@@bdawg2690 Yep CBS and NBC presentations were wonderful. Then the league had to go takes disneys money and run to ABC/ESPN and the presentation has been HORRIBLE!!!!!
Kemp was litterly up there with best pfs of his ers. He had a stretch of 5 years giving everyone a serious problem. The reignman needs to be in the hall of fame
Hakeem, Clyde, and Kenny the Jet vs Kemp,Payton, and Schrempf. That court. Those unis. Everything is perfect about this. Nothing beats 90s NBA basketball!
Classic game. Seeing the Rockets rally in that game with all those 3s to force OT showed what the heart of a champion is all about. It also was the last game for the Rockets on that fancy court. The following year they switched up the court to just a normal court with a red color paint under the baskets. This was the last hurrah for those Rockets teams of the mid 90s.
So this game was on a Sunday, because Bulls Knicks Game 3 was on a Saturday, and they played Game 4 the very next day, which was unusual. And I recorded BOTH those games on VHS, which I still have. I remember watching this SWEEP game, though. 😎
I went to a ton of Sonics games during these years, I even saw a game from this series live in the building. Of all the players I saw in person back then Hakeem impressed me the most. I saw Shaq, MJ twice during 95/96, Ewing, Stockton/Malone and a bunch of others. I went to so many games back then I can't remember them all. Hakeem impressed me the most live, I saw him a bunch live an that dude moved like a guy a foot shorter than he was. He was so quick an created so much for himself. He was truly a great player.
20:37 the way drexler just snatched that rebound from everyone so quickly looked amazing, long arms... And 90s basketball court design were so cool, like the Rockets here. And NBA on NBC were the absolute best.
There is absolutely no way any current team could match up with the speed and intensity of that Sonics team (best 3pt team at the time), and probably some other teams, maybe even Houston. This series alone proves that MJ played a tough team to win his 96 ring. The Sonics swept the defending champion. They won 55+ games for the 6th straight time.
The Houston Rockets' two-year reign as NBA champions ended with a THUD in this series, the Sonics worked over the Rockets & completed the sweep en route to reaching the Finals that year, where they would lose to that historic Bulls team in the Finals.
Houston was lucky they never faced Seattle in 94 and 95 cuz they had no answers for Kemp and Payton. Thats why they traded everyone for Barkley cuz he was the only one who could go at Kemp.
Build a brick wall around Hakeem. And if he kicked it out to the three-point line, the sonics would rush out and guard the wing quickly but also. the rockets were weak at the PF position
@@tylerriley2587 with team defenders like GP and Hawkins playing the passing lanes it was a nightmare to move the ball. Houston was suffering a lot in this series
“Never underestimate the heart of a champion!” -Rudy Tomjanovic The 2-time defending champions Rockets didn’t just come to lie down to die. Down 3-0 and down by 20 points in the 4th quarter of Game 4, they showed the heart of a champion and mounted an unbelievable comeback to force the game to OT. Though the Rockets lost in OT and were eventually swept, they fought to the bitter end. Unlike the Bad Boys in 1991 who walked out with unsportsmanlike behaviour after being swept by the Bulls, the Rockets left with their heads held high and walked out like a true champion.
A lot of people might say Seattle was a thorn to the Rockets during their run. But I look at it as the Sonics got the Rockets when they weren't at their peak. In 1993, the Rockets were an up-and-coming team that pushed a better Sonics team to seven. In 1996, the Rockets weren't at their healthiest and Seattle was loaded with talent that season. It's a mystery to wonder what would happen in Seattle had faced Houston in the 94-95 seasons. But I almost am inclined to say Houston would've gotten by them at least one of those years. Of course, this series was what led Houston to grab Charles Barkley the next year. The gamble paid off as the Rockets did beat Seattle in 97, but by then, Utah was a better team and they won in six tough games.
@@MDBBall I was talking playoffs and not the regular season. Seattle was a great team. But if they would’ve met in 94, I think the result would had Houston winning. But Denver had to spoil it.
@@KWCline91Garbage, Seattle was the best team in the league 93-94, that was their chance to win the chip, Massive choke from 2-0 up in a 5 game series unfortunately vs Denver. They had Houston's number come playoff time. Knocked them out of the playoffs the year before in 92-93 In 6 games IIRC.
