The Denver Nuggets' shocking finish against the '94 Sonics needs a deep rewind
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
- In the final seconds of the 1994 playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and the Seattle Supersonics, there were only two possibilities: a miracle or a miracle. Either the Sonics would pull off a miraculous, last-second comeback, or the Nuggets would pull off a miraculous upset unprecedented in NBA playoff history. Before we see which miracle won the day, we should meet this western conference superpower and this scrappy underdog, and all the characters therein. Let's rewind.
Written and produced by Seth Rosenthal
Directed and edited by Charlotte Atkinson
Subscribe: goo.gl/Nbabae
Enter the Secret Base: www.sbnation.co...
Follow us on Twitter: / secretbase
Follow us on Twitch: / secretbasesbn
Follow us on Tiktok: / secretbasesbn
Check out our full video catalog: goo.gl/9pMHRV
Visit our playlists: goo.gl/NvpZFF
Explore SB Nation: www.sbnation.com
The next round, the Nuggets went down 0-3 to the Jazz but fought back all the way to force a game 7. They had a lot of heart
It might have been the most exciting playoff run of the decade.
@@astropothat was until a year later with the Rockets in 95.
That Is actually completely unbelievable what a team
Damn I didn't know this, wow
Excellent run by the nuggets I live in Utah and I'm not a jazz fan at all and I remember how badly the jazz fans were sweating game 7 after blowing a 3-0 lead 😂😅
"Man does not fly in the house of Mutombo" gives me literal goosebumps
Yup same lmao.
Sick commercial. But MJ, Kemp and others would go on to fly on him.
@@WarriorsforInfoTV let us enjoy something lmao
People really can't have fun these days @@MegaLlama11
Mount Mutombo will always live in infamy as a flight risk zone. Dunk at your own risk.
That catchphrase "Man does not fly...in the House of Mutombo" at 10:34 mark...
That's so priceless.
**wages finger**
"These guys are like Stockton and Malone, except cool" LMAO
Best description of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp I've ever heard. 😂
and also don't impregnate little girls, as far as we know
Let's admit it Jazz we're boring 😂
@@RichGannon12 They were.
Another Seth Rosenthal video, another masterclass video. Seth is easily the best narrator at Secret Base, need more of him
Facts 💯
jon bois content is the best content.
but seth is great too
Hai voice is cathartic
and we all know who the worst is💯🥱
If you grew up in Colorado in the 90s and had even the slightest interest in sports, that image of Mutombo holding the ball after the final buzzer... you will never forget it.
Such an iconic image
The Sonics should have never left Seattle
I can't believe this only has three likes. It was a travesty when they left. F Clay Bennett
-- they left for...OKC. lol.
I'm glad for OKC, but as a human, to OKC, really?
David Stern is the worst commissioner in the history of professional sports.
@@Davivd2FACTS
@@JoshDin4RealThat whole situation was foul and illegal. You'll get the SuperSonics back
What's crazy about this Denver team is even after this, THEY DAMN NEAR DID IT AGAIN TO UTAH.
Seattle took two full seasons to shake this off and finally win the West. Unfortunately for them, the 72 win Bulls were waiting on them.
Yep the way it went in the early to mid 90s in the west was that the Rockets could not match up with the Sonics and the Sonics could not match up with the Nuggets. Folks who followed the NBA in the 90s knew that the Nuggets were a bad match up for the sonics.
The Sonics had inconsistent shooting and lacked size. Where as the Nuggets had size and shooting. The Sonics greatest strength was going small, being able to match up defensively and being able to run. Well the Nuggets were just as young and loved to run and had youth and size at PF (Ellis) and Center (Mutumbo). Plus the Nuggets had a deeper bench, deeper at the guard position and had scorers off the bench. They had front court players that could score on any of the Sonics front court players.
See vs the Rockets. The Sonics could go small have Kemp guard Hakeem and double with the arguably the greatest defensive guard ever in PG. Then when Hakeem kicked the ball out the Sonics were fast enough to scramble and contest the open 3. Then if there was a miss the Sonics would beat the slower Rockets down the court for a fast break.
Also the creator of this video missed out that the lack of Sonic shooting was the main reason they lost to the nuggets. In the series there were countless times where Detlef and Gill were left open and were bricking shots left and right. Which allowed Mutumbo to basically sit in the paint and block Sonic shots at the rim left and right. The video shown only shows one block shot by mutumbo on Kemp. But there were countless blocks by Mutumbo on Kemp throughout the series. Unlike vs Houston Kemp couldn't use his firts step, cross over and speed to get by his defender.
