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 off-season, the Rockets acquired Mario Elie from the Portland Trail Blazers.[2] The Rockets went off to a great start, winning their first fifteen games of the season 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.[3] After losing to the Atlanta Hawks, 133–111 on the road on December 3, the Rockets won their 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.[4] However, the Rockets would cool off as the season progressed, at one point losing four games in a row in January. Still, they finished first place in the Midwest Division with a 58–24 record,[5] 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
General manager
Owner(s)Leslie Alexander
ArenaThe Summit
Results
Record58–24 (.707)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Midwest)
Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Knicks 4–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKTXH
Home Sports Entertainment
RadioKTRH

Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.7 blocks per game, and won the league's Most Valuable Player award, ahead of David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls.[6] 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.[7] He was also named to the All-NBA First Team, NBA All-Defensive First Team, and was selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game.[8] Otis Thorpe averaged 14.0 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, while Vernon Maxwell provided the team with 13.6 points, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game, Kenny Smith contributed 11.6 points per game, and second-year forward Robert Horry provided with 9.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.[9]

In the playoffs, the Rockets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 3–1 in the Western Conference First Round,[10] then defeated the Phoenix Suns 4–3 in the Western Conference Semi-finals after losing the first two games,[11] and the 5th-seeded Utah Jazz 4–1 in the Western Conference Finals.[12] In the 1994 NBA Finals, they defeated the New York Knicks in seven games after trailing 3–2, and won their first championship in franchise history.[13] 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. By winning the Finals MVP, Olajuwon also became the first player to win regular season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP in the same season. 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
1993–94 Houston Rockets roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
PG 1 Brooks, Scott 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1965–07–31 UC Irvine
PF 50 Bullard, Matt 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1967–06–05 Iowa
PG 10 Cassell, Sam 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1969–11–18 Florida State
PF 35 Cureton, Earl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957–09–03 Detroit
SG 17 Elie, Mario 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1963–11–26 American International
PF 7 Herrera, Carl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1966–12–14 Houston
SF 25 Horry, Robert 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1970–08–25 Alabama
SF 21 Jent, Chris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1970–01–11 Ohio State
SF 11 Maxwell, Vernon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1965–09–12 Florida
C 34 Olajuwon, Hakeem (C) 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1963–01–21 Houston
C 3 Petruska, Richard 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1969–01–25 UCLA
C 42 Riley, Eric 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1970–06–02 Michigan
SG 20 Robinson, Larry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1968–01–11 Centenary College of Louisiana
SG 30 Smith, Kenny 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1965–03–08 North Carolina
PF 33 Thorpe, Otis (C) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1962–08–05 Providence
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: April 21, 1994

