1994 NBA Finals vs Houston Rockets

Lore & Background

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. However, Ewing set an NBA finals record in the series with a total of 30 blocks, and tied the single-game record of 8 blocks in Game 5.

Reader's Guide

The Rockets beat the Knicks in Game 7, 90–84, enabling the city of Houston to celebrate its first NBA and fifth professional sports championship (first in an existing league). For his efforts, Olajuwon was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). For the Knicks, Riley had the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first (and to date, the only) coach to lose a Game 7 NBA Finals on two teams, having lost to the Celtics in 1984.

Did You Know?

• This was the first major professional sports championship ever won by a Houston-based team.
• The Knicks set a record for most playoff games played in one season, with 25.
• It was the first championship series since 1990 without the Chicago Bulls.