Originally Dale Ellis was traded for Gill in order to bring in more defense at the guard position. But the issue with Gill was always yes he was athletic and could play defense, but his jumper would go into the tank during games and could cost you if teams sagged off of him. Which is exactly what happened in the Sonics and Nuggets series. But it was well known in the 93-94 and 94-95 seasons that the Sonics were a defensive minded team with athletes who could fastbreak and get to the hole, but who couldn't consistently shoot.
Mutumbos length and height allowed him to still contest Kemps layups and dunks even though Mutumbo didn't have the same foot speed.
This Sonics lack of shooting in this series (and the following year's playoffs) was the main reason that the Sonics brought in Hersey Hawkins and also Kemp worked on improving his 15 to 17 foot jumper.
1994: A former lottery pick from the Magic revamps himself to help the Nuggets pull off an impossible upset as an 8th seed.
2023: A former lottery pick from the Magic revamps himself to help the Nuggets win their first ever title.
History is poetic: it rhymes
Yeah. Let's hope that Gordon's career path similarities stop there.
@@Davivd2 Brian Williams didn't up well. From memory, he got murdered by his jealous brother and then that brother killed himself in Tijuana.
Brian/ Bison also got a ring with the 97 Bulls.
The Original “We Believe” team
Dikembe Mutombo is an underrated NBA player。
Nicknamed "Mt. Mutombo", his combination of height, power and long arms led to a record-tying four NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, a feat equaled only by Ben Wallace and Rudy Gobert。
Mutombo is one of the best human beings that happened to be an NBA star off the court, but that's never talked abt you'd think he wasn't the first one to build a myriad of schools in his own continent with largely his own money, him and manute bol were the greatest in selflessness/humanitarian efforts。
Mutombo is a real good human. He owns his own coffee brand now and employs local women, when it's very hard for women to get a job in his country.
Cool story bro.
@@Mike-sk8oq TLDR?
Dik was an all-around great guy. And let's not forget he anchored the defense that got Iverson's Sixers to the Finals.
I agree
"These guys are like Stockton and Malone except cool" may be the most accurate description of Kemp and Payton ever!
RIP Brian Williams
At least he didn’t crash like that fraud
Amazing talent it's sad that his own brother killed him out of pure jealousy
Iconic photo of mutombo holding the ball at the end. One of the most memorable in NBA history imo
me too. Idk man, it always hits me emotionally lol
Dikembe's got bars just saying his own name... Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo.
The first time in NBA history an 8th seed upset the top seed to which only two of them reached the NBA Finals.
This is also back when the 1st round was best of 5.
@@greencm7142 Oh yeah. Now every Playoff series including the first round since 2003 are now 7-game series.
The Nuggets also nearly beat the Jazz in the next round
Sonic’s probably win two titles if not for this series. They were a matchup problem for Houston in the backcourt & wings
@Sticktothemodels Phoenix ,Utah and SA too... west was stacked
I saw this game live as a kid who was a Sonics fan. One thing that you can't understand unless you watched the Nuggets back then was that this was like winning an NBA title for them. The Nuggets never went after free agents. They never got the number one pick in the draft. There were a few bad organizations in the west back then, and the Nuggets were one of them. So when you see Dikembe hugging the ball like that and think that he's being dramatic. A kid from Africa pulling off the impossible, against the best team in the west. Against he team that everyone thought was bound for the finals, defeated by a team that accidentally put together a competent roster.....this was magic for the Nuggets. The best thing that organization had ever experienced until the Nuggets won the title.
The people who thought Mutombo was being dramatic were just haters who never experienced the triumph of working so hard to get to where he had at that point of his career despite the odds stacked overwhelmingly against him
It was a beautiful moment
As a Denver fan who’s dad and uncle has told him about watching this series multiple times you’re exactly right. I tell everyone that around here the nuggets championship is special to us because it’s one that many diehard fans truly never thought they would see in their lives and this was exactly the same in 94 as really our most iconic moment other than melo vs Kobe
I was a 22 year old Nuggets fan that season, hurts to say this, but it was exactly like we/they won the title. Nuggets were just awful all but a handful of seasons from 1975-2024, that season was one of the 5 best seasons, and maybe the 2nd best season up to that point, other than losing to the ShowTime Lakers in the 1985 western conference final. Next best season was 2009 Melo/Iverson then Jokic getting to bubble WCF and then Winning finals 2023. Yeah, that was totally one of the five best playoffs of Nuggets history.
