Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr. (born November 24, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is a consultant for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His professional playing career, which lasted between 1970 and 1981, was entirely spent with the San Diego / Houston Rockets. Tomjanovich was a 5-time NBA All-Star forward; four consecutive times between 1974 and 1977, and again in 1979. He also made the playoffs five times: in 1975, 1977, and consecutively between 1979 and 1981. On December 9, 1977, during a game between the Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, Tomjanovich was the victim of a life-threatening punch to his face brought upon him by Lakers power forward Kermit Washington. This ended his season after 23 games; after fully recovering, Tomjanovich played in the NBA for three more seasons. After about eight years of being an assistant coach, Tomjanovich was promoted to head coach of the Rockets from 1992 to 2003, including when the Rockets won two consecutive NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. Tomjanovich coached Team USA to the gold medal in men's basketball at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He also coached the Los Angeles Lakers during part of the 2004–05 NBA season. He was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame on May 16, 2021. Early life Tomjanovich was born in Hamtramck, Michigan, the son of Catherine (Modich) and Rudy Tomjanovich. He is of Croatian descent. He attended high school in Hamtramck and later the University of Michigan (1967–1970). He was a high school teammate of ABA player John Brisker. Playing career College career (1967–1970) In college, Tomjanovich set Michigan Wolverines men's basketball career rebounding records that continue to stand. In 1968 he earned second team All-Big Ten honors, which he followed with first-team honors in 1969 and 1970. During 1970 he was also an All-American. San Diego / Houston Rockets (1970–1981) Tomjanovich was selected in the 1970 NBA draft as the second overall pick by the San Diego Rockets (the franchise relocated to Houston in 1971), for whom he would play the entirety of his NBA career. He was also drafted in both 1970 and 1974 by the Utah Stars of the ABA. In his eleven years in the NBA, Tomjanovich had a scoring average of 17.4 points and a rebounding average of 8.1, earning five All-Star Game selections in the process (1974–1977, 1979). He is the fourth-leading