Mario Elie, is that. He didn't play with the Chicago Bulls. But he played with Hakeem (Drafted before Micheal Jordan in 1984) and Tim Duncan (2-1 lifetime vs. LeBron!). When you play with those guys, good things do happen! You don't just need MJ for that.
Micheal Jordan's Bulls dominated the 90s in basketball, and there was little room for anyone to win outside of The Bad Boys in 89/90. The next season, 90/91Jordan took care of them, Charles Barkley's Philadelphia 76's and finally Magic's Lakers in the finals.
Unnoticed with all that going on was Elie's first year with the Golden State Warriors. Long before they beat LeBron James and his team in this year's finals, they were coached by Don Nelson to a 44-38 record. Elie didn't do much. He only played 30 games (None of them starts) and averaged just 7.7 points per game. But in the playoffs, the Warriors made it to the second round, and Mario played in all nine games. He even started seven of them and averaged 9.3 PPG. Not too bad for the small forward / shooting guard.
But it wasn't until 93/94 that Elie got the ring. Sans MJ, of course. It was the Houston Rockets turn to win! Hakeem Olajuwon was the centre, and a dominating one at that. Mario, a small forward, also had another great teammate. Well, at least someone who would go on to win a lot of rings: Robert Horry!
And my favourite Rocket of all time was there, Sam Cassell! As you can see, the team had a lot of character.
Elie averaged 9.3 PPG and dished out 3.1 assists per game. Hakeem's strong play at both ends kept the opposition at bay. 27.3 PPG and 11.9 rebounds per game. That didn't tell half the story of how dominating he was. Houston got past Portland, Phoenix in seven (Coming back from 2-0 down), Utah and New York. The Knicks were ahead three games to two, before the Rockets came back. Elie didn't do much in game seven, as he played just eight minutes, not scoring a point.
But was it all tainted? Had Jordan not retired after 92/93? Well, Jordan was back the next season, but his Bulls lost to Orlando. The Magic, with a dominating centre of their own (Last name O'Neal. Ever heard of him?), and looked poised to take out Houston in the final. Calling Hakeem!
Well, the Rockets (Who'd added Clyde Drexler) needed five to beat Utah, seven to beat Phoenix (Coming back from 3-1 down this time) and then San Antonio (David Robinson, there, but Duncan, not). Could the dream die?
Not if The Dream had anything to say about it. Olajuwon went out there and matched Shaq every which way. All Hakeem did was 32.8/11.5/5.5. Shaq gave a good account for himself in his very first final (28.0/12.5/6.3), but he and his team were simply overmatched. Not helping his cause (But certainly helping the Rockets cause!) was our man. Mario averaged 16.3 PPG in the finals. In game four, Elie chipped in with 22. The Rockets won this game for the sweep.
But MJ and his 'mates proved too strong for everyone the next three seasons. So Mario had to wait until 1999 to get another ring. Ironically, it was with the very team Houston had beaten the Western Conference Finals in 1995, San Antonio. They just so happened to have a guy named Robinson, still. And a sophomore named Duncan. There would be no sophomore jinx!
The Spurs made it to the finals. Who better to face then the Knicks? Things had come full circle for Elie. The finals proved to be anti-climatic. It took the Spurs just five games to win. They too, had been a team of character. Two castoffs from MJ's dynasties, Will Perdue and Steve Kerr (Fourth ring in a row, and didn't he just get one behind the bench this year?), Jerome Kersey, Avery Johnson, David Robinson, and Tim Duncan. Call it destiny! Mario averaged 11.6 PPG in the finals.
At this point, Elie had three rings. Duncan and Robinson were at one each. Duncan went on to four more (So far), Robinson had to settle for just two. Another dynasty was on the way in the Los Angeles Lakers (Also coached by Phil Jackson). Elie was the man in the middle of those runs. Right place, right time!
Micheal Jordan's Bulls dominated the 90s in basketball, and there was little room for anyone to win outside of The Bad Boys in 89/90. The next season, 90/91Jordan took care of them, Charles Barkley's Philadelphia 76's and finally Magic's Lakers in the finals.
Unnoticed with all that going on was Elie's first year with the Golden State Warriors. Long before they beat LeBron James and his team in this year's finals, they were coached by Don Nelson to a 44-38 record. Elie didn't do much. He only played 30 games (None of them starts) and averaged just 7.7 points per game. But in the playoffs, the Warriors made it to the second round, and Mario played in all nine games. He even started seven of them and averaged 9.3 PPG. Not too bad for the small forward / shooting guard.
But it wasn't until 93/94 that Elie got the ring. Sans MJ, of course. It was the Houston Rockets turn to win! Hakeem Olajuwon was the centre, and a dominating one at that. Mario, a small forward, also had another great teammate. Well, at least someone who would go on to win a lot of rings: Robert Horry!
And my favourite Rocket of all time was there, Sam Cassell! As you can see, the team had a lot of character.
Elie averaged 9.3 PPG and dished out 3.1 assists per game. Hakeem's strong play at both ends kept the opposition at bay. 27.3 PPG and 11.9 rebounds per game. That didn't tell half the story of how dominating he was. Houston got past Portland, Phoenix in seven (Coming back from 2-0 down), Utah and New York. The Knicks were ahead three games to two, before the Rockets came back. Elie didn't do much in game seven, as he played just eight minutes, not scoring a point.
But was it all tainted? Had Jordan not retired after 92/93? Well, Jordan was back the next season, but his Bulls lost to Orlando. The Magic, with a dominating centre of their own (Last name O'Neal. Ever heard of him?), and looked poised to take out Houston in the final. Calling Hakeem!
Well, the Rockets (Who'd added Clyde Drexler) needed five to beat Utah, seven to beat Phoenix (Coming back from 3-1 down this time) and then San Antonio (David Robinson, there, but Duncan, not). Could the dream die?
Not if The Dream had anything to say about it. Olajuwon went out there and matched Shaq every which way. All Hakeem did was 32.8/11.5/5.5. Shaq gave a good account for himself in his very first final (28.0/12.5/6.3), but he and his team were simply overmatched. Not helping his cause (But certainly helping the Rockets cause!) was our man. Mario averaged 16.3 PPG in the finals. In game four, Elie chipped in with 22. The Rockets won this game for the sweep.
But MJ and his 'mates proved too strong for everyone the next three seasons. So Mario had to wait until 1999 to get another ring. Ironically, it was with the very team Houston had beaten the Western Conference Finals in 1995, San Antonio. They just so happened to have a guy named Robinson, still. And a sophomore named Duncan. There would be no sophomore jinx!
The Spurs made it to the finals. Who better to face then the Knicks? Things had come full circle for Elie. The finals proved to be anti-climatic. It took the Spurs just five games to win. They too, had been a team of character. Two castoffs from MJ's dynasties, Will Perdue and Steve Kerr (Fourth ring in a row, and didn't he just get one behind the bench this year?), Jerome Kersey, Avery Johnson, David Robinson, and Tim Duncan. Call it destiny! Mario averaged 11.6 PPG in the finals.
At this point, Elie had three rings. Duncan and Robinson were at one each. Duncan went on to four more (So far), Robinson had to settle for just two. Another dynasty was on the way in the Los Angeles Lakers (Also coached by Phil Jackson). Elie was the man in the middle of those runs. Right place, right time!
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