Barkley`s best chances to win a championship always going to hell by a 3pt shot (93, 95, 97). And KJ: so underrated. He should be a HoF just like Tim Hardaway
Barkley's Suns best chance was not meeting the rockets. They'll lose everytime in a series. One time they did reach the Finals they didnt face the Rockets.
One of the greatest game 7’s in NBA history. That Phoenix Suns team was underrated and they had a chance to go all the way to the NBA championship if they won this series. But that 95 rockets team was the most resilient playoff team I’ve ever seen. Their backs were against the walls in various situations in that playoff and yet they kept fighting and somehow kept coming out on top. “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion” BTW Kevin Johnson treated Kenny Smith like barbecue chicken pretty much the whole series! 🤣
It might not be the BEST Game 7 ever, but it is my all time favorite. It was high level, high quality basketball from start to finish. KJ's signature game, peak Hakeem, young Horry, the last game of 2x champ and six time NBA Finalist Danny Ainge, and of course, the Elie "Kiss of Death".
Wow informative. I didn't know that was Ainge's last game. I sure miss the 80s and 90s NBA. IT was so exciting back then. But I didn't fully appreciate it as a child. Now when I lok back and watch these game highlights I notice how great the TEAM basketball was in the 90s! Phoenix were a loaded team! KJ would be ALL-NBA first team point guard if he wasn't compared to Magic Johnson and John Stockton and Isaiah Thomas. KJ is SUPER!
Phoenix were a loaded team! KJ would be ALL-NBA first team point guard if he wasn't compared to Magic Johnson and John Stockton and Isaiah Thomas. KJ is SUPER! i LOVE watching Kevin Johnson play! His crossovers, clutch shots, epic offensive awareness, and his RARE IN YOUR FACE DUNKS were ICONIC in the early 90's! Allen Iverson said as a rookie he was schooling all the point guards, and had no problem matching up against anyone. Until he played KJ! Iverson said he cried after the game! Kevin Johnson burnt AI and scored 36 on him! AI said he could not stop KJ! He was too smart, intelligent veteran with speed.
Back when the NBA on NBC was just as much a presentation, as it was a sporting event. From the camera angles, to the announcers, to the player interviews. I really miss it.
In my opinion, the Rockets 1995 run was one of the greatest. Didn’t have home court in any round and swept the Magic in the Finals. But I think if Barkley is even 95% for this game, Phoenix wins, they beat SAS in 6 and Magic in 6. These Suns would lose to the eventual NBA champion 3 years in a row. Barkley had the awful luck of running into Prime Jordan and Prime Olajuwon.
it was the greatest run, indeed. In February their record is awful, so they pull a hail mary trade, sending Thorpe to Portland and getting Drexler in return (for the reader : those days you couldn't win in the Nba without 2 bigs). They enter the playoffs as a 6th seed (lowest seed to ever win the Ring). They play a quantity of "win or go home " games that is insane, no one will ever match that number. Two cherries on the cake : the first is the total embarassment of the "so-called" MVP Robinson. The other is the 3 pointer that Hakeem hits to close the Finals sweep of the Magic, with which he separates forever himself from Shaq.
@@elnardowebster2842 you said "those days you couldn't win in the NBA without 2 bigs." For that reason, I had wrote them off. Back in those days it was about rebounding and interior defense, the great centers had great/good power forwards to watch their backs: Olajuwon-Thorpe, Robinson-Rodman, Ewing-Oakley and when Horace Grant landed in Orlando via free agency, you see what happened when he teamed up with Shaq. The Rockets run was towards the end of my sophomore year in high school and many of us had written them off. No home court for any round, those days, home court seemed to matter kind of how in baseball, umpires had different strike zones. I laugh at the kids these days who think guys back then weren't athletic and couldn't shoot the three. They could shoot the three, it just wasn't their preferred weapon of choice. Chicago hit 10 or 11 threes in game 6 at Phoenix. In a lower scoring era of the 90's, that was a lot. Back in those days if you made it to 100 points, you had a pretty good chance of winning. Call me an old far if you will but the game was so much more fun to watch back then. They had rivalries back then, the crowds were more into it, even the misses off the rim sounded better. Who can forget those crowds at the Garden in the 4th quarter with that organ blasting? You had Marv Albert and Matt Goukas or Mike Fratello calling the NBA on NBC with that iconic opening music. It couldn't get better than that. Now you have music playing in the stadium during the games, crowds seem dead except for a few arenas, scores going into the 130's, no defense, no fear of being in the paint.
@@elnardowebster2842 and another thing: I think Shaq peaked at the perfect time to win. When he started to win, the dominant centers in the 90's were getting old: Ewing, Olajuwon, Robinson, Mutombo, Mourning, etc. Look what happened when a young but athletically superior Shaq ran into a prime Olajuwon. I also felt he fled to the west when the Magic were swept by the Bulls in '96 because he saw the writing on the wall that the east belonged to Jordan again.
@@edmondlau511 It was a business move, Shaq wanted to be a rapper and to act in movies. Sounds like you're a 1979er like me, if in 94/95 you were in 10th grade. Cheers from Italy buddy.
