Hakeem Olajuwon Legacy

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Lore & Background

The crowning achievement of his career came during the 1994 NBA Finals, where he led the Rockets to the team's first NBA championship against the New York Knicks. This was the first major professional sports championship ever won by a Houston-based team. The series was hailed as a meeting of the two great centers who had previously played for a championship in college. In 1984, while Olajuwon was with the University of Houston and Ewing was with Georgetown University, Georgetown beat Houston 84–75 in the 1984 NCAA Championship game. But in this series, Olajuwon outperformed Ewing, outscoring him in every game of the series and posting numbers of 26.9 ppg on 50.0% shooting compared to Ewing's 18.9 ppg on 36.3% shooting. In Game 6, Olajuwon blocked a last-second three-point shot attempt by John Starks that would have given the Knicks their third NBA title, instead giving the Rockets an 86–84 victory and forcing a Game 7. The Rockets beat the Knicks in Game 7, 90–84, and for his efforts, Olajuwon was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). The Rockets repeated as NBA champions in 1995.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the arena was thick with tension during Game 6 of the 1994 Finals. The Knicks had a chance to win their third NBA title. John Starks launched a last-second three-point shot attempt. Hakeem Olajuwon rose and blocked the shot, preserving an 86–84 victory for the Rockets and forcing a Game 7. That block denied the Knicks the championship and gave Houston a chance. In Game 7, the Rockets beat the Knicks 90–84, enabling the city of Houston to celebrate its first NBA championship. Olajuwon outscored Ewing in every game of the series, posting 26.9 ppg on 50.0% shooting. The roar that followed the final buzzer was the sound of Houston claiming its place in history.

Reader's Guide

The Rockets' home court has evolved since Olajuwon's debut, but the spirit of his era lingers. Fans often gather to honor 'The Dream,' celebrating his unique blend of grace and power. Olajuwon's first nine NBA seasons included numerous All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive selections, but the closest he got to a championship was in 1986, when the Rockets fell two games short of a title against a powerful Boston Celtics team. By his tenth season, he led the Rockets to a 58–24 record. After a four-game defeat of the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, they blew a pair of big fourth-quarter leads at home and lost to the Phoenix Suns to begin the second round, earning the derisive nickname 'Choke City' from the Houston Chronicle. In response, the Rockets used the headline as motivation, overcoming a 0–2 deficit to defeat the Suns in seven games, earning the nickname 'Clutch City'. In the conference finals, Houston defeated the Utah Jazz in five games to claim their third conference title.

Did You Know?

• Olajuwon was the first overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft.
• He won both the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the 1993–94 season.
• In the 1994 NBA Finals, Olajuwon outscored Patrick Ewing in every game of the series, averaging 26.9 ppg on 50.0% shooting.
• Olajuwon blocked a last-second three-point shot attempt by John Starks in Game 6 of the 1994 Finals, forcing a Game 7.
• This was Olajuwon's second NBA Finals appearance; his first was in 1986, when the Boston Celtics defeated the Rockets four games to two.