The George Karl/Glove/Kemp Sonics and the Lou Piniella/Jr./Edgar/Big Unit Mariners have to be on some crazy short list not only of teams that squandered insane amounts of talent, but that did it at the same time. 90's Seattle sports was both incredible and heartbreaking. Truly "epic".
They were sacrificed for the rise of the Seahawks.
@@AbyssalLeporidaeLOB
95-96 was the year where they finally put everything together. Payton won the defensive player of the year and established himself as one of the best point guards in the NBA, and Shawn Kemp was probably at the peak of his ability and ARGUABLY the best power forward in the NBA that season. They won 64 games and made the NBA finals… where they ran into arguably the greatest single-season team in NBA history, the Jordan led, 72 win Bulls 😩
The Nuggets also forced the Jazz into 7 games in the next round, coming back from 3-0 down.
"The 'Mailman' doesn't deliver on Sundays." -- Pippen
Almost going down after being up 3-0 doesn't surprise me with Malone.
@@jlui21 Stockton also wasn't great in the playoffs. Malone gets a lot of hate, well deserved, but there were so many critical games and playoff series where Stockton also didn't show up.
John and Malone played for years played hard every game
Thig is they had in the 90s to beat the Suns in 1993 , Huston and seattle @@jamesmarshall6619Those 4 teams mostly Huston Sonics and Utha where the best in the league after Chicago in my opnion and had to beat each other
As a Rockets fan, we will be forever grateful to those '94 Nuggets for knocking off the one team we could never beat during that era.
The Rockets owe Mutombo a ring.
I second that. Thanks nuggets
It was like boxing. The Suns always matched up well with the Sonics, though those games were tough, the Sonics always matched up well with the Rockets, and the Rockets always matched up well against the Suns. As a Suns fan, it sucked.
@@jamesmarshall6619 And the Lakers always matched up well against the Suns. The year the Suns went to the finals, the Lakers almost did exactly what the Nuggets did here. They took the Suns to 5 from the 8th seed. Dan Majerle his a shot that should not have counted to send the game to overtime and the Suns barely got past the Lakers. Elden Campbell was Charles Barkley's kyptonite.
@@Davivd2 Barkley did have trouble with long left handed power forwards. Thankfully there weren't too many of them.
That mid-90's Supersonics team was the last NBA team I ever truly rooted for. They were electric.
RIP to Brian Williams, later Bison Dele, his girlfriend and their skipper. It's a cold world when your own brother murders you.
What a horrible story.
And then tries to assume your identity so that he can buy things with your money. One of the saddest stories I’ve ever learned about. I wonder when he decided to take his own life, was it because the police were closing in on him or was it because he finally came to grips with what he had done?
@@sdelmonte RIGHT?!
Brutal, by far their best shot to win a ring with Jordan gone, and they lose like that
The Rockets owe Mutombo a ring. We cannot understate how big a break Houston got with this upset.
That's not what Sandy Clough (a Denver sports talk radio host) believes. He said that there would have been a championship parade in Denver that year if Hornacek didn't make that shot in the Denver-Utah series to put the Nuggets down 3-0 (in Round 2).
@@jab1289they would’ve lost to Houston had they went to the Western Conference finals.
I disagree. It was a big boost, but I think the Rockets get by Seattle that year regardless.
I lived in Seattle those years but think Houston wins regardless. Olajuwon was the best player in the league by a hefty margin. And Kemp was a head case, which only really came out years later. The local Seattle Indy paper called him "The Man-Child." Perfect description.
@@David-iv6je Then why couldn’t HOU beat them in 1993 or 1996?
I can't believe this was 30 years ago already! Not the kind of history you want to be on the wrong side of. The 90s Sonics had so much talent and potential, but just couldn't get over the hump. Of course, the one time they got to the Finals that decade, it had to come against the best team in NBA History to that point.
I was 14 and had my family had Nuggets season tickets. This year was much fun. Those playoff games at McNichols were the most electric I’ve seen. What a time.
Before Shaun Livingston there was Robert Pack. I would pick this guy up in fantasy every year, and he'd produce big numbers, until he'd find a way to destroy himself, and before Shaun Livingston did it, he managed to find a way to destroy both of his knees on one play. He played for 13 seasons, but played fewer than 7 seasons of actual games. In fact, the season referenced in the video is his 2nd year in the league, and it is the most games in a season he will ever play in a career with 77.
