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The Evolution Of Moreyball


Most casual NBA fans know the term ‘Moreyball’ from watching the Houston Rockets. It gets it name from the Rockets’ GM, Daryl Morey, who helped turn Houston from also-rans into consistent championship contenders. But most people don’t know the origins of Moreyball and how it evolved into its current form.

Moreyball has its roots in analytics, consistent with Morey’s status as a co-founder of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. The essence of the style is to take analytics-friendly shots (3 pointers and shots at the rim) while reducing the amount of non-analytical friendly shots (the long two or mid-range shot). This is mainly achieved by surrounding a big man with four shooters, ensuring that both 3-pointers as well as shots at the rim are taken. One of the first iterations of Moreyball was showcased by the 2009 Orlando Magic, who surrounded star center Dwight Howard with four shooters. This novel idea helped the Magic reach the 2009 NBA Finals, where they would go on to lose to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. The Magic team provided the foundations of the style that would go on to change the NBA forever.

After becoming the GM of the Rockets in 2007, Morey sought to implement his style and make Houston a perennial championship contender. He took his first steps toward this goal in October 2012, when the Rockets traded Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and two first-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder for James Harden. In 2013, the Rockets signed Howard to pair with Harden. Despite both Howard and Harden making multiple All NBA teams between 2013 and 2016, they never advanced further than the Western Conference Finals. The experiment was deemed a failure due to Howard’s clashes with Harden, and he would leave Houston for Atlanta in 2016. In the same season, the Rockets hired Mike D’Antoni, famous for his 7 Seconds or Less offense with the Phoenix Suns. D’Antoni started to play Harden as a point guard, which unlocked his unique skillset and turned Harden into an MVP winner and consistent 30 point per game scorer. Under D’Antoni, Moreyball achieved its nirvana, with his spaced-out offensive style helping the Rockets set scoring records and become a perennial contender.

During his tenure as GM, Morey also acquired a reputation for star-hunting, which caused the signing of Dwight Howard. In 2017, the Rockets traded for Chris Paul, which led to a reimagining of the Rockets’ style. The addition of Paul led to the Rockets playing a more isolation-heavy style of basketball, leading the league in isolation possessions since the 2017-18 season. The Rockets also offered the Minnesota Timberwolves 4 first-round picks in a trade for disgruntled star Jimmy Butler, which ultimately fell through. Despite their failure to add Butler and create a big three, the Rockets had a successful regular season, finishing 4th in the Western Conference with a record of 53-29. Unfortunately, Chris Paul got injured in the 2019 Western Conference Semifinals, which resulted in their elimination at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. This, along with reports of tension between Paul and Harden, culminated in Paul being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Russell Westbrook. Paul and Westbrook's differing styles forced the Rockets to adapt their system to integrate Westbrook.

After early struggles in the 2019-20 NBA season, the Rockets traded Clint Capela to the Atlanta Hawks in a four-team trade, in which they received Robert Covington. The trade became the genesis of the most innovative version of Moreyball. This version featured 6’ 5” PJ Tucker at center and the recently acquired Robert Covington at power forward, along with Westbrook, Harden and Danuel House at small forward. With nobody above 6’ 7”, the Rockets were written off by many people due to the lack of a center. However, this lineup unlocked Westbrook’s full potential. Surrounded by four capable shooters, Westbrook did what he does best, unleashing his explosiveness and his thunderous dunks on the way to averaging 33.1 points since January 1st. 

While this eccentric lineup has yet to be proven viable in the playoffs, if the Rockets do win the championship, expect them to change the NBA once again.

 

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