Head coach Rudy Tomjanovich Arena The Summit (Houston) | Owner(s) Leslie Alexander Record 58–24 (.707) | |
Place Division: 1st (Midwest)
Conference: 2nd (Western) Playoff finish NBA Champions
(Defeated Knicks 4-3) | ||
The 1993–94 NBA season was the Houston Rockets' 27th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season in Houston. During the offseason, the Rockets acquired Mario Elie from the Portland Trail Blazers. The Rockets went off to a great start, winning their first fifteen games to tie the 1948–49 Washington Capitols for the best unbeaten record to open a season. After losing to the Atlanta Hawks on December 3, the Rockets won the next seven games as well, falling just one victory shy of tying the 1969–70 Knicks (23–1) for the best record with one defeat in NBA history. However, the Rockets would cool off as the season progressed, at one point losing four games in a row. Still, they finished first place in the Midwest Division with a 58–24 record.
Contents
- Western Conference first round
- West Conference Semifinals
- West Conference Finals
- 1994 NBA Finals roster
- Series summary
- Interruption of Game 5 telecast by O J Simpson car chase
- Award winners
- References
Hakeem Olajuwon won the league's Most Valuable Player award, ahead of David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls. Anchoring one of the league's best defenses, Olajuwon also won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award for the second consecutive year, also beating out Robinson by a narrow 23 to 22 votes. He was also selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game.
In the playoffs, the Rockets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 3–1 in the first round, then defeated the Phoenix Suns 4–3 in the semifinals and the Utah Jazz 4–1 in the Western Conference Finals. In the 1994 NBA Finals, they defeated the New York Knicks in seven games, and won their first championship in franchise history. It was the Rockets' third NBA finals appearance, after 1981 and 1986. Olajuwon was the only player of the 1985–86 Rockets to still be on the 1993–94 team.
The team's season roster is featured in the video games NBA 2K16 and NBA 2K17.
Western Conference first round
(2) Houston Rockets vs. (7) Portland Trail Blazers: Rockets win series 3–1
Last playoff meeting: 1987 Western Conference First Round (Houston won 3–1)
West Conference Semifinals
(2) Houston Rockets vs. (3) Phoenix Suns: Rockets win series 4–3
Last playoff meeting: This was the first meeting between the Rockets and Suns.
West Conference Finals
(2) Houston Rockets vs. (5) Utah Jazz: Rockets win series 4–1
Last playoff meeting: 1985 Western Conference first round (Utah won 3–2)
1994 NBA Finals roster
Head Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich
Hakeem Olajuwon | Otis Thorpe | Vernon Maxwell | Robert Horry | Mario Elie | Sam Cassell | Chris Jent | Carl Herrera | Scott Brooks | Larry Robinson | Matt Bullard | Richard Petruška | Earl Cureton | Eric Riley | Kenny Smith |
Series summary
Rockets win series 4–3
Interruption of Game 5 telecast by O. J. Simpson car chase
During Game 5 (June 17, 1994), most NBC affiliates (with the noted exception being WNBC-TV out of New York City) split the coverage of the game between NFL Hall of Famer O. J. Simpson's slow-speed freeway chase with the LAPD. At the time, Simpson had been an NFL analyst on NBC. A visibly confused and distraught Bob Costas (NBC's anchor for their NBA Finals coverage) said during the telecast from Madison Square Garden that the Simpson situation was "not just tragic but now surreal".