1994–95 NBA season

1994–95 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 4, 1994 – April 23, 1995 April 27 – June 4, 1995 (Playoffs) June 7 – 14, 1995 (Finals)
Number of teams	27
TV partner(s)	NBC, TBS, TNT
Draft
Top draft pick	Glenn Robinson
Picked by	Milwaukee Bucks
Regular season
Top seed	San Antonio Spurs
Season MVP	David Robinson (San Antonio)
Top scorer	Shaquille O'Neal (Orlando)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Orlando Magic
Eastern runners-up	Indiana Pacers
Western champions	Houston Rockets
Western runners-up	San Antonio Spurs
Finals
Champions	Houston Rockets
Runners-up	Orlando Magic
Finals MVP	Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston)
NBA seasons
← 1993–94 1995–96 →

The 1994–95 NBA season was the 49th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the Orlando Magic 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals to be crowned champions.

Contents

• 
  1 Notable occurrences
  


• 
  2 1994–95 NBA changes
  


• 
  3 Standings
  
  • 
    3.1 By division
    
  
  
  • 
    3.2 By conference
    
  
  


• 
  4 Playoffs
  


• 
  5 Statistics leaders
  


• 
  6 NBA awards
  


• 
  7 Milestones
  
  • 
    7.1 Debuts
    
  
  
  • 
    7.2 Last games
    
  
  


• 
  8 References
  

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes

Offseason
Team	1993–94 coach	1994–95 coach
Dallas Mavericks	Quinn Buckner	Dick Motta
Los Angeles Clippers	Bob Weiss	Bill Fitch
Los Angeles Lakers	Magic Johnson	Del Harris
Minnesota Timberwolves	Sidney Lowe	Bill Blair
New Jersey Nets	Chuck Daly	Butch Beard
Philadelphia 76ers	Fred Carter	John Lucas
Portland Trail Blazers	Rick Adelman	P.J. Carlesimo
San Antonio Spurs	John Lucas	Bob Hill
Washington Bullets	Wes Unseld	Jim Lynam
In-season
Team	Outgoing coach	Incoming coach
Denver Nuggets	Dan Issel	Gene Littles
	Gene Littles	Bernie Bickerstaff
Golden State Warriors	Don Nelson	Bob Lanier
Miami Heat	Kevin Loughery	Alvin Gentry

• The Houston Rockets became the lowest seeded team to ever win the NBA Finals, winning as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. The Rockets also became the first team to defeat four opponents who had 50 or more wins en route to a title (Utah, Phoenix, San Antonio and Orlando); the only other team ever to accomplish that feat was the 2000–01 Los Angeles Lakers.


• The 1995 NBA All-Star Game was played at America West Arena (now known as Talking Stick Resort Arena) in Phoenix, Arizona, with the West defeating the East 139–112. Mitch Richmond of the Sacramento Kings was named the game's MVP (Most Valuable Player).


• Midway through the season, Michael Jordan returned to the Chicago Bulls after an attempt at a minor-league baseball career. His announcement consisted of a two-word fax: "I'm Back". Since the Bulls had already retired his number 23, he returned wearing number 45. However, he changed back to 23 during the playoffs.


• An era came to an end as the Boston Celtics played their final season at the historic Boston Garden.


• The Portland Trail Blazers played their final season at Memorial Coliseum (renamed as the Veterans Memorial Coliseum as of 2012). They would host a preseason game at the Coliseum in 2009.


• The Chicago Bulls played their first game at the United Center.


• The Cleveland Cavaliers played their first game at Gund Arena (now known as Quicken Loans Arena).


• Due to extensive renovations to the Seattle Center Coliseum (renamed as KeyArena following the season), the Seattle SuperSonics played their home games at the Tacoma Dome, in nearby Tacoma, Washington.


• 
  Grant Hill became the first rookie in professional sports to lead fan balloting for the NBA All-Star Game.


• The Orlando Magic became the first of the four late-1980s expansion franchises to reach the NBA Finals. They were swept in four straight games by the defending-champion Houston Rockets.


