1993–94 Houston Rockets season

The 1993–94 NBA season was the Houston Rockets' 27th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season in Houston.[1] 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, before the Golden State Warriors surpassed it in 2015.[2] 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.[3] 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, a franchise record that stood until the 2017-18 team recorded their 59th win.

1993–94 Houston Rockets season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachRudy Tomjanovich
OwnersLeslie Alexander
ArenaThe Summit
Results
Record58–24 (.707)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Midwest)
Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Knicks 4–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKTXH
Home Sports Entertainment
RadioKTRH

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.[4] 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 5th-seeded 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 Rockets also became the first team from the Midwest Division since the Milwaukee Bucks 23 years prior to win the NBA title.

Offseason

NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School or club team
1 24 Sam Cassell Guard  United States Florida State
2 46 Richard Petruška Center  United States UCLA
2 50 Marcelo Nicola Forward  Argentina Taugres (Spain)

Roster
Roster listing
Houston Rockets roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
PG 1 Brooks, Scott 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) UC Irvine
PF 50 Bullard, Matt 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Iowa
PG 10 Cassell, Sam 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Florida State
PF 35 Cureton, Earl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Detroit
SF 17 Elie, Mario 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) American International
PF 7 Herrera, Carl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Houston
SF 25 Horry, Robert 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Alabama
SF 21 Jent, Chris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Ohio State
SG 11 Maxwell, Vernon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Florida
C 34 Olajuwon, Hakeem (C) 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Houston
C 3 Petruska, Richard 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) UCLA
C 42 Riley, Eric 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Michigan
SG 20 Robinson, Larry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Centenary College of Louisiana
PG 30 Smith, Kenny 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) North Carolina
PF 33 Thorpe, Otis (C) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Providence
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Regular season

Season standings
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Houston Rockets 5824.707—35–623–1815–11
x-San Antonio Spurs 5527.671332–923–1816–10
x-Utah Jazz 5329.646533–820–2121–5
x- Denver Nuggets 4240.5121628–1314–2714–12
Minnesota Timberwolves 2062.2443813–287–345–21
Dallas Mavericks 1369.159456–357–347–19
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Seattle SuperSonics6319.768–
2 y-Houston Rockets5824.7075
3 x-Phoenix Suns5626.6837
4 x-San Antonio Spurs5527.6718
5 x-Utah Jazz5329.64610
6 x-Golden State Warriors5032.61013
7 x-Portland Trail Blazers4735.57316
8 x-Denver Nuggets4240.51221
9 Los Angeles Lakers3349.40230
10 Sacramento Kings2854.34135
11 Los Angeles Clippers2755.32936
12 Minnesota Timberwolves2062.24443
13 Dallas Mavericks1369.15950

Record vs. opponents
1993-94 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —4–04–12–33–12–01–14–00–21–13–21–11–13–15–02–01–32–23–14–01–11–12–01–11–11–14–0
Boston 0–4—0–42–21–32–01–13–11–11–10–41–11–12–33–11–11–40–42–24–11–11–11–10–20–20–23–2
Charlotte 1–44–0—1–41–41–11–14–00–21–12–21–12–01–33–22–02–23–12–23–12–00–21–10–20–21–12–2
Chicago 3–22–24–1—1–32–01–15–02–01–14–12–01–12–24–02–03–11–32–23–11–10–21–11–11–12–04–0
Cleveland 1–33–14–13–1—2–01–13–22–00–22–32–01–11–33–22–02–20–42–24–00–22–02–00–21–11–13–1
Dallas 0–20–21–10–20–2—1–41–10–41–40–20–40–40–20–25–10–20–20–20–20–41–32–20–50–40–51–1
Denver 1–11–11–11–11–14–1—2–01–33–21–13–13–11–12–04–11–11–11–10–21–31–32–22–42–21–41–1
Detroit 0–41–30–40–52–31–10–2—0–20–21–41–10–22–21–42–01–30–41–31–31–10–21–11–11–10–22–2
Golden State 2–01–12–00–20–24–03–12–0—0–41–14–15–02–02–02–20–21–11–11–12–33–24–12–21–43–12–0
Houston 1–11–11–11–12–04–12–32–04–0—1–14–03–12–01–14–12–02–01–12–02–24–04–02–32–23–31–1
Indiana 2–34–02–21–43–22–01–14–11–11–1—2–00–23–13–12–03–10–42–22–21–11–12–00–21–11–13–1
L.A. Clippers 1–11–11–10–20–24–01–31–11–40–40–2—2–31–11–11–31–10–21–11–10–52–33–21–31–41–31–1
L.A. Lakers 1–11–10–21–11–14–01–32–00–51–32–03–2—1–12–03–10–20–22–01–13–20–51–40–40–52–21–1
Miami 1–33–23–12–23–12–01–12–20–20–21–31–11–1—4–02–02–32–22–34–10–20–21–10–21–11–13–1
Milwaukee 0–51–32–30–42–32–00–24–10–21–11–31–10–20–4—0–21–30–41–31–30–21–11–10–20–20–21–3
Minnesota 0–21–10–20–20–21–51–40–22–21–40–23–11–30–22–0—1–10–21–12–00–40–42–21–40–41–40–2
New Jersey 3–14–12–21–32–22–01–13–12–00–21–31–12–03–23–11–1—4–10–53–10–20–21–11–11–11–13–1
New York 2–24–01–33–14–02–01–14–01–10–24–02–02–02–24–02–01–4—3–23–21–12–02–01–11–10–25–0
Orlando 1–32–22–22–22–22–01–13–11–11–12–21–10–23–23–11–15–02–3—4–01–12–02–00–21–12–04–1
Philadelphia 0–41–41–31–30–42–02–03–11–10–22–21–11–11–43–10–21–32–30–4—0–20–20–20–20–21–12–3
Phoenix 1–11–10–21–12–04–03–11–13–22–21–15–02–32–02–04–02–01–11–12–0—3–24–13–12–32–22–0
Portland 1–11–12–02–00–23–13–12–02–30–41–13–25–02–01–14–02–00–20–22–02–3—4–11–31–41–32–0
Sacramento 0–21–11–11–10–22–22–21–11–40–40–22–34–11–11–12–21–10–20–22–01–41–4—1–30–51–32–0
San Antonio 1–12–02–01–12–05–04–21–12–23–22–03–14–02–02–04–11–11–12–02–01–33–13–1—0–40–52–0
Seattle 1–12–02–01–11–14–02–21–14–12–21–14–15–01–12–04–01–11–11–12–03–24–15–04–0—3–12–0
Utah 1–12–01–10–21–15–04–12–01–33–31–13–12–21–12–04–11–12–00–21–12–23–13–15–01–3—2–0
Washington 0–42–32–20–41–31–11–12–20–21–11–31–11–11–33–12–01–30–51–43–20–20–20–20–20–20–2—

