1993–94 Houston Rockets season

1993–94 Houston Rockets season
1993–94 Houston Rockets season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach	Rudy Tomjanovich
Owners	Leslie Alexander
Arena	The Summit
Results
Record	58–24 (.707)
Place	Division: 1st (Midwest); Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions; (Defeated Knicks 4–3)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KTXH; Home Sports Entertainment
Radio	KTRH
< 1992–93	1994–95 >

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.

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. 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

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Height	Weight	DOB
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 Mercy
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
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
SF	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
SG	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

Rudy Tomjanovich (Michigan)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Houston Rockets	58	24	.707	—	35–6	23–18	15–11
x-San Antonio Spurs	55	27	.671	3	32–9	23–18	16–10
x-Utah Jazz	53	29	.646	5	33–8	20–21	21–5
x-Denver Nuggets	42	40	.512	16	28–13	14–27	14–12
Minnesota Timberwolves	20	62	.244	38	13–28	7–34	5–21
Dallas Mavericks	13	69	.159	45	6–35	7–34	7–19

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Seattle SuperSonics	63	19	.768	–
2	y-Houston Rockets	58	24	.707	5
3	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	7
4	x-San Antonio Spurs	55	27	.671	8
5	x-Utah Jazz	53	29	.646	10
6	x-Golden State Warriors	50	32	.610	13
7	x-Portland Trail Blazers	47	35	.573	16
8	x-Denver Nuggets	42	40	.512	21

9	Los Angeles Lakers	33	49	.402	30
10	Sacramento Kings	28	54	.341	35
11	Los Angeles Clippers	27	55	.329	36
12	Minnesota Timberwolves	20	62	.244	43
13	Dallas Mavericks	13	69	.159	50

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	—	4–0	4–1	2–3	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	5–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0
Boston	0–4	—	0–4	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–1	1–1	1–4	0–4	2–2	4–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–2
Charlotte	1–4	4–0	—	1–4	1–4	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	3–2	2–0	2–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2
Chicago	3–2	2–2	4–1	—	1–3	2–0	1–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–0
Cleveland	1–3	3–1	4–1	3–1	—	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–0	0–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	3–2	2–0	2–2	0–4	2–2	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1
Dallas	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	1–4	1–1	0–4	1–4	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	5–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	0–5	0–4	0–5	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	—	2–0	1–3	3–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–4	2–2	1–4	1–1
Detroit	0–4	1–3	0–4	0–5	2–3	1–1	0–2	—	0–2	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–4	2–0	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2
Golden State	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	3–1	2–0	—	0–4	1–1	4–1	5–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	4–1	2–2	1–4	3–1	2–0
Houston	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–1	2–3	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	4–0	2–3	2–2	3–3	1–1
Indiana	2–3	4–0	2–2	1–4	3–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1
L.A. Clippers	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–3	1–1	1–4	0–4	0–2	—	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–5	2–3	3–2	1–3	1–4	1–3	1–1
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–3	2–0	0–5	1–3	2–0	3–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	3–2	0–5	1–4	0–4	0–5	2–2	1–1
Miami	1–3	3–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	—	4–0	2–0	2–3	2–2	2–3	4–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1
Milwaukee	0–5	1–3	2–3	0–4	2–3	2–0	0–2	4–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–4	—	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3
Minnesota	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	1–4	0–2	2–2	1–4	0–2	3–1	1–3	0–2	2–0	—	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–4	0–4	1–4	0–2
New Jersey	3–1	4–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–2	3–1	1–1	—	4–1	0–5	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
New York	2–2	4–0	1–3	3–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	0–2	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	1–4	—	3–2	3–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	5–0
Orlando	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	3–2	3–1	1–1	5–0	2–3	—	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–1
Philadelphia	0–4	1–4	1–3	1–3	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	3–1	0–2	1–3	2–3	0–4	—	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–3
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–1	3–2	2–2	1–1	5–0	2–3	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	—	3–2	4–1	3–1	2–3	2–2	2–0
Portland	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–3	0–4	1–1	3–2	5–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	2–3	—	4–1	1–3	1–4	1–3	2–0
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–4	0–4	0–2	2–3	4–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–4	1–4	—	1–3	0–5	1–3	2–0
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	5–0	4–2	1–1	2–2	3–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	3–1	3–1	—	0–4	0–5	2–0
Seattle	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	4–1	2–2	1–1	4–1	5–0	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2	4–1	5–0	4–0	—	3–1	2–0
Utah	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	5–0	4–1	2–0	1–3	3–3	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	4–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	5–0	1–3	—	2–0
Washington	0–4	2–3	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–3	3–1	2–0	1–3	0–5	1–4	3–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	—

