The Best NBA Players of the 1990s… Apart from Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan dominated the basketball world in the 1990s, winning six NBA championships, six finals MVPs, four MVPs, and seven scoring titles over eight seasons. From the 1989/90 season until his second retirement in 1998, Jordan averaged 31.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game in 727 games (counting both the regular season and playoffs).
However, Jordan’s greatness aside, the NBA in the 1990s was home to many other legendary yet underrated players, who also helped to pioneer and popularize the sport. This article will discuss five of these players, highlighting their statistics and accomplishments over the decade.
Hakeem Olajuwon
1990s statistics: 786 games, 24.2 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 3.4 BPG (51.4 FG%)
Peak season: 1994/95 — 94 games, 29 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 3.8 APG (52.1 FG%)
After Jordan and his Chicago Bulls teammates Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, Hakeem Olajuwon has a good case to be the fourth most accomplished NBA player of the 1990s, and individually he has a good case to be the second best.
Olajuwon accumulated a stacked resume over the decade: two NBA championships (1994, 1995), two finals MVPs (1994, 1995), one MVP (1994), two Defensive Player of the Years (1993, 1994), three All-NBA first teams (1993-94, 1997), seven All-Stars (1990, 1992–97), three All-Defensive first teams (1990, 1993–94), and two All-NBA second teams (1990, 1996). The center was also the league’s rebounding leader in 1990, the blocks leader in 1990, 1991, and 1993, the playoffs scoring leader in 1994 and 1995, and the playoffs blocks leader from 1993–95.
Having been the number one draft pick to the Houston Rockets in 1984, even ahead of Jordan, Olajuwon was an experienced player by the start of the 90s. In 1986, he had reached the finals for the first time in just his second season, losing to the Boston Celtics. It would take him eight more years to make the finals again, in 1994.
Hakeem entered the 1993/94 season as the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, having led the league in blocks per game with 4.2. Following Jordan’s first retirement from basketball in 1993, the league was in urgent need of a new superstar to carry it forward. Olajuwon filled that void in 1993/94, recording a historic individual season. Averaging 27.3 PPG, 11.9 RPG, and 3.7 BPG across 80 regular season games, the Nigerian became the first non-American to be named league MVP. Additionally, he won the Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
With 58 wins, Hakeem’s Rockets finished as the second seed in the Western conference. They beat the Portland Trailblazers 4–1 in the first round of the playoffs, before beating the Phoenix Suns in a seven-game series, even after losing the first two. Olajuwon outperformed the Suns’ star player Charles Barkley in the series, averaging 28.7 points and 13.6 rebounds compared to Barkley’s 23.4 and 12.9.
In the conference finals, the Rockets beat the Utah Jazz in five games to reach the finals. Awaiting them from the Eastern conference were the 57 win-New York Knicks, led by Patrick Ewing. The Rockets emerged victorious in another seven-game series, claiming their first NBA championship in franchise history. Olajuwon collected Finals MVP, having averaged 26.9 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 3.9 BPG, and 25 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in the championship game.
Olajuwon in 1994 became the only player to win an NBA championship, Finals MVP, MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year all in the same season, and no other player has achieved this since. He had led the playoffs in total points and blocks, posting 664 points (28.9 per game) and 92 blocks (4 per game) over 23 games. In the 1993/94 regular season and playoffs combined, Olajuwon played 103 games and averaged 27.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks.
The following season, Olajuwon and the Rockets won back-to-back championships. Halfway through the season, they acquired Clyde Drexler from the Trailblazers; this would be the first time that Olajuwon had an All-Star calibre teammate. Despite this, the Rockets won ten fewer games in 1994/95 and were only the sixth seed. In the first round of the playoffs, they beat the 60-win Utah Jazz in five games, with Olajuwon averaging 35 PPG and outplaying their famous duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton. In the second round, the Rockets played another seven-game series vs. Barkley’s Suns, in which they would overcome a 3–1 deficit to win 4–3. Olajuwon averaged 30 PPG and 11.7 RPG from games 5 to 7, galvanising Houston’s comeback.
