Top Ten NBA Players of the '80s
This list shows the best players of the '80s! What a funky and fun era!
Larry Joe Bird is an American retired professional basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association. Bird is a 3x champ, 1x ROTY, 1x Finals MVP, 3x 3PT Contest winner, all with the Boston Celtics. (1979-1992) Bird led the '80s in Win Shares, MVPs, and 1st Team All-NBA honors. He won the 1980 ROY Award in a landslide the same year Magic was eligible. He was All-NBA 1st Team for his first nine years (only Bob Pettit and Oscar Robertson ever did that). Magic wasn't All-NBA 1st Team until his fourth year. Bird was 1st or 2nd in MVP voting for six straight seasons - only Bill Russell did that. He was the first player to shoot 50% FG, 40% 3PT, and 90% FT in the '80s (twice). He finished ahead of Magic for MVP in eight out of ten years - one of those years, he only played in six games. He has the highest winning percentage of the '80s at 74.8% (about 62 wins per 82 games). He is still responsible for the greatest single-season improvement when adding just one new starter - the 1979 Celtics went 29-53 without him, and the 1980 Celtics were 61-21 with him. That 1979 team and the Celtics teams from 1980-1989 averaged about 37 wins for every 82 games played without Bird.
He made the biggest difference in winning and losing, won the most awards, and received the most honors. He's your top guy in the '80s.
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 13 seasons. Magic went to eight Finals out of the ten seasons between 1979-80 and 1988-89. He was part of five Championship teams in those same ten years. He was second in the NBA in Win Shares during the '80s, but he didn't have the most Win Shares on his own team for the decade until the eighth season (1986-87) - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar owned that distinction. By that time, the Lakers had already appeared in five of their eight Finals and won three of their five titles in the decade.
Magic is #2 behind Larry Bird.
Magic had such a creative play style, finding hundreds of different ways to get to the basket.
Michael Jeffrey Jordan, also known by his initials MJ, is an American retired professional basketball player. Widely viewed as the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan made six NBA Finals appearances in his career, winning the NBA championship each time. He should be #1 because he has the best dunks in the NBA!
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. Kareem led the '70s in Win Shares. He was already 32 by the time Magic joined him on the Lakers for the 1979-80 season. Kareem was the 1980 MVP, not Magic, and he was 100% on his way to Finals MVP before he missed Game 6. To put his productivity in that series in context, had he played one minute of Game 6 and scored zero points, grabbed zero rebounds, and blocked zero shots, he still would have led everyone in PPG, RPG, and BPG for the series. He completely dominated the five games he played.
Magic dominated the one game Jabbar didn't play and stole the MVP because Kareem hadn't made the flight to Philly for Game 6, and the network didn't want to give the MVP to an empty chair. It was awkward. Kareem led the Lakers in Win Shares for the '80s through the first seven seasons, covering the Lakers' first three titles of the decade.
Jacques Dominique Wilkins is an American retired professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association. One of the best dunkers of all time. He was an incredible athlete who could dunk over just about anybody or anything.
Julius Winfield Erving II, commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American retired basketball player who helped popularize a modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and playing above the rim. Based on Erving's awards, honors, compiled stats, and postseason relevancy, I have him as 1st Team All-NBA for the 1980s.
I would pay to watch Dr. J play. I would not pay to see Bird, Magic, Kareem, or anyone else play.
Dr. J was more of a player in the '70s, but you can't deny his greatness. He did win a title in the '80s.
Isiah Lord Thomas III is an American former basketball player who played professionally for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association. Based on Isiah's awards, honors, compiled stats, and postseason relevancy, I have him as 1st Team All-NBA for the 1980s.
Kevin Edward McHale (born December 19, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and analyst who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics... read more Talk about a big man. He will always be seen as a sidekick to Larry Bird, but what a great player.
John Houston Stockton is an American retired professional basketball player. He spent his entire professional playing career as a point guard for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association, from 1984 to 2003. Stockton is regarded as one of the best point guards of all time, holding the NBA... read more One of the best point guards of all time. Probably would've been in the top players of all time if it weren't for MJ.
James Ager Worthy is an American sports commentator, television host, analyst, and former professional basketball player. A great offensive player and one of the all-time greats.
The Newcomers
Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American retired Hall of Fame basketball player and current head coach of the Georgetown University men's basketball team.
Charles Wade Barkley is an American retired professional basketball player and current analyst on the television program Inside the NBA.
Clyde Austin "The Glide" Drexler is an American retired professional basketball player. During his career, he was a ten-time All-Star, and named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. What a beast! He could dunk very well for a guy his size, pretty much a mini Jordan.
Moses Eugene Malone was an American basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association from 1974 through 1995. The center was named the NBA Most Valuable Player three times and was a 12-time NBA All-Star and an eight-time All-NBA selection... read more Moses was third in the NBA in Win Shares for the decade. He won back-to-back MVPs playing for two different franchises (Houston and Philadelphia). He led a 40-42 Rockets team past the Lakers with Magic and Kareem in the 1981 playoffs and then had the same team tied 2-2 in the Finals with Bird's Celtics before losing.
The next time someone tries to excuse Michael Jordan for being 0-6 against Bird's Celtics in the playoffs or for his 1-9 record in the postseason pre-Scottie Pippen, tell them about Moses Malone.
The 1983 edition of the Boston Celtics had another good year, but in the Eastern Semifinals, they were badly outplayed by the Milwaukee Bucks and lost all four games in the best of seven. In the off-season, the Celtics made three major changes: 1) a new head coach, K.C. Jones, 2) the acquisition of Dennis Johnson, and 3) a needed winning attitude.
The Celtics got all three and the missing link in Johnson. As a result, the Celtics had their big three in Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Johnson. Together, the Celtics won two NBA titles in the next three years with Johnson, who found Boston to be the right team for him.
Its Joeysworld
Alex scored the most points in the NBA during the '80s. Had he been more relevant in the postseason, he'd be higher up on my list. I still have him on my All 1980s NBA 2nd Team at one of the forward positions.
George Gervin, nicknamed "The Iceman," is an American retired professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association for the Virginia Squires, San Antonio Spurs, and Chicago Bulls.