’s gone into this, it’s exciting to be able to play in it”. Tate finds the color palette and design of the Rockets IST court exciting, something, that a fraction of fans might disagree with.
#Rockets will play their first In-Season Tournament tonight vs. the Pelicans.
Jae’Sean Tate: “It’s exciting to be able to play in it.” pic.twitter.com/BVfnC8ZIGB
— Coty M. Davis (@CotyDavis_24) November 10, 2023
Furthermore, the Rockets’ In-Season tournament court was first used on November 10. Interestingly, the team’s In-Season tournament game will happen every Friday for the rest of the month. Fans will spot the ‘H-Town‘ court again, and will likely miss the dunk astronaut design.