• 
  Lenny Wilkens passed Red Auerbach to become the NBA's all-time leader in wins, which stood for 15 years.


• 
  Moses Malone, the only remaining active former ABA player, announced his retirement after 19 NBA seasons. Malone, who came to the professional level without any college basketball experience, retired just in time for a new generation of prep-to-pro stars like Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant to arrive on the scene.


• In an effort to increase scoring, the NBA's competition committee voted to shorten the three-point field goal line to a uniform 22 feet around the basket beginning this season and lasting through the 1996–97 NBA season.^[1]Orlando Magic forward Dennis Scott set a then-single season record for most three-pointers made with 267 during the 1995–96 NBA season (Later surpassed by Stephen Curry, who notched 402 three-pointers in the 2015–16 NBA season).^[2] The NBA would revert to its original three-point field goal parameters of 23 feet, 9 inches (22 feet at the corners) at the start of the 1997–98 NBA season.^[3]


• The Western Conference Finals series between the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets was notable for the lack of home team success. The home team lost each of the first 5 games of the series, with the Rockets finally breaking through with a home win in Game 6.


• The Miami Heat made two blockbuster trades. The first one was 2 days before the season when Miami traded Rony Seikaly to the Golden State Warriors for Billy Owens and Sasha Danilovic. Then, 2 games into the season after a game against the Phoenix Suns, Miami traded Grant Long, Steve Smith and a 1996 1st round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for Kevin Willis and a 1996 1st round pick. The latter trade was so one-sided (Miami missed the playoffs altogether while Atlanta became a contender in the East) that it was credited with spurring the Heat to make their biggest decision in franchise history: hiring Pat Riley to be their coach and top executive.


• In the last game of the regular season for both teams, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Sacramento Kings to obtain the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Had the Kings won, they would have qualified instead. They had missed the playoffs for nine straight seasons. As for the Nuggets, this was their final postseason appearance until 2004.


• For the first time since the 1971–72 season, the league brought the first wave of third jerseys. The Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings released new alternate uniforms for the season.

1994–95 NBA changes

• The Atlanta Hawks added new black alternate uniforms.


• The Charlotte Hornets added new navy/purple alternate uniforms.


• The Chicago Bulls moved into the United Center.


• The Cleveland Cavaliers changed their logo and uniforms, replacing their blue and orange colors with light blue and black. They also moved into the Gund Arena.


• The Detroit Pistons added new red alternate uniforms.


• The Orlando Magic changed their road uniforms to blue pinstripe jerseys, while their primary black pinstripe uniforms became their alternate jerseys.


• The Phoenix Suns added new black alternate uniforms.


• The Sacramento Kings changed their logo and uniforms, replacing their blue and red colors with purple and black. They also added new half black and half purple alternate uniforms.


• The Seattle SuperSonics moved into the Tacoma Dome for the season, due to renovations at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

