Legendary Teams: 1994 Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets started the ‘93-94 season with a 15-game winning streak, which was tied for an NBA record until it was broken by the Golden State Warriors in 2015 (24 games). Superstar center Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 27.3 points, 3.7 blocks, 11.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Not only would Hakeem win Defensive Player of the Year, but his performance was also enough to win the Most Valuable Player Award. Olajuwon joined Michael Jordan as the only two players in NBA History to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season (Jordan won both awards in 1988). In the first round of the playoffs, the Rockets defeated Clyde Drexler and the Blazers 3-1. In the second round, the Rockets started their series down 0-2 against Charles Barkley and the Suns, and then managed to tie the series. The Suns and Rockets went 7 games, and Hakeem had 37 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Point Guard Sam Cassell also scored 30 points, and the Rockets won the series. In the Western Conference Finals, Houston went up against the Utah Jazz featuring the one-two punch of Karl Malone and John Stockton. The Rockets played great team basketball against Utah and won the series in 5 games. In the 1994 NBA Finals, the Rockets faced Patrick Ewing and the Knicks. The highly anticipated matchup between Olajuwon and Ewing was a rematch of the 1984 NCAA Championship, when Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas defeated the University of Houston , led by Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. The Knicks and Rockets split the first four games of the Finals. The Knicks won Game 5 and the Rockets won Game 6. In Game 7, Knicks guard John Starks shot 2-18 from the field, and the Rockets won the NBA Finals. Houston repeated as champions in 1995.