For theGolden State Warriors, the 1994-95 season could not have gone more wrong. For several reasons.
For starters, the 1993-94 had been great for the Dubs: they had sophomore guardLatrell Sprewellemerge a newly christened All-Star in the absence ofTim Hardaway; they had the Rookie of the Year inChris Webber; and head coachDon Nelsonwas still getting some good production fromChris MullinandAvery Johnson.
(And while he’ll forever be associated with the breaking up of Run TMC just a few years before,Billy Owensdeserves credit for also being a key contributor to that season’s playoff run.)
But after Golden State was swept 3-0 in the first round byCharles Barkleyand the Phoenix Suns, everything seemed to fall apart. Owens was gone. Johnson was gone. Mullin was basically gone, playing in only 25 games that year.
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A dispute with Nelson led to a sign-and-trade for Webber. The Warriors got Hardaway back (and the forever-awesomeManute Bol), but not without realizing that for all the talent that Sprewell had, he was also a complete nut.
On the other end of the ’95 spectrum was the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs, captained by 1995 MVP winner,David Robinson(aka “The Admiral”), achieved the first seed in the West and the best record in the NBA with a 62-win season.
Robinson had been a beast in the regular season, missing only one game and averaging 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 3.2 blocks on 53.0 percent shooting. With him leading the team, San Antonio was considered by many to be the favorite to win it all.
But as everyone knows, the MVP and the top seed in the NBA didn’t win the title that year. The Houston Rockets did, led by the 1994 MVP,Hakeem Olajuwon(aka “The Dream”).
Sir Charles In Charge
The Rockets had only achieved the sixth seed in the Western Conference after a 47-win season, and Olajuwon had come up just fifth in MVP voting after averaging 27.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 3.4 blocks on 51.7 percent shooting during the regular season. It had been an extremely close MVP race, with the best player on the best team winning it out in the end.
Some like to think that Olajuwon found the motivation to push through the Spurs by playing with a chip on his shoulder after losing the MVP to Robinson.
If you ask Olajuwon now, he says he thinks Robinson — who had undoubtedly been the defining factor in becoming the top seed in the NBA — definitelydeserved the MVPthat year and Robinson winning MVP had nothing to do with what happened.
However, what’s known for sure is that Robinson winning MVP didn’t stop Olajuwon from averaging 35.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 4.2 blocks over the course of six postseason meetings with the Spurs, and it definitely didn’t stop him from sweeping the second-leading MVP vote getter,Shaquille O’Neal, and his Orlando Magic.
Now fast forward to 2015, and the Rockets are now in the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1997.
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Led by All-Star shooting guard,James Harden, the Rockets were able to battle back from a 3-1 deficit toChris Pauland the Los Angeles Clippers, making the Rockets just one of the nine teams ever to advance after being down 3-1 in a series.
No one can deny that Harden had a MVP-level season, averaging 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.0 assists over the course of 81 games. Houston had endured a great amount of injuries — which in most cases, should have set them back — yet they still rallied to produce a 56-win season.
But Hardendidn’t win the MVP. Golden State’sStephen Currydid. Thebest player on the best teamwon MVP, the one player in the entire world thatstill perplexes teamsbecause he is simply thefirst of his kind.
Going into the next round that will decide the best in the West, Curry is averaging 28.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals on 43.5 percent shooting from the field, 41.1 percent shooting from behind the arc. Last time a Warriors player averaged that in the playoffs was in 1975, whenRick Barryled the franchise totheir last championship.
There was talk that the Warriorswould have lovedto have seen the Clippers in the next round. There were all kinds of interesting storylines that could have played in with that series likethe rivalry, Northern California against Southern California, battle of the point guards,revenge, etc.
On the surface, a Rockets-Warriors series doesn’t look all that appealing to basketball fans. The Warriorsswept the Rockets4-0 during the season, winning by an average of 15.25 points.
However, the last time these two teams met was in January, and this Rockets teamlooks a lot differenton paper with a few key players now injured and a couple now back from injury.
So no, the Warriors won’t be going into a rivalry game or looking to avenge a past playoff wrong. But the top-2 MVP candidates going at it to determine who’s the best team in the Western Conference?
It really doesn’t get any better than this.
Next: Harrison Barnes: The Unsung Hero
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