As the son of Tilman Fertitta, who purchased the Rockets in October 2017, Patrick Fertitta has unofficially become known as something of a daily liaison between ownership and Houston’s front office and business operations departments.
But, he does have an official title. Technically, he’s the Rockets’ alternate governor — with governor being the NBA’s updated term (rather than owner) to describe people with controlling interest of its teams.
And with Tilman Fertitta busy these days as the new U.S. Ambassador to Italy, that makes Patrick Fertitta the organization’s point person for the foreseeable future.
In a new Rockets All Access interview with Vanessa Richardson of Space City Home Network (SCHN), Fertitta described his unique role:
To be honest, not a lot has changed. This is the ninth year, for us, since we’ve come into the position of being a part of this team. I think people may be more aware of my presence now that my dad has taken the position that he has over in Italy.
But my role, and what it’s been for a long time, is making sure that we’ve got the best people — both on the business side and the basketball side. Then, I’m working with them every day to make sure they’ve got the resources, support, the people, the freedom, and the autonomy to do their job to the best of their ability.
I’m never going to pretend that I could do Rafael’s job (Stone, general manager), or Gretchen’s job (Sheirr, president of business operations), or Dawn’s job (Keen, vice president of corporate partnerships), or anyone else’s. But, it’s important that I know enough to hold people accountable and to give them what they need in order to be successful.
That’s the most important thing. We’ve got good leadership, and that leadership has the support of ownership. We’re all aligned in accomplishing the same goal, which is to be a world-class organization — both on the business side, as well as the basketball side.
As Fertitta explains, “communication is key” within those relationships.
“I think the time that we spend together — we have happy days and bad days, and we may get upset with one another, at times — but we’re all locked in,” said Fertitta, who sits courtside at every Rockets home game. He also travels with the team on numerous road trips.
“I know we hear the word alignment a lot now in sports and in business, but it’s important. Being able to know that you have one another’s back, and nobody is trying to get over on someone else or replace someone else, is important.”
“Whether it’s Ime (Udoka, head coach) or Rafael and their respective staffs, or Gretchen and her huge staff here, we’re always there for one another. We work together, and we just want to make sure that the Houston Rockets is the iconic brand that it always has been and will continue to be.”
With regards to basketball operations, Fertitta had a significant role in both the hiring of Udoka in April 2023 and greenlighting the preceding rebuild that brought in high draft picks and promising young talents such as Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr., and Reed Sheppard.
Then, in the 2023 offseason, the Rockets supplemented that young core of talent with veteran free agents. With Udoka leading the way, the Rockets improved from a last-place finish (22-60) in the 2022-23 Western Conference to second place (52-30) in 2024-25, a span of just two years.
In the months that followed that second-place finish, the Rockets became a desired destination for Kevin Durant, a perennial All-Star forward and future Hall of Famer. That summer, a trade got done.
In his interview with Richardson, courtside reporter for SCHN’s game broadcasts, the younger Fertitta describes how it all came together:
This is our ninth season, and we had a lot of ups and downs. I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum when it comes to having success in this league. We came out hot (in 2017-18, the Fertitta family’s first season in the current role), winning 65 games and having a contender.
And then, we never want to think in a box. We never feel like we have to be desperate, or take it slow or take it fast. It’s really: ‘What is our situation, and what are the cards that we’ve been dealt?’ A few years ago, we realized that going young and being youthful, and building up our asset base, if you will, was the right thing to eventually get us to where we want to be, which is contending for a title.
Everybody says that they want to win a title. Obviously, that’s the goal for everybody. But are you willing to do what it requires, to give yourself the best chance of actually being there? Sometimes, that means material sacrifices, both on the court and off.
And then this past summer, after a couple years of having our young talent take hold on the court, we had an opportunity where we felt like, ‘Hey, we can go bring in one of the greatest players to ever do it.’ He’s still playing at a world-class level. And in the event we were able to acquire him, we have the ability to reach our goal, not just this year, but in the future. It’s been exciting and it’s been fun, and hopefully we’re able to see this thing through.
In the past, the 31-year-old hasn’t done many on-camera interviews. In general, he’s worked in the background at Toyota Center, all as his father took on the more forward-facing roles.
But now that Tilman is mostly away from the Rockets, Patrick is becoming much more visible. And with the Rockets now having championship aspirations, the spotlight on the franchise and its leaders is growing.
“It’s special, and more than anything, I’m excited for our fans,” Fertitta said of the 2025-26 season. “I’m excited for the people that stick with the Rockets and have been with us through all of this. There is nothing more that I want to see than our fans happy and proud.”
“I’m a Houstonian, I’m a Rockets fan before any of this. To see our community, our city, and Rockets fans all over the world excited about what we have created and what we’re building together, it makes me happy. I want to execute, I want to deliver, and we’re ready to get going.”
Video of Fertitta’s interview with Richardson is available on Rockets All Access, which SCHN is airing several times this week (schedule).
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Rockets’ alternate governor: Patrick Fertitta explains his unique role
Reporting by Ben DuBose, Rockets Wire / Rockets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
