1994–95 Houston Rockets season

The 1994–95 NBA season was the Rockets' 28th season in the National Basketball Association, and 24th season in Houston.[1] 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.[2] 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.

1994–95 Houston Rockets season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Head coachRudy Tomjanovich
OwnersLeslie Alexander
ArenaThe Summit
Results
Record47–35 (.573)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Midwest)
Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Magic 4–0)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKTXH
Prime Sports Southwest
(Bill Worrell, Calvin Murphy)
RadioKTRH

In the playoffs, the Rockets faced the 3rd-seeded Utah Jazz in the first round. The Jazz would take a 2–1 series lead, but the Rockets went on to win the series in five 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.[3] As the 6th seed in the 1995 playoffs, the Rockets are the lowest-seeded team to win an NBA championship.[4] Following the season, Vernon Maxwell signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers, and Tracy Murray left in the 1995 NBA Expansion Draft.

NBA Draft
Main article: 1994 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
2 53 Albert Burditt PF  United States Texas

Roster
Roster listing
Houston Rockets roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
SF 15 Breaux, Tim 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Wyoming
SF 52 Brown, Chucky 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 214 lb (97 kg) North Carolina State
PF 44 Caldwell, Adrian 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Lamar
PG 10 Cassell, Sam 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Florida State
PF 32 Chilcutt, Pete 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) North Carolina
SG 22 Drexler, Clyde (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Houston
SG 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
PF 25 Horry, Robert 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Alabama
PF 27 Jones, Charles 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Albany State
SG 11 Maxwell, Vernon  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Florida
SF 31 Murray, Tracy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UCLA
C 34 Olajuwon, Hakeem (C) 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Houston
PG 30 Smith, Kenny 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) North Carolina
C 55 Tabak, Žan 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Croatia
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-San Antonio Spurs 6220.756—33–829–1220–6
x-Utah Jazz 6022.732233–827–1417–9
x-Houston Rockets 4735.5731525–1622–1913–13
x-Denver Nuggets 4141.5002123–1818–2313–13
Dallas Mavericks 3646.4392619–2217–2411–15
Minnesota Timberwolves 2161.2564113–288–334–22
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-San Antonio Spurs6220.756–
2 y-Phoenix Suns5923.7203
3 x-Utah Jazz6022.7322
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics5725.6955
5 x-Los Angeles Lakers4834.58514
6 x-Houston Rockets4735.57315
7 x-Portland Trail Blazers4438.53718
8 x-Denver Nuggets4141.50021
9 Sacramento Kings3943.47623
10 Dallas Mavericks3646.43926
11 Golden State Warriors2656.31736
12 Minnesota Timberwolves2161.25641
13 Los Angeles Clippers1765.20745

