Chicago Bulls: Robert Horry has an interesting take on the ’94 NBA Finals

The Chicago Bulls are notorious for their two three-peats and virtual dominance throughout the NBA during the 90’s. While the greatness can’t be denied, the Houston Rockets were able to snag two titles within that period.

Michael Jordan and the 90’s Chicago Bulls are always in the conversation for some of the most dominant teams ever. While they took 6 of 10 championships in the 90’s, NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets managed to win back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995. As many already know, Michael Jordan retired from basketball briefly during the 93-94 season to play baseball. With the best player in the league out of the way, the run for a title was wide open and the Rockets came out victorious.

However, would the same result have occurred if Jordan hadn’t taken the iconic break? Could the Bulls have won 8 consecutive titles and cemented themselves as the second team to ever do such a thing?

During the Scoop B radio podcast, host Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson asked former Rocket and 7 time NBA champion Robert Horry the same question. Horry, as expected, firmly defended the Rockets and their accomplishments and essentially claimed that they still would’ve come out victorious even if Jordan would have played.

"“I know Scottie has his own opinion and Michael has his own opinion but I truly believe the way that we were playing and that big dominant force, Hakeem Olajuwon; that we had down there was too much.”"

Horry also added that his experience playing under coach Phil Jackson aids in that argument due to his gameplan:

"“I played for Phil and he doesn’t like to double team and you had to double team Dream or he would have 50 on you,”"

Making Sense of the debate

Robert Horry obviously played with Olajuwon and the back-to-back champs so his input is automatically going to be that they’d win regardless.  The 90’s Bulls pulled off two three-peats against some tough teams like the Lakers, Blazers, Suns, Sonics and Jazz but did seem to have trouble with Houston. From 1991-95, the two powerhouses matched up a total of 10 times and the Rockets won 7 of those games. In 1994 specifically, the Bulls and Rockets took home 1 win a piece.

While we’ll never get to see it in action, this would be an extremely entertaining series. The 1994 Rockets took down a well-balanced effort from the New York Knicks, led by Patrick Ewing, in 7 games. Olajuwon was the only player on the Rockets to average over 20 points with the closest being Vernon Maxwell with 13.4 as well as Sam Cassell and Robert Horry with around 10 a piece. Meanwhile, Ewing had players like John Starks and Derek Harper averaging over 16 per game. Olajuwon was certainly the type of player to exceed expectations when it mattered.

With the addition of a young Toni Kukoc and the already stellar play of a developed Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, Michael Jordan could have potentially altered history. Throughout all 6 of his finals appearances, Jordan averaged a remarkable 33.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game in a total of 35 games. Throw in Scottie Pippen averaging anywhere from 15 to 20 points and helping to defend on the wing as well as a physical Horace Grant and some serviceable bench pieces and the matchup becomes really interesting.

Both teams had depth and a superstar at the top of their craft who always performed when it counted. Whether or not Horry is right, the 1994 NBA finals would have certainly been a lot more interesting in the eyes of many had Michael Jordan never retired to play baseball. Jordan did return in ’95 but the Bulls couldn’t get past the young and talented Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, some may argue that Jordan would’ve still been in the swing of things had he not taken the year break and that they could’ve topped the Magic.