Hakeem Olajuwon

The Orlando Magic had taken a 20-point lead on their home floor in Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals, and with the Rockets down 110-107 in the closing seconds of regulation, Kenny Smith buried his 7th three-pointer to tie the game and send it to overtime, the most three-pointers in an NBA Finals game up to that point. The Rockets had clawed back from the edge of a series-opening loss, and in overtime they found Hakeem Olajuwon where he always lived: at the rim, tracking the ball. With three-tenths of a second left and the game still alive, Clyde Drexler's layup attempt came off the mark and Hakeem was already there, tipping the ball through before the clock reached zero. Houston won 120-118 and took a 1-0 series lead on the way to a sweep. The play was not luck; it was positioning, timing, and the particular basketball intelligence that had made Olajuwon the most complete big man in the league. His performance on June 7, 1995 opened a Finals run that sealed his place among the game's immortals.

Championship Year