Record vs. opponents
1994-95 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 —3–12–21–41–42–02–03–22–00–21–42–00–22–21–32–04–02–21–33–11–11–11–11–10–20–24–0
Boston 1–3—1–30–42–21–11–13–12–01–12–20–21–14–11–32–02–30–52–33–11–10–21–10–21–10–23–1
Charlotte 2–23–1—2–23–20–21–15–02–00–21–42–00–23–14–11–13–13–11–33–10–22–01–11–12–02–03–1
Chicago 4–14–02–2—2–31–11–15–02–01–12–21–11–13–11–42–02–23–11–34–01–11–10–21–10–20–22–2
Cleveland 4–12–22–33–2—0–21–12–22–00–22–31–11–11–34–01–14–02–21–33–11–11–11–10–20–21–13–1
Dallas 0–21–12–01–12–0—1–41–13–12–31–13–11–30–21–14–11–10–20–22–00–43–12–22–30–42–41–1
Denver 0–21–11–11–11–14–1—1–11–31–41–14–02–22–02–06–01–10–20–21–11–33–12–21–41–31–42–0
Detroit 2–31–30–50–52–21–11–1—1–10–22–21–10–21–32–31–12–21–31–34–01–10–21–10–20–20–23–1
Golden State 0–20–20–20–20–21–33–11–1—0–40–23–23–21–10–21–31–11–10–21–13–21–40–51–31–42–22–0
Houston 2–01–12–01–12–03–24–12–04–0—1–13–10–42–01–13–22–00–20–22–03–11–33–11–50–42–32–0
Indiana 4–12–24–12–23–21–11–12–22–01–1—2–01–12–23–22–03–11–32–24–01–11–12–02–01–10–23–1
L.A. Clippers 0–22–00–21–11–11–30–41–12–31–30–2—2–30–21–11–30–20–20–21–11–40–51–40–40–51–30–2
L.A. Lakers 2–01–12–01–11–13–12–22–02–34–01–13–2—1–11–13–12–00–21–11–11–42–33–21–34–12–22–0
Miami 2–21–41–31–33–12–00–23–11–10–22–22–01–1—4–01–11–31–41–31–40–20–20–20–20–20–24–1
Milwaukee 3–13–11–44–10–41–10–23–22–01–12–31–11–10–4—1–12–22–20–43–10–20–21–10–20–20–23–1
Minnesota 0–20–21–10–21–11–40–61–13–12–30–23–11–31–11–1—1–10–21–11–10–40–41–30–50–41–41–1
New Jersey 0–43–21–32–20–41–11–12–21–10–21–32–00–23–12–21–1—1–42–22–30–21–11–10–21–10–22–3
New York 2–25–01–31–32–22–02–03–11–12–03–12–02–04–12–22–04–1—2–34–01–11–12–01–10–20–24–0
Orlando 3–13–23–13–13–12–02–03–12–02–02–22–01–13–14–01–12–23–2—4–11–12–01–11–10–21–13–2
Philadelphia 1–31–31–30–41–30–21–10–41–10–20–41–11–14–11–31–13–20–41–4—0–22–01–10–20–20–23–2
Phoenix 1–11–12–01–11–14–03–11–12–31–31–14–14–12–02–04–02–01–11–12–0—5–04–12–24–12–22–0
Portland 1–12–00–21–11–11–31–32–04–13–11–15–03–22–02–04–01–11–10–20–20–5—3–21–32–31–32–0
Sacramento 1–11–11–12–01–12–22–21–15–01–30–24–12–32–01–13–11–10–21–11–11–42–3—0–43–20–41–1
San Antonio 1–12–01–11–12–03–24–12–03–15–10–24–03–12–02–05–02–01–11–12–02–23–14–0—2–23–22–0
Seattle 2–01–10–22–02–04–03–12–04–14–01–15–01–42–02–04–01–12–02–02–01–43–22–32–2—1–32–0
Utah 2–02–00–22–01–14–24–12–02–23–22–03–12–22–02–04–12–02–01–12–02–23–14–02–33–1—2–0
Washington 0–41–31–32–21–31–10–21–30–20–21–32–00–21–41–31–13–20–42–32–30–20–21–10–20–20–2—

Game log

Regular season
1994–95 game log
Total: 47–35 (Home: 25–16; Road: 22–19)
November: 10–3 (Home: 4–2; Road: 6–1)
December: 8–6 (Home: 5–3; Road: 3–3)
January: 8–6 (Home: 5–2; Road: 3–4)
February: 9–5 (Home: 5–1; Road: 4–4)
March: 7–8 (Home: 3–5; Road: 4–3)
April: 5–7 (Home: 3–3; Road: 2–4)
1994–95 schedule


Playoffs
1995 playoff game log
First round: 3–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 2–1)
Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–2)
Conference Finals: 4–2 (Home: 1–2; Road: 3–0)
NBA Finals: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
1995 schedule

Player stats
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
Tim Breaux 4228.1.372.240.653.8.4.26.103.0
Scott Brooks 2806.6.538.471.857.5.8.29.043.4
Chucky Brown 411419.9.603.333.6134.6.7.27.346.1
Adrian Caldwell 704.3.250.000.5001.4.0.14.00.7
Sam Cassell 82123.0.427.330.8432.64.91.15.179.5
Pete Chilcutt 681719.8.445.407.7384.71.0.37.635.3
Clyde Drexler 353437.1.506.357.8097.04.41.77.6621.4
Mario Elie 811323.4.499.398.8422.42.3.80.158.8
Carl Herrera 612621.8.523.000.6244.6.7.66.626.8
Robert Horry 646132.4.447.379.7615.13.41.471.1910.2
Charles Jones 3012.0.333.000.5002.3.0.00.331.0
Vernon Maxwell 645431.8.394.324.6882.64.31.17.2013.3
Tracy Murray 2508.1.400.422.625.9.2.28.123.5
Hakeem Olajuwon 727239.6.517.188.75610.83.51.853.3627.8
Kenny Smith 818125.1.484.429.8511.94.0.88.1210.4
Žan Tabak 3704.9.453.000.6141.5.1.05.192.0
Otis Thorpe 363533.0.563.000.5288.91.6.61.3613.3

