The official Houston Rockets colors are red, championship yellow, black and white. The primary color is Rockets Red (#CE0E2D), paired with Championship Yellow (#FFCC00), black (#000000) and white (#FFFFFF). The palette was adopted in the June 2026 rebrand and appears on the logo, uniforms and merchandise.
Houston Rockets color codes
Current palette, in use for the 2026-27 season onward. Hex values come from the brand reveal on June 4, 2026. Pantone equivalents are approximated from the hex, since the team has not published an official PMS breakdown for the new marks.
| Color | Swatch | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockets Red | #CE0E2D | 206, 14, 45 | 0, 93, 78, 19 | PMS 200 C (approx.) | |
| Championship Yellow | #FFCC00 | 255, 204, 0 | 0, 20, 100, 0 | PMS 116 C (approx.) | |
| Black | #000000 | 0, 0, 0 | 0, 0, 0, 100 | PMS Black 6 C | |
| White | #FFFFFF | 255, 255, 255 | 0, 0, 0, 0 | n/a |
The 2003 to 2026 palette (still everywhere in merch)
If you’re matching older jerseys, court graphics or fan gear, you probably want these instead. They were the official codes for two decades and they still float around most brand kits.
| Color | Swatch | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | #CE1141 | 206, 17, 65 | 0, 100, 65, 15 | PMS 200 C | |
| Black | #000000 | 6, 25, 34 | 30, 0, 0, 100 | PMS Black 6 C | |
| Silver | #C4CED4 | 196, 206, 211 | 5, 0, 0, 20 | PMS 877 C (metallic) |
Every color in the Rockets palette, one by one
Rockets Red
Red is the primary. It fills the Icon Edition jersey, the triangular nose cone badge and the flame of the “R” mark. The new #CE0E2D is a touch darker and cleaner than the old #CE1141, which had a slight pink lean under stage lighting (you notice it fast when you drop both on a white artboard). The team calls red the heartbeat of the franchise, and it has survived every rebrand since 1972.
Championship Yellow
Yellow came back on June 4, 2026 after a 31-year absence. It functions as trim, not as a fill: collar piping, armhole lines, the Jumpman on the Statement jersey, the outline on the “R”. At #FFCC00 it reads bright and saturated, closer to a school bus tone than the duller mustard yellow the “ketchup and mustard” nickname suggests.
Black
Black anchors the Statement uniform and most of the typography. It entered the palette properly in the 2019-20 refresh, when the team swapped silver out for black on the primary uniforms. The current Statement jersey uses a black base to represent space, with a quasar-inspired pinstripe running through it.
White
White carries the Association jersey and the wordmark on the red set. Pure #FFFFFF, no cream, no ivory. It’s the base that lets the red and yellow trim do the shouting.
What about silver?
Silver (#C4CED4, PMS 877) was an official Rockets color from 2003 to the 2019-20 uniform update, and it lingered in secondary marks after that. It is not part of the 2026-27 identity. Faded gray pinstripes survive on the new Association jersey, but those sit closer to a light gray tint than the old metallic silver.
Rockets jersey colors: home, away, alternate
Association Edition (mostly home): white base, “HOUSTON” across the chest in slanted red type, red and yellow piping at the collar and armholes, broken tonal pinstripes.
Icon Edition (mostly road): red base, “ROCKETS” in white, yellow trim, and a nose cone detail on the shorts holding the “R”.
Statement Edition: all black, red lettering, gold Jumpman, red commander’s stripe on the back borrowed from NASA mission patches. Kevin Durant wore the red Icon in the reveal shoot, which tells you which set the team wants on camera.
How the palette got here
The franchise started in San Diego in 1967 wearing green and gold, of all things. The move to Houston in 1971-72 brought red, and by 1972 the red and yellow scheme (the ketchup and mustard look) was locked in. It stayed through both championships, 1994 and 1995.
Then came the 1995-96 overhaul: a cartoon rocket with a shark nose, pinstripes, and yellow dropped entirely in favor of navy blue and silver. Changing your look immediately after back-to-back titles is still one of the strangest calls in league branding history.
2003-04 brought the stylized “R” from Eiko Ishioka and Rafael Esquer, along with a red, silver and white scheme. That logo survived the 2019-20 refresh, when silver gave way to black on the uniforms.
