Rockets owner Leslie Alexander pledges $4 million to charity

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Rockets owner Leslie Alexander's team might have started the season on a roll that arrived sooner than he expected, but it could not win a championship in December. So on Tuesday, he concentrated on the other half of his mission statement.

The Rockets announced that Alexander would give a donation of $4 million to eight Houston area charities to be determined as part of its annual Season of Giving. While Alexander said the Rockets have meshed sooner than he expected and that James Harden should be the frontrunner for MVP, he cited the other goal he had since he bought the Rockets in 1993 for his decision to make the donation.

"I want to give back to the community," Alexander said. "Houston has been very kind to me. This is my chance again to give back. I thought about a number that I was comfortable with and big enough to make a difference to the town.

"When I bought the team, I said we would try to do two things; give back to the community and win. We keep trying to do that. I think it's very important, if you are lucky enough in a society to have done well, you should have an obligation in your own mind to constantly give back and you want to. You want to help people."

Alexander described the criteria for the charities to be considered as "People in need, animals in need, organizations in need, immigrants in need. There will be more."

Although Alexander has long been an avid supporter of PETA, he said "animals in need" will focus not on animal rights groups but on "people actually on the ground taking care of animals."

With the Rockets carrying a 10-game winning streak heading into Tuesday's game, Alexander said he was happy with the way they have been winning and with the style of play.

Hakeem Olajuwon speaks with Leslie Alexander during the 20th Anniversary of the 1995 Houston Rockets championship during a halftime ceremony of an NBA game at Toyota Center, Thursday, March 19, 2015, in Houston. ( Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle ) less Hakeem Olajuwon speaks with Leslie Alexander during the 20th Anniversary of the 1995 Houston Rockets championship during a halftime ceremony of an NBA game at Toyota Center, Thursday, March 19, 2015, in ... more Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Rockets owner Leslie Alexander pledges $4 million to charity 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

"The team is playing exactly the way I wanted it to," Alexander said. "Guys are really coming through, especially in the clutch. That game in Minnesota showed how clutch we are this year. The injury (to center Clint Capela) is going to hurt, obviously. How much it's going to impact us, I have no idea.

"I think we started a little faster than what I anticipated. I thought we'd be playing this kind of ball later on in the season, after we go used to the system. So I'm thrilled that this early in the season we're meshing this well."

Much of that is because of Harden's play in the first season after Alexander extended his star's contract. But he seemed surprised at how Harden has elevated his play in his role as full-time point guard.

"He's unbelievable," Alexander said. "There isn't anything he doesn't do. Scoring, rebounding, passing. His rebounding is unbelievable for a point guard. He's just a fantastic player.

"It (the MVP) is between him and Russ (Westbrook). We're winning a lot more games, so maybe he should be the MVP over Russ."

Alexander expressed no surprise over the success of Mike D'Antoni, his choice as coach, describing D'Antoni's strengths as just as he expected when he made his then controversial and much-criticized choice.

"Mike's a master at his art," Alexander said. "I wanted to hire somebody – especially with James in the middle of this career – I didn't want somebody coming in thinking about what he had to do and I thought he would fit James perfectly, know how to use James, know how to play the game the way I wanted to play and the way James should be playing the game."

Alexander would not, however, respond to a question about Donatas Motiejunas and the team's inability to return Motiejunas to the roster after Motiejunas' physical.

He also would not say his donation should inspire others, even in the small circle of NBA owners.

"I'm not here to be pompous and tell other people what to do," he said. "I'm just doing what I want to do for this community."