NBA mascot power rankings, best past and present
2. Clutch: Houston Rockets
Following their consecutive NBA championships in 1994 and 1995 — that brief period where Michael Jordan retired to play baseball — the Houston Rockets helped shed the idea of the city serving as a haven for chokers and became known as “Clutch City”. In that spirit, the team debuted the big cuddly bear Clutch in 1995.
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When Rockets fans’ eyes weren’t glued to Hakeem Olajuwon’s “Dream Shake”, Yao Ming rejecting Shaquille O’Neal’s shot repeatedly, Tracy McGrady’s scoring bursts or James Harden dribbling for 20 seconds before drawing a foul, Clutch keeps the mood lively inside the Toyota Center with by doing things like making a free throw while staying balanced on a medicine ball or breaking 12 bricks with his bare paw.
As time has gone on, Clutch has piled up the accolades: a two-time Mascot of the Year winner (including the inaugural one in 2005), named the fifth-most recognizable mascot by USA Today in 2005 and a Mascot Hall of Fame inductee in 2006.
Apparently, all of this acclaim has allowed Clutch to go Hollywood, as he has appeared alongside James Harden, Chris Paul and Oscar from The Office in a number of State Farm commercials.
Prior to 1994 and 1995, Houston has a reputation for falling short when it counted. Aside from the pair of Larry O’Brien Trophies with the Rockets’ name on it, Clutch represents the shedding of that stigma.