The Rockets faced the San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals, who had that year’s league MVP David Robinson. Hakeem got the better of the MVP, winning the series in six games while averaging 35.3 PPG and 12.5 RPG. In the finals, the Rockets matched up against the Orlando Magic. Led by a 23-year-old Shaquille O’Neal, the Magic had defeated the Chicago Bulls in the second round, despite the return of Michael Jordan. This prevented Olajuwon from getting the opportunity to defend his crown against Jordan’s Bulls, but instead he swept the Magic while averaging 32.8 PPG, 11.5 RPG, and 5.5 APG. Winning a second NBA championship at 32-years-old, Hakeem was also awarded his second Finals MVP.
Olajuwon in 1995 became the first player in NBA history to win two championships without a single All-Star teammate. For the second year straight, he led the postseason in total points (725) and blocks (62), and averaged 33 PPG, 10.3 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 22 playoff games. Olajuwon became the fourth player in NBA history, after George Mikan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Michael Jordan, to win a championship while averaging 30+ PPG. In 94 regular season and playoff games, Hakeem averaged 29 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists.
After his heroics in 1995, Hakeem would have one more deep playoff run in his career, reaching the conference finals in 1997 but losing to Utah. From the 1989/90 to 1998/99 seasons, Olajuwon played 786 games in the regular season and playoffs, averaging 24.2 PPG, 11.5 RPG, and 3.4 BPG. He was the overall blocks leader of the 1990s with 2,702. An elite two-way player with scoring prowess, dominant defensive ability, and exceptional footwork for a 7-foot athlete, Hakeem was truly a one-of-a-kind basketball player.
Karl Malone
1990s stats: 910 games, 27.1 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 3.6 APG (52.1 FG%)
Peak season: 1996/97 — 102 games, 27.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 4.2 APG (52.5 FG%)
With 36,928 career points (41,689 including the playoffs), Karl Malone is the third all-time leading scorer in the NBA. If Jordan didn’t exist, then Malone would be one of the most decorated players in NBA history. During the 1990s, he finished runner-up to Jordan for the scoring title four times (1990, 1991, 1992, 1997), once for the MVP in 1998, and he was on the losing end of two finals series’ against the Bulls in 1997 and 1998.
Although overshadowed by Jordan, Malone still racked up an impressive resume in the 1990s: 2x MVP (1997, 1999), 10x All-NBA First Team (1990–99), 9x All-Star (1990–98), 3x All-Defensive First Team (1997–99), 1x playoffs rebounding leader (1997), and 1x All-Star game MVP (1993).
Drafted to the Utah Jazz ahead of the 1985/86 season, Malone would make the conference finals for the first time in 1992. He reached that stage again in 1994, when he lost to eventual champions the Houston Rockets, and also in 1996. Then, in 1997, 33-year-old Malone finally reached the finals for the first time in his career, and for the first time in Utah Jazz franchise history. He had also beaten Jordan to win his first MVP in that season, after playing all 82 regular season games and averaging 27.4 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 4.5 APG.
The Utah Jazz recorded a franchise record of 64 wins in the 1996/97 regular season, guided by power forward Malone and point guard John Stockton, the NBA’s all-time assists leader. In the playoffs, the Jazz swept the Los Angeles Clippers 3–0 in the first round, with Malone averaging 30.7 PPG, then they got past the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. In the Western conference finals, the Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets’ trio of Olajuwon, Drexler, and Barkley in six games.
Advancing to the finals, they would face the NBA’s defending champions, the 69–13 Chicago Bulls. Utah put up a good fight, taking the series to game six, but in the end it was the Bulls dynasty of Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman that prevailed. Malone averaged 23.8 points and 10.8 rebounds in the finals, and 26 PPG, 11.4 RPG, and 2.9 APG over the 20-game postseason run, leading the playoffs in total rebounds with 228. In the regular season and playoffs combined, Malone played 102 games and averaged 27.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG and 4.2 APG.
