@@usmc29er44 NBC is going to bid for the NBA TV rights deal in 2024. The current one expires next season. They trying to bring back NBA on NBC. Stay tuned.
NBA will never be as good as this again until they bring the physicality back. The 90s had everything: post game, 3-pt, mid-range, drives, etc. Just a beautiful game to witness. A far cry from the 3pt and dunk contest we have now, masquerading as a basketball game.
I wished that NBC was still the broadcasting partner of the NBA because I love their intro from start to finish despite I wasn’t born yet during their era in the 1990s to early 2000s. I love ABC or TNT but NBC always my #1!!!
Man the Rockets we're a shell of themselves, only 74 points against a team with no Patrick Ewing was bad. Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Drexler had a tough 1998 season but still made the playoffs as a 8th seed.
@@NickIntoTech midway thru 1997, Barkley and Houston were the 2nd best team in the league as predicted behind only the antes 72-10, durante 69-13 Chicago BULLS.
@@alectapia1518 yep they were solid 🔥 A bit unlikely they would have been able to beat the bulls in 1996-1997. They were all a bit old at that point. Though 1992-1993 or 1993-1994 rockets could likely defeat the Early 90’s Chicago bulls. (In reg season HOU beat CHI 5 - 1) But They lost to Seattle in a game 7 OT in 93. due to some crappy calls. 1994-1995 Bulls lost to Orlando because they no longer had Horace grant. (Contrary to popular belief Jordan was Still Phenomenal in this series) The rest is history. - P.S As for 1995-1996, Rockets were So injured by end season. I legit think they were lucky to even make the playoffs. And Hakeem was way out of his prime in 96. Meanwhile, Jordan was making the best team in NBA History with 72-10 bulls. Chicago sweeps Houston in 4 like Seattle.
@@NickIntoTech 97 Rockets were strong, not quite over the hill yet but on the hill about to crash from the high Barkley, Drexler, Olajuwon had established from 83-97... 98-02 was the closing chapters for the Rockets big legendary 3... the 97 Bulls like the 96 Bulls just had a stranglehold on the NBA at that time. Make no mistake about it... the 92 Bulls were not better than the 96 or 97 Bulls... the 96-97 Bulls were SUPER confident. They were SUPER heroes on a mission, in their prime, and enjoying very HIGH times. Phil Jackson was more confident having had a 55-27 season without Jordan in 93-94. Pippen had extra peripheral experience as a team leader from 94-95... Jordan was healed emotionally from 93-96... his father's passing added spiritual energy Michael focused in his return on flying as HIGH as he could too him ALL THE TIME... Jordan loved Papa Jordan. MUCHO. Rodman was motivated, he had a HOME for first time since Detroit. And the WORLD LOVED our 96-97 Chicago BULLS. We were ROCKSTARS. Woman loved Metallica, Depeche Mode, Sting, Tupac, Biggie, Smashing Pumpkins, Marc Anthony, Ricky Martin, Big Pun etc. But not more so than the 96-97 BULLS. We had that kind of SMOKE behind US. We were CHICAGO, broad shouldered, and the Best in the world. We had a 3-peat before the 95-96 season and then regrouped and were even taller, longer, more solid, stronger mentally, more talented, and better experienced and as hungry. Jordan for his father and legacy. Pippen for his respect as co-anchor with Jordan, Jackson as a Red Auerbach type coach, Kukoc as an Eastern European in the United States, Rodman for his career as an entertainer, rebounder, and winner and San Antonio had to pay for blaming the 95 WCF on HIM.. In 92-93 or 93-94 yes the BULLS and Rockets would have had a truly competitive FINALS and it would have been tough to predict the outcome in one or two of those seasons. Maybe the 93 Rockets were too shallow off the bench with Garland, Brooks, and I forget who else before they vamped the bench up with the power punches thrown by their little sparkplugs like Cassell, Elie and I forget who else. Herrera is maybe that 3rd guy I'm forgetting and he was as BIG for the 93 as 94 Rockets. 95, again, both teams lacked a PF, I guarantee, the 95 Bulls play the 95 Rockets harder and closer to the chest 🧰 than the 95 Magic. The 95 Bulls and 90's Bulls in general competed more tenaciously than the young and emotional and excited 94-95 Magic. Anybody's guess on a tally between 93-95 if the BULLS and Rockets played a playoff series. 96, it was 2 late tho. The 96 Rockets were thin. The 96 Bulls were undaunted by ALL tasks. The 97 Bulls, Jordan and Pippen and Rodman and Kukoc and Harper had better bodies for their roles than did the 97 Rockets. Drexler, Willis, Olajuwon, Barkley, Eddie Johnson. They had the pieces 🧩. But the BULLS had an energy, a motivation these two 96-97 seasons and they were actually, in a very rare circumstance, actually head and shoulders by at LEAST 2 games in a 7 game series on even the best and most stubborn franchises of those two seasons. 98, The Jazz caught the 98 Bulls by the toe tho.. BUT, Let em go
