Who Won The 1994 Nba Championship?

Find out who won the 1994 NBA Championship, and read about the history of this exciting basketball competition.

The Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets became the first team in NBA history to win four straight games by double digits when they defeated the New York Knicks 96-84 in Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals. The Rockets were led by Finals MVP Hakeem Olajuwon, who averaged 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game.

Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon (/həˈkiːm oʊləˈdʒuːwɒn/ hə-KEEM oh-lə-JOO-won; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed “the Dream”, is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and attended the University of Houston where he led the Cougars to the NCAA Final Four in 1982. His signature move was a mid-air spin which he used to great effect. Olajuwon was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the first overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft, and he quickly became one of the league’s best players. He was selected as the NBA Rookie of the Year and won back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995 with teammate Clyde Drexler, being named both Finals MVP on both occasions.

In 2008, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2016, he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. Listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), Olajuwon is considered one of only seven players—along with Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki—to have won an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in their careers.

Clyde Drexler

Clyde Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who is the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. He played in the National Basketball Association from 1983 to 1998. He was a ten-time NBA All-Star and named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Drexler won an NBA championship with Houston in 1995, and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004.

Drexler grew up in Houston and played college basketball at the University of Houston under Guy V. Lewis from 1980 to 1983. He was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 14th overall pick in the 1983 NBA draft, but was traded to the Houston Rockets before appearing in a game for them. He became one of Houson’s “Twin Towers” alongside centers Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson during his time with the team. In 1988, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, but returned to Houston in a blockbuster trade prior to the 1992–93 season.

Drexler helped lead Houston to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995, being named co-MVP of The Finals with Olajuwon during their second win. In his 15 NBA seasons, Drexler averaged 20.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game while shooting .483 from the field and .771 from the free throw line through 1,081 games played (1,070 started). He is one of only 12 players ever to score more than 20,000 points while also collecting more than 6,000 assists and 6,000 rebounds throughout his career; he currently ranks 11th all-time on both points/assists and points/rebounds lists respectively as well as seventh all-time on combined list for most points/assists/rebounds behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), Wilt Chamberlain (31,419), LeBron James (30,824), Michael Jordan (29,277) and Oscar Robertson (26,484).

Sam Cassell

Sam Cassell played in the NBA for 15 seasons from 1993 to 2008. He was a member of the Houston Rockets team that won the NBA Championship in 1994, and he was also a two-time All-Star. After his playing career, Cassell became a head coach in the NBA, and he is currently the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.

The New York Knicks

Patrick Ewing

Patrick Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American retired Hall of Fame professional basketball player and current head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas. He played most of his career with the New York Knicks as their center and played briefly with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic. Ewing was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during the 1996–97 season, and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. He played in 11 NBA Finals, winning one in 1994 with the Knicks.

During his collegiate career at Georgetown, he led the Hoyas to winning records in each of his four seasons and was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament in both 1982 and 1983 when they reached the championship game. He had a period of great success in the NBA, especially in the 1990s when he was considered one of the best players in basketball. In 1987, he was drafted by the Knicks with the first overall pick in what proved to be one of president Dave Checketts’s key personnel decisions. Although never winning a regular season MVP award (he finished as runner-up three times), Ewing is widely regarded as among basketball’s greatest centers ever; he was selected to 11 All-Star teams (tied with Bob Lanier for second all time among centers) and won gold medals while representing the United States at USA Basketball on two Olympic teams: 1984 Summer Olympics and 1992 Summer Olympics.

John Starks

In 1993–94, John Starks played a career-high 82 games and averaged 19.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He was selected as an All-Star for the first time and was voted the NBA Most Improved Player. The Knicks finished the season with a 52–30 record, first place in the Atlantic Division and the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the New Jersey Nets 3–1. In the semifinals, they defeated the Chicago Bulls 4–1. In the Conference Finals, they defeated Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers 4–3 to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1973

Anthony Mason

Anthony Mason was a key player for the New York Knicks during their 1994 NBA Championship season. A versatile 6’7″ forward, Mason could play both power forward and small forward, and was known for his aggressive style of play. He was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 1995, and was also selected to the All-Defensive Second Team twice (in 1995 and 1996). After spending six seasons with the Knicks, Mason played for a variety of teams, including the Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, and Dallas Mavericks. He retired from the NBA in 2008.

The Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers were the NBA champions in 1994. They were led by head coach Larry Brown and star players Reggie Miller and Rik Smits. The Pacers won the title by defeating the New York Knicks in seven games.

Reggie Miller

Reggie Miller played his entire 18-year NBA career with the Indiana Pacers, helping the team to five Eastern Conference titles and one NBA championship in 1994. He is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 25,279 points, and he remains one of the most popular players in team history.

Rik Smits

Rik Smits (born August 23, 1966), nicknamed “The Dunking Dutchman”, is a retired Dutch professional basketball player. He played center for the Indiana Pacers for his entire career, from 1988 to 2000. As of 2020, he is the franchise’s all-time leader in points scored (11,361).

Smits was born in Eindhoven, Netherlands. He played professionally in his native country for Marquette before being selected second overall by the Indiana Pacers in the 1988 NBA draft. He became the starting center for the Pacers as a rookie and remained in that role throughout his career. A two-time All-Star, Smits reached the NBA Finals in 1995 and 2000 with the Pacers, but they were unable to win a championship. After failing to agree on a contract extension with the Pacers following the 1999–2000 season, Smits retired from basketball at age 34.

In retirement, Smits has made occasional appearances on television; he has also worked as an analyst for Fox Sports Indiana’s broadcasts of Pacers games.

Derrick McKey

Derrick McKey (born October 21, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a small forward and occasionally played as a power forward. He was known for his defense.

McKey was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He played basketball at Southern University. In 1988, he was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the ninth pick of the first round of the NBA draft.

He averaged 12.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his rookie season and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. In 1992, he helped lead the SuperSonics to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games.

In 1994, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers for Harold Minor and Detlef Schrempf. He helped lead the Pacers to the NBA Finals that year, where they lost to the Houston Rockets in seven games.

After five seasons with the Pacers, he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Jaren Jackson in 1999. He finished his career with brief stints with the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons before retiring in 2002.

The Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic were led by Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway and were able to defeat the Houston Rockets in The Finals to win their first NBA Championship.

Shaquille O’Neal

The Orlando Magic entered the 1993-94 season with high hopes. After all, they had just drafted Shaquille O’Neal, a once-in-a-generation talent. And they had a young star in Anfernee Hardaway. The Magic went on to have a great season, winning 58 games.

In the playoffs, the Magic dispatched the Detroit Pistons in the first round and the Boston Celtics in the second round. But in the Eastern Conference Finals, they ran into a buzzsaw in the form of the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers won the series in seven games.

The Magic regrouped and came back strong the following season. They won 57 games and made it back to the Eastern Conference Finals. And this time, they got past the Pacers. They then beat the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals to win their first and only championship.

Anfernee Hardaway

Orlando Magic point guard Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway was one of the most dominant players in the NBA in the early 1990s. Along with center Shaquille O’Neal, Hardaway led the Magic to the NBA Finals in 1995, where they lost to the Houston Rockets in four games. Hardaway was a four-time All-Star and was named to the All-NBA First Team in 1996. He is also one of only five players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds per game in a season.

Dennis Scott

Dennis Scott (born May 15, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was a three-point specialist in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He graduated from Flint Hill Preparatory School in Oakton, Virginia, before attending Georgia Tech, where he played college basketball. He set an NBA record for three-pointers made in a season in 1995–96.

The San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home games at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

David Robinson

David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs was the Most Valuable Player of the 1994 NBA Finals. He helped lead the Spurs to a 4-2 series victory over the New York Knicks, averaging 27.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. Robinson was named Finals MVP unanimously, becoming just the fifth player in NBA history to receive that honor.

Sean Elliott

Sean Michael Elliott (born February 2, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who starred in both the college and professional ranks. He attended the University of Arizona, where he had a standout career as a two-time All-American before being selected third overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1989 NBA draft. Elliott played eight seasons for the Spurs, helping them to three NBA Finals appearances and an NBA championship in 1999. After a kidney transplant in 2001 caused him to miss most of that season, Elliott returned for a final season with the Spurs in 2002–03 before retiring from professional basketball.

Elliott was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 and his #32 jersey was retired by the University of Arizona.

Vinny Del Negro

The San Antonio Spurs won the 1994 NBA Championship, led by head coach Vinny Del Negro. The Spurs defeated the New York Knicks in the Finals, becoming the first team in NBA history to win a championship after losing the previous year’s Finals. The Spurs were also the first team to win a championship with a losing record in the regular season.