The next season, Utah won 62 games, finishing first in the West again. In the playoffs, Malone and the Jazz proved that they were still the best team in their conference, reaching the finals again with a record of 11–3 in the West. They beat the Rockets 3–2 in the first round, then beat the San Antonio Spurs, featuring David Robinson and a rookie Tim Duncan, in five games. In the conference finals, the Jazz swept the 61-win Lakers who had Shaquille O’Neal and a 19-year-old Kobe Bryant. Malone averaged 30 PPG and 10.3 RPG over this four-game series, highlighting what a strong force this Jazz team was.
Utah may have been the best team in the West, but a rematch with the Bulls awaited them in the 1998 finals. Chicago were the number one seed in the East, also with 62 wins, and Jordan had won his fifth MVP. This finals series would be decided by the Bulls in game six again, with Jordan dropping 45 points in his final playoff game. Malone had put up a good display in game six — 31 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 25 PPG, 10.5 RPG, and 3.8 APG over the series — but it had not been enough.
In the NBA’s shortened, 50-game 1998/99 season, Malone won his second MVP at 35-years-old. He averaged 23.8 PPG, 9.4 RPG, and 4.1 APG in 49 games, and the Jazz were second in the West with a record of 37–13. However, they could not carry this momentum into the playoffs, as they lost to Portland in the second round. From 1989/90 to the 1998/99 seasons, Malone played 910 games in the regular season and playoffs, averaging 27.1 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 3.6 APG. He ended the 90s as the decade’s leading scorer, with 24,695 points. Although Jordan averaged the most points per game over the decade, he played in 183 fewer games due to his two retirements.
David Robinson
1990s stats: 764 games, 24.1 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 3.3 BPG (51.9 FG%)
Peak season: 1994/95 — 96 games, 27.3 PPG, 11 RPG, 3.1 BPG (51.6 FG%)
Another legendary NBA player during this era, David “The Admiral” Robinson’s basketball CV from the 1990s speaks for itself. Over the decade, he won one NBA championship (1999), one MVP (1995), one scoring title (1994), one DPOY (1992), had four All-NBA First Team selections (1991–92, 1995–96), eight All-Star appearances (1990–96, 1998), four All-Defensive First-Team selections (1991–92, 1995–96), and two All-NBA second team selections (1994, 1998). He also led the league in rebounding in 1991, led the league in blocks in 1992, and was named the Rookie of the Year in 1990.
Drafted to the San Antonio Spurs for the 1989/90 season, Robinson was the Rookie of the Year, playing all 82 games and averaging 24.3 PPG, 12 RPG, and 3.9 BPG. In 1992, Robinson won the Defensive Player of the Year award, having led the league in blocks per game with 4.5, and also averaging 2.3 steals per game.
Two years later, he added another individual accolade to his resume, winning the scoring title after averaging 29.8 PPG over 80 games. Robinson had been trailing Shaquille O’Neal in PPG before the final game of the regular season, but then he scored a career-high 71 points against the Clippers, snatching the scoring title from O’Neal. He became only the second player after Jordan to win both the scoring title and the DPOY, a feat which no other player has managed since.
In 1994/95, Robinson was awarded his first league MVP. He had averaged 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks over 81 games, guiding the Spurs to the number one seed in the West with a franchise record of 62 wins. Robinson also reached the conference finals for the first time in 1995, where the Spurs lost to the Rockets who would go on to repeat as champions.
After being named MVP in 1995, Robinson had won all the major individual awards in the NBA, and now all that was missing was a championship. This would be achieved in 1999. In that season’s shortened regular season, the Spurs were the top seed in the West with a record of 37–13. Their team had been greatly improved by the acquisition of Tim Duncan in 1997, who was the number one draft pick. With the young Duncan at power forward and the experienced Robinson at center, the Spurs now had the best backcourt pairing in the league.
