Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Houston Rockets as well as the hospitality company Landry's, is expected to be named president-elect Donald Trump's ambassador to Italy, according to Jennifer Jacobs of CBS News. Fertitta, 67, has never held political office before, though he is a well-known political donor that has contributed to a number of candidates over the years, including Trump.
What exactly this means for the Rockets is, at this time, not fully clear. When Trump was first elected in 2016, he named New York Jets owner Woody Johnson as his ambassador to the United Kingdom. At the time, Johnson handed control over the team over to his brother, Chris Johnson, while he was abroad. When Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, Woddy Johnson returned and regained control of the Jets. Woody Johnson could take another political post once Trump is back in the Oval Office, however.
Fertitta would presumably also hand day-to-day operations of the team over before becoming an ambassador, but it is unclear whom he might choose. Two of Fertitta's sons, Michael and Patrick, hold official titles with the Rockets as Directors of Fertitta Entertainment, and Patrick was recently mentioned in The Athletic's 40 under 40 list of rising figures within the NBA's coaching and front office ranks.
General manager Rafael Stone currently leads Houston's basketball operations, and the Rockets are in the middle of a breakout season. After missing the playoffs four years in a row, the Rockets have started the 2024-25 season with a 16-8 record. On Wednesday, they will face the Golden State Warriors with a chance to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.
Notably, the Rockets aren't the only team that Fertitta is involved with. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Regents for the University of Houston and therefore involved with the school's sports teams, and head basketball coach Kelvin Sampson said on Tuesday that he hopes that continues to be the case. "I don't care if you put him in the Arctic Circle he's going to still be our chairman of the board of regents," Sampson said. "I love Tilman."
