What is the signature play in the history of each NBA franchise?
Houston Rockets: Hakeem Olajuwon puts David Robinson in a daze
The 1994-95 season was another elite one for Hakeem Olajuwon. Playing for the defending champion Houston Rockets, he put up a career-high 27.8 points along with 10.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.4 blocks and 1.8 steals per game.
Due to Houston’s 47-35 record, those incredible numbers weren’t enough to garner MVP honors. The trophy instead went to David Robinson of the 62-win San Antonio Spurs.
Losing out on the MVP is one thing. Watching the winner take the award in his hands, as Olajuwon did before Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, breeds a different type of motivation on clear display from the reigning Finals MVP.
The Rockets already escaped with a one-point victory in Game 1 but were looking for more in Game 2.
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Olajuwon held the ball in the left corner with Houston up 10 late in the third quarter. As the premier post operator in the NBA, his arsenal consisted of any combination of ambidextrous spins, fakes and hooks no single defender could halt.
Upon sizing up Robinson, Olajuwon unleashed a right to left crossover followed by a trademark right-handed ball-fake Robinson smartly didn’t bite on. But the MVP couldn’t help himself when his opponent spun back the other way and pump-faked a jumper he’d canned plenty of times before, leaving his feet and allowing Olajuwon an open layup.
Not even Robinson, a former Defensive Player of the Year, could hope to slow down Olajuwon in another Rockets victory, shooting 18-for-31 on his way to 41 points.
None of those points, however, nor the agony of falling to Houston in a six-game upset could compare to the sting left by Olajuwon in a moment of utter mockery on the path to a second straight championship.