Twenty six years ago, at the height of Clutch City, Mario Elie landed his famed "Kiss of Death" shot: a last-minute corner three-pointer that helped deliver the Houston Rockets' 115-114 win over the Phoenix Suns in the 1995 Western Conference semifinals.
What was arguably the most legendary shot in Rockets history kept alive the team's effort to land their second consecutive NBA championship – and also kept alive Elie's fame among Houstonians for the past quarter of a century.
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That notability may soon rise as Elie, a three-time NBA champion and assistant coach with the Orlando Magic, rejoins his home team in an unspecified broadcast role on AT&T SportsNet. The Rockets announced the move on Thursday.
"It's good to be back home where I belong, in Houston, covering my favorite team, the Houston Rockets," Elie said in the post.
Houstonians won't have any trouble recognizing the former player. During the low times of the pandemic last May, NBA social media accounts re-aired parts of the 1995 playoff game at Phoenix's America West Arena, complete with Elie's famed shot and "kiss of death" taunt toward the Suns' bench.
The shot has become a moniker for himself, Elie said.
"People remember that. They tell me where they were," Elie told the Houston Chronicle last year. "They don’t call me Mario. They say, ‘Hey, ‘Kiss of Death.’ That’s my new name.
"It’s pretty cool, me being in my late 50s and people still remembering that moment and being part of that special group and helping bring this great city its first championship."
Elie isn't the only former player now covering the Rockets. On Thursday, Ryan Hollins, a NBA journeyman player who was last a CBS game analyst and studio analyst for the Los Angeles Clippers, announced his new role as a television analyst broadcasting the Rockets' home and road games on site.
Hollins, who played for the Dallas Mavericks in 2009 when Elie was an assistant coach for the team, said he learned the game from watching Houston win the 1994 NBA championship, where Elie also played.
With Elie and Hollins onboard, the Rockets are set to rebuild this year, both in the broadcast booth and in the paint.
Jonathan Feigen contributed to this report.
charlie.zong@chron.com
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