Last Updated on August 7, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

League Search Page > NBA > Houston Rockets > Roster & Statistics

The Houston Rockets 1978–79 season was powered by MVP Moses Malone, whose dominant scoring, rebounding, and interior presence anchored the league’s most efficient offense. Calvin Murphy supplied dynamic backcourt scoring and steady playmaking, while Rudy Tomjanovich and Rick Barry added veteran skill and offensive balance. Houston thrived through its physical frontcourt, efficient half-court execution, and relentless work on the boards, although defensive inconsistency ultimately limited its postseason success.

Roster

No. Player Pos Height Weight Birthdate Age* College / Origin
24 Moses Malone C 6’10” 215 lbs Mar 23, 1955 23 Petersburg HS (VA)
23 Calvin Murphy G 5’9″ 165 lbs May 9, 1948 30 Niagara
50 Robert Reid F 6’8″ 205 lbs Aug 30, 1955 23 St. Mary’s (TX)
10 John Lucas G 6’3″ 170 lbs Oct 31, 1953 24 Maryland
45 Rudy Tomjanovich F 6’8″ 218 lbs Nov 24, 1948 29 Michigan
13 Dwight Jones F 6’10” 210 lbs Feb 27, 1952 26 Houston
14 Mike Newlin G 6’4″ 200 lbs Jan 2, 1949 29 Utah
32 Slick Watts G 6’1″ 175 lbs Jul 22, 1951 27 Xavier (LA)
11 Ed Ratleff G/F 6’6″ 195 lbs Mar 29, 1950 28 Long Beach State
25 Alonzo Bradley F 6’6″ 210 lbs Oct 16, 1953 25 Texas Southern
12 C.J. Kupec C 6’8″ 225 lbs Jan 28, 1953 25 Michigan
20 Mike Dunleavy G 6’3″ 180 lbs Mar 21, 1954 24 South Carolina
22 Rudy White G 6’2″ 195 lbs Jun 23, 1953 25 Arizona State

*Age calculated as of October 1, 1978.

Regular Season Per Game

Player Pos Age G GS MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TOV FGA FG% 3PA 3P% FTA FT%
Moses Malone C 23 82 82 41.3 24.8 17.6 1.8 1.0 1.5 4.0 16.2 .540 0.0 — 9.9 .739
Calvin Murphy PG 30 82 0 35.9 20.2 2.1 4.3 1.4 0.1 2.3 17.4 .496 0.0 — 3.2 .928
Rudy Tomjanovich PF 30 74 0 35.7 19.0 7.7 1.9 0.6 0.2 1.9 16.2 .517 0.0 — 3.0 .760
Rick Barry SF 34 80 0 32.1 13.5 3.5 6.3 1.2 0.5 2.5 12.5 .461 0.0 — 2.1 .947
Robert Reid SF 23 82 0 27.5 10.9 5.9 2.8 0.9 0.6 1.6 9.5 .492 0.0 — 2.3 .704
Mike Newlin SG 30 76 0 24.1 10.2 2.2 3.8 0.7 0.1 2.3 7.6 .487 0.0 — 3.2 .872
Mike Dunleavy SG 24 74 0 20.1 8.0 1.7 4.4 0.8 0.1 1.8 5.7 .506 0.0 — 2.5 .864
Slick Watts PG 27 61 0 17.1 3.7 1.7 4.0 1.2 0.2 1.2 3.7 .405 0.0 — 1.1 .612
Dwight Jones C 26 81 0 15.0 5.7 4.0 0.7 0.4 0.3 1.3 4.9 .458 0.0 — 1.6 .727
Alonzo Bradley SF 25 34 0 7.2 2.8 1.4 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.5 2.6 .420 0.0 — 1.0 .667
E.C. Coleman PF 28 6 0 6.5 1.8 1.2 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.0 1.2 .714 0.0 — 0.2 1.000
Jacky Dorsey SF 24 20 0 5.4 2.8 1.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.4 2.2 .558 0.0 — 0.8 .500
Tom Barker C 23 5 0 3.2 1.6 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.2 .500 0.0 — 0.4 1.000
Team Totals — — 82 82 241.2 113.4 45.9 28.1 7.7 3.5 18.4 91.4 .497 — — 28.4 .792

Playoff Per Game

Player Pos Age G GS MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TO FGA FG% 3PA 3P% FTA FT%
Moses Malone C 23 2   39.0 24.5 20.5 1.0 0.5 4.0 4.0 20.5 .439 0 .000 9.0 .722
Calvin Murphy PG 30 2   36.5 13.0 1.5 3.0 4.0 0.5 1.0 15.5 .290 0 .000 4.5 .889
Mike Newlin SG 30 2   33.5 12.0 3.0 2.5 0.5 0.5 3.0 10.0 .400 0 .000 4.0 1.000
Rick Barry SF 34 2   32.5 12.0 4.0 4.5 0.0 1.0 1.0 12.5 .320 0 .000 4.0 1.000
Rudy Tomjanovich PF 30 2   32.0 10.0 7.0 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 11.5 .391 0 .143 2.5 .400
Robert Reid SF 23 2   22.5 10.0 4.5 1.0 0.5 1.0 2.5 8.5 .412 0 .000 4.5 .667
Slick Watts PG 27 2   21.5 7.0 3.5 3.5 2.0 0.5 3.5 7.5 .400 0 .000 1.5 .667
Dwight Jones C 26 2   16.5 10.0 6.0 1.5 0.5 2.0 3.0 6.5 .538 0 .000 3.0 1.000
Mike Dunleavy SG 24 1   10.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 .000 0 .000 0.0 0.000
Alonzo Bradley SF 25 1   1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .000 0 .000 0.0 0.000
Jacky Dorsey SF 24 1   1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .000 0 .000 0.0 0.000
Team Totals     2   240.0 98.5 50.5 18.5 8.5 10.0 18.5 93.5 .385 0 .212 33.0 .803

