Great read and trip down memory lane. I was lucky enought to be a season ticket holder in those years (tickets were a lot cheaper then) and the 85-86 team was the best Rockets team ever on the Summit floor. Without the drugs and injuries, we were sure we were watching the beginnings of a dynasty. The severity of the puninishment on Lew and Mitch was definitely unfair, but I am glad John is still alive. I run into him around town from time to time, and he always has time for a brief chat.
What a riveting story. I just read the whole thing. My heart was ripped out by the Celtics when Moses lost and then Ralph/Akeem lost again. Just made Hakeem winning later so much sweeter.
Agreed, that's BS. Jordan had not yet learned to pass well enough, and the Rockets were plenty athletic to keep up with Jordan and Pippen. Played unselfish team basketball too.
100% right. Stern/NBA wanted Magic/Bird. Rockets would get into the way forever. We need insiders to step up and admit this.
Agreed, I think Hakeem gets the extra short end of the media stick because he wasn't as "American" in that he wasn't born in the US. I pick Hakeem (then Akeem) over Jordan if I had that draft to do over again.
Also don't forget that the Rockets SWEPT the Magic that had just beaten the Bulls WITH Jordan in his first year back.
Well, you make a good point. Hakeem is such a fixture in Houston, such a popular and well-liked man, and Houstonians are proud that after college and the NBA, he continues to call Texas his home. He is One of Us. He even literally became one of us as a naturalized U.S. citizen back in the 90's. Even played for the U.S. Men's Olympic team! And because of all of that, we sometimes forget that there are still people out there who dislike or distrust Hakeem for their own reasons that have nothing to do with basketball. And those people look for any reason to try to detract from and downplay his professional accomplishments because they have those external motivations. There's nothing that can be done or said about that, really. You've just gotta shrug it off and move on.
OP... You've just been repped.... Thanks for the road back down memory lane. It was also great to see so many 99'ers and double 00 post again.... T_Man
What's crazy about that team is that Allen Leavell, a few years later, choked a ref out over a foul. LOL.
Great article. Im only 22 but its always good to be educated with articles like this to show us how things were and could have been. It is greatly appreciated and i wonder if anyone could make this into a 30 for 30 film...it would be quite riveting IMO
I love them jerseys...I still have my warm up tear always from that era. In mint condition I might add, even though I still wear the jacket.
The only two times the Lakers didn't make the Finals in the 1980s is when they got knocked out by the Rockets.
Well yeah, that was my point. And - just to add fuel to this epic fire of annoyance....JORDAN PLAYED IN 95!
At the end of the day, they still used the drugs. I'm not saying it's fair the way it played out, but it's not like Stern forced them to take a bump and then suspended them. They made that decision.
What about LA...i mean they had the forum club and this is the 80's. Doesnt it make sense to test Magic, Coop, Scott, and Worthy as well? If the schtick goes both ways then Stern should've tested them as well. That reason alone is what makes the situation very fishy IMO
Agree, if the league is already admitting that it's a widespread problem and part of the culture, singling out a team to take out for political reasons just does not sit well with me. It's like everyone is doing a rolling stop at a stop sign (who makes a complete stop?) and then singling particular drivers with a super harsh penalty for political reasons. Obviously Magic and Bird were great players, but the full-squad Rockets were clearly IMO better and were just flat out better athletes (Magic and Bird knew all the tricks, but their teams were big, not super athletic). I actually thought those 3 straight MVP awards for Bird were a bit questionable too--I would've rather had Moses or Akeem on my team for at least one of those years if not more.