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Robinson and the Spurs eased their way through the Western conference in the 1999 playoffs, with an overall record of 11–1. The Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 3–1 in the first round, swept the Lakers in the conference semi-finals, and also swept the Trailblazers in the conference finals. Playing against the New York Knicks in the finals, the Spurs wrapped up the series in five games and won their first ever NBA championship. Duncan was awarded finals MVP, but Robinson put up some respectable numbers in the series, averaging 16.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Robinson was no longer in his prime at 33-years-old, but he was still a solid second option on his championship winning team.
Over the course of the 1990s, Robinson played 764 games in the regular season and playoffs, averaging 24.1 PPG, 11.5 RPG, and 3.3 BPG. He would win a second NBA championship in his final season in 2003, before retiring at 37-years-old.
Charles Barkley
1990s stats: 754 games, 22.5 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 4.2 APG (51.9 FG%)
Peak season: 1992/93 — 100 games, 25.8 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 4.9 APG (50.9 FG%)
One of the greatest rebounders in NBA history, Charles Barkley’s accomplishments during the 1990s include one MVP (1993), three All-NBA First Teams (1990–91, 1993), eight All-Stars (1990–97), three All-NBA second teams (1992, 1994–95), All-Star game MVP (1991), and playoffs rebounding leader (1993). Barkley played for three different teams during his career — the Philadelphia 76ers (1984–92), the Phoenix Suns (1992–96), and the Houston Rockets (1996–2000).
After making two All-NBA first teams, in 1990 and 1991, while playing for the 76ers in the early 1990s, Barkley was traded to Phoenix in the 1992 offseason. His first season playing for the Suns was excellent: he averaged 25.6 PPG, 12.2 RPG, and 5.1 APG over 76 games, leading Phoenix to the number one seed in the West with 62 wins. Barkley was rewarded for his performances by winning league MVP, ahead of Olajuwon and Jordan.
Barkley’s production improved in the 1993 playoffs, and it translated to team success as he reached the finals for the first time in his career. In the first round of the playoffs, the Suns beat the Lakers in five games, followed by a six-game series win over Robinson’s Spurs in the second round. The Western conference finals matchup, between the Suns and the Seattle SuperSonics, went to game seven. Barkley, who averaged 25.6 PPG and 13.9 RPG over the series, dropped a monstrous double-double of 44 points and 24 rebounds in game seven, which was won by the Suns.
Matched up against the Chicago Bulls in the finals, Barkley’s Suns faced a difficult task. The series went to six games but would be won by the Bulls. Phoenix was unable to stop Jordan at his peak, who averaged 41 PPG in the series. Barkley had battled well, averaging 27.3 points, 13 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in the finals. Over the 24-game playoff run, Barkley averaged 26.6 PPG, 13.6 RPG, and 4.3 APG, with his 326 total rebounds leading the playoffs in that metric.
Barkley stayed at Phoenix until 1996 when he was traded to the Rockets, teaming up with Olajuwon and Drexler. As previously mentioned, this trio had their best playoff run in 1997, reaching the conference finals. However, by this time all three were past their primes, as they were all 34-years-old. Throughout the 1990s, Barkley played 754 games in the regular season and playoffs and averaged 22.5 PPG, 11.7 RPG, and 4.2 APG.
Clyde Drexler
1990s stats: 724 games, 20.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.7 APG (45.5 FG%)
Peak season: 1991/92 — 97 games, 25.3 PPG, 6.8 APG, 6.8 RPG (46.9 FG%)
An all-time great at the shooting guard position, Clyde “The Glide” Drexler was the second best shooting guard of his era, only behind Jordan. Over the 1990s, Drexler was a 1x NBA champion (1995), 1x All-NBA first team (1992), 7x All-Star (1990–94, 1996–97), 1x All-NBA second team (1991), and a 1x playoffs steals leader (1990). He reached the finals on three occasions, in 1990, 1992, and 1995.
