Published on 05/14/2020

Former Houston Rockets player and head coach Rudy Tomjanovich was inducted in 2020 into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Now 71 years old, Tomjanovich played for the Rockets from 1970 through 1981, and was head coach from 1992 through 2003. That run included Houston's only two NBA titles in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. Rudy Tomjanovich is of Croatian descent.

Rudy Tomjanovich is of Croatian descent

Rudy Tomjanovich elected to Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020

Former Houston Rockets player and head coach Rudy Tomjanovich was inducted in 2020 into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Now 71 years old, Tomjanovich played for the Rockets from 1970 through 1981, and was head coach from 1992 through 2003. That run included Houston's only two NBA titles in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons.

In his 11-plus seasons as head coach, Tomjanovich led the Rockets to a 503-397 (.559) regular-season record and a 51-39 (.567) mark in the NBA playoffs, headlined by HoustonÃ¢€™s two championships in 1994 and 1995. He is by far the winningest coach in franchise history.

But "Rudy T," as he's best known in Rockets' circles, was also a dynamic player with averages of 17.4 points and 8.1 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per game over 11 seasons. He was a five-time All-Star at power forward.

Tomjanovich had been the only coach in history with multiple NBA titles and an Olympic gold medal who was not in the Hall of Fame. He was the only NBA head coach among this year's finalists.

Source rocketswire.usatoday.com

Many thanks to Mr. Tomislav Nuernberger, Zagreb, for his information.