Tilman Fertitta On His Rockets, “This Team Is Never Going To Be Bullied” — Behind The Scenes With the Owner After a Breakthrough 1st Playoff Win For Jalen Green & Alperen Şengün

It’s 20 minutes or so after the final buzzer of the most exciting Houston Rockets’ moment in nearly six years and Tilman Fertitta is in his private personal lounge at the back of his larger VIP owner’s suite lounge at the Toyota Center, the one that takes another key to enter. It’s just Tilman, his son Patrick Fertitta, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone and a reporter he’s granted access to in the smaller room, sitting in a circle of four chairs.

“This team is never going to be bullied by any team in the NBA,” Fertitta tells PaperCity of his Rockets. “You can just look at ’em on an individual basis. They’re all just tough. And Golden State is a great team and to be able to hold them to under 100 points two games in a row is just great defense by this team.”

In the wake of this physical, hard-nosed, bounce back 109-94 Game 2 win over the Warriors, the first playoff win for young Rockets stars Jalen Green and Alperen Şengün, Fertitta sees the vision that Stone, Patrick and he share shining through. Why would you ever break up this young core to chase an established superstar as so many national NBA voices have urged, argued and pushed for the Rockets to do?

“People dangle superstars in front of you,” Tilman Fertitta says. “But we made the right decision. We didn’t even look at it. We never sat there and looked at each other and said, ‘Should we do this trade or not?’ ”

“We’ve been committed and expect to remain committed to this group that we have,” Patrick Fertitta says, jumping in. “And obviously given the abundance of young talent and trade liquidity that we have, things are available. But we feel this group is good enough as they continue to get older and stay together.

“You have to always be opportunistic and don’t want to rule anything out, but our goal is to win with this group.”

This Game 2, a night in which Jalen Green responds to the often harsh criticism he took in the 70 hours between games with the ultimate answer (38 points, eight triples and more fire than five-alarm chili), a night in which Şengün follows up a 26-point Game One with a near Nikola Jokić-like  17 point, 16 rebound, seven assist line, screams out the potential. When it’s over, after every scrap, loose ball tussle and towel throw, Tilman Fertitta wraps Şengün up in an embrace as he comes off the floor. Patrick Fertitta shares a fiery bro hug with Jalen Green in the tunnel.

These guys may own the team, but at their hearts these are two hardcore basketball fanatics. Tilman and Patrick Fertitta know what this win means for their young stars, what it means for a group that seems to just keep skipping steps. From completely out of the playoffs (and not really close to even the 10th play-in seed) to the No. 2 seed in one of the most fiercely contested Western Conferences ever. From a 3 for 15 Game One to becoming the youngest player in the history of the franchise (a franchise steeped in star power over the decades) to score 35 points or more in a playoff game for the 23-year-old Green.

“We’re going to show up at every game as if we can win it,” Tilman Fertitta tells PaperCity. “If we win this series, we’re going to show up to the next series and assume we’re going to win it. And if we make it that next series, we’ll assume we’re going to win it too.”

This is one of the things the Rockets owner loves about this team. It’s a group that never backs down. It’s a group that is always eager to go charging towards another door to try to knock it down.

“To get this first playoff win at home in front of our fans, it feels real good,” Tilman Fertitta says.

No one in this Rockets’ leadership trio is celebrating though. There is a fully stocked bar behind them, but neither of the Fertittas or Stone are even having a sip. Tilman brings up how dangerous the Warriors are several times, how he never feels comfortable in this Game 2 even as the Rockets hold a healthy lead throughout the second half. But milestones matter, the steps along the way mean something, and the franchise’s first playoff win at home since May 6, 2019, is something to recognize.

This run has a different feel to it than even that James Harden and Chris Paul team that probably would have won an NBA Championship if the Point God’s hamstring had held up in the first season of Tilman Fertitta’s ownership run.

