The 1995 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1994–95 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The series pitted the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic against the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Houston Rockets. Much pre-series hype concerned the meeting of the two All-Star centers—Shaquille O'Neal of the Magic and Hakeem Olajuwon of the Rockets—a matchup some compared to the Bill Russell–Wilt Chamberlain games of the 1960s. The Rockets swept the Magic, repeating as champions and becoming the lowest-seeded team ever to win the Finals.
In the 1995 playoffs, the Rockets became the first NBA team to win nine road playoff games and to beat four 50-win teams in a single postseason. It was the second NBA Finals sweep in the 2–3–2 Finals format (after the Detroit Pistons did so against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1989). The Rockets also became the first repeat NBA Champion in history to keep the title with a sweep. In addition, the Rockets became the first team in NBA history to win the title without having home-court advantage in any of the four playoff rounds since the playoffs was expanded to a 16 team format in 1984. Coincidentally, this feat would also be achieved in the NHL by the New Jersey Devils that same year, when they won the Stanley Cup over the Presidents' Trophy winning Detroit Red Wings.
The Orlando Magic, making their first NBA Finals appearance, began the series at home, hosting the defending champion Houston Rockets. With the Magic up 110–107 late in Game 1, Nick Anderson missed four consecutive free throws in the closing seconds of the game, and Kenny Smith hit a three-pointer, tying the game and sending it to overtime as well as setting a new Finals record, with the most three-pointers in an NBA Finals game with seven (later broken by Ray Allen, who hit eight three-pointers during Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals). The more experienced Rockets went on to win in overtime and eventually swept the Magic, winning their second consecutive NBA Championship. In achieving this, they earned the distinction of being the only team to win both championships during Michael Jordan's first retirement (although Jordan did return in the closing months of the 1994–95 season), in addition to being the only team other than the Chicago Bulls to win multiple championships in the 1990s. This was also the second consecutive 90s championship series not featuring the Chicago Bulls, a streak the Bulls would end in 1996.
The season-ending documentary Double Clutch by Hal Douglas, was released by NBA Entertainment to coincide with the Rockets' championship season.
As of 2026, the Houston Rockets, as a 6th seed in the 1995 playoffs, remain the lowest-seeded team to win the NBA Finals. They also remain the most recent team to win a championship despite winning less than 50 games in a full 82-game regular season.
Background Houston Rockets
The Rockets entered the 1994–95 season as defending champions. They had won their first eight games of the season, the first defending champions to have won their first eight games of their season since the 1987-88 Lakers. However, they struggled to maintain last season's form due to injuries and off-court-distractions. On February 14, the Rockets acquired Clyde Drexler from the Portland Trail Blazers, but the trade of a hometown hero (Drexler was a teammate of Olajuwon at the University of Houston) did not improve matters, and the Rockets settled for the sixth seed with a 47–35 record.
However, Houston once again lived up to its Clutch City reputation come playoff time. En route to the Finals, the Rockets defeated three teams with 55 or more victories. They began by ousting the Utah Jazz in five games (the Rockets trailed 2–1 after three games), then repeating last season's comeback effort over the Phoenix Suns (wherein the Rockets trailed 3–1 after four games). In Game 7 of that series, Phoenix led Houston 51–42 after the first half before Houston mounted a comeback to get the series win, 115–114. After dispatching the Suns, the Rockets upset the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in six games of the conference finals, in which the first five games of the series were won by the road team, to become the first six seed to reach the NBA Finals since 1981. Like in the 1994 Finals, Olajuwon outplayed his contemporary at center, the league's Most Valuable Player, David Robinson.
Orlando Magic
The Magic were only in their sixth season of existence, but they were a team on the rise. Led by All-Stars Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, new acquisition Horace Grant, and franchise cornerstones Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott, the Magic rolled through the Eastern Conference, winding up with a then-franchise best 57–25 mark.
Orlando's road to the Finals began with a convincing 3–1 series win over the Boston Celtics, which was the last game at the famous Boston Garden. They followed it up with a six-game ouster of Michael Jordan (returning from an 18-month retirement) and the Chicago Bulls in the second round, and in the conference finals, they vanquished the Indiana Pacers in a tough seven-game series.
Road to the Finals
Houston Rockets (Western Conference champion) Orlando Magic (Eastern Conference champion)6th seed in the West, 11th best league recordRegular season1st seed in the East, 4th best league recordDefeated the (3) Utah Jazz, 3–2First roundDefeated the (8) Boston Celtics, 3–1Defeated the (2) Phoenix Suns, 4–3Conference semifinalsDefeated the (5) Chicago Bulls, 4–2Defeated the (1) San Antonio Spurs, 4–2Conference finalsDefeated the (2) Indiana Pacers, 4–3
Regular season series The Orlando Magic won both games in the regular season series:
1995 NBA Finals rosters
Houston Rockets
Orlando Magic
Series summary Game Date Road team Result Home team Game 1 June 7 Houston Rockets 120–118 (OT) (1–0) Orlando Magic Game 2 June 9 Houston Rockets 117–106 (2–0) Orlando Magic Game 3 June 11 Orlando Magic 103–106 (0–3) Houston Rockets Game 4 June 14 Orlando Magic 101–113 (0–4) Houston Rockets
This was one of only two NBA Finals in which the team who did not have home court advantage swept the series, (the other being the 1975 Finals, in which the Golden State Warriors swept the Washington Bullets).
All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).
