This is a spinoff from my Granville Waiters thread. According to the sports radio guy I was listening to he made a pretty good argument that the '80's were the Golden Age of the NBA. So what decade do Clutchfans think was the greatest decade of the NBA?
For me as a Rockets fans, it's the 90s. No contest. Two Rockets championships sandwiched by MJ's greatness. Nothing since has been close.
80s we're the best decade, even as a rockets fan. Young Hakeem, Sampson, Mccray, Robert Reid, Moses Malone, Calvin, Rudy. 2 finals appearances. Plus, Bird, Magic, Jabbar, Jordan, Barkley, Malone and Stockton, Reggie, Ewing. Great players.
+1. I became of the NBA during the mid-90s, and coincidentally when Hakeem was hoisting the trophies. I also loved the physical rivalries back then of the Bulls/Knicks/Pacers/Heat in the Eastern Conference, and our rivalries v. the Jazz/Sonics. You could see the hatred of the players for one another in those games. Sucks there aren't any rivalries now, the closest one is the Bulls/Heat.
As much as I loved MJ, I was born and bred in Indy. The 1998 ECFs were VERY painful. Pacers should have won game 7. I remember Pippen afterwards basically admitting the Bulls were lucky. That left very raw emotions like an open wound, but it was still awesome. Maxwell's 3-pointer in game 7 against the Knicks is the pinnacle of NBA history for me. The Bulls/Knicks/Heat bloodbaths were incredible. Most of us Rockets fans probably don't remember how nasty Jazz/Sonics was because we hated both teams with a passion.
Man I HATED the Pacers back then (never did like Reggie Miller/Antonio Davis/Rik Smits), and I always pulled for the Knicks/Bulls to beat them down in the playoffs haha. I actually pulled for the Knicks prior to them facing us in the Finals b/c I felt they were basically the Houston Rockets of the East. But I LOVED the phenomenal MJ/Reggie clutch showndowns in that series. Like I have said many times, the 93-94 playoff run by the Rockets was the reason I became a fan of the team, and Hakeem. What cemented my fandom of the team, and especially Hakeem, was the series v. the Suns. I wasn't a fan of any team/player since I only started following the game that season. It was one of the greatest/most memorable/heart-wrenching playoff runs I've seen still to this day. Again, the only rivalry I see now is the Heat/Bulls. When those teams match up, you can feel the passion/intensity escalate tenfold.
I like the 80s more even though the Rockets won their titles in the 90s. Basketball in the 90s was actually pretty ugly. The Bad Boys Pistons introduced borderline dirty defensive tactics that made basketball hard to watch. And Jordan introduced individualism to the detriment of team ball.
Jordan was more of an individual player in the mid-to-late 80s. He had some of his greatest individual seasons statistically in the 80s. And we all remember the infamous 69 points v. the Celtics where he basically went 1-on-5.
You are right. Jordan was too good of an individual player that he singlehandedly made the Bulls relevant in the 80's, capped by that awesome 1 versus 5 against the Celtics which is considered as one of the greatest NBA teams ever. Jordan was actually very much a team player in the 90's. He was told by Phil Jackson to tone down his individual game and to trust his team mates more. It was Pippen who controlled the ball and tempo of the Bulls during the 90's.
I still remember Sampson crazy last second shot. I was upstairs in my room; these games were always on pretty late at night back then and when I saw sampson's tip in, I went nuts on the bed! Still one of the greatest moments of being a fan. The twin towers (for me personally) rivals Luv Ya Blue and Phil Slamma Jamma. It was terrible that it only lasted a few seasons.
