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The 80s were known as the beginning of the "Golden Era" of basketball. This decade saw the first two global superstars being produced by the sport - Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Bird played for the Boston Celtics while Magic played for the "Showtime" Los Angeles Lakers. The two teams led by their talismans dominated the decade.
Between the two, they won eight of the ten championships during the decade. The Lakers won five times while Boston won thrice. The other two teams that managed to sneak in a title run during the decade were the Philadelphia 76ers (1983) and the Detroit Pistons (1989).
This decade also saw the debuts of some of the greatest players to ever grace the floor such as Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone and John Stockton.
The 80's truly changed the way the game was played and watched as well. The NBA hit its record viewership during the decade and haven't looked back since. Bird and Magic were the first two basketball players to appear in a shoe commercial.
We were also introduced to the All-Star weekend and the salary cap as well. The 80s truly paved the way for our current stars to earn the millions of dollars that they do these days.
So let's take a look at the starting five of the decade:
Point Guard - Earvin Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Widely regarded as the best point guard to ever grace the floor, Earvin Johnson was the definition of flashy. His fast-paced run-and-gun style of basketball took the world by storm. It also helped that he was 6'9", which made him an impossible matchup for pretty much any guard in the league.
When he was drafted in 1979, the Lakers knew they had a star. They just didn't know how big a star he was going to be and in such short time. He took over the league overnight with the bounce pass being his trademark.
Magic became the only rookie to win Finals MVP in 1980 and never looked back. He led the Lakers to an astonishing eight Finals in the decade. The combination of Magic along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy was just too much for other teams to handle. He won the title on five occasions and won finals MVP three times.
Added to this he was named regular season MVP in 1987, 1989 and 1990. He was also named an All-Star nine out of ten times in the decade.
Shooting Guard - Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Yes, I know he was drafted in 1984 and didn't play half the decade but that's what makes him even more special. Jordan was drafted to a well below par Chicago Bulls. He didn't lead his team to a championship, but really turned the Bulls' fortunes quickly. From being lottery picks when he came into the league, he turned them into contenders by the end of the decade. Only the Pistons and Celtics were able to get the better of him in the Playoffs.
Individually, Jordan was unstoppable. He was named an All-Star in every year he played during the decade. He was named MVP once (1988) and came second in the voting on two occasions. He also won three scoring titles. In 1987, he became only the second person to score over three-thousand points in a season. The following year he led the league in points and steals. He won his first MVP and Defensive Player of the Year award in the same season (1987-88).
He also broke a record that stands till date for most points in a playoff game when he scored sixty-three against the Celtics in 1986 even though he had just returned from a broken ankle which kept him out for sixty-four games.
Not bad for a start in the NBA huh?
Small Forward - Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
He was known as "Larry Legend" for a reason. Some of the things that Larry Bird managed to do on a basketball court were at times unfathomable. His shooting ability at the time was never seen before but what set Bird apart was his mind and toughness. He always seemed a step ahead of everyone else on the court and although he wasn't nearly as physically strong or quick, it always seemed like he was in the right place at the right time and when he wasn't, he managed to score anyways.
One of the most memorable performances he had was against the Atlanta Hawks in 1985/86 where he scored a franchise record sixty points.
He took Boston to five Finals in the decade and won thrice. He was named Finals MVP twice. He named an All-Star and All-NBA first-team nine times in the 80s and was also named second-team all-defense thrice. Added to this, he was named regular season MVP three times in a row between 1984 and 1986. No one has been able to accomplish that since.
An incredible career for an equally incredible player.
Power Forward - Kevin McHale (Boston Celtics)
Kevin McHale was one of the most underrated players of all time. Although he did receive a host of honors during and after his playing career, he always seems to be overlooked by fans and so-called critics. The players that played with and against him though, would tell you how good he really was. He was a machine in the paint and called it "The Torture Chamber". He was an absolute sight for sore eyes while going to work inside and is widely regarded to have the most number of moves in the post. His defense was even more underrated. He was a genuine lockdown defender and was incredibly tough as well.
He was Bird's partner in crime en route to the five finals appearances. When the defense decided to double or sometimes even triple-team Bird, McHale was waiting inside the paint and had a ball when there wasn't more than one defender on him.
He won three titles in the 80s and was named to an All-Star five-times during the decade. He also named in the 1987 All-NBA first-team and was named to the All-Defensive first team on three occasions. Added to this he was also the sixth man of the year twice towards the starting of his career. He also held Boston's franchise record in points (56) for a brief period (nine days) before Larry Bird beat it.
Centre - Moses Malone (Houston Rockets / Philadelphia 76ers / Washington Bullets / Atlanta Hawks)
Also read: Top 10 Regular season scorers in NBA History
This might come as a surprise to some people as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was also in the league during this decade. Although Kareem had more success with the Lakers during this period, individually Moses was far superior. He won the MVP award in his last year with Houston and in his first season with Philadelphia hence becoming the only player to win consecutive MVPs with two different teams. He also broke the record for most number of rebounding titles in a row with five spanning from 1981 to 1985. He was voted an All-Star each and every year in the decade and was named first-team All-NBA thrice and was named to the second-team four times.
His biggest and probably proudest achievement though, came when he won the NBA title with the 76ers 1983 and also took home the finals MVP award the same season. While the Pistons also won a title during the decade, it came at the very end of the 80s when both Los Angeles and Boston had aging teams and quite a few injuries too. On the other hand, Moses along with Julius Erving managed to get themselves a title during a period that saw the peak of the Lakers and Celtics.
