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#22 Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler (Houston Rockets)
Hakeem Olajuwon had just given Houston its first ever NBA championship pretty much single-handedly. He dragged an otherwise mediocre side all the way to the promised land in 1994.
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The next season was a very different story. With the rise of teams such as Orlando, San Antonio, Indiana and New York emerging, the Rockets were in dire straits and looked to be in a struggle for even a playoff spot.
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Clyde Drexler at the time was having an equally bad time in Portland. So the Trail Blazers granted their talisman his wish of being traded to a contender by sending him to Houston. This was the turning point in the season for both Drexler and the Rockets.
They finished with a still mediocre record of 47-35 and secured the sixth spot in the Western Conference. They were heavily unfavoured to win the title but somehow managed to reach the finals after another colossal performance by their star center, who was now aided by a former MVP candidate.
They defied odds and won the NBA title in convincing fashion, beating the Orlando Magic 4-0.The pair took Houston to Conference Semi-Final in 1996 and the Conference Final in 1997 before losing in the first round in 1998 to the Utah Jazz.
That would be Drexler's last season in the NBA.
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