90s NBA Trivia
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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
The Detroit Pistons beat Portland 4-1 in the 1990 Finals to repeat as champions, with Isiah Thomas named Finals MVP.
Q 02Whom did Michael Jordan's Bulls beat in the 1991 Finals for his first championship?
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers lost 4-1 to Chicago in the 1991 Finals, Magic Johnson's last Finals, as Jordan won his first Finals MVP.
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
John Paxson's three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left won Game 6 99-98 and gave the Bulls their first three-peat in 1993.
Q 05Which Phoenix Suns star was regular-season MVP in 1993?
Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley won the 1992-93 MVP in his first season with the Suns after a trade from Philadelphia, averaging 25.6 points and 12.2 rebounds.
Q 06On October 6, 1993, Jordan retired from basketball; what sport did he take up?
Minor-league baseball
Jordan took up minor-league baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization, hitting .202 in 1994, months after his father James was murdered.
Q 07For which minor league team did Jordan play in 1994?
Birmingham Barons
The Birmingham Barons, the Chicago White Sox' Double-A affiliate, played Jordan in 127 games in 1994; he struck out 114 times and stole 30 bases.
Q 08Which team won the 1994 NBA Finals over Patrick Ewing's Knicks?
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets won Game 7 90-84 at home on June 22, 1994, the franchise's first NBA championship.
Q 09Whose last-second three-point attempt did Olajuwon block in Game 6 of the 1994 Finals?
John Starks
John Starks' corner three-pointer with two seconds left was tipped away, and the Knicks lost Game 6 of the 1994 Finals 86-84.
Q 10Whom did the Rockets sweep 4-0 in the 1995 NBA Finals?
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic were swept in their first Finals; Nick Anderson missed four free throws in the final seconds of Game 1, which went to overtime.
Q 11Which center did Orlando take with the first overall pick in the 1992 draft?
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal, taken first overall out of LSU, was the 1992-93 Rookie of the Year and averaged 23.4 points and 13.9 rebounds as a rookie.
Q 12What regular-season record did the 1995-96 Bulls post, then the best in NBA history?
72–10
The Bulls went 72–10 in 1995-96, starting 41-3 and finishing with a 4-2 Finals win over Seattle; 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 under nine seconds against the 1995 Knicks?
Eight
Reggie Miller scored eight points in 8.9 seconds: two three-pointers, the second after stealing the inbounds pass, and two free throws, turning 105-99 into a 107-105 Pacers win.
Q 22Which courtside celebrity did Miller jaw with during his 25-point quarter in the 1994 East finals?
Spike Lee
Spike Lee, the filmmaker and Knicks superfan, traded words with Miller, who scored 25 in the fourth quarter and 39 overall to put Indiana up 3-2.
Q 23Which two Canadian cities received NBA expansion teams in 1995?
Toronto and Vancouver
John Stockton and Karl Malone lost 4-2 to Chicago in both 1997 and 1998; Malone was the 1997 MVP and Stockton's buzzer-beater had sent Utah to its first Finals.
Q 14Which contest of the 1997 Finals is remembered as the 'Flu Game'?
No. 5
The Flu Game was No. 5 of the 1997 Finals, played June 11 in Salt Lake City; a feverish Jordan led all scorers and hit a late three-pointer in a 90-88 win.
Q 15Over which Jazz defender did Jordan hit 'The Last Shot' to win the 1998 Finals?
Bryon Russell
Bryon Russell was the defender Jordan crossed over, possibly with a push-off, before sinking the 20-footer for an 87-86 lead with 5.2 seconds left.
Q 16Who coached the Bulls to every one of their 1990s championships?
Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson coached Chicago from 1989 to 1998, winning titles in 1991-93 and 1996-98 with the triangle offense installed by assistant Tex Winter.
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
Each team played 50 games between February 5 and May 5, 1999, after the lockout ran from July 1, 1998, to January 20, 1999, wiping out the All-Star Game.
Q 19At which Olympics did the original 'Dream Team' win gold?
1992 Barcelona
The 1992 Barcelona Games were the first Olympics open to active NBA players; the Americans won every game by an average of 43.8 points.
Q 20Which magazine coined the 'Dream Team' nickname on a February 1991 cover?
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated put the 'Dream Team' label on its February 18, 1991 cover; the first ten players, including Jordan, Bird and Magic, were named that September.
Toronto and Vancouver joined for 1995-96; the Raptors stayed, while the Grizzlies never won 30% of their games in Vancouver and moved to Memphis in 2001.
Q 24Which center was the first foreign-born player to win the NBA MVP award?
Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem Olajuwon, born in Lagos and a U.S. citizen from 1993, won the 1994 MVP and later played for the United States at the 1996 Olympics.
Q 25How many consecutive seasons did Dennis Rodman lead the NBA in rebounds per game, a record?
Seven
Dennis Rodman topped the league in rebounding for seven straight seasons, 1991-92 through 1997-98, peaking at 18.7 per game in 1991-92.
Q 26Which 1996 live-action/animated film starred Jordan alongside Bugs Bunny?
Space Jam
Space Jam (1996) has aliens from the failing theme park Moron Mountain steal NBA stars' talent, forcing Jordan to suit up with Bugs Bunny's team.
Q 27Which center won the 1995 NBA MVP award?
David Robinson
David Robinson, the 1995 MVP, had been drafted first overall in 1987 but served two years in the Navy before debuting in 1989-90.
Q 28Which team's 'Run TMC' trio of Hardaway, Mullin and Richmond lit up the early 1990s?
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors' Run TMC of Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond ran Don Nelson's up-tempo offense until Richmond was traded to Sacramento in 1991.
Q 29Which three players from the 1996 draft class went on to win NBA MVP awards?
Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Steve Nash
Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Steve Nash won MVP in 2008, 2001 and 2005-06 respectively; Bryant was the 13th pick and Nash the 15th.
Q 30Which Warriors guard was suspended for choking coach P. J. Carlesimo in 1997?
Latrell Sprewell
Latrell Sprewell was suspended 68 games after the December 1997 choking incident; the Warriors voided his contract, but arbitrator John Feerick reinstated it.