The Valentine’s Day Trade That Saved a City’s Title Hopes

NBA dynasties used to come in waves. The Celtics (1981, 1984, and 1986), the Lakers (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988), the Pistons (1989 and 1990), and the Bulls (1991, 1992, and 1993) all had their eras of dominance, stacking championships in bunches. Then, after a third-straight championship, Michael Jordan walked away from the game, leaving the throne vacant.

Enter the Houston Rockets.

Hakeem Olajuwon, playing the best basketball of his life, led the franchise’s first-ever title in 1994, toppling the Knicks in a grueling seven-game Finals. Suddenly, the Rockets were the kings of the NBA.

But defending the crown proved to be another matter. The 1994–95 season started to slip away from Houston. They looked sluggish. The chemistry felt off. They weren’t just failing to dominate — they were barely hanging on. It seemed like their shot at a dynasty was fading before it ever really began.

Then came Valentine’s Day.

On February 14, 1995, the Rockets made a move that would change everything. They traded Otis Thorpe (plus Marcelo Nicola and a first-round draft pick), for Clyde Drexler (plus Tracy Murray). This wasn’t just any trade. Drexler was a hometown hero, a University of Houston legend, a member of Phi Slama Jama alongside Olajuwon. 

The move wasn’t without controversy — Thorpe was beloved, a key piece to the Rockets’ championship team, and some questioned whether Drexler could truly make the difference.

For a while, it didn’t seem like he could. The Rockets finished the regular season as just the sixth seed in the Western Conference. No one saw them as a real threat.

And then, the playoffs began.

Something clicked. The Rockets started looking like champions again. They clawed their way past Utah. They survived a brutal seven-game war with Phoenix. Then, in the Western Conference Finals, they ran into league MVP David Robinson and the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs. Robinson had just put up 71 points in the final game of the regular season to snatch the scoring title from Shaquille O’Neal. He was on top of the world.

And then Olajuwon tore him apart.

Hakeem didn’t just outplay Robinson — he humiliated him. He put on a post-move clinic, spinning, fading, and faking the Admiral into oblivion. By the time the series was over, the Rockets had stunned the Spurs and were back in the NBA Finals.

Waiting for them? Shaq and the young, hungry Orlando Magic. A team that was supposed to be the future of the league. The Rockets showed them what a championship team looked like.

They swept the Magic in four games. Drexler was everything they needed him to be, the perfect running mate for Hakeem. The Rockets didn’t just repeat — they did it with an exclamation point. And to this day, they remain the only team to win an NBA title as a six-seed.

Without that Valentine’s Day trade, there’s no second championship. No back-to-back glory. Drexler averaged 21.4 points with the Rockets during the regular season — and 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 6.8 assists in the NBA Finals. With him, the Rockets might have been another one-and-done champion, lost in history.

Instead, Clyde came home, and Houston made history.