Regular Season Totals

Player Pos Age GP GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TO FGA FG 3PA 3P FTA FT
Moses Malone C 23 82 82 3390 2031 1444 147 79 119 326 1325 716 0 0 811 599
Calvin Murphy PG 30 82   2941 1660 173 351 117 6 187 1424 707 0 0 265 246
Rudy Tomjanovich PF 30 74   2641 1408 572 137 44 18 138 1200 620 0 0 221 168
Rick Barry SF 34 80   2566 1082 277 502 95 38 198 1000 461 0 0 169 160
Robert Reid SF 23 82   2259 895 483 230 75 48 131 777 382 0 0 186 131
Mike Newlin SG 30 76   1828 778 170 291 51 9 175 581 283 0 0 243 212
Mike Dunleavy SG 24 74   1486 589 128 324 56 5 130 425 215 0 0 184 159
Dwight Jones C 26 81   1215 458 328 57 34 26 102 395 181 0 0 132 96
Slick Watts PG 27 61   1046 225 103 243 73 14 71 227 92 0 0 67 41
Alonzo Bradley SF 25 34   245 96 46 17 5 1 17 88 37 0 0 33 22
Jacky Dorsey SF 24 20   108 56 23 2 1 2 8 43 24 0 0 16 8
E.C. Coleman C 28 6   39 11 7 1 2 0 0 7 5 0 0 1 1
Tom Barker PF 23 5   16 8 6 0 0 0 1 6 3 0 0 2 2
Team Totals     82 82 19780 9297 3760 2302 632 286 1484 7498 3726 0 0 2330 1845

Playoff Totals

Player Pos Age GP GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TO FGA FG 3PA 3P FTA FT
Moses Malone C 23 2 2 78 49 41 2 1 8 8 41 18 0 0 18 13
Calvin Murphy PG 30 2   73 26 3 6 8 1 2 31 9 0 0 9 8
Mike Newlin SG 30 2   67 24 6 5 1 1 6 20 8 0 0 8 8
Rick Barry SF 34 2   65 24 8 9 0 2 2 25 8 0 0 8 8
Rudy Tomjanovich PF 30 2   64 20 14 2 1 1 1 23 9 0 0 5 2
Robert Reid SF 23 2   45 20 9 2 1 2 5 17 7 0 0 9 6
Slick Watts PG 27 2   43 14 7 7 4 1 7 15 6 0 0 3 2
Dwight Jones C 26 2   33 20 12 3 1 4 6 13 7 0 0 6 6
Mike Dunleavy SG 24 1   10 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
Alonzo Bradley SF 25 1   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jacky Dorsey SF 24 1   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team Totals     2 2 480 197 101 36 17 20 37 187 72 0 0 66 53

HeatingUp Impact Index: Team Impact Spotlight

Player Name Role Tier MPG Usage Tier PPG RPG APG STK (SPG+BPG) Impact Index* Notes
Moses Malone Franchise Anchor (Rebound & Scoring Core) 41.3 Alpha – Primary Offensive Hub 24.8 17.6 1.8 2.5 23.3 Monster rebounding season (17.6 RPG). Earned MVP; carried interior load on both ends.
Calvin Murphy Scoring Engine / Offensive Spark 35.9 High Usage – Guard Scorer 20.2 2.1 4.3 1.5 14.1 One of the league’s most efficient small guards (.928 FT%). Vital scoring punch.
Rudy Tomjanovich Veteran Stretch Forward 35.7 Mid–High Usage 19.0 7.7 1.9 0.8 14.7 Smooth midrange weapon; provided spacing and steady scoring.
Rick Barry Playmaking Wing / Secondary Facilitator 32.1 Mid Usage – Creator 13.5 3.5 6.3 1.7 12.5 Transitioned into a facilitator role; elite FT% (.947) and smart ball movement.
Robert Reid Two-Way Forward / Connector 27.5 Moderate Usage 10.9 5.9 2.8 1.5 10.6 Emerging defensive presence; versatile wing defender with secondary playmaking.
Mike Newlin Secondary Guard Scorer 24.1 Moderate Usage 10.2 2.2 3.8 0.8 8.5 Bench stabilizer; efficient shooting (.487 FG%) and dependable free-throw shooting (.872).
Mike Dunleavy Reserve Playmaker / Floor Organizer 20.1 Facilitator Tier 8.0 1.7 4.4 0.9 7.5 Smart passing guard; effective in limited minutes, solid efficiency (.506 FG%).
Slick Watts Defensive Specialist / Energy Guard 17.1 Low–Moderate Usage 3.7 1.7 4.0 1.4 5.4 Defensive activity guard; strong hands, fast tempo playmaker.
Dwight Jones Interior Reserve 15.0 Low Usage 5.7 4.0 0.7 0.7 5.6 Steady depth piece inside; low turnover, efficient finisher.
Alonzo Bradley End-of-Bench Wing 7.2 Low Usage 2.8 1.4 0.5 0.1 2.4 Depth scoring forward; spot minutes only.
E.C. Coleman Depth Big / Defensive Plug 6.5 Minimal Usage 1.8 1.2 0.2 0.3 1.8 Brief appearance role; solid efficiency in small sample.
Jacky Dorsey Developmental Wing 5.4 Minimal Usage 2.8 1.2 0.1 0.2 2.1 Showed flashes of scoring efficiency (.558 FG%) in limited minutes.
Tom Barker End-of-Bench Center 3.2 Minimal Usage 1.6 1.2 0.0 0.0 1.4 Limited time; raw depth option.