1994–95 Houston Rockets season
The 1994–95 NBA season was the Rockets' 28th season in the National Basketball Association, and 24th season in Houston. After winning their first championship, the Rockets went on to win their first nine games of the season. However, with increased competition in the West, management felt a change was needed to win another title. On February 14, the Rockets traded Otis Thorpe to the Portland Trail Blazers for All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, a former teammate of Hakeem Olajuwon at the University of Houston. However, after the trade, the Rockets struggled in the second half of the season posting a record of 17–18 on their way to finishing third in the Midwest Division with a 47–35 record. Olajuwon was selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game.
In the playoffs, the Rockets faced the 3rd-seeded Utah Jazz in the first round. The Jazz would take a 2–1 series lead, but the Rockets went on to win the series in five games. In the semifinals, they faced the Phoenix Suns for the second consecutive year. The Rockets managed to defeat the 2nd-seeded Suns in seven games to advance to the Western Conference Finals. In the all Texas Western Conference, they faced the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs. Both teams lacked home court advantage in the series, only winning on the road until the Rockets won Game 6 at The Summit and advanced to the NBA Finals. In the Finals, they swept the Orlando Magic in four straight games, and won their second consecutive championship. As the 6th seed in the 1995 playoffs, the Rockets are the lowest-seeded team to win an NBA championship. Following the season, Vernon Maxwell signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers, and Tracy Murray left in the 1995 NBA Expansion Draft.
Offseason
NBA Draft
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Regular season
Playoffs
Player stats
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 42 | 2 | 8.1 | .372 | .240 | .653 | .8 | .4 | .26 | .10 | 3.0 | |
| 28 | 0 | 6.6 | .538 | .471 | .857 | .5 | .8 | .29 | .04 | 3.4 | |
| 41 | 14 | 19.9 | .603 | .333 | .613 | 4.6 | .7 | .27 | .34 | 6.1 | |
| 7 | 0 | 4.3 | .250 | .000 | .500 | 1.4 | .0 | .14 | .00 | .7 | |
| 82 | 1 | 23.0 | .427 | .330 | .843 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 1.15 | .17 | 9.5 | |
| 68 | 17 | 19.8 | .445 | .407 | .738 | 4.7 | 1.0 | .37 | .63 | 5.3 | |
| 35 | 34 | 37.1 | .506 | .357 | .809 | 7.0 | 4.4 | 1.77 | .66 | 21.4 | |
| 81 | 13 | 23.4 | .499 | .398 | .842 | 2.4 | 2.3 | .80 | .15 | 8.8 | |
| 61 | 26 | 21.8 | .523 | .000 | .624 | 4.6 | .7 | .66 | .62 | 6.8 | |
| 64 | 61 | 32.4 | .447 | .379 | .761 | 5.1 | 3.4 | 1.47 | 1.19 | 10.2 | |
| 3 | 0 | 12.0 | .333 | .000 | .500 | 2.3 | .0 | .00 | .33 | 1.0 | |
| 64 | 54 | 31.8 | .394 | .324 | .688 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 1.17 | .20 | 13.3 | |
| 25 | 0 | 8.1 | .400 | .422 | .625 | .9 | .2 | .28 | .12 | 3.5 | |
| 72 | 72 | 39.6 | .517 | .188 | .756 | 10.8 | 3.5 | 1.85 | 3.36 | 27.8 | |
| 81 | 81 | 25.1 | .484 | .429 | .851 | 1.9 | 4.0 | .88 | .12 | 10.4 | |
| 37 | 0 | 4.9 | .453 | .000 | .614 | 1.5 | .1 | .05 | .19 | 2.0 | |
| 36 | 35 | 33.0 | .563 | .000 | .528 | 8.9 | 1.6 | .61 | .36 | 13.3 |
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 21 | 0 | 15.5 | .447 | .500 | .676 | 3.1 | .3 | .43 | .10 | 4.5 | |
| 22 | 0 | 22.0 | .438 | .400 | .835 | 1.9 | 4.0 | .95 | .09 | 11.0 | |
