1995 Houston Rockets

Defending the title was a struggle from the start. Injuries and a roster shake-up left Houston at 47-35, far off the previous year's pace. In February the Rockets sent Otis Thorpe to Portland for Clyde Drexler, reuniting Olajuwon with his college teammate but costing them a starting forward and chemistry they had to rebuild on the fly.

The seeding made the run improbable. As the sixth seed, Houston had no home-court advantage in any round. They fell behind 3-1 to Phoenix in the second round and won three straight, then beat David Robinson, the regular-season MVP, in the conference finals as Olajuwon dominated their head-to-head matchup.

The Finals were a mismatch in reputation only. Orlando had Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway and the league's best record, but Houston swept them. The Rockets won Game 1 in overtime after Nick Anderson missed four free throws late, and Robert Horry and Sam Cassell gave Olajuwon enough perimeter help to finish it in four.

No team seeded lower has won the championship since. The back-to-back titles came in the only two years of Jordan's first retirement, a window Houston walked through and shut behind them.