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Chucky Brown 21015.5.447.500.6763.1.3.43.104.5
Sam Cassell 22022.0.438.400.8351.94.0.95.0911.0
Pete Chilcutt 20016.2.484.389.8242.9.9.35.204.5
Clyde Drexler 222238.6.481.303.7867.05.01.50.6820.5
Mario Elie 222228.9.504.431.7952.82.5.95.059.1
Carl Herrera 106.01.000.000.000.01.0.00.002.0
Robert Horry 222238.2.445.400.7447.03.51.451.1813.1
Charles Jones 19012.5.385.000.3332.3.0.21.53.7
Vernon Maxwell 1016.0.143.0001.0003.01.0.00.003.0
Hakeem Olajuwon 222242.2.531.500.68110.34.51.182.8233.0
Kenny Smith 222229.6.438.442.9002.24.5.64.1410.8
Žan Tabak 803.9.400.0001.000.1.1.12.38.8

Playoffs

West First Round

(3) Utah Jazz vs. (6) Houston Rockets: Rockets win series 3-2

  • Game 1 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (April 27): Utah 102, Houston 100
  • Game 2 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (April 29): Houston 140, Utah 126
  • Game 3 @ The Summit, Houston (May 3): Utah 95, Houston 82
  • Game 4 @ The Summit, Houston (May 5): Houston 123, Utah 106
  • Game 5 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 7): Houston 95, Utah 91

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

  • Game 1 @ Alamodome, San Antonio (May 22): Houston 94, San Antonio 93
  • Game 2 @ Alamodome, San Antonio (May 24): Houston 106, San Antonio 96
  • Game 3 @ The Summit, Houston (May 26): San Antonio 107, Houston 102
  • Game 4 @ The Summit, Houston (May 28): San Antonio 103, Houston 81
  • Game 5 @ Alamodome, San Antonio (May 30): Houston 111, San Antonio 90
  • Game 6 @ The Summit, Houston (June 1): Houston 100, San Antonio 95

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:[5][6]

1995 NBA Finals Gm 1 Gm 2 Gm 3 Gm 4 Totals
Hakeem Olajuwon 31 34 31 35 32.8 ppg
Shaquille O'Neal 26 33 28 25 28.0 ppg

By winning his second straight NBA Finals MVP award, Hakeem Olajuwon became the sixth player to do so on multiple occasions, joining Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. Olajuwon also joined Jordan as the only two players to win the award consecutively as of that time.

Series Summary
Main article: 1995 NBA Finals
GameDateHome TeamResultRoad Team
Game 1June 7Orlando118–120Houston
Game 2June 9Orlando106–117Houston
Game 3June 11Houston106–103Orlando
Game 4June 14Houston113–101Orlando

Rockets win series 4–0

Award winners
  • Hakeem Olajuwon – NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
  • Hakeem Olajuwon – All-NBA Third Team

References
  1. 1994-95 Houston Rockets
  2. "PRO BASKETBALL; Drexler Traded For Otis Thorpe". New York Times. February 15, 1995. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  3. "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Rockets Sweep to 2d Straight Championship". New York Times. June 15, 1995. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  4. MacKay, David (February 14, 2019). "Today in Rockets history: 1995, Houston acquires Clyde Drexler for title run". USA Today. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  5. History of the NBA Finals: Hakeem Olajuwon: The NBA’s Best In The Mid ’90s, hollywoodsportsbook.com, accessed February 16, 2007.
  6. NBA Finals Records Archived 2007-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, Basketball.com, accessed February 16, 2007.
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