| 20 | 0 | 16.2 | .484 | .389 | .824 | 2.9 | .9 | .35 | .20 | 4.5 | |
| 22 | 22 | 38.6 | .481 | .303 | .786 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 1.50 | .68 | 20.5 | |
| 22 | 22 | 28.9 | .504 | .431 | .795 | 2.8 | 2.5 | .95 | .05 | 9.1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | 1.0 | .00 | .00 | 2.0 | |
| 22 | 22 | 38.2 | .445 | .400 | .744 | 7.0 | 3.5 | 1.45 | 1.18 | 13.1 | |
| 19 | 0 | 12.5 | .385 | .000 | .333 | 2.3 | .0 | .21 | .53 | .7 | |
| 1 | 0 | 16.0 | .143 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 1.0 | .00 | .00 | 3.0 | |
| 22 | 22 | 42.2 | .531 | .500 | .681 | 10.3 | 4.5 | 1.18 | 2.82 | 33.0 | |
| 22 | 22 | 29.6 | .438 | .442 | .900 | 2.2 | 4.5 | .64 | .14 | 10.8 | |
| 8 | 0 | 3.9 | .400 | .000 | 1.000 | .1 | .1 | .12 | .38 | .8 |
Playoffs
West First Round
Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets: ''Rockets win series 3-2- Game 1 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City : Utah 102, Houston 100
- Game 2 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City : Houston 140, Utah 126
- Game 3 @ The Summit, Houston : Utah 95, Houston 82
- Game 4 @ The Summit, Houston : Houston 123, Utah 106
- Game 5 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City : Houston 95, Utah 91
West Conference Semifinals
Phoenix Suns vs. Houston Rockets: Rockets win series 4-3- Game 1 @ America West Arena, Phoenix : Phoenix 130, Houston 108
- Game 2 @ America West Arena, Phoenix : Phoenix 118, Houston 94
- Game 3 @ The Summit, Houston : Houston 118, Phoenix 85
- Game 4 @ The Summit, Houston : Phoenix 114, Houston 110
- Game 5 @ America West Arena, Phoenix : Houston 103, Phoenix 97
- Game 6 @ The Summit, Houston : Houston 116, Phoenix 103
- Game 7 @ America West Arena, Phoenix : Houston 115, Phoenix 114
West Conference Finals
San Antonio Spurs vs. Houston Rockets: Rockets win series 4-2- Game 1 @ Alamodome, San Antonio : Houston 94, San Antonio 93
- Game 2 @ Alamodome, San Antonio : Houston 106, San Antonio 96
- Game 3 @ The Summit, Houston : San Antonio 107, Houston 102
- Game 4 @ The Summit, Houston : San Antonio 103, Houston 81
- Game 5 @ Alamodome, San Antonio : Houston 111, San Antonio 90
- Game 6 @ The Summit, Houston : Houston 100, San Antonio 95
NBA Finals
1995 NBA Finals Roster
Head Coach: Rudy TomjanovichHakeem Olajuwon |
Clyde Drexler |
Kenny Smith |
Robert Horry |
Sam Cassell |
Mario Elie |
Carl Herrera |
Vernon Maxwell |
Chucky Brown |
Pete Chilcutt |
Tracy Murray |
Tim Breaux |
Žan Tabak |
Charles Jones |
Adrian Caldwell |
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:| 1995 NBA Finals | Gm 1 | Gm 2 | Gm 3 | Gm 4 | Totals |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 31 | 34 | 31 | 35 | 32.8 ppg |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 26 | 33 | 28 | 25 | 28.0 ppg |
By winning his second straight NBA Finals MVP award, Hakeem Olajuwon became the sixth player to do so on multiple occasions, joining Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. Olajuwon also joined Jordan as the only two players to win the award consecutively as of that time.
Series Summary
| Game | Date | Home Team | Result | Road Team |
| Game 1 | June 7 | Orlando | 118–120 | Houston |
| Game 2 | June 9 | Orlando | 106–117 | Houston |
| Game 3 | June 11 | Houston | 106–103 | Orlando |
| Game 4 | June 14 | Houston | 113–101 | Orlando |
Rockets win series 4–0
Award winners
- Hakeem Olajuwon – NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
- Hakeem Olajuwon – All-NBA Third Team