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	73	0	16.8	.491	.377	.871	1.4	2.0	.70	.03	5.2
Matt Bullard	65	0	11.2	.345	.325	.769	1.3	1.0	.22	.09	3.5
Sam Cassell	66	6	17.0	.418	.295	.841	2.0	2.9	.89	.11	6.7
Earl Cureton	2	0	15.0	.250	.000	.000	6.0	.0	.00	.00	2.0
Mario Elie	67	8	24.0	.446	.335	.860	2.7	3.1	.75	.12	9.3
Carl Herrera	75	0	17.2	.458	.000	.711	3.8	.5	.43	.35	4.7
Robert Horry	81	81	29.3	.459	.324	.732	5.4	2.9	1.47	.93	9.9
Chris Jent	3	0	26.0	.500	.364	.500	5.0	2.3	.00	.00	10.3
Vernon Maxwell	75	73	34.3	.389	.298	.749	3.1	5.1	1.67	.27	13.6
Hakeem Olajuwon	80	80	41.0	.528	.421	.716	11.9	3.6	1.60	3.71	27.3
Richard Petruška	22	0	4.2	.435	.467	.750	1.4	.0	.09	.14	2.4
Eric Riley	47	2	4.7	.486	.000	.541	1.3	.2	.11	.19	1.9
Larry Robinson	6	0	9.2	.500	.250	.375	1.7	1.0	1.17	.00	4.2
Kenny Smith	78	78	28.3	.480	.405	.871	1.8	4.2	.76	.05	11.6
Otis Thorpe	82	82	35.5	.561	.000	.657	10.6	2.3	.80	.34	14.0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Scott Brooks	5	0	4.6	.833	1.000	.000	.4	.6	.00	.00	2.2
Matt Bullard	10	0	5.5	.211	.200	.750	1.0	.0	.10	.20	1.6
Sam Cassell	22	0	21.7	.394	.378	.865	2.7	4.2	.95	.23	9.4
Earl Cureton	10	0	10.0	.800	.000	1.000	2.9	.2	.10	.20	1.8
Mario Elie	23	0	16.6	.396	.313	.851	1.7	1.7	.35	.13	5.8
Carl Herrera	16	0	15.5	.534	.000	.813	2.8	.2	.31	.19	4.7
Robert Horry	23	23	33.8	.434	.382	.765	6.1	3.6	1.52	.87	11.7
Chris Jent	11	0	5.6	.250	.231	.000	.8	.6	.18	.00	1.2
Vernon Maxwell	23	23	38.3	.376	.326	.685	3.5	4.2	.87	.09	13.8
Hakeem Olajuwon	23	23	43.0	.519	.500	.795	11.0	4.3	1.74	4.00	28.9
Kenny Smith	23	23	30.3	.455	.447	.808	2.3	4.1	.96	.17	10.8
Otis Thorpe	23	23	37.1	.572	.500	.567	9.9	2.3	.57	.43	11.3

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

Series summary

Game	Date	Home team	Result	Road team
Game 1	June 8	Houston	85–78	New York
Game 2	June 10	Houston	83–91	New York
Game 3	June 12	New York	89–93	Houston
Game 4	June 15	New York	91–82	Houston
Game 5	June 17	New York	91–84	Houston
Game 6	June 19	Houston	86–84	New York
Game 7	June 22	Houston	90–84	New York

