Houston Rockets Finally Lifting Off

Houston Rockets Finally Lifting Off

Houston Rockets: Finally Lifting Off

For most of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, the Houston Rockets were an NBA franchise that had sporadically gotten close to championship glory, and the Rockets were banking on the hope that their star center Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon, who they chose with the #1 overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, would lead them to an NBA Finals victory. The climb to the top for the Rockets wasn’t always easy as some seasons would end in disappointing fashion.

Right after being drafted, Olajuwon made an immediate impact as he would help fellow center Ralph Sampson in clinching playoff berths. Olajuwon’s long journey for championship gold began in the 1984-1985 NBA season as the Rockets would go 48-34, finishing 2nd in the Midwest Division and 3rd in the Western Conference. The Rockets would be handed an early exit courtesy of the Utah Jazz, losing to them in the First Round 3 games to 2.

The 1985-1986 NBA season turned out to be a very special season for the Rockets as they would post a 51-31 record, finishing 1st in the Midwest Division and 2nd in the Western Conference. Much of the success the Rockets had was because of the two big men they put out on the court. Olajuwon scored an average of 23.5 points per game and Sampson scored an average of 18.9 points per game.

In the First Round of the NBA Playoffs, the Rockets easily swept the Sacramento Kings, 3 games to none. The Rockets defeated the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals 4 games to 2, and then they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the Western Conference Finals. However, the Rockets would fall short of their goal as Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics were too much for them in the 1986 NBA Finals, eliminating the Rockets 4 games to 2.

A few changes were made in the 1986-1987 NBA season, with the most notable change being the departure of Ralph Sampson via trade. Falling out of favor with the Rockets coaching staff, Sampson would be traded to the Golden State Warriors. This significant move paved the way for Hakeem Olajuwon to become the main big man of the team. The Rockets would go 42-40, finishing 3rd in the Midwest Division and 6th in the Western Conference. The Rockets would eliminate the Portland Trail Blazers 3 games to 1 in the First Round, but would soon fall to the Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 2 in the Western Conference Semifinals.

The Rockets went at it again in the 1987-1988 NBA season, posting a 46-36 record, finishing 4th in the Midwest Division and 6th in the Western Conference. However, the Rockets would suffer a disappointing setback as they would fall to the Dallas Mavericks in the First Round 3 games to 1.

The 1988-1989 NBA season would be another steady one for the Rockets as they finished with a 45-37 record, good enough for 2nd in the Midwest Division and 5th in the Western Conference. However, they would once again have a disappointing early exit in the First Round of postseason play, losing to the Seattle SuperSonics 3 games to 1.

The Rockets had an average 41-41 record in the 1989-1990 NBA season, just barely qualifying for the NBA Playoffs as the 8th seed. They would once again exit the postseason early by losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the First Round 3 games to 1.

The Houston Rockets appeared to be headed back in the right direction as they improved in the 1990-1991 NBA season, posting an impressive 52-30 record. Rockets coach Don Chaney won the Coach of the Year award in 1991. However, the end result was the same as it had been the previous few years as the Rockets were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers in the First Round 3 games to none.

The Rockets took a step back in the 1991-1992 NBA season as they went 42-40, failing to qualify for the postseason. In February 1992, Don Chaney resigned as the Rockets head coach and turned over coaching responsibilities to his assistant Rudy Tomjanovich.

Needing to get back into the postseason mix, the Rockets soared high again in the 1992-1993 NBA season, posting a 55-27 record to win the Midwest Division and get the 2nd seed. The Rockets handled the Los Angeles Clippers in the First Round of the NBA Playoffs, eliminating them 3 games to 2, but they would fall once again to the Seattle SuperSonics in the Western Conference Semifinals, getting eliminated 4 games to 3.

Coupled with the announcement of Michael Jordan’s first retirement from the game of basketball on October 3, 1993 due to the murder of his father James Jordan, enough changes were made to the Houston Rockets to finally allow them to lift off into championship contention. The Rockets jumped out to an excellent start in the 1993-1994 NBA season by going 18-0, which is tied for the longest unbeaten record in the NBA along with the Washington Capitols in 1948-1949.

Hakeem Olajuwon was the driving force behind the Rockets triumphant run through the postseason as he would win both regular season MVP and NBA Finals MVP awards. Olajuwon averaged 27.3 points per game, 3.71 blocks per game and 11.9 rebounds per game. In the postseason Olajuwon was even better, averaging 28.9 points per game, 4 blocks per game, 11 rebounds per game and even 4.3 assists per game.

The Rockets would defeat the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the 1994 NBA Finals to finally win their first NBA championship. The clinching Game 5 win occurred on June 22, 1994 as the Rockets defeated the Knicks 90-84. Olajuwon had a fantastic duel with Knicks star center Patrick Ewing, and Olajuwon would get the best of Ewing, averaging 26.9 points per game in the Finals as opposed to Ewing’s average of 18.9 points per game.

Though they could have been satisfied with winning only one championship, the Rockets decided to defend their NBA title in the 1994-1995 NBA season, and they executed a key trade on February 14, 1995 when they acquired shooting guard and small forward Clyde “The Glide” Drexler from the Portland Trail Blazers. Being a member of the “Phi Slamma Jamma” Houston Cougars in college basketball, Drexler had returned home.

Olajuwon was once again amazing as he averaged 27.8 points per game, 3.36 blocks per game, 10.8 rebounds per game and 1.85 steals per game. The Rockets were once again triumphant in postseason play, sweeping the Orlando Magic in the 1995 NBA Finals 4 games to none to win back-to-back NBA championships. Olajuwon won his 2nd NBA Finals MVP award, outplaying another gifted center in Shaquille O’Neal. Olajuwon got the best of O’Neal in the Finals, averaging 32.8 points per game as opposed to O’Neal’s 28 points per game.

The night of June 7, 1995 was a defining event for the Rockets as a model of resiliency as they were down 3 points in the final seconds of Game 1. Orlando shooting guard and small forward Nick Anderson missed 4 straight free throws, and with one last chance, Rockets point guard Kenny Smith hit the game-tying 3-point basket with 1.6 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. Hakeem Olajuwon would put his stamp on Game 1 in overtime, tipping in a missed finger roll attempt by Clyde Drexler with 0.03 seconds remaining for the win.

The 1994-1995 Houston Rockets were the first team to go all the way and win an NBA title while entering postseason play as a 6th seed, and they were the first team to defeat 4 teams in the postseason which had at least 50 wins in the regular season. The Rockets also won an NBA record 9 road games in the postseason.

While the Houston Rockets failed to continue their string of success and ended up being sandwiched between 2 Chicago Bulls three-peats of NBA championships in the 1990s, they established a foundation of consistency through the play of the dominant big man they drafted just a few picks ahead of Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft.