The Houston Rockets recently honored the remarkable career of Rudy Tomjanovich from his time as a player to his championship career as head coach. Rudy T. was the second overall pick in the 1970 NBA Draft by the then-San Diego Rockets (a year later, they would relocate to Houston). Tomjanovich would make five All-Star games with the Rockets before the tragic incident that happened on December 9th, 1977.
During a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Kermit Washington suckered punch Tomjanovich as he ran to stop a fight. This would sideline Tomjanovich for five months, and even though he would go on to make the All-Star game the following year, the punch would shorten what could have been a Hall of Fame career as a player.