“This is more special,” Tilman Fertitta tells PaperCity. “Because this is a team that we put together. Raf, his team, me and Patrick. And it is special because we studied all these players that are on this team. We know everything about every player on this team. Their whole life.

“It’s definitely more special.”

“This team is never going to be bullied by any team in the NBA.” — Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta

It is a homegrown team, one that Rockets fans have got to watch grow and learn how to fight together. That is the plan, one formed early and steadily stuck to, through seasons of pain, step backs and pushes forward. Building a team is not a straight line business. In today’s NBA, where wild free agency swings and crazy trades seem to be the new norm, the Rockets’ way of building through the draft, stacking up good picks and keeping those players together, seems almost old school.

The Rockets ranking No. 1 out of the NBA’s 30 teams in continuity, having the most returning players, heading into this season wasn’t an accident. It is a major tenet of the vision.

“A winning basketball team not only takes a lot of talent, it takes a lot of chemistry,” Tilman Fertitta says. “You can’t just take players, move them in and out, and change out half the team and not worry about the chemistry of the team. You can’t just look at it from a numbers standpoint.

“You have to play together as a team. And I think one of the positives about this team is they all really like each other and they all know their place (on the team). And they all respect each other.”

“The continuity is definitely a competitive advantage,” Patrick Fertitta says.

“We like having a coach who’s a badass.” — Tilman Fertitta

The Fertittas and The Stone

Listening to the Fertittas and Stone talk together in this back lounge, you get a sense of why this dynamic works. All three men have an edge, but it displays in different ways, linked by a shared vision and no bullshit between them.

“Especially with a young team, we thought that continuity would be helpful for the younger players,” Stone tells PaperCity. “The more you know people, the more secure you feel. The easier it is to be yourself and grow.

“But also we are very young and we think we’re going to get better as our players grow into their prime.”

Look at the ages of the prime difference makers in this playoff breakthrough, this first win bounce back. Şengün, 22. Green, 23. Tari Eason, with the 14 points, six rebounds, no backdowns and one memorable towel toss off the bench, 23. Tilman Fertitta, Patrick Fertitta and Rafael Stone are the type of guys who’d throw a towel in a competitive situation. There is no backdown in this leadership trio or Rockets coach Ime Udoka either.

These Rockets’ attitude, their refusal to be bullied, whether it’s by NBA championship proven royalty like the Warriors of Steph Curry and Draymond Green, LeBron James or anyone else didn’t occur by happenstance.

“I think the team fits Tilman’s personality,” Stone says. “Yes,” Patrick Fertitta quickly agrees, nodding, moving up in his seat.

“And I think it fits my personality,” Stone continues. “It definitely does fit Ime’s personality. But a huge reason why we hired Ime is because he fit our personality.”

“We like having a coach who’s a badass,” Tilman Fertitta says, flashing a grin.

“A winning basketball team not only takes a lot of talent, it takes a lot of chemistry. You can’t just take players, move them in and out, and change out half the team and not worry about the chemistry of the team. You can’t just look at it from a numbers standpoint.” — Tilman Fertitta

It’s good to be back in the business of winning playoff games. And as the Toyota Center roared, bathed in red, over the first two games of this just getting started playoff series, Tilman Fertitta finds himself thinking of the fans. That’s how this billionaire started, going back to even the days of the San Diego Rockets and the move to Houston.

“The fans for the last two games have just been unbelievable and loud,” Tilman Fertitta says. “And wonderful. I thank them. They truly have been unbelievable. I go to out-of-town playoff games and they were as loud as anybody that I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s probably my bias, but it feels like our fans are more engaged than I can remember — honestly,” Stone says.

“I truly think they love a homegrown team,” Tilman Fertitta adds.

The three builders and orchestrators of this new Rockets era are just talking ball, knowing the Warriors’ own fierce push back is coming, wondering what step this kept-together team can jump over next, as the clock ticks towards 12:30 am.