50 free 90s NBA trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This 90s NBA trivia quiz covers the decade from the Bad Boy Pistons' repeat in 1990 to Tim Duncan's first title in the lockout-shortened 1999 season. Every Finals is here: Jordan's first ring against Magic, the shrug against Portland, Paxson's three-peat shot, Hakeem Olajuwon's two titles while Jordan played baseball, the 72-10 Bulls, the Flu Game and the Last Shot over Bryon Russell. Beyond Chicago there are questions on the Dream Team in Barcelona, Reggie Miller's eight points in nine seconds, Shaq and Penny in Orlando, the Admiral, Grandmama, Latrell Sprewell's suspension, the Raptors and Grizzlies expansion, the loaded 1996 draft, Space Jam, Dennis Rodman's seven straight rebounding titles and the 1998-99 lockout. Difficulty runs from easy questions for casual fans to details only people who watched NBC every Sunday will remember. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the Finals, seasons and players, and each question quotes the sentence that supports it.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which team opened the decade by repeating as champions, beating Portland in the 1990 Finals?
Detroit Pistons
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.
Q 02Whom did Michael Jordan's Bulls beat in the 1991 Finals for his first championship?
Los Angeles Lakers
It was Magic Johnson's last Finals and the first one broadcast by NBC after 17 years on CBS.
Q 03How many first-half three-pointers did Jordan hit in Game 1 of the 1992 Finals before his famous shrug?
Six
His 35 first-half points broke Elgin Baylor's playoff record; Sports Illustrated had billed Clyde Drexler as his 'No. 1 rival'.
Q 04Whose game-winning three-pointer in Game 6 of the 1993 Finals clinched the Bulls' first three-peat?
John Paxson
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.
Q 05Which Phoenix Suns star was regular-season MVP in 1993?
Charles Barkley
He had arrived from Philadelphia the previous summer and took the 62-win Suns to the Finals against Chicago.
Q 06On October 6, 1993, Jordan retired from basketball; what sport did he take up?
Minor-league baseball
He hit .202 for the Double-A Birmingham Barons in 1994; the murder of his father months earlier shaped the decision.
Q 07For which minor league team did Jordan play in 1994?
Birmingham Barons
He struck out 114 times but stole 30 bases for the White Sox' Double-A affiliate.
Q 08Which team won the 1994 Finals, the first major pro championship for its city?
Houston Rockets
They beat Patrick Ewing's Knicks in seven; Hakeem Olajuwon blocked a would-be title winner at the end of Game 6.
Q 09Whose last-second three-point attempt did Olajuwon block in Game 6 of the 1994 Finals?
John Starks
Houston won 86-84 to force Game 7, which they took 90-84.
Q 10Whom did the Rockets sweep in the 1995 Finals to repeat?
Orlando Magic
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.
Q 11Which center did Orlando take with the first overall pick in the 1992 draft?
Shaquille O'Neal
He was Rookie of the Year in 1992-93 and led the Magic to the 1995 Finals before leaving for the Lakers in 1996.
Q 12What regular-season record did the 1995-96 Bulls post, then the best in NBA history?
72–10
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.
Q 13Which Utah Jazz duo lost to the Bulls in both the 1997 and 1998 Finals?
John Stockton and Karl Malone
Q 21How many points did Reggie Miller score in 8.9 seconds against the Knicks in Game 1 of the 1995 East semis?
Eight
Indiana trailed 105-99 with 18.7 seconds left and won 107-105 at Madison Square Garden.
Q 22Which courtside celebrity did Miller jaw with during his 25-point quarter in the 1994 East finals?
Spike Lee
He scored 39 that night to put Indiana up 3-2, but the Knicks won the last two games.
Q 23Which two Canadian cities received NBA expansion teams in 1995?
Toronto and Vancouver
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.
Both series went six games; the Bulls and Jazz combined for 133 regular-season wins in 1997.
Q 14Which contest of the 1997 Finals is remembered as the 'Flu Game'?
No. 5
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.
Q 15Over which Jazz defender did Jordan hit 'The Last Shot' to win the 1998 Finals?
Bryon Russell
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.
Q 16How many Finals MVP awards did Jordan win in the 1990s?
Six
One for every Finals he played: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998.
Q 17Which team won the 1999 title in the lockout-shortened season, beating an eighth-seeded Knicks team?
San Antonio Spurs
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.
Q 18To how many games per team was the 1998-99 season shortened by the lockout?
50
The lockout ran from July 1, 1998, to January 20, 1999, and wiped out the Christmas games and the All-Star Game.
Q 19At which Olympics did the original 'Dream Team' win gold?
1992 Barcelona
It was the first US Olympic team with active NBA players; Sports Illustrated coined the nickname on a February 1991 cover.
Q 20Which magazine coined the 'Dream Team' nickname on a February 1991 cover?
Sports Illustrated
The first ten players, including Jordan, Bird, Magic, Ewing and Stockton, were named that September.
Q 24Which Nigerian-born center was the first non-American to win NBA MVP?
Hakeem Olajuwon
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.
Q 25How many consecutive seasons did Dennis Rodman lead the NBA in rebounds per game, a record?
Seven
He won five titles with Detroit and Chicago and reinvented himself as a hair-dyeing 'bad boy' after 1993.
Q 26Which 1996 live-action/animated film starred Jordan alongside Bugs Bunny?
Space Jam
Aliens from the failing theme park Moron Mountain steal NBA players' talent; it was Warner Bros. Feature Animation's first film.
Q 27Which Spurs center, nicknamed 'the Admiral' for his Navy service, won MVP in 1995?
David Robinson
He had to fulfill his Navy obligation and did not debut until 1989, two years after being drafted first overall.
Q 28Which team drafted 'the Big Fundamental' first overall in 1997?
San Antonio Spurs
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.
Q 29Which three players from the 1996 draft class went on to win NBA MVP awards?
Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Steve Nash
A third of the first round became All-Stars, making it one of the deepest drafts ever.
Q 30Which Warriors guard was suspended for choking coach P. J. Carlesimo in 1997?
Latrell Sprewell
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.