Which title that the Rockets won was sweeter? 1994 or 1995? I chose 1995 since they came back and won in 7 games against the Suns with Mario Elie's kiss of death. Hakeem owned Robinson and Rockets defeated the 60+ winning Spurs. Then they defeated the Magic, who defeated the Bulls, which people are being ignorant about saying that the Rockets title are tainted. And to top it all off, you had Rudy Tomjanovich's quote of "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion".
1994 was awesome for a lot of reasons. Epic 7 game series vs. a major market team... Hakeem's MVP, DPOY, Finals MVP trifecta... the city's first championship ever... etc. But 1995 was literally an other worldly experience. 1) Clyde's reunion 2) Sixth seeded underdog 3) Pwning the Jazz in Utah 4) Kiss of death comeback vs. Phoenix 5) Hakeem destroys Robinson 6) Sweeping the finals One of the rare occasions when the sequel was better than the original.
95 had more amazing moments, but 94 didn't end til game 7 of the NBA finals. When we were up 3-0, I had a feeling the Rockets would beat Orlando. Let's not forget this part of 94. Dream won the MVP and DPOY and Finals MVP. no other Rocket will ever do that in my lifetime or your lifetime or your kid's lifetime.
So lets compare the votes in this thread, and the one asking the same thing 5 years ago, and see it people changed their mind: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=113377
its funny I was going to vote for the first one then I read your post and I have to agree the sequel was better than the first. probably that 3 by elie as the climax of the whole world. I have had some moments with sex or drugs and that moment was right there.
Simple. It's the same year my son was born. Having your favorite team win a championship (in spite of OJ) and witnessing the birth of your child makes for a very special year.
95, because of all that wins without HCA, because of coming back from 1-3, because of reunion, because of Hakeem's ownage of Robinson and Rodman, because of Rudy's talk and because of Heart that Rockets showed back there
I could not believe it the first time I had sex...but the second time was better. who says coaches are underrated?
In 1994 once Seattle lost I knew we had a clear path to the title and we just had to hold the homecourt. The things the team did in 95 though were ridiculous. The trade, never having homecourt, Vernon walking out on the team, the Hall of Famers they had to face, and the way Dream dominated. The first one was sweet but that second one was extra sweet.
1994 was great for finally being able to say "Houston" and "World Champion" together. After the pain of the Oilers in the late 70's, the Stros and Rockets in 1980, U of H in 1982 and 1983, the Stros and the Rockets again in 1986 it just seemed like Houston might never win a title. 1995 though was sweeter since we were counted out so many times and the Rockets just kept coming back to finally dominate in end! What still continues to irk me though is that for both of those great championships the Rockets and Houston will never get the respect they deserve.
its tough, but in '94 I believed we could do it. The feeling was GREAT, but the only team that made me nervous was the Suns (beforehand). Portland? I thought that'd be 3-4 games. Utah? They were good but we had their number that year. Knicks? I just thought we'd win in 6 games or so... didnt think we'd go down 3-2, but it made for a more compelling ending. Stark going off in Game 6, Hakeem's last second block of his potential game-winner... and then Mad Max's 3 to make our Game 7 win seem inevitable? all great stuff. 95 tho... people started to realy figure us out after 20 games or so, Olajuwon was injured, Clyde coming in (hated HATED losing Thorpe tho...), our low seed, no homecourt throughout the playoffs, and I was nervous EVERY series coming up. Could we beat them? Sure. Likely? I dunno about likely...geez. Utah in 5 (with Olajuwon and Drexler each having a 40+pt game in Game 4!), coming back in PHX down 3-1 and Mario's KOD, Olajuwon's dominance of MVP Robinson and our win over the highest winners of the reg season, and then...OMG Game 1 of Orlando will always stand out in my heart as fav game in Rockets history. 13 in 35? brilliant. Mario/Suns KOD? brilliant. Game 6 & 7 vs Knicks? brilliant. other notables obviously but... that Game 1... going down 20 and coming back, Nick A. missing 4 STRAIGHT FTs to give us a shot at overtime (Kenny Smith with what... 7-8 threes that game???), and being tied with 7 secs in OT! When Drexler missed for a split second I thought "OH GOD not a 2nd OT!" and BAM Olajuwon sends us all into unknown basketball bliss with that tip-in (while riding Horace Grant's shoulder lol...). Both years were sweet, but when expectations are lowered and that kind've magic shows up... it does seem a bit like destiny. 95 was the sweeter one, but its really not fair to judge them haha. and I could care less if ppl say "Jordan Jordan Jordan...", maybe his team shouldve been good enough to beat Orlando... the team we swept. Seattle, Utah, and PHX all were good series w/ Jordan, but none of them had the weapon that would've hurt Chicago so badly... an outstanding center. Houston was a great "team" with a legendary center, and matched up well with the Bulls. Its too bad they never met in the Finals, I would've welcomed it. I'm not being cocky and saying Chicago wouldve lost, I'm just saying I think Houston was one of the few teams in the league that wouldnt be nearly as favorable.
It's hard as hell to give the birth of clutch city the cold shoulder, but 94[-95 would be a best seller if it was a children's fairy tale book.
95 for me. The world spit on us. Labeled 94 a fluke.... Gave Robinson Hakeem's trophy. They gave up on us, no way a 6th seed could do anything in the playoffs they said... they underestimated the heart of a champion. The 4-0 sweep didn't have to be exciting. It was vindication.
1994. First championship and over the legendary Knicks... Dream, Ewing, Riley, Rudy etc GARM is depressing with all these threads reliving the past: Sampson threads, Tmac threads, couple threads about old championships. It is the offseason but sounds like many people are living in the past with no hope for the future.
Well said. It starts to feel like the old man who won't shut up about his "glory days" on the HS football team.
