Who Won the 1993 NBA Finals?

The Houston Rockets won the 1993 NBA Finals.

The Teams

The Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 16, 1966, and played its first game during the 1966–67 NBA season. The Bulls play their home games at the United Center, an arena shared with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Bulls saw their greatest success during the 1990s when they were responsible for popularizing the NBA worldwide. They are known for having one of the NBA’s greatest dynasties, winning six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998 with two three-peats. All six championship teams were led by Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson. The Bulls are the only NBA franchise to win multiple championships and never lose an NBA Finals series in their history.

The 1993 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1992–93 NBA season, with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls defeating the Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2. This was Michael Jordan’s sixth trip to the NBA Finals in eight full seasons; he had been named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in each of his previous five trips. In addition to Jordan, Scottie Pippen was named MVP of these Finals — making them only one of four teammates in NBA history (along with Magic Johnson / Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Joe Dumars / Isiah Thomas) to each have won a Finals MVP.[1] Also in this series, John Paxson set an NBA record by going 8-for-8 from three-point range in Game 3;[2][3] a §10 bet on Paxson’s shooting display would have paid out $3,500.[4]

The Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division, and are the only team in their division not to be based in California. The Suns began play as an expansion team in 1968. The franchise owns the NBA’s fourth-best all-time winning percentage, winning 55 percent of its games, as of the end of the 2012–13 season.

The Players

The 1993 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1992–93 NBA season. The series pitted the Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, against the Phoenix Suns, winners of the Western Conference. The Suns were favored to win the series due to their 61–21 regular season record, compared to the Bulls’ 57–25 record.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American former professional basketball player who is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls. His biography on the official NBA website states: “By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.” He was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

Jordan played three seasons for coach Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels’ national championship team in 1982. Jordan joined Commercial Appeal columnist Geoff Calkins and former University of Memphis and current Houston Rockets radio play-by-play announcer Matt Thomas on Friday morning during Calkins’ show on 92.9 FM ESPN to discuss his Michigan State days, including how he almost ended up playing for Sparty.

Charles Barkley

During his time with the Rockets, Barkley was a member of the squads that reached the NBA Finals in 1986 and 1995. He is one of four players to have been named Most Valuable Player in both the regular season and the All-Star Game, along with Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. He was also a part-time analyst on NBC’s The Dream Team during their 1992 Olympic run.

The Coaches

The 1993 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1992–93 NBA season. The Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns defeated the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls, four games to two. This was the Suns’ second trip to the NBA Finals in their history, the first coming in 1976.

Phil Jackson

As head coach of the Chicago Bulls, Jackson won six NBA championships in eight seasons. He also coached the Los Angeles Lakers to five championships, making him one of only two head coaches in NBA history to win eleven championships (the other being Boston Celtics head coach Red Auerbach). He is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in NBA history. Jackson’s thirteen NBA Finals appearances are the most by any head coach in history.

Paul Westphal

Paul Douglas Westphal (born November 30, 1950) is an American basketball coach and former player. He currently is an assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Westphal has extensive experience at both the collegiate and professional levels. He played professionally in the NBA for ten seasons, winning a championship with the Boston Celtics in 1974.

Westphal later became one of the first players to have his jersey number (44) retired by the Suns. After several years as an assistant coach he was hired as the head coach of the Suns in 1992, and led them to the NBA Finals in his first season. Despite his successful debut season he was fired after just two seasons.

Westphal later coached the Seattle SuperSonics, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns once again. He also worked as a television analyst for Suns games. As of 2016 he is an assistant coach on Earl Watson’s staff with the Suns.

The Series

The 1993 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1992–93 NBA season. The 53rd edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals, it was a best-of-seven series played between the Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns and the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls. In the second Finals appearance for each team, the Suns took the series in six games, becoming the first team to win the NBA Finals after losing the first two games on the road.

Game 1

The New York Knicks defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 122-89 in Game 1 of the 1993 NBA Finals. All five Knicks starters scored in double figures, with Ewing leading the way with 28 points.

Game 2

The second game of the 1993 NBA Finals was played on June 13, 1993, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The visiting Chicago Bulls won the game 106-93 to even the series at one game apiece. Michael Jordan scored 32 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out six assists to lead the Bulls. Scottie Pippen added 19 points and eight rebounds, while Horace Grant tallied 14 points and 10 boards. for the Knicks, Patrick Ewing led the way with 28 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as New York fell behind 2-0 in the series.

Game 3

The Knicks won game 3 by a score of 90-84. This gave them a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. The key to the game was New York’s defense, which held Chicago to just 33% shooting from the field.

While the Knicks’ offense wasn’t particularly impressive, shooting just 42%, it was enough to get the win. Patrick Ewing led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while John Starks added 18 points.

For the Bulls, Michael Jordan was once again spectacular, scoring 33 points on 13-27 shooting. But he didn’t get much help from his teammates, as Scottie Pippen was the only other player in double figures with 16 points.

Game 4

The Chicago Bulls had taken a commanding 3–0 lead in the series, and were en route to their third consecutive championship. The Suns, however, would not go down without a fight. They came out firing in Game 4 and took an early lead. The Bulls battled back, but the Suns held on to win the game and avoid being swept. The Suns could not carry that momentum into Game 5, though, as the Bulls won handily to take the series.

The Aftermath

The Houston Rockets won their first NBA championship in franchise history when they defeated the New York Knicks in seven games. The Rockets were led by Hakeem Olajuwon, who was named the Finals MVP. The win marked the first time a team from the Western Conference had won the NBA Finals since the Los Angeles Lakers did it in 1988.

The Legacy of the 1993 NBA Finals

The 1993 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1992–93 NBA season. The series was a rematch of the previous year’s finals in which the Chicago Bulls won in six games. This time, however, the Bulls exacted revenge and won the series in six games, achieving their third consecutive title and their fourth overall.

The 1993 NBA Finals also holds the dubious distinction of being one of only two Finals series (the other being the 1970 NBA Finals) in which neither team won a home game. In fact, Games 3, 4, and 5 were all played on foreign soil; specifically at Madison Square Garden in New York City (Game 3), The Palace of Auburn Hills near Detroit (Game 4), and at SkyDome in Toronto (Game 5).

The 1993 Finals was also notable for Michael Jordan’s now-famous “flu game”. In Game 5, played on Sunday, June 13, Jordan scored 38 points despite battling a severe case of influenza.

The contest is widely regarded as one of the greatest games in Jordan’s storied career, and helped solidify his status as one of the greatest players ever to play basketball.