Still heartbreak... 94 to 97 Sonics were awsome
Right! Not in our house!
It’s about damn time this got a rewinder, one of the greatest upsets in nba history
Almost as bad was when Seattle lost in ANOTHER UPSET against a young Lakers team led by Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones the following year, again in the first round. Ouch.
That's when I became a Lakers fan at first...even before Shaq and Kobe arrived.
So you think that was a bigger upset?
The First Big Ever Upset in NBA Playoffs history!!!!
God I miss those mid-90s Sonics teams
Brian Williams won a ring with MJ and the Bulls in 1997. Rest in peace.
He was solid and one of the first athletes I remember talking about dealing with depression. Gone far, far too soon.
Robert Pack was my favorite player when I was a kid. I was so happy when they won this series.
Glad this got a rewinder! Classic yet overlooked NBA moment.
With this in mind, maybe one day we get an episode for the '07 "We Believe" Warriors. Maybe either the last moments of that game 6 vs Dallas, or when Baron Davis yams it on Kirilenko in the second round...
Ak47 was a different series since he never played on the Mavs
@BurritoKingdom He was on the Jazz in the next round, right? My bad, should've noted that moment being separate from the Mavs series.
@@TheCj126 yup. The jazz/warriors was the 2nd round.
The 1994 Denver Nuggets: basketball’s equivalent of 15 minutes of fame
Didn’t win another playoff series until 2009
@chrisuncleahmad In 1992, I thought they would be a team of the future. In 1994, it looked like that may happen. However, they were a first-round exit in 1995 (to SA), and they tore that crew apart the next year (look up The Athletic Denver Nuggets ill-fated summer of 1996 for more info).
And who was their coach when they won that 2009 series? The guy coaching the Sonics in this series, George Karl.
I was in GRADE SCHOOL and I’ll never forget Mutombo on the ground with the ball cry/laughing 😂
I was 8 years old when this game aired on TV. My older brother was a die hard Sonics fan when we were kids. I haven’t seen my brother cry again since this night.
Where has time gone…? I was 14. My team was the 3 seed on the Western Conference side.
Man. Prime Shawn Kemp was a favorite of every kid my age
Ah darn. I've already watched this one because of my $5 patron membership to Secret Base, which also recently released the History of Slipping on Banana Peels.
These were the NBA Jam years 🤘🏀
I think if the Sonics won this series, they go on to win the title and are still in Seattle today.
They were the one team that consistently beat Houston so yes if they didn't lose in the first round in either 94 or 95 they would've beat Houston had they faced them.
That's the one thought I constantly had watching this video....a title in 1994, and the Sonics most likely still are in Seattle. It looks like you guys will get them back (that goodness), but 1994 is definitely a giant "what if?" in Seattle Sports history
How fortunate to have so many pictures and videos to illustrate this story, despite occuring over 30 years ago you all have once again packed the context and exigence into this short video essay. Keep doing what you're doing, these videos are special!
We need a deep dive on the Super Sonics
Vice has an episode on them right here. Just type in Super Sonics VICE TV
For me, this series loss was more devastating than the 116 wins Mariners-2nd rd exit from the playoffs. I was so 🤬 pissed I went and tried to rage lift the back of my car off of the ground!
Like I said above this was one of the first time sports that ever broke my heart!
93 & 94 Sonics (96 Sonics lost to the GOAT). 01 Mariners. 05 Seahawks. Amazing era for sports misery.
Mutombo getting the rebound screaming and raising the ball in the air after the play is iconic❤
The NBA will always be a little less than whole without the SuperSonics. Great organization for a great City. Their rivalry with Portland was great. Plus they were my go-to team on NBA Jam
Payton and Kemp were AMAZING in NBA Jam!!!!
Secret Base, you guys rule, but as a lover of the Sonics, I will never ever watch this. I'd watch a video of my parents getting devoured by crocodiles before I'd watch this.
Robert Pack (undrafted in 1991) scored 23 points in that game 5 on May 7. This guy is really an underrated player.
That Mutombo camera shot is one of the most iconic in NBA history. I remember it well
One of my most vivid memories from youth is of my friend and I jumping up and down on the couch in his basement when the nuggets won this game!