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—

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

Game log
1994 playoff game log
First Round: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 29 Portland W 114–104 Hakeem Olajuwon (26) Otis Thorpe (12) Maxwell, Smith (7) The Summit
16,333		 1–0
2 May 1 Portland W 115–104 Hakeem Olajuwon (46) Otis Thorpe (12) Sam Cassell (9) The Summit
16,355		 2–0
3 May 3 @ Portland L 115–118 Hakeem Olajuwon (36) Otis Thorpe (11) Olajuwon, Horry (6) Memorial Coliseum
12,888		 2–1
4 May 6 @ Portland W 92–89 Hakeem Olajuwon (28) Hakeem Olajuwon (16) three players tied (3) Memorial Coliseum
12,888		 3–1
Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (Home: 2–2; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 8 Phoenix L 87–91 Hakeem Olajuwon (36) Hakeem Olajuwon (16) Maxwell, Horry (8) The Summit
15,073		 0–1
2 May 11 Phoenix L 117–124 (OT) Hakeem Olajuwon (31) Hakeem Olajuwon (17) Vernon Maxwell (9) The Summit
16,611		 0–2
3 May 13 @ Phoenix W 118–102 Vernon Maxwell (34) Hakeem Olajuwon (15) Sam Cassell (10) America West Arena
19,023		 1–2
4 May 15 @ Phoenix W 107–96 Hakeem Olajuwon (28) Otis Thorpe (13) Hakeem Olajuwon (8) America West Arena
19,023		 2–2
5 May 17 Phoenix W 109–86 Thorpe, Olajuwon (20) Hakeem Olajuwon (13) Kenny Smith (8) The Summit
16,611		 3–2
6 May 19 @ Phoenix L 89–103 Hakeem Olajuwon (23) Hakeem Olajuwon (12) Hakeem Olajuwon (5) America West Arena
19,023		 3–3
7 May 21 Phoenix W 104–94 Hakeem Olajuwon (37) Hakeem Olajuwon (17) Sam Cassell (7) The Summit
16,611		 4–3
Conference Finals: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 23 Utah W 100–86 Hakeem Olajuwon (31) Robert Horry (11) Sam Cassell (7) The Summit
16,611		 1–0
2 May 25 Utah W 104–99 Hakeem Olajuwon (41) Hakeem Olajuwon (13) Kenny Smith (7) The Summit
16,611		 2–0
3 May 27 @ Utah L 86–95 Hakeem Olajuwon (29) Hakeem Olajuwon (13) Hakeem Olajuwon (5) Delta Center
19,911		 2–1
4 May 29 @ Utah W 80–78 Kenny Smith (25) Robert Horry (10) Robert Horry (5) Delta Center
19,911		 3–1
5 May 31 Utah W 94–83 Olajuwon, Horry (22) Otis Thorpe (16) Sam Cassell (7) The Summit
16,611		 4–1
NBA Finals: 4–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 June 8 New York W 85–78 Hakeem Olajuwon (28) Otis Thorpe (16) Kenny Smith (5) The Summit
16,611		 1–0
2 June 10 New York L 83–91 Hakeem Olajuwon (25) Otis Thorpe (12) Kenny Smith (6) The Summit
16,611		 1–1
3 June 12 @ New York W 93–89 Hakeem Olajuwon (21) Hakeem Olajuwon (11) Hakeem Olajuwon (7) Madison Square Garden
19,763		 2–1
4 June 15 @ New York L 82–91 Hakeem Olajuwon (32) Otis Thorpe (10) Sam Cassell (5) Madison Square Garden
19,763		 2–2
5 June 17 @ New York L 84–91 Hakeem Olajuwon (27) Otis Thorpe (13) Robert Horry (6) Madison Square Garden
19,763		 2–3
6 June 19 New York W 86–84 Hakeem Olajuwon (30) Olajuwon, Thorpe (10) Otis Thorpe (6) The Summit
16,611		 3–3
7 June 22 New York W 90–84 Hakeem Olajuwon (25) Hakeem Olajuwon (10) Hakeem Olajuwon (7) The Summit
16,611		 4–3
1994 schedule

Interruption of Game 5 NBA Finals 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".[14]

Award winners

References
  1. 1993–94 Houston Rockets
  2. "Rockets Release Floyd, Trade Pick for Elie". Los Angeles Times. August 3, 1993. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  3. "Knicks Are All Talk but No Action Versus Rockets". The New York Times. December 3, 1993.
  4. "Buzzer-Beating Shot Makes Rockets 22-1". The New York Times. December 22, 1993.
  5. "1993–94 Houston Rockets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  6. "Rockets' Olajuwon Named Most Valuable Player". The New York Times. May 25, 1994.
  7. "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Olajuwon Named N.B.A.'s Top Defender". New York Times. May 10, 1994. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  8. "1994 NBA All-Star Game: East 127, West 118". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  9. "1993–94 Houston Rockets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  10. "PRO BASKETBALL; Rockets Oust Trail Blazers". New York Times. May 7, 1994. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  11. "ROCKETS HAND HEARTBREAK TO SUNS". Desert News. May 22, 1994. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  12. "Rockets Now Rest and Wait : Pro basketball: Houston controls game early and wraps up series with a 94-83 victory over Jazz. NBA finals next". Los Angeles Times. June 1, 1994. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  13. "Rockets 90, Knicks 84". UPI Archives. June 23, 1994. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  14. "NBC Angered Some Fans With Its Simpson Coverage". New York Times. June 19, 1994. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
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