August 24, 2026
August 24, 2026
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. The Rockets were banking on the hope that their star center, Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon, whom 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 wasn’t always easy, as some seasons ended in disappointing fashion.
Right after being drafted, Olajuwon made an immediate impact, helping fellow center Ralph Sampson clinch playoff berths. Olajuwon’s long journey for championship gold began in the 1984-85 NBA season, as the Rockets went 48-34, finishing 2nd in the Midwest Division and 3rd in the Western Conference. The Rockets were handed an early exit courtesy of the Utah Jazz, losing to them in the First Round, 3 games to 2.
The 1985-86 NBA season turned out to be a very special one for the Rockets, as they posted a 51-31 record, finishing 1st in the Midwest Division and 2nd in the Western Conference. Much of the Rockets’ success came from the two big men they put 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. They defeated the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals, 4 games to 2, and then defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 1, in the Western Conference Finals. However, the Rockets fell 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 1986-87 NBA season, the most notable being the departure of Ralph Sampson via trade. Falling out of favor with the Rockets’ coaching staff, Sampson was traded to the Golden State Warriors, a move that paved the way for Hakeem Olajuwon to become the team’s main big man. The Rockets went 42-40, finishing 3rd in the Midwest Division and 6th in the Western Conference. They eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers, 3 games to 1, in the First Round, but soon fell to the Seattle SuperSonics, 4 games to 2, in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Rockets went at it again in the 1987-88 NBA season, posting a 46-36 record and finishing 4th in the Midwest Division and 6th in the Western Conference. However, they suffered a disappointing setback, falling to the Dallas Mavericks in the First Round, 3 games to 1.
The 1988-89 NBA season was another steady one for the Rockets, who finished with a 45-37 record, good for 2nd in the Midwest Division and 5th in the Western Conference. Once again, though, they had a disappointing early exit in the First Round of postseason play, losing to the Seattle SuperSonics, 3 games to 1.
The Rockets posted an average 41-41 record in the 1989-90 NBA season, barely qualifying for the playoffs as the 8th seed. They exited the postseason early once more, 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 1990-91 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 in previous years: 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 1991-92 NBA season, going 42-40 and failing to qualify for the postseason. In February 1992, Don Chaney resigned as head coach and turned over coaching responsibilities to his assistant, Rudy Tomjanovich.
Needing to get back into the postseason mix, the Rockets soared again in the 1992-93 NBA season, posting a 55-27 record to win the Midwest Division and claim the 2nd seed. They handled the Los Angeles Clippers in the First Round of the playoffs, eliminating them 3 games to 2, but fell once again to the Seattle SuperSonics in the Western Conference Semifinals, getting eliminated 4 games to 3.
The 1993-94 season also brought major change elsewhere in the league: Michael Jordan announced his first retirement from basketball on October 3, 1993, following the murder of his father, James Jordan. For the Rockets, it proved to be the season that finally launched them into championship contention. Houston jumped out to an excellent start by going 18-0, a mark tied for the longest unbeaten streak to open an NBA season, matched only by the Washington Capitols in 1948-49.
Hakeem Olajuwon was the driving force behind the Rockets’ triumphant run through the postseason, winning both the 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 during the regular season. In the postseason, he was even better, averaging 28.9 points per game, 4 blocks per game, 11 rebounds per game, and even 4.3 assists per game, according to Basketball-Reference.
The Rockets defeated the New York Knicks, 4 games to 1, in the 1994 NBA Finals to win their first NBA championship. The clinching Game 5 win came 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 got the best of him, averaging 26.9 points per game in the Finals to Ewing’s 18.9 points per game.
Though the Rockets could have been satisfied with a single championship, they set out to defend their title in the 1994-95 NBA season and executed a key trade on February 14, 1995, acquiring shooting guard and small forward Clyde “The Glide” Drexler from the Portland Trail Blazers. A former member of the “Phi Slamma Jamma” Houston Cougars in college basketball, Drexler had returned home.
Olajuwon was once again outstanding, averaging 27.8 points per game, 3.36 blocks per game, 10.8 rebounds per game, and 1.85 steals per game. This Houston Rockets championship defense proved just as triumphant as the first, as the team swept the Orlando Magic in the 1995 NBA Finals, 4 games to none, to win back-to-back titles. Olajuwon won his second Finals MVP award, outplaying another gifted center in Shaquille O’Neal. Olajuwon got the best of O’Neal in the Finals as well, averaging 32.8 points per game to O’Neal’s 28 points per game.
The night of June 7, 1995, was a defining moment for the Rockets’ resilience, as they trailed by 3 points in the final seconds of Game 1. Orlando shooting guard and small forward Nick Anderson missed four straight free throws, and with one last chance, Rockets point guard Kenny Smith hit a game-tying 3-point basket with 1.6 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. Hakeem Olajuwon 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 1994-95 Houston Rockets were the first team to win an NBA title while entering the postseason as a 6th seed, and the first team to defeat four teams in the postseason that had each won at least 50 games in the regular season. The Rockets also set an NBA record with 9 road wins in the postseason.
While the Houston Rockets failed to continue their string of success and ended up sandwiched between two Chicago Bulls three-peats in the 1990s, they built a foundation of consistency around 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. The Houston Rockets championship era of the mid-1990s remains one of the most memorable title runs in NBA history.
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