30 luckiest sports franchises

 10. Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets have two NBA Finals trophies under their belt in their franchise’s history, and if it weren’t for a single horse falling out of the race, they likely wouldn’t have been able to take them home.

The Rockets won the NBA Finals in back-to-back years, with Hakeem Olajuwon leading the team to some postseason dominance in both years before he entered the tail end of his stretch with the team.

In 1994 and 1995, the team was solid in the Western Conference, but lucked out in the fact that the Chicago Bulls, who had been dominating in the years prior, lost their best player before the 1994 season: Michael Jordan.

Jordan had retired for the first time in his career after losing the desire to play basketball after his father’s death, and proceeded to go pursue his dream of being a baseball player. The Bulls had won NBA titles from 1991-1993 with Jordan, and then won them from 1996-1998 when he eventually returned, but the Rockets took advantage of the opportunity that his absence brought.

The Rockets ended up playing the New York Knicks in their first NBA Finals appearance in 1994, rather than the Bulls, and came back from a 3-2 deficit to take home their franchise’s first title. Then, in the next year, they defeated the Orlando Magic, with Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway leading the team, in just four games as the sixth seed out of the Western Conference.

Had it not been for Jordan’s departure from the NBA, the Bulls could’ve won eight straight NBA Finals with the roster they had and how talented Jordan was. However, the Rockets benefited greatly from the Bulls’ brief downfall, and earned the lone titles in their team’s history because of the lucky bounce their way.