The 1990s were dominated by the Chicago Bulls. Winning six championships between 1990-1998, the Bulls were unstoppable. But there were two years where they weren’t the champions, rather, it was the Houston Rockets who were the best team in the NBA.
With Michael Jordan away, it was the Rockets who stepped up to the plate to become the new bosses of the NBA. Much of it was because of their superstar center, Hakeem Olajuwon. Drafted by the Rockets in the 1984 draft class, Olajuwon was the first overall pick of the draft ahead of Michael Jordan.
While the 7’0″ center might have made it to the NBA Finals before, he never really got the taste of a championship until 1994. The Rockets, who were competitive in the West, transformed into a contender with players like Vernon Maxwell and Clyde Drexler supporting Olajuwon.
Former teammate and 2-time champion Vernon Maxwell recently spoke about how impactful Olajuwon was for the 1993-94 season.
“He just went crazy… He was in a different mode.”
Leading the Rockets to a 58-24 record, which was the second best in the league, ‘the Dream’ averaged 27.3 points, 3.7 blocks, 3.6 assists, 11.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game. This led to Olajuwon winning the NBA MVP trophy and even the DPOY trophy.
His true class, though, was at full display in the 1994 playoffs. Averaging 28.9 points, 4 blocks, 4.3 assists, 11 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game, Olajuwon was the best player in the playoffs by a mile. He was ultimately rewarded as well, with the Rockets winning the title and him deservedly being crowned as the Finals MVP.
In fact, this was a historic season in NBA history as well, as ‘the Dream’ became the only player in NBA history to win the regular season MVP trophy, the DPOY trophy, as well as the Finals MVP trophy. However, the league has seen many superstars since no one has even come close to repeating this feat.
Olajuwon and the Rockets continued their domination in the 1994-95 season as well. Defending the title, ‘Hakeem’ deservedly was crowned the Finals MVP for the second time in a row, capping off perhaps the most successful era in Rockets history.