Game 1
Orlando led 110–107 with 10.5 seconds left, when Nick Anderson was intentionally fouled to send him to the free-throw line. Normally a respectable free-throw shooter (70.4 percent in the regular season), Anderson missed both of his free throws, but was able to grab the offensive rebound after the second miss and was fouled again. Anderson shockingly missed the next two free throws, and Houston grabbed the rebound, and would tie the game with 1.6 seconds left on Kenny Smith's 3-point shot. The shot was one of Smith's seven made 3-point shots, setting a then-Finals record. In overtime, Hakeem Olajuwon tipped in a missed finger roll by Clyde Drexler with three-tenths of a second left to win the game. Olajuwon finished the game with 31 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 blocks while Kenny Smith recorded 23 points and 9 assists. Despite the Rockets miracle comeback, the game would ultimately known for Anderson's four consecutive missed free throw.
Game 2
Hakeem Olajuwon recorded a double-double with 34 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Rockets to a 117–106 victory and a 2–0 series lead. The Magic, on the other hand, became the 2nd team in NBA Finals history to lose the first two of their four home games (and the last until 2026).
Game 3
Robert Horry hit a three-pointer to give Houston a 104–100 lead with 14.1 seconds left. Orlando's Anfernee Hardaway then missed a three-pointer, and the rebound deflected off Dennis Scott and out of bounds with 6.8 seconds left, turning the ball over to Houston. Clyde Drexler was immediately fouled. He missed his first free throw and made the second for a 105-100 Rockets lead with 5.9 seconds left. Nick Anderson hit a three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left to bring the Magic within two points, and then Sam Cassell was immediately fouled. He needed to make both free throws to likely seal it, but missed the first. He made the second to give the Rockets a three-point lead with 2.2 seconds left. After a timeout to advance the ball to midcourt, the Magic had one last chance to tie the game and force overtime, but Hardaway missed a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded. The Rockets held on for a 106–103 win in Game 3 to take a 3–0 series lead and were one win away from their second consecutive NBA title.
Game 4
At the end of the first half, the Magic had a 4-point advantage over the home team, Rockets. However, the Rockets had another notable comeback as they outscored the Magic 66–50 in the second half, thus winning their second consecutive NBA championship. Olajuwon outscored O'Neal by 10 points and capped off the sweep by hitting a memorable yet uncharacteristic 3-pointer in front of O'Neal. When accepting the Larry O'Brien Trophy on the floor of The Summit, Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich said "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion!"
Olajuwon, with his 35-point and 15 rebound performance, was named Finals MVP for the second straight year. By winning his second straight NBA Finals MVP award, Hakeem Olajuwon became the sixth player to win the award on multiple occasions, joining Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan. Jordan and Olajuwon at the time were the only players to win the award consecutively.
Game 4 remains the most recent NBA Finals game played in Houston to date.
Olajuwon v. O'Neal Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal statistical performance in the Finals:
1995 NBA Finals Gm 1Gm 2Gm 3Gm 4TotalsHakeem Olajuwon3134313532.8 ppgShaquille O'Neal2633282528.0 ppg Although both centers played well, Olajuwon outscored O'Neal in every game of the series and became one of the few players in NBA history to score at least 30 points in every game of an NBA Finals series.History of the NBA Finals: Hakeem Olajuwon: The NBA’s Best In The Mid ’90s, hollywoodsportsbook.com, accessed February 16, 2007.NBA Finals Records , Basketball.com, accessed February 16, 2007. O'Neal later acknowledged that this loss was crucial for his development, noting that Olajuwon was the only center he could not intimidate with his size and athleticism.
Player statistics
Houston Rockets
| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 9.5 || .455 || .000 || 1.000 || 2.8 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.5 || 3.0 |- | align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 23.3 || .429 || .467 || .833 || 1.8 || 3.0 || 1.8 || 0.0 || 14.3 |- | align="left" | || 3 || 0 || 1.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | || 4 || 4 || 40.5 || .450 || .154 || .789 || 9.5 || 6.8 || 1.0 || 0.3 || 21.5 |- | align="left" | || 4 || 4 || 40.3 || .649 || .571 || .900 || 4.3 || 3.3 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 16.3 |- | align="left" | || 4 || 4 || 46.8 || .434 || .379 || .667 || 10.0 || 3.8 || 3.0 || 2.3 || 17.8 |- | align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 14.3 || .500 || .000 || 1.000 || 1.8 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 1.0 |-! style="background:#FDE910;" | align="left" | || 4 || 4 || 44.8 || .483 || 1.000 || .692 || 11.5 || 5.5 || 2.0 || 2.0 || 32.8 |- | align="left" | || 4 || 4 || 26.3 || .379 || .421 || .000 || 1.8 || 4.0 || 0.3 || 0.0 || 7.5
Orlando Magic
| align="left" | || 4 || 4 || 40.3 || .360 || .323 || .300 || 8.5 || 4.3 || 2.0 || 0.5 || 12.3 |- | align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 6.5 || .600 || .500 || .000 || 0.5 || 1.5 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 3.3 |- | align="left" | || 4 || 4 || 42.0 || .532 || .000 || .800 || 12.0 || 1.5 || 0.5 || 0.5 || 13.5 |- | align="left" | || 4 || 4 || 43.0 || .500 || .458 || .913 || 4.8 || 8.0 || 1.0 || 0.8 || 25.5 |- | align="left" | || 4 || 4 || 45.0 || .595 || .000 || .571 || 12.5 || 6.3 || 0.3 || 2.5 || 28.0 |-