If you ever fall down the rabbit hole of 1990s NBA highlights on YouTube, what you witness may seem like a completely different sport from the one we've become accustomed to watching. Plodding giants and flexing, brawny power forwards clog the lane, eating up the shot clock, jockeying for position, all to result in a spot-up mid-range jumper and maybe a quick putback. But in many ways, the 90s Rockets were ahead of their time, and a preview of the direction towards which the league would eventually evolve.
Clutch City is born
The Rockets' two titles, in 1994 and 1995, are today looked back upon by the greater basketball commentariat as a fluke, a blip in history, even a blight upon the game.