Houston Sports - Robert Horry

Robert Horry

Born: August 25, 1970

Sport: Basketball (2-time All-SEC, NBA All-Rookie, 7-time NBA Champion)

This week we celebrated Christmas, which has historically been a day on the sports calendar that NBA matchups grab the spotlight.  This year, the NFL decided to try capturing the attention of average sports fans but the matchups were exceptionally poor.  Every one of the basketball games was more compelling than the three contests that football was able to muster, including a win by the local team over LA.  Looking at the history of NBA games between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, two of the marquis teams in the western conference, there have been numerous moments that have been relevant.  But today I thought it would be fun to look at the story of one of the players who wore both uniforms during his career, a man who impacted my own game when I was playing competitive basketball as a kid.  He has become one of the most scrutinized players of his era, largely because his statistics were never among the league's very best but he had a knack for hitting important shots for teams in big moments.  So let's take the final week of 2025 to look at the story of Robert Horry.

The Summit, home to the Houston Rockets during Robert Horry's time with the team

Born in Maryland, Robert Horry was the son of an Army sergeant, Robert Sr., and an elementary school teacher, Lelia.  When his parents were divorced, Robert Jr. moved first to South Carolina and then to Alabama, where he spent his childhood years fishing, working as a lifeguard, and playing basketball on the neighborhood courts.  Horry attended and played for Andalusia High School, where he made such a name for himself that he was named the Naismith Alabama High School Player of the Year.  Despite no longer living with his father, who by that time was stationed at Georgia's Fort Benning, Horry was nevertheless constantly in touch with Robert Sr. and met with him on a weekly basis during his high school years.  Although he had spent his early years traveling, he decided to stay local for his college career by attending the University of Alabama.  Known more for his defense, the 6' 9" Robert was a key member of the Crimson Tide and helped them to three SEC Championships during his four years on campus, plus NCAA tournament appearances all four years.  He was personally recognized on the all-conference team twice, the SEC defensive team once, and his 282 career blocked shots remains a school record.  With a sterling collegiate resume, it was no surprise that Horry was selected in the 1992 NBA Draft where he went as the 11th pick to the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets were a great fit for the young Robert Horry during his first few years in the league, as the team had a number of established veterans like Hakeem Olajuwon who shouldered the scoring load.  Horry was left to focus on defense and timely shooting, combining his height and athleticism to have a strong outside jump shot while also making highlight reel dunks when allowed to drive towards the basket.  After his rookie season, he was honored with inclusion on the All-Rookie Team, but that would be his last major individual award for his career.  Horry's second season was capped off with a seven-game win over the New York Knicks in the NBA Championship, giving him his first title and setting the tone for the remainder of his career.  The following season was another banner year, but this time the young forward played a more prominent role, hitting a pair of huge shots in the playoffs on the way to defeating the Orlando Magic in the NBA Championship.  It was a career-defining year for Horry, who was only in Houston for the 1995 playoff run because a trade that would have sent him to Detroit got canceled because of another player's failed physical.  From that moment on, "Big Shot Bob" was born (although he is on record as preferring "Rob") and he decided to take the initiative on offense whenever he could.  That isn't to say his defense took a back seat - he set a record with seven steals in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, which still stands to this day.

With two championship rings to his name in just three seasons, Robert Horry was already a successful NBA player despite not having the stats that would turn him into an All-Star.  In 1996, despite coming off his best individual stats season of his career, he was part of a trade that sent much of the Rockets support pieces to Phoenix in exchange for perennial star Charles Barkley.  The irony was that Houston gave up on someone that would become the poster child for a mediocre role player that consistently won championships for a Hall of Fame player who never won a title.  Horry did not find a home with the Suns, lasting just one frustrating year before being shipped off to the LA Lakers.  He was consistently a bench player, but found a way onto the court in the biggest moments and frequently played more minutes than the starters ahead of him.  Horry reached the championship again in 2000, capturing the title alongside stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.  The Lakers ended up winning three consecutive NBA Championships, with Horry contributing major highlight-reel shots in each playoff run and increasing his personal count to five rings.  Despite the team's success, however, the Lakers released him after the 2003 playoffs, shortly after he missed what could have been another legacy-defining buzzer-beater in the playoffs.  Horry rebounded by signing as a free agent with the team that had knocked them out of the postseason, the San Antonio Spurs.

After playing with some of the greatest names in the game, Robert Horry found himself on a team with the best Big Three tandem of its era - Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli.  He was already an aging veteran of 12 NBA seasons but despite his lack of individual accolades he had the skill set that the Spurs needed, and Horry managed to play his way to two additional titles in 2005 and 2007.  His knack for being at the right place at the right time, and then hitting the clutch shot, became the stuff of legend.  With seven championships to his name, Horry finished his career and retired after the 2008 season.  He has a singular perspective on the game, having played under the great coaches of his era in Rudy Tomjanovich, Phil Jackson, and Greg Popovich.  In 2010 Horry was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, but as with his NBA career that remains the only individual honor he has received.  After his playing career, Horry spent time as a commentator for both ESPN and the Lakers regional network.  He married Candice Madrid in 2019 with whom he has raised four kids, and then also returned to Alabama to complete his bachelor's degree in 2021, decades after leaving the school for the NBA.  Today he works for a health care platform, a cause that became personal after his daughter died at the age of 17 from a rare genetic disorder.  Even if he never gets his name called for the Hall of Fame, his personal trophy collection is already one of the greatest in NBA history.

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