1995 NBA Finals

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In the 1995 NBA Finals, the Houston Rockets swept the Orlando Magic 4-0.

The Orlando Magic (making their first ever NBA Finals appearance) began the 1995 NBA Finals at home, hosting the defending champion Houston Rockets. With the Magic up by three points late in the Game 1, Nick Anderson missed four consecutive free throws, and Kenny Smith hit a three pointer, tying the game and sending it to overtime. The more experienced Rockets would go on to win in overtime and eventually sweep the Magic, winning their second consecutive NBA Championship.

Like his old friend Hakeem Olajuwon did the previous year, Clyde Drexler experienced the joy of winning a NBA championship at last. The Rockets became the first team in NBA history to win the championship as a sixth seed. In addition, the they became the first in NBA history to beat four 50-win teams in a single postseason en route to the championship.

[edit] Background

In a midseason trade with Portland, the Rockets obtained star guard Clyde Drexler, who had played alongside Hakeem Olajuwon at the University of Houston. Houston struggled in the regular season, and they consequently entered the playoffs as a sixth seed in the Western Conference. They were not expected to defeat the 60-22 Utah Jazz in the first round, the 59-23 Phoenix Suns in the second round, or the 62-20 San Antonio Spurs (led by regular season most valuable player David Robinson) in the Conference Finals. In fact, the Suns led the second-round series 2 games to 0 (just as they did in the same round the year before). However, Houston came back to win the last three games of the series, and then gets past the Spurs to reach the Finals, where they are matched up with the Orlando Magic. With Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, the Magic (with a 50-32 regular season record in the 1993-1994 season) were expected to win the championship. In the 1994-1995 season, the Magic's sixth season, after acquiring rebounder Horace Grant as a free agent from the Chicago Bulls, Orlando compiled a 57-25 record, best in the East and winning the Atlantic Conference title. On their way to the Finals, the Magic defeated the Boston Celtics, Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls, and the Indiana Pacers.

[edit] Trivia

Nick Anderson is well known for his role in sports psychology. After missing four pivotal free throws in the 1995 NBA Finals that led to the defeat of the Orlando Magic to the Houston Rockets, Anderson developed a psychological problem that greatly affected his free throw shooting. His free throw percentage dipped sharply and dropped to 40% at one point. He had developed a fear of shooting free throws as a result of his belief that his missed free throws in the NBA Finals caused the Magic to lose. This was an anomaly as he was considered to be a great shooter. After the help of sports psychologists, Anderson improved his free throw shooting but showed signs of his fear again during the last year of his NBA career.

[edit] Quote of the Finals

• "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion!" - Houston Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich