The Rockets plan to honor the victims, families and first responders of Friday's school shooting in Santa Fe during Thursday's Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against the Warriors.
The team will wear a ribbon on their jerseys and Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta extended invitations to the entire Santa Fe High School senior class to attend Game 5 at no cost, according to ESPN.
Ten people were killed and another 13 were hospitalized in the shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas, according to multiple reports.
"We just wanted to step up," Fertitta said (via Chron.com). "I talked to (Rockets CEO Tad Brown) and said 'We need to find 300 tickets for the Santa Fe High School seniors on Thursday. The freshmen, the sophomores, the juniors get to go back and have some decent times the rest of their high school career. For the seniors, this is their moment.'
"Just something we can do to recognize the deceased and let the survivors have a great time. Probably a lot of them have never been to a Rocket game before, but especially a Western Conference finals game."
The franchise also plans to honor the high school, which is located about 30 miles from Houston, with on-court activities. The Rockets plan to play a video honoring the victims and survivors before the game and the school choir has been asked to sing the national anthem before tip-off.
The NBA still has to approve the Rockets' plans, but Fertitta is confident the league will accept the tribute, adding, "We're going to make it a special night."