97-98 was frustrating for a Jordan era fan... the teeter had almost completely fallen off to the SHAQ era prematurely pre-2000.... SHAQ'S Lakers whipped the last of the Glove's GREAT Sonics teams. Kobe was an all-star. Minnesota almost defeated Seattle. Garnett was coming up ⬆️. Shawn Kemp wasn't even a Sonic anymore. Shit was changing 🚼 for a 1990 born Chicagoan... Barkley wasn't the 93 Barkley anymore. Or 95 Barkley. Or 97 Barkley. Ewing, Olajuwon were missing front of rim runner hooks and spin shake layups and missing PRIMETIME games!!! Pippen missed 38 regular season games. I went to the 12/23/1997 game between Chicago and Los Angeles Clippers and it was my first and only Jordan game I ever attended. It was the LAST DANCE for Drexler, Jordan and Pippen as a duo.... It was definitely a TWILIGHT for many many things in NBA history... monumentally BIG goodbyes.... maybe one of the pinnacle Era Endings in all of Sports History... A 6x champion was going to hang it up. The 92 Dream Team Americans were getting VERY VERY OLD by Athletic standards of the day.... The championship windows 🪟 were closing on anybody not named SHAQ... The 98 Jazz seemed strong enough to maybe steal a title or two up until 1999-2000... but 98 was their defining STAND. They represented the West twice in the Finals, swept SHAQ nd Kobe, and nearly ended the Bulls dynasty without a walk off home run by Jordan... But lo and behold it was also the end of the prime line for Utah....as they stayed elite in 99 and 2000... with 37 wins in 50 games and 55 wins and another Midwest Division Title in 2000....but they weren't really capable anymore of hanging with Portland, San Antonio, or Los Angeles to survive the West and challenge the 99 Knicks or 00 Pacers... who if even met in the NBA Finals, the Knicks and Pacers of 99 and 00 were probably most capable of beating Utah before they could realistically handle the stresses of PRIME SHAQ, growth spurting Kobe Bryant, and Duncan and Robinson's interior height, weight and HEAVY 🪨 fortitude...
This was the season Ewing broke his hand and was out for the entire season. Knicks couldn’t do much without Ewing and everyone knew it. Next season when Ewing returned he took them to the finals to get injured right before it started!
@CommonSense8421 I know. I am aware of the NBA TV deal negotiations. NBC bidded $2.5 Billion dollars and TNT won't outbid them. They lost the NBA rights of 30 years to NBA. ABC/ESPN/Amazon have the NBA rights too and they bidded. ABC/TNT let the 45 Day negotiation window pass before NBA let other platforms bid for the TV deal. All of this will be announced after the playoffs once NBA Finals is over.
Rockets had an opportunity to trade for former New York Knick Derek Harper (who was in Dallas) in 1997 but instead chose to stick with the inexperienced Matt Maloney. That cost them in the Jazz series, could've had someone to at least guard John Stockton.
They had a better chance in 97. Lost to Jazz in WCF. You can't blow a 10 point lead with 3 min left in a playoff game especially Game 6. 98 they were up 2-1 in their series vs Utah yet they choked. If they won that series, they probably get to the Finals.
@acnicodemus4734 the Rockets should have kept Kenny Smith or find a way to keep Sam Cassell. Because like you said Matt Maloney was too inexperienced, Derek Harper was good but Sam Cassell and Kenny Smith were younger and better.
@bumblebity2902 They could have still won with Hakeem and Clyde. Rockets had no PG to matchup Stockton. That's why they lost in 97 and 98. Barkley was past his prime when he was in Houston. He even said his body was out of shape back then. That's why Acnicodemus made a good point that they should have gotten Derek Harper for PG.
@@dreamsdontexpiremedia7160 i still don't want to bet any money AT ALL and i did do and will really LOVE superstars patrick ewing and alonzo mourning ALMOST as much as legends hakeem olajuwon kareem abdul-jabbar bill russell and wilt chamberlain
@BrooklynBalla exactly the last season he was actually himself was the season before in 97 when they got beat by Miami after being up 3-1 and he got suspended for game 6
