50 Fun Facts About 90s NBA

Which team opened the decade by repeating as champions, beating Portland in the 1990 Finals?

It was the first Finals since 1979 without the Lakers or Celtics, and one of only two 1990s titles not won by Chicago or Houston.

Whom did Michael Jordan's Bulls beat in the 1991 Finals for his first championship?

It was Magic Johnson's last Finals and the first one broadcast by NBC after 17 years on CBS.

How many first-half three-pointers did Jordan hit in Game 1 of the 1992 Finals before his famous shrug?

His 35 first-half points broke Elgin Baylor's playoff record; Sports Illustrated had billed Clyde Drexler as his 'No. 1 rival'.

Whose game-winning three-pointer in Game 6 of the 1993 Finals clinched the Bulls' first three-peat?

It made the Bulls the first team since the 1960s Celtics to win three straight; the Suns had won 62 games behind MVP Charles Barkley.

Which Phoenix Suns star was regular-season MVP in 1993?

He had arrived from Philadelphia the previous summer and took the 62-win Suns to the Finals against Chicago.

On October 6, 1993, Jordan retired from basketball; what sport did he take up?

He hit .202 for the Double-A Birmingham Barons in 1994; the murder of his father months earlier shaped the decision.

For which minor league team did Jordan play in 1994?

He struck out 114 times but stole 30 bases for the White Sox' Double-A affiliate.

Which team won the 1994 Finals, the first major pro championship for its city?

They beat Patrick Ewing's Knicks in seven; Hakeem Olajuwon blocked a would-be title winner at the end of Game 6.

Whose last-second three-point attempt did Olajuwon block in Game 6 of the 1994 Finals?

Houston won 86-84 to force Game 7, which they took 90-84.

Whom did the Rockets sweep in the 1995 Finals to repeat?

Houston became the first team to win nine road playoff games and beat four 50-win teams in one postseason, all without home court in any round.

Which center did Orlando take with the first overall pick in the 1992 draft?

He was Rookie of the Year in 1992-93 and led the Magic to the 1995 Finals before leaving for the Lakers in 1996.

What regular-season record did the 1995-96 Bulls post, then the best in NBA history?

They started 41-3, added Dennis Rodman that year, and beat the 64-win Sonics in the Finals; the 2015-16 Warriors later went 73-9.

Which Utah Jazz duo lost to the Bulls in both the 1997 and 1998 Finals?

Both series went six games; the Bulls and Jazz combined for 133 regular-season wins in 1997.

Which contest of the 1997 Finals is remembered as the 'Flu Game'?

Jordan woke at 2:30 a.m. vomiting and shaking, then led the Bulls in scoring in Salt Lake City to put them up 3-2.

Over which Jazz defender did Jordan hit 'The Last Shot' to win the 1998 Finals?

He stole the ball in the post, crossed over and, possibly pushing off, buried a 20-footer for an 87-86 lead with 5.2 seconds left.

How many Finals MVP awards did Jordan win in the 1990s?

One for every Finals he played: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Which team won the 1999 title in the lockout-shortened season, beating an eighth-seeded Knicks team?

Until 2023 it was the only Finals with an eighth seed; the Spurs' 1998 Rookie of the Year won Finals MVP in his second season.

To how many games per team was the 1998-99 season shortened by the lockout?

The lockout ran from July 1, 1998, to January 20, 1999, and wiped out the Christmas games and the All-Star Game.

At which Olympics did the original 'Dream Team' win gold?

It was the first US Olympic team with active NBA players; Sports Illustrated coined the nickname on a February 1991 cover.

Which magazine coined the 'Dream Team' nickname on a February 1991 cover?

The first ten players, including Jordan, Bird, Magic, Ewing and Stockton, were named that September.

How many points did Reggie Miller score in 8.9 seconds against the Knicks in Game 1 of the 1995 East semis?

Indiana trailed 105-99 with 18.7 seconds left and won 107-105 at Madison Square Garden.

Which courtside celebrity did Miller jaw with during his 25-point quarter in the 1994 East finals?

He scored 39 that night to put Indiana up 3-2, but the Knicks won the last two games.

Which two Canadian cities received NBA expansion teams in 1995?

The Grizzlies never won 30% of their games in Vancouver and moved to Memphis; the Raptors took off once a 1998 draft-day acquisition arrived.

Which Nigerian-born center was the first non-American to win NBA MVP?

He won it in 1994, the same year he took the Rockets to their first title, and later played on the 1996 US Olympic team.