Standings

By division Atlantic Division v t e W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-Orlando Magic 57 25 .695 — 39-2 18-23 18-10 x-New York Knicks 55 27 .671 2 29-12 26-15 23-5 x-Boston Celtics 35 47 .427 22 20-21 15-26 14-14 Miami Heat 32 50 .390 25 22-19 10-31 9-19 New Jersey Nets 30 52 .366 27 20-21 10-31 13-15 Philadelphia 76ers 24 58 .293 33 14-27 10-31 12-16 Washington Bullets 21 61 .256 36 13-28 8-33 9-19 Central Division v t e W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-Indiana Pacers 52 30 .634 – 33–8 19–22 18–10 x-Charlotte Hornets 50 32 .610 2 29–12 21–20 17–11 x-Chicago Bulls 47 35 .573 5 28–13 19–22 16–12 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 43 39 .524 9 26–15 17–24 17–11 x-Atlanta Hawks 42 40 .512 10 24–17 18–23 9–19 Milwaukee Bucks 34 48 .415 18 22–19 12–29 13–15 Detroit Pistons 28 54 .341 24 13–28 8–33 7–21 Midwest Division v t e W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-San Antonio Spurs 62 20 .756 — 33–8 29–12 20–6 x-Utah Jazz 60 22 .732 2 33–8 27–14 17–9 x-Houston Rockets 47 35 .573 15 25–16 22–19 13–13 x-Denver Nuggets 41 41 .500 21 23–18 18–23 13–13 Dallas Mavericks 36 46 .439 26 19–22 17–24 11–15 Minnesota Timberwolves 21 61 .256 41 13–28 8–33 4–22 Pacific Division v t e W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-Phoenix Suns 59 23 .720 — 32–9 27–14 23–7 x-Seattle SuperSonics 57 25 .695 2 32–9 25–16 16–14 x-Los Angeles Lakers 48 34 .585 11 29–12 19–22 15–15 x-Portland Trail Blazers 44 38 .537 15 26–15 18–23 17–13 Sacramento Kings 39 43 .476 20 27–14 12–29 17–13 Golden State Warriors 26 56 .317 33 15–26 11–30 11–19 Los Angeles Clippers 17 65 .207 42 13–28 4–37 6–24 By conference # Eastern Conference v t e Team W L PCT GB 1 c-Orlando Magic 57 25 .695 – 2 y-Indiana Pacers 52 30 .634 5 3 x-New York Knicks 55 27 .671 2 4 x-Charlotte Hornets 50 32 .610 7 5 x-Chicago Bulls 47 35 .573 10 6 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 43 39 .524 14 7 x-Atlanta Hawks 42 40 .512 15 8 x-Boston Celtics 35 47 .427 22 9 Milwaukee Bucks 34 48 .415 23 10 Miami Heat 32 50 .390 25 11 New Jersey Nets 30 52 .366 27 12 Detroit Pistons 28 54 .341 29 13 Philadelphia 76ers 24 58 .293 33 14 Washington Bullets 21 61 .256 36 # Western Conference v t e Team W L PCT GB 1 z-San Antonio Spurs 62 20 .756 – 2 y-Phoenix Suns 59 23 .720 3 3 x-Utah Jazz 60 22 .732 2 4 x-Seattle SuperSonics 57 25 .695 5 5 x-Los Angeles Lakers 48 34 .585 14 6 x-Houston Rockets 47 35 .573 15 7 x-Portland Trail Blazers 44 38 .537 18 8 x-Denver Nuggets 41 41 .500 21 9 Sacramento Kings 39 43 .476 23 10 Dallas Mavericks 36 46 .439 26 11 Golden State Warriors 26 56 .317 36 12 Minnesota Timberwolves 21 61 .256 41 13 Los Angeles Clippers 17 65 .207 45 Notes z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs y – Clinched division title x – Clinched playoff spot Playoffs Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics. Main article: 1995 NBA Playoffs First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals                         1 San Antonio 3 8 Denver 0 1 San Antonio 4 5 L.A. Lakers 2 4 Seattle 1 5 L.A. Lakers 3 1 San Antonio 2 Western Conference 6 Houston 4 3 Utah 2 6 Houston 3 6 Houston 4 2 Phoenix 3 2 Phoenix 3 7 Portland 0 W6 Houston 4 E1 Orlando 0 1 Orlando 3 8 Boston 1 1 Orlando 4 5 Chicago 2 4 Charlotte 1 5 Chicago 3 1 Orlando 4 Eastern Conference 2 Indiana 3 3 New York 3 6 Cleveland 1 3 New York 3 2 Indiana 4 2 Indiana 3 7 Atlanta 0 Statistics leaders Category Player Team Stat Points per game Shaquille O'Neal Orlando Magic 29.3 Rebounds per game Dennis Rodman San Antonio Spurs 16.8 Assists per game John Stockton Utah Jazz 12.3 Steals per game Scottie Pippen Chicago Bulls 2.94 Blocks per game Dikembe Mutombo Denver Nuggets 3.91 FG% Chris Gatling Golden State Warriors .633 FT% Spud Webb Sacramento Kings .934 3FG% Steve Kerr Chicago Bulls .524 NBA awards Most Valuable Player: David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs Rookies of the Year: Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks and Grant Hill, Detroit Pistons Defensive Player of the Year: Dikembe