1993–94 Houston Rockets season

The 1993–94 NBA season was the 27th season for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season in Houston, Texas. The Rockets had the 24th overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, and selected point guard Sam Cassell out of Florida State University, and acquired Mario Elie from the Portland Trail Blazers during the off-season.

The Rockets got off to a great start, winning their first fifteen games of the regular season to tie the 1948–49 Washington Capitols for the best unbeaten record to open a season, while also posting a 14–0 record in November, before the Golden State Warriors surpassed it in 2015, and the Cleveland Cavaliers tied the Rockets' mark in 2024. After losing their first regular season game to the Atlanta Hawks, a 133–111 road loss at the Omni Coliseum on December 3, 1993, the Rockets won their next seven games as well, falling just one victory shy of tying the 1969–70 Knicks, (23–1) for the best record with one defeat in NBA history.

However, the Rockets would slow down as the season progressed, at one point losing four games in a row in January. Still, they held a 34–12 record at the All-Star break, and finished in first place in the Midwest Division with a 58–24 record, a franchise record that stood until the 2017-18 team recorded their 59th win; the Rockets earned the #2 seed in the Western Conference.

Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.7 blocks per game, and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year, ahead of David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls; Olajuwon was also named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, also beating out Robinson by a narrow 23 to 22 votes. He was also named to the All-NBA First Team, to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and was selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In addition, Otis Thorpe averaged 14.0 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, while Vernon Maxwell provided the team with 13.6 points, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and also led them with 120 three-point field goals, despite shooting .298 in three-point percentage, Kenny Smith contributed 11.6 points and 4.2 assists per game, and second-year forward Robert Horry provided with 9.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Off the bench, Elie played a sixth man role averaging 9.3 points per game, while Cassell provided with 6.7 points and 2.9 assists per game, Scott Brooks contributed 5.2 points per game, and Carl Herrera averaged 4.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Elie finished tied in sixth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and head coach Rudy Tomjanovich finished in fourth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the 1994 NBA playoffs, the Rockets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 3–1 in the Western Conference First Round. In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the Rockets trailed 0–2 to the 3rd–seeded Phoenix Suns, but would win the series in seven games, then defeat the 5th–seeded Utah Jazz, 4–1 in the Western Conference Finals.

In the 1994 NBA Finals, the Rockets defeated the New York Knicks in seven games after trailing 3–2, and won their first ever championship in franchise history; it was the Rockets' third NBA Finals appearance, after 1981 and 1986. Olajuwon was the only player of the 1985–86 Rockets to still be on the 1993–94 team. By winning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award, Olajuwon also became the first player to win regular season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP in the same season. The Rockets also became the first team from the Midwest Division since the Milwaukee Bucks, 23 years prior to win the NBA title.