1995 NBA Finals

NBA Finals summary


caption =
year = 1995
runnerup = Orlando Magic
runnerup_coach = Brian Hill
runnerup_games = 0
champion = Houston Rockets
champion_coach = Rudy Tomjanovich
champion_games = 4
date= June 7 - June 14
MVP = Hakeem Olajuwon
(Houston Rockets)
television = NBC (U.S.)
announcers = Marv Albert, Matt Guokas, and Bill Walton
HOFers = Clyde Drexler (2004)
Hakeem Olajuwon (2008)
radio_network =
radio_announcers =
referees_1 = Dick Bavetta, Joe Crawford, and Steve Javie
referees_2 = Dan Crawford, Hue Hollins, and Ed T. Rush
referees_3 =
referees_4 =
ECF result = Magic defeat Pacers, 4-3
WCF result = Rockets defeat Spurs, 4-2

The 1995 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1994-95 NBA season. The series pitted the Orlando Magic against the Houston Rockets. The pre-series hype and build-up of the Finals was centered around the meeting of the two great centers Shaquille O'Neal of the Magic and Hakeem Olajuwon of the Rockets. Going into the series the matchup was compared to the Bill Russell-Wilt Chamberlain matchup of the 1960s.

Like his old friend Hakeem Olajuwon did the previous year, Clyde Drexler experienced the joy of winning an NBA championship at last. The Rockets became the first team in NBA history to win the championship as a sixth seed. In addition, they became the first team in NBA history to beat four 50-win teams in a single postseason en route to the championship. The Rockets would win a playoff-record 9 road games in the 1995 playoffs. In addition, the Rockets' sweep of the Magic was the first in Finals history where the winning team had to win Games 1 and 2 on the road.

The Orlando Magic (making their first ever NBA Finals appearance) began the 1995 NBA Finals at home, hosting the defending champion Houston Rockets. With the Magic up by three points late in the Game 1, Nick Anderson missed four consecutive free throws, and Kenny Smith hit a three pointer, tying the game and sending it to overtime as well as setting a new record with the most three-pointers in an NBA Finals game with 7. The more experienced Rockets went on to win in overtime and eventually swept the Magic, winning their second consecutive NBA Championship.

1995 NBA Finals roster

1995 Houston Rockets

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
Zan Tabak
Charles Jones
Adrian Caldwell

1995 Orlando Magic

Head Coach: Brian Hill
Shaquille O'Neal
Anfernee Hardaway
Nick Anderson
Horace Grant
Dennis Scott
Donald Royal
Brian Shaw
Anthony Bowie
Jeff Turner
Geert Hammink
Anthony Avent
Darrell Armstrong
Brooks Thompson
Tree Rollins
Keith Tower

Background

In a midseason trade with Portland, the Rockets obtained guard Clyde Drexler, who had played alongside Hakeem Olajuwon at the University of Houston. Houston struggled in the regular season, and they consequently entered the playoffs as a sixth seed in the Western Conference. They were not expected to defeat the 60-22 Utah Jazz in the first round, the 59-23 Phoenix Suns in the second round, then the 62-20 San Antonio Spurs (led by regular season Most Valuable Player David Robinson) in the Conference Finals. In fact, the Suns led the second-round series 2 games to 0 (just as they did in the same round the year before). However, Houston came back to win the last three games of the series, and then got past the Spurs to reach the Finals, where they were matched up with the Orlando Magic. With Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, the Magic (with a 50-32 regular season record in the 1993-94 season) were expected to win the championship. In the 1994-95 season, the Magic's sixth season, after acquiring rebounder Horace Grant as a free agent from the Chicago Bulls, Orlando compiled a 57-25 record, which was the best in the East. On their way to the Finals, the Magic defeated the Boston Celtics, the Chicago Bulls, and the Indiana Pacers.

eries summary

"Rockets win series 4-0"

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: [http://www.hollywoodsportsbook.com/nbafinals/mvp_olajuwon94.cfm History of the NBA Finals: Hakeem Olajuwon: The NBA’s Best In The Mid ’90s] , hollywoodsportsbook.com, accessed February 16, 2007. ] [ [http://www.basketball.com/nba/records/NBAfinIndGameScore.shtml NBA Finals Records] , Basketball.com, accessed February 16, 2007. ]

By winning his second straight NBA Finals MVP award, Hakeem Olajuwon became the sixth player to win the award on multiple occasions, joining Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. Jordan and Olajuwon at the time were the only players to win the award consecutively. Later, O'Neal himself would go on to win the award in three consecutive seasons with the Lakers (2000-02).

Quotes of the Finals

*"Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion!" - Houston Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich

*"Drexler...with the tip by Olajuwon!"-NBC announcer Marv Albert after Hakeem Olajuwon tipped in a missed shot by Clyde Drexler to give the Rockets a victory in Game 1.

Team rosters

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titlestyle = background:#BD1021; color:gold;
title = Houston Rockets 1994-95 NBA Champions
list1 =

7 Herrera !10 Cassell !11 Maxwell !17 Elie !22 Drexler !25 Horry !27 Jones !30 Smith !32 Chilcutt !34 Olajuwon (Finals MVP) !52 Brown !55 Tabak !Coach Tomjanovich

ee also

*1995 NBA Playoffs

References