1993–94 Houston Rockets season

The 1993–94 Houston Rockets season was the 27th season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season in Houston, Texas.^[1] The Rockets had the 24th overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, and selected point guard Sam Cassell out of Florida State University.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team acquired Mario Elie from the Portland Trail Blazers.^[5][6][7]

With the addition of Elie and Cassell, the Rockets got off to a great start, winning their first fifteen games of the regular season to tie the 1948–49 Washington Capitols for the best unbeaten record to open a season, while also posting a 14–0 record in November.^[8][9][10] The Golden State Warriors surpassed the record in 2015, and the Cleveland Cavaliers tied the Rockets' mark in 2024. After losing their first regular season game to the Atlanta Hawks on the road, 133–111 at the Omni Coliseum on December 3, 1993,^[11][12] the Rockets posted a seven-game winning streak, falling just one victory short of tying the 1969–70 New York Knicks, (23–1) for the best record with one defeat in NBA history.^[13][14][15] However, the Rockets slowed down as the season progressed, at one point losing four straight games in January, and later on holding a 34–12 record at the All-Star break.^[16] The Rockets finished in first place in the Midwest Division with a 58–24 record,^[17] a franchise record that stood until the 2017-18 team recorded their 59th win; the team earned the second seed in the Western Conference.

Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.7 blocks per game, and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year, ahead of David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls;^[18][19][20] Olajuwon was also named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, also beating out Robinson by a narrow 23 to 22 votes.^[21][22][23] He was also named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, 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, and also led them with 120 three-point field goals, despite shooting .298 in three-point percentage, Kenny Smith contributed 11.6 points and 4.2 assists per game, and second-year forward Robert Horry provided with 9.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Off the bench, Elie played a sixth man role averaging 9.3 points per game, while Cassell provided with 6.7 points and 2.9 assists per game, Scott Brooks contributed 5.2 points per game, and Carl Herrera averaged 4.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.^[24]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Olajuwon was selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team,^[25][26][27] while Cassell was selected for the inaugural NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Phenoms team.^[28][29] Elie finished tied in sixth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[30][31] while head coach Rudy Tomjanovich finished in fourth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[32][31]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1994 NBA playoffs, the Rockets faced off against the 7th–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, a team that featured All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, All-Star forward Clifford Robinson, and Rod Strickland. The Rockets won the first two games over the Trail Blazers at home at The Summit, before losing Game 3 on the road, 118–115 at the Memorial Coliseum.^[33] The Rockets won Game 4 over the Trail Blazers on the road, 92–89 to win the series in four games.^[34][35][36]

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 3rd–seeded Phoenix Suns, who were led by the All-Star trio of Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, and three-point specialist Dan Majerle. The Rockets lost their first two home games to the Suns at The Summit; in Game 2, the Rockets were up by 20 points with ten minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the Suns went on a 24–4 run, and defeated the Rockets in overtime, 124–117 to take a 2–0 series lead.^[37][38][39] The Rockets managed to win the next two games on the road at the America West Arena to even the series, before winning Game 5 at home by a score of 109–86, but then lost Game 6 to the Suns on the road, 103–89.^[40][41][42] With the series tied at 3–3, the Rockets won Game 7 over the Suns at The Summit, 104–94 to win in a hard-fought seven-game series.^[43][44][45]

In the Western Conference Finals, the Rockets then faced off against the 5th–seeded Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Jeff Hornacek. The Rockets won the first two games over the Jazz at The Summit, before losing Game 3 on the road, 95–86 at the Delta Center.^[46] The Rockets won the next two games, including a Game 5 win over the Jazz at The Summit, 94–83 to win the series in five games, and advance to the NBA Finals.^[47][48][49]

In the 1994 NBA Finals, the Rockets faced off against the 2nd–seeded New York Knicks, who were led by the All-Star trio of Patrick Ewing, John Starks and Charles Oakley. The Rockets took a 2–1 series lead, but the Knicks managed to win the next two games at Madison Square Garden, defeating the Rockets in Game 5, 91–84 to take a 3–2 series lead.^[50][51][52] However, the Rockets won the next two games at The Summit, including a Game 7 home win over the Knicks, 90–84, thus winning in a hard-fought seven-game series, and winning their first ever NBA championship in franchise history; Olajuwon was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.^[53][54][55] This was the Rockets' third NBA Finals appearance, after 1981 and 1986; Olajuwon was the only player from the 1985–86 Rockets team to still be on the 1993–94 team. By winning the Finals MVP award, Olajuwon also became the first player ever 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 an NBA title.

The Rockets finished 18th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 615,227 at The Summit during the regular season.^[24][56]