I lived in Evergreen Colorado for only 8 months when I was in 6th grade and it exactly coincided with this Nuggets’ season and their miracle victory over the Sonics. It was really tough having to start at a new school in the middle of the year at that age, but I was able to make a few friends by bonding over our shared obsession of basketball and the Nuggets!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen any clips of this game since the day I watched it so long ago, so this was a really enjoyable trip down memory lane to be able to re-experience the joy I felt way back when. Great video!
6:30 When I heard you mention Robert Pack I went over to my 1992 Blazers poster and remembered he was on that finals team
Dikembe Mutombo has been my favorite pro athlete forever. I had posters on my wall, two different jerseys (including a nuggets one), I even wrote my college application essays about him lol. This series win was one of my best memories watching sports. Not even a Nuggets fan, just love Mutombo. Thanks for this video!
Rewinder is one of my favourite shows. Keep up the great work. Highly appreciated and thank you!
I just read the wiki article for Brian Williams/Bison Dele. What a wild and sad story. I know there isn't really a good way to fit his story post-NBA into the video but it was a crazy read.
Great story. I followed the nba back then. Had an almanac, collected cards, played against my mate ewen every day. Never got to watch a single game. Didnt have a tv until a few years later and by that time id dropped sports for music.
Its so great being able to go back and see the actual events in a simulated but appropriate context and put moving images to the card photos and almanac stats. It mightve destroyed society but at least the internet gave me that.
Man he looks happy clutching that ball.
Kemp became my favorite player when MJ retired the first time. Sonics broke my heart every playoff until 96
That moment of Motumbo embracing the ball, 30 years later still gives me goosebumps. All heart right there!
6:56 you don't see players drive to the hoop like this theses days. Just a 48 minute three point contest nowadays
what a casual take
Mtumbo only recently got surpassed in nuggets playoff blocks by Jokic. He played only 15 games with the team, vs Jokics 80.
In my mind, Kendall Gill has always been the platonic ideal of "not actually a superstar, but popular enough to get a sitcom cameo" cuz I saw him one as a kid lol they had a whole episode about how Kendall was like everyone's favorite player I can't even remember what show it was lol
This series made me fall in love with the Nuggets....have been a die hard ever since !
This is my strongest non-Finals memory of watching 90s basketball, game 5 of this series. I was a Denver fan and loved seeing them win--Robert Pack is a terrific player whom I don't think about enough these days--but looking back, it mostly just hurts to see Seattle lose. This looks like it was meant to be their year for a title.
This is awesome. This team has always been covered in my lifetime as the amazing end of game 7 with Mutombo celebrating on the floor and nothing more. Great work, incredible detail
As a Suns fan, I was jacked the Sonics lost because I thought we had it. Rockets got in the way. I always wonder what if the Sonics win that series and what if the Hawks don't trade Wilkins! 94 was a crazy season.
I personally thought the 94 playoffs were boring after the Sonics, Warriors and Magic lost in the 1st Round, Looking back at the 94 & 95 playoffs, I think Rockets beating the Suns back to back, Kept the Suns from winning the Championship.
I’ve honestly been waiting for this video since I watched the first rewind great early nuggets team moment beating a #1seed great underdog story glad yall finally did it
This was worth watching especially considering these were true underdogs ! I love those very under appreciated historic games against the Top Dogs in the professional level
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO! Ive been asking for this segment from this channel for years now
Ahhh, the memories. Moved to Denver in 1993 in time to see both the expansion Colorado Rockies & the resurgent Denver Nuggets play. Getting to see the Nuggets do what they did was special: winning their last 5 games just to make the playoffs, then going 6-0 in playoff elimination games. I remember going to Old Chicago in LoDo to watch their game 6 win against Utah. The place was packed & raucous. Sad to say that was their peak in the 90s. Next season Laphonso Ellis breaks his leg at the start of it, Issel quits in the middle of it, & Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf causes a fuss by refusing to stand for the National Anthem. It would take Carmelo Anthony, George Karl & co to bring them back to respectability in the next millennium, then Jokic, Malone & co to finally get them to the finals (the last ABA team to do so) and bring a title to the Mile High City.
Also RIP Brian Williams (aka Bison Dele). What happened to him I would only wish on my worst enemy. He deserved a better fate given what he overcame to make in the NBA.
I was here in Denver when it happened. A bunch of fans went to the airport to cheer for them after the win. the whole city was electric for a couple weeks. It was a shame to lose to Utah but we even gave them a decent series.
