Record 47–35 (.573) Owner Leslie Alexander | Head coach Rudy Tomjanovich End date 1995 | |
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Place Division: 3rd (Midwest)
Conference: 6th (Western) Playoff finish NBA Champions
(Defeated Magic 4-0) Arena Lakewood Church Central Campus Similar 2000–01 Los Angeles, 1997–98 Chicago Bulls sea, 1990–91 Chicago Bulls sea, 2007–08 Boston Celtics se, 2009–10 Los Angeles | ||
The 1994–95 NBA season was the Rockets' 28th season in the National Basketball Association, and 24th season in Houston. After winning their first championship, the Rockets went on to win their first nine games of the season. However, with increased competition in the West, management felt a change was needed to win another title. On February 14, the Rockets traded Otis Thorpe to the Portland Trail Blazers for All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, a former teammate of Hakeem Olajuwon at the University of Houston. However, after the trade, the Rockets struggled in the second half of the season posting a record of 17–18 on their way to finishing third in the Midwest Division with a 47–35 record. Olajuwon was selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game.
Contents
- West First Round
- West Conference Semifinals
- West Conference Finals
- 1995 NBA Finals Roster
- Olajuwon vs ONeal
- Series Summary
- Award winners
- References
In the playoffs, the Rockets faced the 3rd-seeded Utah Jazz in the first round. The Jazz would take a 2–1 lead, but the Rockets went on to win the series in six games. In the semifinals, they faced the Phoenix Suns for the second consecutive year. The Rockets managed to defeat the 2nd-seeded Suns in seven games to advance to the Western Conference Finals. In the all Texas Western Conference, they faced the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs. Both teams lacked home court advantage in the series, only winning on the road until the Rockets won Game 6 at The Summit and advanced to the NBA Finals. In the Finals, they swept the Orlando Magic in four straight games, and won their second consecutive championship. Following the season, Vernon Maxwell signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers, and Tracy Murray left in the 1995 NBA Expansion Draft.
West First Round
(3) Utah Jazz vs. (6) Houston Rockets: Rockets win series 3-2
Last Playoff Meeting: 1994 Western Conference Finals (Houston won 4-1)
West Conference Semifinals
(2) Phoenix Suns vs. (6) Houston Rockets: Rockets win series 4-3
Last Playoff Meeting: 1994 Western Conference Semifinals (Houston won 4-3)
West Conference Finals
(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Houston Rockets: Rockets win series 4-2
Last Playoff Meeting: 1981 Western Conference Semifinals (Houston won 4-3)
1995 NBA Finals Roster
Head Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich
Hakeem Olajuwon | Clyde Drexler | Kenny Smith | Robert Horry | Sam Cassell | Mario Elie | Carl Herrera | Vernon Maxwell | Chucky Brown | Pete Chilcutt | Tracy Murray | Tim Breaux | Žan Tabak | Charles Jones | Adrian Caldwell |
Olajuwon vs. O'Neal
Although both centers played well, Olajuwon is generally considered to have outplayed O'Neal. Olajuwon outscored O'Neal in every game of the series and became one of the few players in NBA history to score at least 30 points in every game of an NBA Finals series:
By winning his second straight NBA Finals MVP award, Hakeem Olajuwon became the sixth player to win the award on multiple occasions, joining Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. Jordan and Olajuwon at the time were the only players to win the award consecutively. Later, O'Neal himself would go on to win the award in three consecutive seasons with the Lakers (2000–02), as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James would later on join the list as well.
Series Summary
Rockets win series 4-0