Game log

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Regular season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Scott Brooks 73016.8.491.377.8711.42.0.70.035.2
Matt Bullard 65011.2.345.325.7691.31.0.22.093.5
Sam Cassell 66617.0.418.295.8412.02.9.89.116.7
Earl Cureton 2015.0.250.000.0006.0.0.00.002.0
Mario Elie 67824.0.446.335.8602.73.1.75.129.3
Carl Herrera 75017.2.458.000.7113.8.5.43.354.7
Robert Horry 818129.3.459.324.7325.42.91.47.939.9
Chris Jent 3026.0.500.364.5005.02.3.00.0010.3
Vernon Maxwell 757334.3.389.298.7493.15.11.67.2713.6
Hakeem Olajuwon 808041.0.528.421.71611.93.61.603.7127.3
Richard Petruška 2204.2.435.467.7501.4.0.09.142.4
Eric Riley 4724.7.486.000.5411.3.2.11.191.9
Larry Robinson 609.2.500.250.3751.71.01.17.004.2
Kenny Smith 787828.3.480.405.8711.84.2.76.0511.6
Otis Thorpe 828235.5.561.000.65710.62.3.80.3414.0

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Scott Brooks 504.6.8331.000.000.4.6.00.002.2
Matt Bullard 1005.5.211.200.7501.0.0.10.201.6
Sam Cassell 22021.7.394.378.8652.74.2.95.239.4
Earl Cureton 10010.0.800.0001.0002.9.2.10.201.8
Mario Elie 23016.6.396.313.8511.71.7.35.135.8
Carl Herrera 16015.5.534.000.8132.8.2.31.194.7
Robert Horry 232333.8.434.382.7656.13.61.52.8711.7
Chris Jent 1105.6.250.231.000.8.6.18.001.2
Vernon Maxwell 232338.3.376.326.6853.54.2.87.0913.8
Hakeem Olajuwon 232343.0.519.500.79511.04.31.744.0028.9
Kenny Smith 232330.3.455.447.8082.34.1.96.1710.8
Otis Thorpe 232337.1.572.500.5679.92.3.57.4311.3

Playoffs

Western Conference first round

(2) Houston Rockets vs. (7) Portland Trail Blazers: Rockets win series 3–1

  • Game 1 @ The Summit, Houston (April 29): Houston 115, Portland 104
  • Game 2 @ The Summit, Houston (May 1): Houston 114, Portland 104
  • Game 3 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 3): Portland 118, Houston 115
  • Game 4 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 6): Houston 92, Portland 89

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

  • Game 1 @ The Summit, Houston (May 8): Phoenix 91, Houston 87
  • Game 2 @ The Summit, Houston (May 11): Phoenix 124, Houston 117 (OT)
  • Game 3 @ America West Arena, Phoenix (May 13): Houston 118, Phoenix 102
  • Game 4 @ America West Arena, Phoenix (May 15): Houston 107, Phoenix 96
  • Game 5 @ The Summit, Houston (May 17): Houston 109, Phoenix 86
  • Game 6 @ America West Arena, Phoenix (May 19): Phoenix 103, Houston 89
  • Game 7 @ The Summit, Houston (May 21): Houston 104, Phoenix 94

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

  • Game 1 @ The Summit, Houston (May 23): Houston 100, Utah 88
  • Game 2 @ The Summit, Houston (May 25): Houston 104, Utah 99
  • Game 3 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 27): Utah 95, Houston 86
  • Game 4 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 29): Houston 80, Utah 78
  • Game 5 @ The Summit, Houston (May 31): Houston 94, Utah 83

Last playoff meeting: 1985 Western Conference first round (Utah won 3–2)

NBA finals

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
GameDateHome teamResultRoad team
Game 1June 8Houston85–78New York
Game 2June 10Houston83–91New York
Game 3June 12New York89–93Houston
Game 4June 15New York91–82Houston
Game 5June 17New York91–84Houston
Game 6June 19Houston86–84New York
Game 7June 22Houston90–84New York

Rockets win series 4–3

Interruption of Game 5 telecast by O. J. Simpson car chase
See also: O. J. Simpson murder case

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".

Award winners

NBA All-Star Game

References
  1. 1993–94 Houston Rockets
  2. "Knicks Are All Talk but No Action Versus Rockets". The New York Times. December 3, 1993.
  3. "Buzzer-Beating Shot Makes Rockets 22-1". The New York Times. December 22, 1993.
  4. "Rockets' Olajuwon Named Most Valuable Player". The New York Times. May 25, 1994.
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