Gervin made the impossible look possible.This guy was one of the smartest scorers the league has ever seen. But the rest, as they say, was history. - Page 5 With his 7’4” frame, Sampson started out as a center but his lanky and tall frame, as well as his style of play, showed that he was better being in the power/point forward position. In fact, he even finished his career with a mind-blowing 54 percent from the field. Adrian Duntley averaged 30 plus for four consecutive seasons in 1981 to 1984.
Before Jordan cemented his legacy in the Basketball scene, he had to battle Isiah and the Bad Boy Piston. But something must have happened when he was healing in his healing process because he surprisingly turned into a basketball superstar after. In fact, English was the first player to score at least 2,000 points in eight straight seasons and he finished his career shooting 50 percent from the field which made him the best scorer of the ‘80s. His only rival during his time was Michael Jordan. The two immediately became contenders on the League and managed to make it all the way to the Finals the next season in 1986. The ‘80s was the decade when the Lakers and Celtics took home eight of the ten titles. He also grabbed 10 boards a game and made game-winning steals. Dantley was always noted to be one step ahead of his opponent who he was able to hit with pump fakes left and right. Magic Johnson was considered to be the greatest point guard to ever play in the NBA. During his days in the NBA, Alex English was an unstoppable scorer and he was always among the leaders when it comes to points. Unfortunately for Jordan, he only got to play 18 games during his second year in the league because of a broken leg. Erving or Dr. J was the reason the NBA and ABA decided to merge and just look at his line during the ‘80s, he did it all and he managed to do it with class too.
The NBA took a hit at the end of the '70s as no true rivalry existed to give fans something to root for, but the '80s quickly made up for that as stars entered the league, two famous ones in particular, making the decade one of the best in the history of the NBA. After Michael Jordan won every college Player of the Year award, the Chicago Bulls made him their third pick during the 1984 NBA Draft. The ‘80s was such an amazing time for basketball. Michael Jordan is probably the most iconic basketball player to date. During 1986, Wilkins took home the scoring title and had iconic battles with Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. Basketball: NBA Finals: Boston Celtics Larry Bird (33) in action, defense vs Los Angeles Lakers Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson (32) during game at Boston Garden. During Jordan’s first year in the league, he averaged 28 points and won Rookie of the Year.
Julius Erving did things on the basketball court no one could ever duplicate. Only one other, the Portland Trail Blazers, played to more than 90 percent of capacity in the 1978-79 season.Here are the attendance figures from 1979, taken from the fine folks at Add to that some high-profile cocaine cases involving NBA players and the perception that the league was “too black” (we won’t even mention the nickname that was used publicly the first time the New York Knicks had an all-black roster in the late 1970s).The television deal the NBA had with CBS provided for one—This was the NBA as the 1970s rolled over into the 1980s.If ever a league was in need of something to turn the tide, it was the NBA.Those two players, more than any others, defined the 1980s in the NBA. After their merging, it was up to two kids from French Lick, Indiana and Lansing, Michigan to usher in a new era of great basketball. Complete list of active NBA Players including their bio, season and career stats, and recent video highlights. When the Rockets took Sampson as the first pick during the 1983 , they took Hakeem as their first pick the following year. We'll never pass along your email address to spammers, scammers, or the like.Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices.Powered by Minute Media © 2020 All Rights Reserved.College Basketball: Washington Huskies Return To National Spotlight That was until a … Who were the 50 best of the decade? Game 1.Coming out of the turbulent 1970s, the NBA was desperate for a shot in the arm. Can you believe that he made all this despite being the slowest man on the court?We think it’s safe to say that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson saved the NBA from oblivion. That’s why in this article, we are going to name the best basketball players of the ‘80s. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker The ‘80s was the decade that saved the NBA and this was after they merged with the American Basketball Association in 1976.