Remember Us?

Underrate: to undervalue; to not give enough recognition for its quality.

These days, the term underrated seems to get thrown around as frequently as heavy objects during a Chris Brown-Rihanna dispute. Everything that momentarily flies under the radar gets classified as "underrated" until eventually it is talked up ad nauseum until its lack of appreciation inevitably falls on deaf ears thanks to overexposure. Then, it becomes "overrated". When "The Office" first surfaced on NBC, it was so "underrated" that NBC flirted with the idea of cancelling it after its first season. Then, it began to pick some steam and the buzz surrounding the show restored its relevance. Six seasons later, it's overrated. That's what we do here in America. We take something that hasn't been talked about enough and talk about it way too much, like Tom Brady's knee or Jennifer Aniston's hair or Paris Hilton's snatch.

However, if we are to take the definition of the word "underrated" under its proper context(as it is displayed above, thanks to the Webster's Dictionary), then the back-to-back NBA champion Houston Rockets from 1993 to 1995 are the epitome of underrated. In fact, they may very well be the most underrated team of our era(and now, because I said that, they're probably overrated). Those Rockets title teams of the mid-90's, led by Hakeem Olajuwon and coached by Rudy Tomjanovich(who, themselves, could be classified as underrated) seemed to get ignored because their success occurred in between two Chicago Bull three-peats administered at the hands of pro basketball's biggest glory hog/cash cow Michael Jordan. The Jordan Bulls dynasties were just much flashier. They, of course, had Jordan, considered by many to be the greatest basketball player to ever live if not the greatest athlete to ever live. He was flanked by long-time sidekick Scottie Pippen, who rode Jordan's coattails to legendary status the way Seaside skanks rode "The Situation" for TV time. They were coached by Phil Jackson, the greatest coach of our era if not ANY era. They had much more unique characters like rebounding freakshow Dennis Rodman. They were the sizzle AND the steak.

The Rockets, on the other hand, were pushed aside as a very good side order. 15 years after the last Rockets title, nobody in good conscience brings up those two Rockets teams when talking about the all-time greats(even columnist Bill Simmons, who wrote a 700-page book documenting everything that is the sport of basketball, snubbed the '93-'95 Rockets in his list of the greatest teams of all-time). So, with that said, I feel its as good a time as any to get reacquainted with these old Rockets.

While Jordan's Bulls had the more recognizable names, the mid-90's Rockets weren't at a loss for star power either. First and foremost, there was Olajuwon, the best center of the 90's(Yes, better than Shaq. Remember people, Shaq's first scamper into the Finals came in '94-'95 when his Magic were swept by....wait for it.....Olajuwon's Rockets. Shaq wouldn't go on to dominate the NBA and snag him some finger jewelry until 2000-01, long after Olajuwon was washed up.) Unlike Jordan, Hakeem didn't have a legendary sidekick for his first title. The '93-'94 Rockets consisted of Hakeem(who won the MVP that year) and a slew of cagey role players like sharp-shooting guard Mario Ellie, tough guy Vernon Maxwell, the historically clutch Robert Horry and sleek point guard duo Kenny Smith and a rookie by the name of Sam Cassell. None of those men were of the stature of a Scottie Pippen. Hell, none of those men were even the stature of Toni Kukoc. It wasn't until the following year that Olajuwon would get paired with a fellow NBA legend to take some of the load off Hakeem's long shoulders. That legendary sidekick came in the form of former college teammate Clyde "The Glide" Drexler.

Granted, the Hakeem-Clyde Rockets weren't nearly as impressive from a record standpoint as the previous Rockets title team led by just Hakeem(the '93-94 went 58-24 that season and their only struggles in the playoffs came in the Semis against the Suns and the Finals against the Knicks, both teams forcing the series to a clinching 7th game. The '94-'95 Rockets with Drexler and Olajuwon went 48-35 and once again needed 7 games to beat the Suns in the Semis but coasted afterwards including the aforementioned sweep of Shaq's Magic in the Finals.) Still, after coming over from Portland midseason for forward Otis Thorpe, Drexler did his part to shoulder some of the load. In 34 games with Houston during the '94-'95 season, Drexler averaged 21.4 points per game and shot just over 50% from the field in the regular season and then averaged 20.5 a game on 48% shooting in 22 playoff games. The role players did their part to contribute as well. Horry, in his second NBA season with the first Rockets championship team, added 10 points and 5 boards a game, occasionally stretching the court with a few shots beyond the arc. Kenny Smith shot at least 40% from three both years, adding close to 10 points per game as well.

Once Jordan came back from "retirement" in '96, though, all of that was forgotten. Olajuwon's greatness was eventually overshadowed by the rise of Shaq in Orlando(and eventually L.A.). All of the glory behind Drexler finally winning his first championship ring was brushed away by the fact that it came while Jordan(who denied Drexler in '91-'92 while Drexler was with the Blazers) was on hiatus. Robert Horry would go on to win five more rings with the Lakers and Spurs and his last-second theatrics in big spots with those teams pretty much erased his championship start with Houston. Kenny Smith would eventually make his biggest basketball contributions as comic foil to Charles Barkley as part of the TNT broadcast team. Sam Cassell would float around the NBA for a decade after his two rings becoming more known for his ugly mug and his "Big Balls" dance. Even Otis Thorpe, after winning a ring with Houston and then being traded in the middle of Houston's title defense for Drexler, would become more famous for being part of the Pistons-Grizzlies trade for a 2003 1st round draft pick(which turned out to be #2 overall, which ended up being infamous bust Darko Milicic instead of guys like Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony or Dwayne Wade). As for Tomjanovich, who would go on to lead the Rockets to four more playoff appearances including a Western Conference Finals bid in '96-'97, was dwarfed by Jackson. Adding further insult to Tomjanovich's legacy, Rudy would make a coaching comeback in 2004, succeeding Jackson in L.A., only to leave the Lakers midseason due to health issues and eventually be replaced the next season by......you guessed it....Phil Jackson.

So what place in history do we put a team that, at one point, had the best center of his generation(and one of the 5 or 10 best all-time in Olajuwon), one of the most fascinating and athletic guards of the 90's(Drexler), an all-time great coach(Rudy T) and a who's who of notable sidekicks(Smith, Cassell, Elie, Thorpe, Horry, Maxwell)? Maybe they aren't on par with Russell and Bird's Celtics or Jordan's Bulls? And we can debate for days whether these Rockets could have thwarted the championship hopes of the Duncan's Spurs or Shaq/Kobe Lakers, but in my mind, when talking about the great champions in NBA history, the mid-90's have earned the right to be as much in the middle of that conversation as they were in the middle of those Bulls dynasties.