Rockets win series 4–3

Interruption of Game 5 telecast by O. J. Simpson car chase

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

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

External links

Rockets on Basketball Reference

[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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Houston Rockets 1993–94 NBA champions
1 Brooks 3 Petruška 7 Herrera 10 Cassell 11 Maxwell 17 Elie 20 Robinson 21 Jent 25 Horry 30 K. Smith 33 Thorpe 34 Olajuwon (Finals MVP) 35 Cureton 42 Riley 50 Bullard
Head coach Tomjanovich
Assistant coaches Berry Boylen Dawson L. Smith
Regular season Playoffs

v t e NBA champions
1940s	1947: Philadelphia Warriors 1948: Baltimore Bullets 1949: Minneapolis Lakers
1950s	1950: Minneapolis Lakers 1951: Rochester Royals 1952: Minneapolis Lakers 1953: Minneapolis Lakers 1954: Minneapolis Lakers 1955: Syracuse Nationals 1956: Philadelphia Warriors 1957: Boston Celtics 1958: St. Louis Hawks 1959: Boston Celtics
1960s	1960: Boston Celtics 1961: Boston Celtics 1962: Boston Celtics 1963: Boston Celtics 1964: Boston Celtics 1965: Boston Celtics 1966: Boston Celtics 1967: Philadelphia 76ers 1968: Boston Celtics 1969: Boston Celtics
1970s	1970: New York Knicks 1971: Milwaukee Bucks 1972: Los Angeles Lakers 1973: New York Knicks 1974: Boston Celtics 1975: Golden State Warriors 1976: Boston Celtics 1977: Portland Trail Blazers 1978: Washington Bullets 1979: Seattle SuperSonics
1980s	1980: Los Angeles Lakers 1981: Boston Celtics 1982: Los Angeles Lakers 1983: Philadelphia 76ers 1984: Boston Celtics 1985: Los Angeles Lakers 1986: Boston Celtics 1987: Los Angeles Lakers 1988: Los Angeles Lakers 1989: Detroit Pistons
1990s	1990: Detroit Pistons 1991: Chicago Bulls 1992: Chicago Bulls 1993: Chicago Bulls 1994: Houston Rockets 1995: Houston Rockets 1996: Chicago Bulls 1997: Chicago Bulls 1998: Chicago Bulls 1999: San Antonio Spurs
2000s	2000: Los Angeles Lakers 2001: Los Angeles Lakers 2002: Los Angeles Lakers 2003: San Antonio Spurs 2004: Detroit Pistons 2005: San Antonio Spurs 2006: Miami Heat 2007: San Antonio Spurs 2008: Boston Celtics 2009: Los Angeles Lakers
2010s	2010: Los Angeles Lakers 2011: Dallas Mavericks 2012: Miami Heat 2013: Miami Heat 2014: San Antonio Spurs 2015: Golden State Warriors 2016: Cleveland Cavaliers 2017: Golden State Warriors 2018: Golden State Warriors 2019: Toronto Raptors
2020s	2020: Los Angeles Lakers 2021: Milwaukee Bucks 2022: Golden State Warriors 2023: Denver Nuggets 2024: Boston Celtics

v t e Houston Rockets
Founded in 1967 Played in San Diego (1967–1971) Based in Houston, Texas
Franchise	History All-time roster Draft history 1967 Records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Pechanga Arena Hofheinz Pavilion Astrodome HemisFair Arena The Summit/Compaq Center Toyota Center
Personnel	Owner(s) Tilman Fertitta President Gretchen Sheirr General manager Rafael Stone Head coach Ime Udoka
G League affiliate	Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Retired numbers	11 22 23 24 34 44 45
NBA championships	1994 1995
Rivalries	Dallas Mavericks San Antonio Spurs Utah Jazz
Culture and lore	Red Rowdies ClutchFans Clutch City Clutch the Rockets Bear Dancing Barry The Kiss of Death The Dream Shake 13 points in 35 seconds 22 wins in a row The Year of the Yao June 17th, 1994 27 consecutive 3-pointers missed