The 20 years from 1976 to 1996 was the Golden Era of the NBA. 1976-77: Dr J. joins the NBA with the NBA/ABA merger. Dr. J led the 76ers to the championship where they were beat by Walton's Trailblazers. It was the biggest NBA Playoff Series since Wilt and the Lakers beat Kareem and the Bucks in 1972. Moses also came over while Lucas finished behind Dantley for ROY and the Rockets went deep in the playoffs before losing to the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals. 1977-78: Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld win a championship in Washington and the ALL-NBA Team is perhaps the coolest ever: Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers Truck Robinson, New Orleans Jazz Bill Walton, Portland Trail Blazers George Gervin, San Antonio Spurs David Thompson, Denver Nuggets 1978-79: The Sonics with DJ, Gus Johnson, and Jack Sikma win. Moses is MVP and First Team All-NBA. The Jazz leave New Orleans for Utah and the stupid, intentional incongruity of having the Utah Jazz mars the NBA even today. ESPN goes on the air. 1979-80: Magic and Bird join the NBA, the 3 pointer becomes part of the game, and the NBA is on cable for the first time: USA Network buys the rights for 3 years at $1.5 million. Magic plays center in the clinching game of the championship. Dawkins breaks backboards, Gervin leads in scoring, and Bird is ROY. This is the last year NBA Finals games were not televised live. 1980-81: The first real taste of Playoff Basketball as the NBA Finals come to Houston. However, Moses and the boys go down to the Bird and the Celtics. Calvin sets the NBA FT% record, breaking Rick Barry's two year old mark. The Mavericks join the NBA. 1981-82: Moses wins another MVP, Showtime beats the 76ers again. 1982-83: Moses wins his third MVP, but it is with the 76ers as he helps Dr. J get a championship. The Rockets did get Caldwell Jones in the Moses trade and he helped the team to a sterling 14 wins. But that also led to the #1 pick, Ralph. 1983-84: David Stern (boo!) becomes the 4th NBA Commissioner. Magic and Bird meet in the Finals for the first time with the Celts winning in 7. Both the Mavs and the Utah Jazz reach the playoffs for the first time (boo!). Ralph wins Rookie of the Month every month of the season and is unanimous ROY. Even with Ralph, the Rockets suck and gain the most important pick in franchise history. This is the last year the Finals are 2-2-1-1-1, which I believe is a much better and more exciting format than 2-3-2. 1984-85: The greatest draft class in NBA history. Here's your 12-man team from that draft: C: Hakeem Olajuwon F: Charles Barkley F: Otis Thorpe SG: Michael Jordan PG: John Stockton Bench: Kevin Willis Sam Perkins Michael Cage Alvin Robertson Jerome Kersey Vern Fleming Sam Bowie In that draft, you had All-Time talent at 4 positions. Also, Ralph wins All-Star MVP, Nique wins the Dunk Contest, and TBS starts broadcasting the NBA. The Lakers beat the Celts. The rest should be known. From 1976-1984, there was a steady crescendo starting with the merger and Dr. J (people forget how absolutely huge he was) culminating in another Bird-Magic battle, a rookie class for the ages, and constant TV coverage. I end it in 1996 because that was the Bulls 72 win season and sort of the last hurrah for a lot of folks who made the NBA what it is (besides, the only had to beat the Jazz the next two years). It was also the Dream's Dream Team and the year Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace entered the NBA.
Each era has something great in them. It's always nice watching the playbacks of these and appreciate. However, I was exposed in the league in the 80s-90s. It's always an honor watching Jordan dominate. I valued the post more because of Olajuwon. Him creating space using that Dreamshake is as awesome as it gets. I'll never stop appreciating the game of basketball. I love it! Hoping for more.
I don't disagree with what you guys said here. And I am not blaming Jordan himself. The difference between the 80s and the 90s is that the 80s belonged to guys like Bird and Magic. Jordan played in the 80s but he didn't win until the 90s and became the poster boy for basketball. And the NBA's marketing machine focused on Jordan's individual talent much, much more than they did on Bird and Magic. Heck, I remember Bird actually wanted to win in the All Star game. He said something like, "The West has a lot of big guns. But we are going to play team ball and beat the hell out of them." That kind of mentality is unheard of after that generation of players had retired.
Magic, Jordan and Bird were a special breed, I doubt we see anything like them anytime soon. We have Kobe, but without an alpha male to compete with it's boring- it be nice if a guy like Lebron or Wade or Durant were constantly calling each other and challenging guys. Instead of all this friendship bull****. You don't have to be an *******, you can respect each other and you play with sportsmanship, but you always have to stay competitive.
It has to be the 80's. Magic vs. Bird. Also, you had an exciting rising star in Michael Jordan, another rising star in Hakeem, Barkley, Stockton, Malone, etc. It's no contest.
I voted for the '90's, but I want to include 89-90 with Detroit's Bad Boys. I had completely stopped watching the NBA before the Bad Boys teams; I felt like the results were pre-determined.
As a Rockets fan 90's. But as just a die hard NBA, the 80's had everything. First half of the 00's were great too w/ Kobe-AI-TMac-Garnett-Duncan all in there prime