Mutombo, Denver Nuggets Sixth Man of the Year: Anthony Mason, New York Knicks Most Improved Player: Dana Barros, Philadelphia 76ers Coach of the Year: Del Harris, Los Angeles Lakers All-NBA First Team: F – Karl Malone, Utah Jazz F – Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls C – David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs G – John Stockton, Utah Jazz G – Anfernee Hardaway, Orlando Magic All-NBA Second Team: F – Charles Barkley, Phoenix Suns F – Shawn Kemp, Seattle SuperSonics C – Shaquille O'Neal, Orlando Magic G – Gary Payton, Seattle SuperSonics G – Mitch Richmond, Sacramento Kings All-NBA Third Team: F – Detlef Schrempf, Seattle SuperSonics F – Dennis Rodman, San Antonio Spurs C – Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets G – Reggie Miller, Indiana Pacers G – Clyde Drexler, Portland Trail Blazers / Houston Rockets NBA All-Defensive First Team: F – Dennis Rodman, San Antonio Spurs F – Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls C – David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs G – Gary Payton, Seattle SuperSonics G – Mookie Blaylock, Atlanta Hawks NBA All-Defensive Second Team: F – Derrick McKey, Indiana Pacers F – Horace Grant, Orlando Magic C – Dikembe Mutombo, Denver Nuggets G – Nate McMillan, Seattle SuperSonics G – John Stockton, Utah Jazz All-NBA Rookie First Team: Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks Grant Hill, Detroit Pistons Eddie Jones, Los Angeles Lakers Brian Grant, Sacramento Kings Glenn Robinson, Milwaukee Bucks All-NBA Rookie Second Team: Juwan Howard, Washington Bullets Donyell Marshall, Minnesota Timberwolves Eric Montross, Boston Celtics Wesley Person, Phoenix Suns Jalen Rose, Denver Nuggets Sharone Wright, Philadelphia 76ers Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com Milestones Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NBA game in 1994–95, listed with their first team: Eric Montross, Boston Celtics Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks Grant Hill, Detroit Pistons Jalen Rose, Denver Nuggets Eddie Jones, Los Angeles Lakers Glenn Robinson, Milwaukee Bucks Wesley Person, Phoenix Suns Last games The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NBA in 1994–95, listed with their last team: Jay Humphries, Boston Celtics Tony Campbell, Cleveland Cavaliers Cliff Levingston, Denver Nuggets Manute Bol, Golden State Warriors Sam Bowie, Los Angeles Lakers Kurt Rambis, Los Angeles Lakers Sleepy Floyd, New Jersey Nets Tree Rollins, Orlando Magic Danny Ainge, Phoenix Suns Moses Malone, San Antonio Spurs (The last active player to have played in the American Basketball Association.) Bill Cartwright, Seattle Supersonics References ^ "PRO BASKETBALL; N.B.A. Panel's 3-Point Plan". The New York Times. 1994-09-14. Archived from the original on 2015-11-21. Retrieved 2010-04-20.  ^ "Stephen Curry Stats - Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.  ^ Abrams, Jonathan (2009-10-18). "In Its 30th Year in N.B.A., 3-Pointer Is No Outsider". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-05-06. Retrieved 2010-04-20.  v t e NBA seasons 1940s 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1950s 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1960s 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1970s 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1980s 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1990s 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 2000s 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2010s 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 v t e 1994–95 NBA season by team *_All-Star_Game *_Playoffs *_Finals *_Transactions"> 1994 NBA draft All-Star Game Playoffs Finals Transactions Eastern Atlantic Boston Miami New Jersey New York Orlando Philadelphia Washington Central Atlanta Charlotte Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee Western Midwest Dallas Denver Houston Minnesota San Antonio Utah Pacific Golden State L.A. Clippers L.A. Lakers Phoenix Portland Sacramento Seattle

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