If this were any other year, this Seattle squad would have had a REAL chance to win the championship, but they had there best regular season ever, the same year the 96 Bulls had (arguably) the best overall season ever.
Even when that period they started doing a whole bunch of 3s.. it's still better than today since most of the game is still involving defense, tough shots, and most of all, physical
Facts! They always gave the Rockets problems. They were just a bad matchup for the Rockets in the 90’s and they also prevented them from facing the Bulls in the Finals in the 90’s. That would’ve been something to see…
Notice the Sonics were always a better team than Houston because Olajuwon never had a team capable of beating Seattle. That's because the one time he had a #2 go to guy, Ralph Sampson; he was hurt. When he finally got Drexler, he had to lose Thorpe. That's a key peice. Of course you take the trade, but you gotta fill the PF role ASAP. When Barkley came, Olajuwon lost Horry and Cassell. That hurt. Olajuwon was always getting players by losing good players in the process. That's why Olajuwon only has 2 chips. Context is key.
When the NBA had "real" games. Those were exciting times. The 80's Showtime era and the 90's. That's it. Nowadays, it's just a different style ball game.
I like it how the nba court's had much detail on them, like this with the Houston Rockets fire and smoke Charlotte Hornets with the ball at the free throw line , Orlando Magic
Miss these days. When the NBA had a bunch of team rivalries instead of everyone wanting to be friends. Actual defense also being played. There's some really good talent in today's game but today's league doesn't even come close to how good it was in the 90s.
Detlef and Kemp exploited Robert and Chucky at the PF position, while Sam Perkins drew Hakeem out of the paint, creating more opportunities for the Sonics to score at the rim.
@tylerriley2587 Sam and Kenny are just guards. Rockets lost this series because of PF position was a weakness for them. Sonics were just a stronger defensive team. Kemp and Payton and Schrimpf are great defenders. Rockets always had problems beating Sonics in playoffs the entire decade in 90s. Just their worst matchup. Plus Sam Perkins and Hersey Hawkins on 96 Sonics team too.
@tylerriley2587 It would have been nice to see Bulls and Rockets in 96 Finals with Houston going for 3 peat. But I'm glad Sonics got to 96 Finals because if Jazz had beat them, it would be 3 straight Finals in a row between Bulls and Jazz which would have sucked. Just wished the Rockets beat Jazz. In 97 WCF and all NBA fans would have got to see Jordan vs Hakeem Finals matchup that could have happened if Jordan didn't retire first time after first 3 peat before Rockets back to back titles. Didn't like Jazz playing Bulls two straight Finals. At least 98 Jazz play Bulls in Finals and Rockets in 97 with Sonics in 96. That way the Bulls 2nd 3 beat would have been different teams each Finals.
When the SuperSonics get their team back they'll retire the jerseys of Kemp, Payton, Detlef, Rashad Lewis & Ray Allen. I think that Nate (Mr Sonic) got his jersey retired
If ain't broken, why fix it? Why change the team logo (and so uniform and homecourt design) if it brought two Larrys the previous two (2) seasons? As turned out, the Rockets never won the Title since 1995, while thrice retuned in WCF (1997, 2015, 2018). The old team turned older by trading for Charles Barkley few months later. On the other, this is the first year donned the new Sonics logo that propelled them all the way to the Finals (but the mighty Bulls proved too much), and in a way eased the sting brought by Denver in1994. Trading Kendall Gill for Hersey Hawkins helped too, it seems. As always, thanks for sharing and the zeitgeist brought by 90s basketball.
The Rockets had the heart of a champion but that wasn't enough to save them in this series, the Sonics were just too much of a matchup nightmare for them.
All those Rockets players and fans hollering " we would have beat Chicago "???? Ya couldn't beat the Sonics, and we all seen what MJ and the Bulls did to these same Sonics!!!
Houston always gave the Bulls problems. Nobody was beating the Bulls in 1996, but before that, the Bulls always had issues with the Rockets, and I’m a Bulls fan.
Keep in mind they were the champions back to back , and got swept, the bulls dispatched the sonics in 6 games , the 96’s bull are , were , and will be the best team ever!!
Up until the following year Seattle always had Houston’s number in the playoffs. The rockets have the nuggets and lakers to thank for those 2 championships
