I still get chills thinking about the 1994 NBA playoffs - it was like watching a masterclass in basketball drama unfold night after night. You had legends leaving everything on the court, buzzer-beaters that felt like they defied physics, and moments so intense they're permanently burned into my memory. What made that postseason special wasn't just the incredible talent on display, but the sheer willpower these athletes showed when everything was on the line. I remember watching Game 7 of the Finals between the Knicks and Rockets, nervously pacing around my living room as John Starks kept missing those crucial shots - it was heartbreaking to watch, but that's playoff basketball for you.

The most iconic moment for me will always be Reggie Miller's 25-point fourth quarter against the Knicks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. I was just a kid watching on our old tube television, but even then I could feel the electricity coming through the screen. The way he scored 8 points in 8.9 seconds still seems impossible when I think about it today. That performance wasn't just about skill - it was about mentality, about wanting it more than anyone else on that court. It reminds me of something Manny Pacquiao once said after a close fight: "I thought I won the fight. It was a close fight." That same conviction is what separated players like Miller from everyone else - they genuinely believed they could achieve the impossible, even when the odds were stacked against them.

Another moment that doesn't get talked about enough was Hakeem Olajuwon's block on Kevin Johnson in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals. The Suns were down by just 2 with seconds remaining, and Johnson had what looked like a clear path to tie the game. But Hakeem came out of nowhere - his timing was so perfect it felt like he'd been planning that moment for years. That single defensive play essentially sealed the Rockets' trip to the Conference Finals, proving that championship teams need defensive stoppers just as much as they need scorers. What people forget is that Hakeem averaged 4.1 blocks per game that entire playoff run - an absolutely ridiculous number by today's standards.

The physicality of those 90s playoffs was something else entirely. I miss watching Patrick Ewing battle through double and triple teams night after night, his body taking punishment that would sideline most modern players for weeks. The Knicks and Bulls series that year featured games where the final scores looked more like football results - 86-85, 91-89 - but every single basket felt earned through sheer determination. There's a reason why players from that era talk about playoff basketball as a different sport entirely. The intensity level was just unmatched, and you could see it in how drained these athletes looked after every game - completely spent, but ready to do it all over again two days later.

Looking back now, what strikes me most about the 1994 playoffs is how many legends were fighting for their first championship. Hakeem finally got his ring after years of coming up short, while stars like Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing saw their best chances slip away. That tension between legacy and opportunity created storylines that felt almost Shakespearean in their drama. Even all these years later, I find myself rewatching those classic games and marveling at how much the game has changed - and in some ways, how much we've lost. The 1994 playoffs weren't just basketball games - they were epic narratives playing out in real time, and I feel incredibly lucky to have witnessed them.