This spring marks the 30th year anniversary of the New York Knicks 1994 Eastern Conference Championship team.
The Knicks, coached by NBA Legend Pat Riley, had made their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1973. New York unceremoniously bowed out to the Houston Rockets in a hard-fought seven-game series. Although the Knicks came up short, this season is still remembered as one of the best in team history.
The 1994 NBA Finals featured a matchup of two of the best centers in NBA history. The Rockets were led by 6’10 Hakeem Olajuwon. The Nigerian-born Olajuwon led Houston with 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.6 blocks per game during the regular season.
The Rockets Center captured the 1994 MVP Award, and was named 1994 Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-NBA. Olajuwon was the NBA’s best player in 1994 to say the least. New York was led by their 7’0 Jamaican franchise player Patrick Ewing from Georgetown. In 1994, Ewing posted 24.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.7 blocks per contest. The Knicks big man finished fifth in MVP voting and was named the starting center for the Eastern Conference All-Star squad.
This was a seven-game war that pitted two of the very best the league had to offer against one another.
The 1994 season marks the last occurrence in which New York has had three players named as all-stars. Ewing, power forward Charles Oakley and guard John Starks all represented the East during All-Star Weekend. New York’s 57 wins was the team’s second-highest total in franchise history. The 1994 season marked the last time the Knicks were crowned Atlantic Division Champions until the 2013-2014 season. This was their first time winning the division in back-to-back years since 1954.
And it was the first year that #23 walked away from the game.
Michael Jordan sent shock waves worldwide when he abruptly retired from the Chicago Bulls following the Bulls’ 1993 Championship run. Jordan famously retired prematurely at 30-years-old to pursue a career as a professional baseball player. Chicago won three consecutive titles from 1991-1993. Jordan retired without the Bulls being dethroned. With the Bulls not at full strength teams around the NBA saw this as an opportunity to steal one while Jordan was away. Who knew how long this foray into professional baseball would last? Jordan was king of the court when he stepped away, every player and coach was aware of this.
The Knicks triumph through the Eastern Conference was no cakewalk. Despite being without Jordan, Chicago still managed to win 55 games in 1994 behind forward Scottie Pippen. New York was heavily favored to win their second-round matchup against Chicago. The Bulls played the Knicks tough the entire series. It came down to a decisive seventh game for the Knicks to eliminate the Bulls 87-77 to move on to the conference finals. A controversial foul call on Pippen by official Hugh Hollins sealed the deal for New York and sent Chicago home without a championship for the first time since 1990. Over the years some have questioned the validity of the call, citing an effort by the league to get the Knicks on the game’s grandest stage. Based on the footage, Hollins does appear to have made a critical error that ultimately played in the Knicks’ favor. New York would advance to the next round.
The Knicks Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the Indiana Pacers wouldn’t prove to be any easier. The Pacers were an up-and-coming team that was a carbon copy of the Knicks. Indiana’s defensive-minded approach was tough to overcome. Hard fouls and fights were just as much a part of the Pacers’ DNA as it was New York’s. The Knicks were staring themselves in the face. One way to overcome a lack of talent on the basketball court is to be more physical than your opponent, something the Knicks did well. However, the Pacers featured their own band of misfits. Antonio Davis and Dale Davis were two stallions that favored bodybuilders more so than they did basketball players. Reggie Miller was one of the most clutch players the league had to offer. Derrick McKey and Rik Smits were more than viable contributors on both ends of the court.
The series was not short on theatrics. Spike Lee has been a staple at Knick games since the 1980s. He and Miller engaged in a verbal battle famously remembered for Miller grabbing his crotch on live television. In game five, Miller performed for the ages. The Pacers trailed New York by 12 points heading into the fourth quarter. At the time Miller had scored only 14 points. By the time the game was over Miller tallied 39 points in one of the greatest fourth-quarter performances in NBA playoff history, giving the Pacers a 93-86 victory. The loss put the Knicks on the brink of elimination. New York rallied with a game six win in Indiana and sealed the Eastern Conference Championship with a 94-90 win at Madison Square Garden in game seven. This marked the Knicks’ seventh trip to the NBA Finals in team history and its first in 21 years.
The 1994 NBA Finals played out just as advertised. It wasn’t a pretty series by any stretch of the imagination. The Rockets and Knicks were unlike the teams the NBA had watched compete in June for the coveted Larry O’Brien trophy in previous years. Teams such as Jordan’s Bulls, Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics and Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers ruled the NBA during the late 1980s into the e 1990s. Showmanship and flair were at the forefront during those years. But 1994 was different, if the Bulls were a Ferrari then the Knicks and Rockets were a 1960s Buick, if anything. The two teams mirrored one another in every aspect of the game. Two dominant big men with an entire system of three-point shooters and ferocious defenders dedicated to their success.
The Knicks and Rockets split the first four games evenly heading into game five with a 2-2 series tie. This came as no surprise to many, but what happened during game five was unlike anything we’d ever seen around the world. The O.J. Simpson saga was at its height during the Spring of 1994. On June 17, 1994, Simpson, a former NFL All-Pro running back led police on a 90-minute escapade trying to escape San Fernando Valley that captured America’s attention. The drama took place at the same time game five of the NBA Finals was set to air on NBC. America looked on as the Simpson chase and the NBA Finals shared a split screen. Thirty years later people can still recall their exact actions during this moment. June 17, 1994, has become synonymous with American pop culture. Amidst all the drama, New York defeated Houston in game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead back to Houston. One win would give the Knicks their first title since the 1973 season.
The Rockets were ultimately too much for the Knicks to overcome taking the series in seven games. Starks shot 2-18 from the field in the final game with Houston prevailing 90-84, crowning the Rockets NBA champions for the first time in franchise history. They would repeat the next year as well, after a trade sent all-star Clyde Drexler to Houston from Portland. In the finals, they would defeat a green yet powerful Shaquille O’Neil.
The loss was a difficult pill for the Knicks to swallow. With up-and-coming teams such as the Orlando Magic, the San Antonio Spurs and the Seattle Supersonics, this was a great opportunity to bring the title back to New York City. Jordan’s tenure in baseball turned into an 18-month hiatus which resulted in a return to basketball and the Bulls reclaiming their spot at the top of the mountain. In the NBA, the gap to win a championship can close overnight. Despite the disappointing loss, this team is still revered and loved. The ’90s Knicks embodied toughness, commitment and a desire to win. They were a blue-collar bunch that would take you out by any means necessary. This brand of basketball has long been eradicated by the NBA. Analytics has taken over and the toughness that teams such as the Knicks embodied no longer has a place in the game.
The NBA is a much different league today in comparison to the ’90s. Using your hands to pester a player on offense is now illegal. Physicality that once resulted in a technical foul can now result in a player being disqualified from the game in its entirety. Teams are smaller and more athletic. The fast-paced European style has consumed the league. Yet, there is a nostalgia with the way teams used to conduct themselves. There was a price to be paid driving to the basket. No one was safe, not even Jordan with all his grace and greatness.
The 1994 Knicks represented New York just as well as any sports franchise in its glorious history. What a run it was.