This game should be labeled as “Kiss of Death” by Mario Elle. Oh by the way, Rockets stormed back from 1-3 deficit and of officially slammed the last realistic championship door for Sir Charles for good
KJ balled out, left his heart and soul on the floor. Where was Dan Marjerle? He was such a streaky player, horrible timing to have a cold streak. This was also the point of Charles career when he starting dealing with injuries. I forgot how limited he was in this game until watching this clip
Man, this Phoenix team not winning a title is a crime. But when you look at this Houston team, they were stacked as hell. Horry, Clyde the Glide, Hakeem, Kenny Smith, Sam Cassell. Such a tough loss for Phoenix.
Was 13 and 14 when the Rockets won back to back. Best sports years of my life. Back when I was naive and thought players cared about the cities they played for. Great times.
Great memories -- remember watching this with my family, who were in town for my college graduation. Was eagerly waiting to see what the outcome of the game would be while wearing my cap and gown. About two hours after this game, I walked. It made commencement even sweeter. I always wondered how this would have turned out if Joe Klein hadn't put Danny Manning out of commission for the season
This was the Suns franchise last best chance at an NBA title. Including the 2021 team. They were the best team in the NBA that season. Deep and talented. They collapsed, Houston wanted it more. If they would've taken care of business and beat Houston, no one was going to stop them.
That's why we shouldn't judge everything according to rings. Look how close Charles was. One shot or one rebound away. Btw why don't we mention Kevin Johnson among the greatest PG ever?
I cried in 93 when the bulls beat them. Then in 95 I was mad. B ball was the greatest thing ever as a kid I played and watched until I was 35. My body couldn’t take it. To much street ball.
When that Elie shot went in I woke my mom up from screaming from the other side of the house. I remember it like yesterday it was a Sunday afternoon and the day before we had to put down my dog. RIP Sam
Gotta add in the fact he competed with the dream team overseas prior to the ‘93 season or the summer of ‘92 … sure helped get him in shape … so many chances n came up short
I was in the Army at the time and I remember this cocky Sgt who was from Phoenix talking sh*t for days about how Houston didn't stand a chance that year against Phoenix. After this and and me running into him again, I laughed hard in his face and he couldn't say a word, just give me that yeah yeah yeah we got lucky talk. San Antonio wasn't as tough as many thought it would be and the ultra over hyped Shaq and the Magic were SWEPT in the Finals! What a time for Houston after years of being a cursed sports city.
I watched this game from beginning to end back then. It’s stunning to see the lead Phoenix had. Maybe it’s because I was a kid. But there was no point in the game I thought the Rockets would lose.
Phoenix doing a full court press in a tie game 7 w 20 seconds left, leaving an opposing player wide open at the 3 point line, remains one of the weirdest decisions in NBA history.
🤔 Danny Ainge may have become a great GM, but he cost Phoenix in TWO close out playoff games: in the 93' Finals in Game 6, Bulls up 3 games to 2, and the Suns up 2 on the Bulls, he left John Paxson to run at Horace Grant on the baseline, allowing Grant to throw the ball back to Paxson for the wide open game winning 3 with 3 seconds left.. In this game, he ran at Kenny Smith in the backcourt, then ran at Clyde Drexler at the center court logo, leaving his man Mario Ellie wide open for what was ostensibly the game winning 3... 1-against the Bulls...you're up 2...make Horace Grant tie the game...either with a shot or from the line...and Grant wanted no part of either by the way.. 2-against the Rockets...nobody else on the Suns was doubling...Ainge is just freestyling on his own Watch both replays...if I was a Suns fan..I'd petition for him to not ever be allowed in the city again 🤨😂
Just curious if anyone actually watched the game lol. I realize I’m “older” having watched the NBA live since 1983 and watched this game when I was 20 years old. Even the commentators are telling the audience what people are making excuses for. Some of these comments are absurd. Barkley was injured people. You take away Barkleys explosiveness and ability to jump and he is no longer the monster he can be; that was his game. Injuries change everything. And “prime Barkley” was 87-92. Put a healthy CB34 on these 94 or 95 Suns teams and they win it all period.
I still can't believe the Suns didn't win a title, or even get back to the finals. They were loaded. Barkley, KJ, Ainge, Wesley Person and had Danny Manning. This Suns team may have even been more talented than the one that went to the finals. They had four guys average over 15 a game. 7 that averaged over double digits. In today's game, imagine how good they'd be? They weren't great defensively.. They'd excel in today's NBA though.
@@stephaniemalley5694 No he didn't this was his final game. He only played in Portland in 1991-92 and lost to Jordan (and lost to him again when he joined Phoenix the next season).
These were two of the better 3-point shooting teams in the league at the time. In the case of the Rockets, their 3-point shooting greatly complimented Hakeem's inside presence. If they doubled him, he could kick it out to Kenny or Sam for the open three. If they didn't double, he'd dominate on the inside.
The Announcer said that KJ shot 15% from 3 during the regular season but was shooting 50% during the playoffs. That means all his shots was either midrange or layups or he was very bad from three in regular season. Wow, interesting.