How many consecutive seasons did Dennis Rodman lead the NBA in rebounds per game, a record?

He won five titles with Detroit and Chicago and reinvented himself as a hair-dyeing 'bad boy' after 1993.

Which 1996 live-action/animated film starred Jordan alongside Bugs Bunny?

Aliens from the failing theme park Moron Mountain steal NBA players' talent; it was Warner Bros. Feature Animation's first film.

Which Spurs center, nicknamed 'the Admiral' for his Navy service, won MVP in 1995?

He had to fulfill his Navy obligation and did not debut until 1989, two years after being drafted first overall.

Which team drafted 'the Big Fundamental' first overall in 1997?

He was Rookie of the Year and, in his second season, joined Magic and Kareem as the only players to win Finals MVP in one of their first two seasons.

Which three players from the 1996 draft class went on to win NBA MVP awards?

A third of the first round became All-Stars, making it one of the deepest drafts ever.

Which Warriors guard was suspended for choking coach P. J. Carlesimo in 1997?

Carlesimo had told him to 'put a little mustard' on his passes; the Warriors voided his $23.7 million contract until an arbitrator overturned it.

Which Charlotte Hornets forward played the sitcom character 'Grandmama' on Family Matters in 1993?

He was the 1991 No. 1 pick out of UNLV and the first Hornet voted to start an All-Star Game.

How many points did Jordan score at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1995, just after his first comeback?

It was his fifth game back after an 18-month absence; he had hit a game-winner against Atlanta in his fourth.

Which network took over NBA Finals broadcasts from CBS starting in 1991?

Its 'Roundball Rock' theme became the sound of the decade's Sunday afternoons.

How many combined regular-season wins did the Bulls and Sonics bring into the 1996 Finals, a record?

The previous record of 125 was set by the 1985 Lakers and Celtics.

Which Portland guard did the media build up as Jordan's 'No. 1 rival' before the 1992 Finals?

Writers hoped for a Magic-Bird style rivalry; Chicago won in six.

Which Toronto Raptor, acquired in a 1998 draft-day trade, earned the nickname 'Air Canada'?

He set attendance records and led Toronto to its first playoff berths in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Which player did Jordan strip of the ball moments before the Last Shot in 1998?

Stockton had just passed it into the post; Jordan came from behind, took it, and went the other way.

How many points did Jordan score in the Flu Game?

He was found curled in the fetal position at 2:30 a.m., then played through it and collapsed into Scottie Pippen's arms.

How many years had Jordan been away from the NBA when he returned in March 1995?

He quit baseball partly out of fear of being used as a replacement player during the MLB strike.

Whose Rockets won a title without home-court advantage in any playoff round?

The sixth-seeded 1995 Rockets remain the lowest seed ever to win it all.

How many first-round picks from the 1996 draft later became NBA All-Stars?

Ray Allen, Stephon Marbury, Antoine Walker and Jermaine O'Neal were among them.

Which Bulls player's 1997-98 contract dispute, after delayed offseason surgery, complicated the "Last Dance" season?

He was unavailable well into the regular season but returned for the title run.

Which rookie, a future two-time Finals MVP, did the Jazz beat 4-1 in the 1998 West playoffs?

Utah then swept the Lakers to reach its second straight Finals against Chicago.

How many games did the Bulls win in 1993-94, the first season without Jordan?

They lost to the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs.

Magic Johnson retired in November 1991 after announcing he had contracted what?

He returned three months later to win MVP of the 1992 All-Star Game and later said he wished he had never retired.

Which team drafted Kevin Garnett fifth overall in 1995, the first prep-to-pro pick in 20 years?

Garnett had finished high school at Chicago's Farragut Career Academy after transferring from South Carolina.

Which player did the Lakers send to Charlotte in the 1996 draft-day trade for Kobe Bryant?

The Hornets took Bryant 13th overall having already agreed to swap the pick the day before the draft.

Which Nets star died in a car accident on Germany's Autobahn 9 in June 1993, aged 28?

He was a passenger in a Volkswagen Golf cut off by a truck near Ingolstadt.

Gary Payton's nickname 'The Glove' was popularised during which 1993 playoff series?

Payton was the first point guard to win Defensive Player of the Year, a feat unmatched until Marcus Smart in 2022.

Which comedian voiced 'Lil Penny', the puppet alter ego in Penny Hardaway's Nike ads?

Hardaway reached Orlando via a 1993 draft-day trade that sent Chris Webber to Golden State.