The 1993-'94 N.B.A. season, otherwise known as the N.B.A. without Jordan (for the first time, atleast), was a great season. People were skeptical going in, thinking that the N.B.A. can not possibly survive with the most marketable player ever. However, the absence of Jordan allowed the N.B.A. to focus on the other stars of the league. The Season: League MVP Hakeem Olajuwon During the regular season of the 1993-'94 season, the top two teams in the Eastern Conference were dominated by defense. The Atlanta Hawks won the Central Division division by two games over the surprising Chicago Bulls. The fifty-seven wins the Hawks were a team record and they did it with a defense-first playing style. They allowed 96.2 points per game, the fourth best in the league. Mookie Blaylock was the all-star point guard who was also on the NBA Defensive First Team. Stacey Augmon and Craig Ehlo were the other ball-hawks (no pun intended) who gave Atlanta some of the best pressure defense in the league. Coach Lenny Wilkins was named Coach of the Year, but the season was memorized mostly by fans for the trade of Dominique Wilkins and the post-season woes. They lost to the Inidiana Pacers in the second round, a team that finished fourth in the Central Division during the season. The New York Knicks were the other defensive juggernaut in the Eastern Conference. The defense of this Knicks team was astounding. They allowed 91.5 points per game, the fourth lowest in N.B.A. history since the advent of the shot clock. Charles Oakley and Patrick Ewing combined to make possibly the best frontcourt in the entire league, but the backcourt wasn't too shabby either. John Starks made the all-star game for the first time in his career and Derek Harper took the place of the injured Doc Rivers. The team continued their dominance throughout the season and finished seven games ahead of the Shaquille O'Neal led Orlando Magic. In the Western Conference the Seattle Supersonics took the league by storm. Led by the dynamic duo of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, the Sonics finished with a league best sixty-three victories. The big moves in the off-season though were the aquisitions of Detlef Schrempf and Kendall Gill. With the two new members of the team the Sonics started out with a 20-2 record through the first stretch of the season. The fast paced Sonics outscored opponents by an average of 9.2 points per game. This team had no shortage of defense either as three Sonics were in the top fourteen in steals. Gary Payton was on the NBA First Team for defense and the All NBA Third Team. Shawn Kemp finished the season on the All NBA Second Team. General Manager Bob Whitsitt won Executive of the Year, but the team would soon become known for their playoff disaster. The Houston Rockets won the Midwest Division with fifty-eight victories led by dominant force Hakeem Olajuwon. He not only won league MVP, but also walked away with Defensive Player of the Year honors. Speaking of defense, this team allowed the fewest points in franchise history. They were also some of the sharpest shooters as they set records for three-pointers made and attempted. The Rockets, much like the Sonics, also got off to a hot start winning an NBA record fifteen straight games and winning twenty-two of the first twenty-four games. The 1993-'94 season was memorable for other reasons as well. The lowly Dallas Mavericks came within four games of setting the fewest wins in a season record (they won thirteen, the record is nine). The season also brought about one of the closest scoring title races in history as David Robinson beat Shaquille O'neal 29.8 points to 29.3. The record was clinched by Robinson with a 71 point burst against the Clippers. Nate McMillan also won the steals title by five over Scottie Pippen, the arguable MVP of the season. McMillan averaged 2.96 to 2.93. The season also brought the end to Michael Williams' then record of ninety-seven straight free-throws made. The Awards: MVP and Defensive Player of the Year: Hakeem Olajuwon NBA Sixth Man of the Year: Dell Curry NBA Rookie of the Year: Chris Webber The All-Star Game: The Forty-fourth annual All-Star game was a close shootout between the East and West. The East won 127-118 behind three players who scored twenty points or higher. Both teams had five players scoring in double digits but the East, coached by Lenny Wilkins, managed to beat out the West who was coached by George Karl. This All-Star weekend was also the debut for the East vs. West rookie game. The Phenoms defeated the Sensations 74-68. MVP: Scottie Pippen (29 points and 11 rebounds) Rookie Game MVP: Penny Hardaway from the Orlando Magic 3-PT Shootout Winner: Mark Price from the Clevland Cavaliers Slam Dunk Winner: Isaiah Rider from the Minnesota Timberwolves The Playoffs: The Eastern Conference playoffs went as they expected. Atlanta, though they had a tough time with the Heat, won their series three game to two. The Knicks defeated the Nets three games to one, and both the Bulls and Pacers swept their series against the Magic and Cavaliers. In the second round things got interesting. The Hawks were defeated by the Indiana Pacers in six games. It marked the end to a very good season for the Hawks, but the loss seemed inevitable after the struggles with the Heat. The Knicks and Bulls then had a playoff series to remember. Things went back and fourth between the two teams. New York won the first two games by four and five points respectively. The Bulls won a game three thriller in Chicago 104-102, and won more convincingly in game four 95-83. The Knicks then won a thriller of their own, 87-86 and then lost by 14 the next game. The New York Knicks finished off the series with a ten point win and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Eastern Finals was also a series that went back and forth. It was a defensive battle as only one team scored 100 points the whole series, which was the Knicks in game one with a 100-89 victory. The Knicks pulled off the first two win in the series, but Indiana pulled ahead by winning the next three. The Knicks won game six in Indiana which set the stage for them to defeat the Pacers by four points in the game seven final. Patrick Ewing would get his first chance at an NBA ring. The Western Conference Playoffs were a little more surprising. Ok maybe a little more surprising is an understatement. The Seattle Supersonics who led the league in wins during the regular season, were victims of the greatest upset in NBA history. They lost to the eight seeded Denver Nuggets led by Dikembe Mutombo in five games. The Nuggets didn't give up then either, as they took the Utah Jazz to seven games before losing by ten points in the last game of the season. The Utah Jazz advanced to the second round by defeated the evenly matched San Antonio Spurs. Both teams were separated by two games in the regular season with the Spurs finishing ahead of the Jazz. Despite having the regular season advantage the Spurs lost in four games. The other two series went to plan as Phoenix swept Golden State and the Rockets beat the Blazers in four games. Bother semi-finals series were filled with excitment as both went to seven games. The Houston Rockets beat the Phoenix Suns in a high scoring series in which atleast one team scored in triple-digits in all but the first game. The Rockets finished off the Suns with a ten point victory in Houston. As earlier mentioned, the Jazz defeated the Nuggets, who just didn't want to go away, in seven games as well. In the Western Conference Finals, the Rockets had little problem disposing of the Jazz. Despite the five game win, only one game in the series was decided by more than ten points. The NBA Finals matchup was one for the ages. The Knicks pushed the Rockets to seven games, the third straight seven game series for the Knicks. The Knicks had the series lead after five games, but the Rockets won game six by the ever-so-slim margin of two points. The game was sealed by a block by Olajuwon in the closing seconds as John Starks attempted a three-pointer. Both teams struggled to even score in the 90's as the offensively-retarded series was still was a memorable one. Game seven was won by the Rockets by a 90-84 score. Hakeem Olajuwon was named the Finals MVP. That my friends, is the 1993-1994 N.B.A. season.
