I grew up watching the NBA in the mid-80s and 90s, a time when the league’s popularity was at an all-time high.
You had Magic and the Showtime Lakers, Larry Legend and the Celtics, the Bad Boy Pistons, and of course, his Airness and the UnbeataBULLS.
Taking a trip down memory lane, here are some of things I miss most about that golden age in NBA history.
NBA on NBC theme song
This song used to get me amped for weekend regular season and playoff games. Best pre-game theme music in sports history. I was happy when they brought it back for the 2008 Olympics Men’s basketball games.
Bill Cartwright’s awkward free-throw shooting form
Nothing was more awkward and ugly. He used to bring the ball from his waist to high above his head in a weird motion. But hey, he was a career 77% free throw shooter, which isn’t bad, especially for a center.
Jordan-era Chicago Bulls starting lineup music
No other home game intro struck more fear in opponents than that “Sirius” instrumental by the Alan Parsons Project. I can just here the public address announcer yelling, “And at guard, 6’6”, from North Carolina…”!
Cool nicknames
In today’s NBA there are nicknames like “King James”, “CP3”, ”Superman”, and “Melo”. These are boring! Back in the day, you had cool names like “The Microwave”, “Hot Rod”, “X-Man”, “Reign Man”, “The Glove”, “The Mailman”, “The Glide”, “Spiderman”, “The Plastic Man”, and “Chief”.
Hard Fouls
Eastern conference teams like the Knicks, Heat, and Pistons mastered the art of the hard foul, leading to altercations, bruised bodies, and ridiculously low scoring games like 67-63. Many of the fouls committed by maulers like Bill Laimbeer, Anthony Mason, and Rick Mahorn would easily be flagrant two fouls in today’s game. Current players like Tony Parker and Allen Iverson wouldn’t have lasted more than two seasons without the league crackdown of these type of offenses.
Battle of the Bigs
The 80s and early 90s featured great centers and the game revolved around them. Some of the era’s bests were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Robert Parrish, Brad Daugherty, and powerhouses Benoit Benjamin and Alton Lister! Lol…
The Larry Johnson Part
Grandma Ma set a hair-style trend, shifting the typical location of the hair part from its normal location to directly down the middle. I remember guys in school used to sport that cut until the fad flamed out, along with Larry Johnson’s career.
Michael Cage’s Jheri Curl
At a time when players like Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning were sporting the hip and trendy high-top fade look, Michael Cage said NO! He stood by his greasy jheri curl and showed his independence.
What were some of your favorite memories of this time period?
