1995 NBA Championship

Lore & Background

In the 1995 playoffs, the Rockets became the first NBA team to win nine road playoff games and to beat four 50-win teams in a single postseason. It was the second NBA Finals sweep in the 2–3–2 Finals format (after the Detroit Pistons did so against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1989). The Rockets also became the first team in NBA history to win the title without having home-court advantage in any of the four playoff rounds since the playoffs was expanded to a 16 team format in 1984. Coincidentally, this feat would also be achieved in the NHL by the New Jersey Devils that same year, when they won the Stanley Cup over the Presidents' Trophy winning Detroit Red Wings.

Reader's Guide

The Orlando Magic, making their first NBA Finals appearance, began the series at home. With the Magic up 110–107 late in Game 1, Nick Anderson missed four consecutive free throws in the closing seconds, and Kenny Smith hit a three-pointer, tying the game and sending it to overtime. The more experienced Rockets went on to win in overtime and eventually swept the Magic, winning their second consecutive NBA Championship. In achieving this, they earned the distinction of being the only team to win both championships during Michael Jordan's first retirement (although Jordan did return in the closing months of the 1994–95 season), in addition to being the only team other than the Chicago Bulls to win multiple championships in the 1990s.

Did You Know?

• The Rockets were the lowest-seeded team (6th seed) to win the NBA Finals, a record they still hold as of 2026.
• They remain the most recent team to win a championship despite winning less than 50 games in a full 82-game regular season.
• This was one of only two NBA Finals in which the team who did not have home court advantage swept the series (the other being the 1975 Finals).
• The season-ending documentary Double Clutch by Hal Douglas was released by NBA Entertainment to coincide with the Rockets' championship season.