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Rockets, Bulls, Spurs: Championship caliber contracts: 1995-1999

By N.B. Lindberg

San Antonio Spurs players Sean Elliott (L), Mario Elie (C) and Tim Duncan watch from the bench as the Spurs lose to the New York Knicks during game three of the NBA Finals 21 June, 1999 at New York's Madison Square Garden. The Knicks won the game 89-81. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO/ROBERT SULLIVAN (Photo by ROBERT SULLIVAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP via Getty Images)
San Antonio Spurs players Sean Elliott (L), Mario Elie (C) and Tim Duncan watch from the bench as the Spurs lose to the New York Knicks during game three of the NBA Finals 21 June, 1999 at New York's Madison Square Garden. The Knicks won the game 89-81. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO/ROBERT SULLIVAN (Photo by ROBERT SULLIVAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP via Getty Images) /
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NBA (Photo by JEFF HAYNES / AFP) (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images) /

1995 NBA Champion: Houston Rockets
Season Salary Cap: $15,964,000
Championship-Caliber Contract: Otis Thorpe

This award should really go to Clyde Drexler, but his contract was acquired midseason for Otis Thorpe’s so that’s why Otis Thorpe gets the nod as the Championship Caliber Contract. The ‘95 Rockets are one of the worst championship teams ever. They won only 47 games and had to battle their way through the western conference playoffs just to reach the finals. The difference-maker for the Rockets was their acquisition of Clyde Drexler.

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He was the Rockets best player after coming over from Portland and helped lead the Rockets to a second championship in a row. In 35 regular-season games, he produced 5.2 Win shares and then another 3 in the playoffs. That level of production was worth $3.14 million in value, 19.7 percent of the salary cap. Clyde was Houston’s second most valuable player, to Hakeem Olajuwon, in almost half the games.

Back to Otis Thorpe, the “actual” championship-caliber contract. All Houston had to offer was a 1st round pick and Thorpe to pry Clyde the Glide out of the Pacific Northwest. Thorpe somehow made more than Clyde Drexler in the 1994-95 season, $2.578 million compared to $1.578 million. This is one of the rare midseason trades that pay off the same year.

Portland used their extra first-round pick to snag Randolph Childress. He would tear his ACL shortly after entering the league and be overseas after 51 career NBA games. Otis Thorpe’s contract got the Rockets Clyde Drexler. Clyde Drexler got the Rockets the ‘95 NBA championship. Ergo, Otis Thorpe’s contract got Houston a championship and is thus a championship-caliber contract.