Drexler was drafted to the Portland Trail Blazers in 1983, where he spent twelve years before joining the Houston Rockets in 1995 and retiring three years later. In his time with the Trail Blazers, Drexler cemented himself as arguably their greatest ever player, a title which many claim he still holds today. He reached the finals for the first time in 1990; after winning 59 games in the regular season, the Trail Blazers beat the Dallas Mavericks, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Phoenix Suns in the Western conference.
Portland faced the Detroit Pistons in the finals, who were the reigning champions and had just beaten the Bulls in seven games. The finals series was tied at 1–1, but then the more experienced Pistons, with three All-Stars on their roster (Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman), won the next three games and repeated as NBA champions. Drexler had performed impressively despite the loss, averaging 26.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 6.2 APG in the series. He had also led the playoffs in total steals that year, with 53 (2.5 per game) in 21 games.
Eliminated by the Lakers in the 1991 conference finals, Drexler trailblazed Portland back to the finals in 1992. For the first time in his career, he was named to the All-NBA First Team that year, having averaged 25 PPG, 6.7 APG, and 6.6 RPG in 76 games, and leading his team to 57 wins. Drexler was also the runner-up in MVP voting to Jordan.
In the playoffs, the Trail Blazers defeated the Lakers in four, the Suns in five, and the Jazz in six games. They returned to the finals where they would face the reigning champions again, but this time it was the Chicago Bulls. A showdown between the two best players in the league awaited. Jordan outplayed Drexler and the Bulls won the series in six games, but Drexler held his own, averaging 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in the series. He averaged 26.3 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 7 APG in the playoff run spanning 21 games.
Halfway through the 1994/95 regular season, Drexler was traded to the Houston Rockets. Now on the same team as Olajuwon, the two formed a great duo in the 1995 playoffs, advancing to the finals after beating the Jazz, the Suns, and the Spurs. The Rockets sustained their momentum in the finals, sweeping the Orlando Magic and becoming back-to-back champions. Drexler had finally won an NBA championship, just days before his 33rd birthday, and he had averaged 21.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 6.8 APG in the four games.
Drexler was named an All-Star for the last time in 1997, and he retired after 1997/98, his 15th season in the league. In the 1990s, Drexler played 724 games in the regular season and playoffs, averaging 20.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 5.7 APG.
Honourable mentions:
Scottie Pippen
886 games, 19.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 5.8 APG
Peak season: 1993/94 — 82 games, 22.1 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 5.5 APG (48.3 FG%)
6x NBA champion (1991–93, 1996–98), 7x All-Star (1990, 1992–97), 3x All-NBA first team (1994–96), 8x All-Defensive first team (1992–99), 2x All-NBA second team (1992, 1997), 1x steals leader (1995)
Dennis Rodman
772 games, 6.7 PPG, 14.6 RPG, 1.9 APG
Peak season: 1990/91 — 7.9 PPG, 12.4 RPG, 1 APG (48.7 FG%)
4x NBA champion (1990, 1996–98), 2x DPOY (1990, 1991), 2x All-Star (1990, 1992), 6x All-Defensive first team (1990–93, 1995, 1996), 7x rebounding leader (1992–98)
John Stockton
891 games, 14.8 PPG, 11.7 APG, 3 RPG
Peak season: 1991/92 — 98 games, 15.7 PPG, 13.7 APG, 3.2 RPG (47.3 FG%)
8x All-Star (1990–97), 2x All-NBA first team (1994, 1995), 4x All-NBA second team (1990, 1992, 1993, 1996), 7x assists leader (1990–96), 1x steals leader (1992)
Shaquille O’Neal
521 games, 27.1 PPG, 12 RPG, 2.6 APG
Peak season: 1994/95 — 100 games, 28.5 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 2.8 APG (58.2 FG%)
6x All-Star (1993–98), 1x All-NBA first team (1998), 2x All-NBA second team (1995, 1999), 1x scoring leader (1995)