On June 4, 2026, the Rockets announced a full rebrand for the 2026-27 season. Ketchup and mustard returned. The “R” stayed, now with a yellow outline, and the Dunkstronaut became a permanent secondary mark.
Using the Rockets colors in your own work
For screens, use the hex or RGB values. For print, use CMYK or match to the Pantone equivalents above (and confirm with the team’s brand kit if the job is licensed work, because approximated PMS codes will not survive a legal review).
Red on black works. Yellow on white does not, at least not for body copy: #FFCC00 on #FFFFFF fails contrast checks badly. Keep yellow as an accent, an outline, a rule, a small icon fill. That’s how the team uses it too.
“ :root { --rockets-red: #CE0E2D; --rockets-yellow: #FFCC00; --rockets-black: #000000; --rockets-white: #FFFFFF; / legacy, 2003-2026 / --rockets-red-legacy: #CE1141; --rockets-silver-legacy: #C4CED4; } `
Related color resources
- Full league reference: NBA team color codes
- Same city, different sport: Houston Astros colors
- Color theory behind the palette: red, yellow, black, white, silver
- Shades referenced above: mustard yellow, navy blue, light gray, green, gold
- Build around it: red color palettes
FAQ on The Houston Rockets Colors
What are the Houston Rockets colors?
The Houston Rockets colors are red, championship yellow, black and white. Rockets Red (#CE0E2D) leads the palette, with yellow as trim. This scheme launched with the June 2026 rebrand and replaced the red, black and silver set.
What are the Houston Rockets color codes in HEX and RGB?
Rockets Red: #CE0E2D, RGB (206, 14, 45). Championship Yellow: #FFCC00, RGB (255, 204, 0). Black: #000000, RGB (0, 0, 0). White: #FFFFFF, RGB (255, 255, 255).
The legacy red used from 2003 to 2026 was #CE1141, RGB (206, 17, 65).
What is the Houston Rockets Pantone color?
The long-standing Pantone match is PMS 200 C for red, Black 6 C for black and PMS 877 C (metallic) for silver. The team has not published PMS values for championship yellow, though PMS 116 C sits very close.
What is the primary color of the Houston Rockets?
Red. It fills the Icon Edition jersey, the rocket flame in the “R” logo and the new nose cone badge. Every Rockets identity since the 1971-72 move from San Diego has kept red as the dominant color.
When did the Rockets bring back the yellow?
On June 4, 2026. The ketchup and mustard palette returns for the 2026-27 season, ending a 31-year absence. Yellow was dropped in 1995-96, when the franchise swapped it for navy blue and silver.
Do the Rockets still use silver?
No. Silver (#C4CED4) was official from the 2003 rebrand until the 2019-20 uniform refresh, when black took its place on the primary sets. The 2026-27 identity leaves it out entirely, keeping only faint gray pinstripes.
What color are the Rockets home and away jerseys?
Home is the white Association Edition with “HOUSTON” in red and yellow trim. Road is the red Icon Edition with “ROCKETS” in white. The Statement Edition is all black with red lettering and a gold Jumpman.
Are the Rockets colors the same as the Chicago Bulls?
No. Both use red and black, but Bulls red is #CE1141, the exact code Houston used before 2026. The new Rockets Red (#CE0E2D) runs slightly deeper, and Chicago has no yellow in its palette.
Why is the Rockets Statement jersey black?
Black represents space, tying the brand to Houston’s NASA identity. A quasar-inspired pinstripe runs through it, side panels show rockets rising from the shorts, and a red commander’s stripe crosses the back.
What colors did the San Diego Rockets wear?
Green and gold, from the 1967-68 expansion season through 1971. The franchise moved to Houston in 1971-72 and switched green for red, keeping the same jersey template for one more year before the 1972 redesign.
Conclusion
The Houston Rockets colors now read as red, championship yellow, black and white, with #CE0E2D doing the heavy lifting across the logo, the Toyota Center court and the 2026-27 uniform set.
Keep the legacy codes handy anyway. Plenty of merchandise, throwback jerseys and Clutch City era fan gear still run on #CE1141 and PMS 877 silver.
Grab the hex values for screens, the CMYK or Pantone equivalents for print, and let yellow stay where the team put it: on the trim.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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