When OJ Simpson's car chase interrupted 1994 NBA Finals' broadcast, tallying 95 million viewers
On Thursday, news surfaced indicating OJ Simpson had passed away after a battle with prostate cancer. As NBA fans may remember, in between the two Chicago Bulls three-peats in the 90s, OJ Simpson's police chase momentarily interrupted the 1994 NBA Finals broadcast. At the time, the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets were battling it out, when suddenly, the feed changed.
NBC had cut to footage of a white Ford Bronco driving down the highway driven by Al Cowlings, a former teammate of OJ Simpson. At the time, Cowlings indicated that Simpson had a gun to his head, and wouldn't be pulling over. While the feed cut back to the NBA Finals game, the chase continued.
Driving behind the car were a number of LAPD officers, who followed the former NFL star for 60 miles up and down highways. Cheering fans began to line the highway bridges overhead, rooting for Simpson until he had Cowlings drive him home.
According to NBC Los Angeles, Simpson drank a glass of orange juice and spoke to his mom on the phone, before finally, police took him into custody. At the time, Simpson had been labeled as the main suspect in a double murder case, which included his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
What happened in the 1994 NBA Finals that were infamously interrupted by the OJ Simpson police chase?
At the time the OJ Simpson police chase interrupted the 1994 NBA Finals, the New York Knicks were beating the Houston Rockets 45-36 in Game 5 of the finals. At the time, the series was tied 2-2.
Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets took game one at home, with the New York Knicks then firing back and stealing Game 2 on the road. In Game 3, Houston fired back, stealing one on the Road to edge out the series lead 2-1 before the Knicks then tied it up at 2-2.
In Game 5, the Knicks managed to then jump out to an early lead in the first half, during which OJ Simpson's infamous police chase interrupted the broadcast. The Knicks would then go on to hold onto their lead, taking Game 5 at home before then dropping the next two in Houston.
Since the 1994 season, the Knicks have only made it to the NBA Finals once, winning the Eastern Conference in 1999, however, they still have yet to win a ring. In the case of the Houston Rockets, the team not only won the 1994 Finals, they also went back-to-back, winning the 1995 NBA championship.
In the case of OJ Simpson, while he was found not guilty of the murders, a jury ruled against him in a civil trial, determining he was liable for the murders. At the time, he was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the families of the victims, however, his story didn't end there.
In 2007, Simpson was found guilty of kidnapping and armed robbery after an armed heist against a memorabilia dealer in Las Vegas. After being sentenced to 33 years, he was released on parole in 2017 due to good behavior.