1993–94 Houston Rockets season
The 1993–94 Houston Rockets season was the 27th season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season in Houston, Texas. The Rockets had the 24th overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, and selected point guard Sam Cassell out of Florida State University, and acquired Mario Elie from the Portland Trail Blazers during the off-season.
The Rockets got off to a great start, winning their first fifteen games of the regular season to tie the 1948–49 Washington Capitols for the best unbeaten record to open a season, while also posting a 14–0 record in November, before the Golden State Warriors surpassed it in 2015, and the Cleveland Cavaliers tied the Rockets' mark in 2024. After losing their first regular season game to the Atlanta Hawks, a 133–111 road loss at the Omni Coliseum on December 3, 1993, the Rockets won their next seven games as well, falling just one victory shy of tying the 1969–70 Knicks, for the best record with one defeat in NBA history.
However, the Rockets would slow down as the season progressed, at one point losing four games in a row in January. Still, they held a 34–12 record at the All-Star break, and finished in first place in the Midwest Division with a 58–24 record, a franchise record that stood until the 2017-18 team recorded their 59th win; the Rockets earned the second seed in the Western Conference.
Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.7 blocks per game, and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year, ahead of David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls; Olajuwon was also named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, also beating out Robinson by a narrow 23 to 22 votes. He was also named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.
In addition, Otis Thorpe averaged 14.0 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, while Vernon Maxwell provided the team with 13.6 points, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and also led them with 120 three-point field goals, despite shooting.298 in three-point percentage, Kenny Smith contributed 11.6 points and 4.2 assists per game, and second-year forward Robert Horry provided with 9.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Off the bench, Elie played a sixth man role averaging 9.3 points per game, while Cassell provided with 6.7 points and 2.9 assists per game, Scott Brooks contributed 5.2 points per game, and Carl Herrera averaged 4.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Olajuwon was selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team, while Cassell was selected for the inaugural NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Phenoms team. Elie finished tied in sixth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, while head coach Rudy Tomjanovich finished in fourth place in Coach of the Year voting.
In the Western Conference First Round of the 1994 NBA playoffs, the Rockets faced off against the 7th–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, a team that featured All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, All-Star forward Clifford Robinson, and Rod Strickland. The Rockets won the first two games over the Trail Blazers at home at The Summit, before losing Game 3 on the road, 118–115 at the Memorial Coliseum. The Rockets won Game 4 over the Trail Blazers on the road, 92–89 to win the series in four games.
In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 3rd–seeded Phoenix Suns, who were led by the All-Star trio of Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, and three-point specialist Dan Majerle. The Rockets lost the first two games to the Suns at The Summit, but managed to win the next two games on the road at the America West Arena to even the series. The Rockets won Game 5 at home, 109–86, but then lost Game 6 on the road, 103–89 as the Suns tied the series at 3–3. The Rockets won Game 7 over the Suns at The Summit, 104–94 to win in a hard-fought seven-game series.
In the Western Conference Finals, the Rockets then faced off against the 5th–seeded Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Jeff Hornacek. The Rockets won the first two games over the Jazz at The Summit, before losing Game 3 on the road, 95–86 at the Delta Center. After winning Game 4 on the road, 80–78, the Rockets won Game 5 over the Jazz at The Summit, 94–83 to win the series in five games, and advance to the NBA Finals.
In the 1994 NBA Finals, the Rockets faced off against the 2nd–seeded New York Knicks, who were led by the All-Star trio of Patrick Ewing, John Starks and Charles Oakley. The Rockets took a 2–1 series lead, but the Knicks managed to win the next three games at Madison Square Garden, defeating the Rockets in Game 5, 91–84 to take a 3–2 series lead. However, the Rockets won the next two games at The Summit, including a Game 7 home win over the Knicks, 90–84, thus winning in a hard-fought seven-game series, and winning their first ever NBA championship in franchise history; Olajuwon was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
This was the Rockets' third NBA Finals appearance, after 1981 and 1986. Olajuwon was the only player from the 1985–86 Rockets team to still be on the 1993–94 team. By winning the Finals MVP award, Olajuwon also became the first player ever to win regular season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP in the same season. The Rockets also became the first team from the Midwest Division since the Milwaukee Bucks, 23 years prior to win the NBA title.
United States