History has a strange way of repeating itself, especially if you’re the Houston Rockets staring across the court at the Golden State Warriors. With their dramatic Game 7 win in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, the Warriors have once again eliminated the Rockets from the postseason.
And if history holds true, they may have just punched another ticket to the NBA Finals.
Every single time Golden State has knocked Houston out of the playoffs, the result has been the same: the Warriors make it all the way to the Finals. The pattern began in 2015, and a decade later, it’s alive and well. Call it fate, a curse, or destiny, but it’s one of the strangest and most consistent playoff storylines in modern NBA history.
2015: The Rise of a Dynasty
The 2015 Western Conference Finals marked the beginning of the Warriors’ dynasty. Stephen Curry had just won his first MVP award, and the Warriors were peaking at the right time.
They dispatched the Rockets in five games, asserting their dominance over the West. Golden State went on to defeat the Cavaliers in the Finals, bringing a championship to the Bay for the first time in 40 years. The run started with Houston, and so did the legend.
2016: Unanimous MVP, Same Result
Curry became the league’s first-ever unanimous MVP, and the Warriors ripped through the regular season with a record-breaking 73 wins. In the first round, they met the Rockets again.
Even with Curry missing time due to injury, Golden State comfortably took the series in five games. The Warriors reached the Finals once again, but infamously blew a 3–1 lead to LeBron James and the Cavs. Still, the pattern held: eliminate Houston, make the Finals.
2018: Rockets’ Best Shot Falls Short
Houston built their entire team to beat the Warriors in 2018. Led by MVP James Harden and Chris Paul, they took a 3–2 series lead in the Western Conference Finals. But Paul’s hamstring injury in Game 5 changed everything.
The Rockets missed 27 straight threes in Game 7, and Golden State capitalized. The Warriors survived, won the series in seven, and steamrolled the Cavs in the Finals. Houston had their chance, but the curse continued.
2019: No Durant, No Problem
The Warriors met the Rockets again in the second round, this time without Kevin Durant for the final two games. It didn’t matter. Curry, scoreless in the first half of Game 6, dropped 33 in the second half to end Houston’s season.
Golden State advanced to their fifth straight Finals, proving the Rockets still couldn’t solve them, even at less than full strength.
2025: A Familiar Ending
After falling behind 3–1 in this year’s first-round series, the Rockets clawed back and forced Game 7 at home. It felt like the moment they’d finally break the curse. But Buddy Hield went nuclear, scoring 33 points on nine made threes.
Curry shook off a quiet first half to deliver a dominant fourth quarter, and the Warriors pulled away with a 103–89 win. For the fifth time, Houston was eliminated by Golden State, and for the fifth time, the Warriors are just two series away from another Finals appearance.
As they now face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round, the Warriors carry momentum, experience, and the weight of a pattern that hasn’t failed them yet. Beating Houston has always meant something bigger for Golden State. The question now is, will history write the same ending again in 2025?