That image of Mutumbo on the floor with the ball was pretty iconic at the time, it saw a ton of use in NBA marketing at the time.
Never forget Denver split with Seattle 2-2 beating Seattle In Seattle by 33 then at home by 14. It’s really not that crazy. In April alone they won half their 8 victories by single digits. They either blew teams out or snuck by. In a series ppl knew they could be grinded down. And as we found out in the next round, Denver was a team that could grit their teeth
T-Mobile Savings Take 1: YUHYUHYUHYUHYUHYUH
FOCUS!
This was a heartbreaking moment as a 12 year old kid growing up
In Seattle and my dad had season tickets went to game 1 this was tuff one to deal with ! Thanks for uploading it was still a classic time
I cried...for so many days after that game.
#BRINGBACKSONICS
Mutombo holding the ball on the floor is one of the most iconic stills in NBA history. Chills every time
I remember watching this game writing it off. I was around 9 or so playing with legos. I looked up at the tv as my brother walked in. "The nuggets won?!" We were both stunned 😲
Watching this video on a 15 day meth binge! Thanks for the upload!
lollllll
Nice!!! Never tried it but heard good things about it.
Mannnnnnn, I sure do miss meth, lol😂
Rewinder: 2006 Orange Bowl 3OTs
Beef History: Lindros vs Flyers Organization
Overlap: Greatest College Football Coach (Saban) and the Greatest NFL Coach (Belichick) coaching in the same division
Beef History: Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas
Beef History: Phil Jackson and Pat Riley
Untitled: Reggie Miller
Untitled: Tracy McGrady
Untitled: Ken Griffey Junior
Untitled: Carl Yastrzemski
Untitled: Ted Williams
Untitled: Jim Kelly
Collapse: Early 90s Bills
Rewinder: The Catch By Willie
Rewinder: Wide Right I, Wide Right II
Rewinder: Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds breaking the respective HR record(s)
Untitled: Don Nelson
After this series, the Nuggets fell behind 0-3 against the Utah Jazz. They then battled all the way back to force a game 7. Though they lost, the Nuggets won 6 straight games on the verge of elimination that year.
I wish y'all would do more of these and longer videos. This just wasn't enough!
5:31 As an F1 fan seeing the Ayrton Senna tribute brought a smile to my face
Two damn good teams. Those 90’s NBA teams were electric.
That was the best series of that 1994 playoffs
...got a step, and SWAT!!! Oh man we loved Deke!
Dude that block on Kemp was absurd. How does he come from behind and block him from the front like that?! Damn dikembe!!
old nuggets teams make for some elite Remembering Some Guys. Pack, Bryant "Bryan Smith cursed by the T witch" Stith, LaPhonso Ellis, Abdul-Rauf, Rodney freaking Rogers , etc etc
I’ve been waiting for this episode for years
omg, keep injecting NBA Secret Base content into my VEINS
the return of Collapse would be the best I could ever hope for
I loved those Sonics teams, Kemp and Hakeem were my favorite players. Least The Dream got his ring!
Iconic picture, Big 55 holding the ball
Dude! This broke my heart during my freshman year. Of high school! I lived down the road in Tacoma, and I remember the entire Puget Sound was just jacked, and since MJ had retired, we thought this was our year! I guess it was one of the first-time sports had ever broke my heart.😢
Blessed to have witnessed that 94 playoffs and that upset live. Some things worth mentioning and unimaginable in today's league: The Sonics getting upset as the #1 seed and the Coach doesn't get fired, the team doesn't get blown up. AND THEN the next year the get upset again in the first round as the higher seed (#4) by a young, inexperienced club (Lakers) and the Coach STILL doesn't get fired. They only change the starter at the 2 (a talent/athleticism downgrade really but a maturity upgrade) and then set a new franchise record for wins (64 in 1996) and go to the Finals and challenge the Bulls.
As for the Nuggets: They could've been one of the best teams in the 90s in the West, had a lot of talent, already with some experience, also added Jalen Rose in 94 and Antonio McDyess in 95. That Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf situation (National Anthem controversy) in 96 really seemed to throw the franchise off. Shortly after they decided to let Mutombo walk in FA, traded away Jalen and completely fell off a cliff also finishing with the worst record in 97/98.
And to think back this was 30 years ago, man im getting old.
Still painful to see all these years later. Go Sonics!
This killed me. Was a big time Shawn Kemp fan at this time
I watched this as it happened. It was awesome.
That was one of the best upsets ever in the NBA