Every NBA team’s best iteration ever

Houston Rockets: 1993-94

The 1993-94 Houston Rockets do not look like the most imposing team on paper. It was pretty much just Hakeem Olajuwon surrounded by a bunch of role players. Apart from Hakeem, no player on that Rockets team averaged more than 14 points per game or made the All-Star Game, but focusing on that ignores how great and how dominant Hakeem Olajuwon was in the mid-1990s. In 1994, he won his first MVP after averaging 27 points, 11 rebounds, and over 5 combined blocks and steals per game. Not only did Hakeem possess one of the greatest and most lethal arsenals of post moves in the history of the NBA, he was also a dominant defender, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 1994 for the second year in a row.

Alongside him in the front court was Otis Thorpe who was good for 14 points and 10 boards per game, but more important was the bevy of shooters that surrounded Hakeem, enabling him to pass out of double teams to open men waiting on the perimeter to launch a 3. Years before the 3-point shot became the weapon it would become in the 2010s, the Rockets utilized Kenny Smith, Scott Brooks, Chris Jent, and Mario Elie to make it a major part of their offense, going on to lead the NBA in 3-pointers made and attempted that season. Though their offense remained largely mediocre overall, they had the second-best defense in the league, which carried them to their first championship in team history, after defeating the Knicks in seven games. The following season, with the addition of Clyde Drexler, the Rockets would repeat as champions, with Hakeem again solidifying his place as one of the best players in the game’s history.