The 93-94 season was when I became a hardcore hoops fan and started watching all the games I could. Me being from L.A., what I remember most was that the lakers drafted George Lynch in the first round, and Van exel in the second round. NVE started ahead of Sedale Threat (who was awsome if you're too young to know about him) and NVE broke a franchise record for 3's in a season by hitting 123 (yes, that's it). Magic Johnson had the previous record with 106. That year was also big game james worthy's last year. They finished with only 33 wins I believe, and went out the following year and drafted Eddie Jones and signed Cedric Ceballos, and they never looked back at the lottery... I also remember the Finals, Rockets and Knicks, game 7, I was cheering for the Rockets. John Starks chokes and goes 2-18fgs. The rockets had scoring rookie pg off the bench in Sam Cassel, and Hakeem just outplayed Ewing, which was a rematch of their Georgetown vs Houston battle 10 years before. Ah...memories....
Nice recap. I remember the Robinson-O'Neal race. When I first heard the news that Robinson had hit 71, I needed to look again in disbelief. I thought it was a misprint. To think that basketball was over after MJ to being treated with such a season was fantastic. There were also quite a few strong rookie campaigns that I remember from the season, like Webber, Penny, Baker, NVE, and Mash, who I thought should have won the ROY.
What a recap...the best I'v seen thus far. Great job sunsfan. :thumbsup: I remember this season like it was yesterday. I was pulling for the Rockets all the way. Hakeem is one of my favorites all-time. It was also nice to see another team besides the Bulls show some dominance.
What a matchup Chicago and Houston would have been. Jordan was always unstoppable, but Olajuwon in those two years that he won a title, was just as unstoppable, in some cases, maybe even more so. Those 2 players in their prime, I believe were the best we have ever seen in history. Houston would just never give up, how many times did they have their backs to the wall and they still came out on top, amazing. Maxwell, Smith, Cassell, Horry, and Elie hit so many clutch shots as well, so come the final minutes, you knew Olajuwon was going to get the baskeball, but you had no idea who was going to beat you.
Nice recap. I must say I'm one of the guys who gave up one the NBA when MJ retired. I was still following it but it wasn't the same without MJ in it. Looks like I missed a great deal.
I gotta second the Bulls-Rockets matchup. That woulda been something. Even in '97 and '98, when they had Sir Charles and Glide. But you captured the essence of this season, perhaps the last one where seemingly every team came in with a clean slate.
Thanks for the recap. Unfortunately, I will always remember the Rockets as the team that started the isolation game. You could script their offense, dump to Olajuwan, wait for the double team, then work around to Cassell, Horry, Bullard, etc. for the open jumper. That illegal defense rule did not open up offenses but in fact closed down the offense by slowing the game down tremendously. Couldn't Starks hit one shot?
I recall watching the playoffs and I must admit that this was the most impressive preformance of a center in the history of basketball. Hakeem entered the playoffs and destroyed awesome centers, I mean made them look absolutely silly. David Robinson, Dekembe, and countless other I don't remember weither this was the year he made shaq cry or not but absolutely awesome.
Love that season because Houston won don't know if we would have beat Jordan but kinda happy I didn't have to find out.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">3-PT Shootout Winner: Mark Price from the Clevland Cavaliers</div> Only good thing lol.. nah it was still a good year.. but would of been better with another great year with Jordan in their.
Houston would've handled the Bulls. Who's gonna stop the Dream? Clyde and MJ were rivals, same type o game. Although, I think the Clyde "the glide" is a lil bit more graceful in the air. His nickname says it all, he glides..
If michael hadn't left, the bulls woulda won the west and the finals and mj woulda gotten another league mvp. As for cylde and and mj dualing it out in the playoffs. No contest. He's michael jordan, com on.
MAn your good at making a recap of a season. I was too young then to remeber. i wish i was a bit older it seemed more interesting those days with mj. *sigh*
What a depressing recap...I am a huge suns fan and these were the golden years for me. Not really that golden though...They never won
