Let’s rewind game 1. I’ve honestly never seen it, but I know the Magic choke. I will watch it and post the notes I took while I witnessed Shaq and the Dream soon.
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Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets, with the help of mid-season pick-up Clyde Drexler, put the finishing touch on their sweep of the NBA Finals over Shaquille O’Neal and the heavily-favored Orlando Magic. With the win, the Rockets became the lowest seeded team (No. 6) to ever win the Finals and one of only four teams to even reach the Finals when seeded fourth or lower since the beginning of the 16-team playoff format in 1984. The other teams were the 1999 Knicks (eighth), 2006 Mavericks (fourth) and 2010 Celtics (fourth), who head back to Los Angeles in their quest to become the second team seeded fourth or lower to win the Finals.
The 1995 Finals were hyped as a showdown between centers Olajuwon and O’Neal. And Hakeem the Dream exceeded the high expectations. The Houston center became one of the few NBA players in history to score more than 30 points in every Finals game in a series. Olajuwon dominated the competition, leading the Rockets to wins in every playoff game on the road as the Rockets motored through Utah, Phoenix and San Antonio. After Hakeem outplayed season MVP David Robinson in the Conference Finals and O’Neal in the Finals, Shaq remarked, “He’s got about five moves, then four countermoves. That gives him 20 moves.” Olajuwon was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row.