Two-time NBA champion believes Houston Rockets could have beaten Jordan-led Bulls

NBA analyst Kenny Smith believes the Houston Rockets, the back-to-back champions he played for, could have stopped the Chicago Bulls dynasty in the 1990s.

The long-held belief is that the Bulls would have won eight consecutive titles between 1991 and 1998.

The Rockets took over when Michael Jordan retired after the Bulls won the last of their three consecutive titles in 1993. The Rockets won in 1994 and 1995, the first time when Jordan was playing baseball for the Chicago White Sox. That year, the Bulls lost to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Jordan returned midway through the 1995 season. Rust proved his worth as the Bulls were eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the conference semifinals.

Last year, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith asked Smith if the Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, would have beaten the Bulls if Jordan had been there in 1994.

Smith said: “We would have slapped them.”

“I thought we would have beaten them because they were too small for us,” Smith said. “Horace Grant wasn’t there. Dennis Rodman wasn’t there yet. So who’s going to defend Dream? No. No way. There’s no way. We would have beaten the Michael Jordan Bulls because they were too small.”

Smith said not facing the Bulls helped Jordan’s legacy.

“I’m glad we didn’t beat them because it would have hurt Michael’s legacy in the debate with LeBron,” he said.

Zachary Draves is a Back In the Day Hoops On SI contributor. You can contact him at [email protected] and on Instagram @zdraves0633.

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