In a Box: The 1990s

A snapshot look at the decade of the 1990s.

My favorite sports writer, the incomparable Bill James, has used the “In a Box” concept in several of his books. Basically what James does is choose a topic (e.g., a baseball manager) and creates an idiosyncratic list of the topic’s defining features. I think the format works well for a Substack post, so today I’m going to give the “In a Box” treatment to the decade of the 1990s.

---

The 1990s “In a Box”

Since the NBA season is split over two calendar years, I will use the year in which the champion was crowned as a separator. So for the purposes of this post, the decade of the 1990s will consist of the 1989-90 through 1990-99 seasons.

Franchise Changes:

1989 — Minnesota Timberwolves debuted

1989 — Orlando Magic debuted

1995 — Toronto Raptors debuted

1995 — Vancouver Grizzlies debuted

1997 — Washington Bullets renamed Washington Wizards

Since the Raptors and Grizzlies only played four seasons in the 1990s, they will be omitted from any cumulative “best” or “worst” lists that appear below.

New Statistics: The NBA began keeping detailed play-by-play records starting with the 1996-97 season, leading to many new on-court/off-court measures like plus-minus.

Champions:

• 1990 — Detroit Pistons

• 1991 — Chicago Bulls

• 1992 — Chicago Bulls

• 1993 — Chicago Bulls

• 1994 — Houston Rockets

• 1995 — Houston Rockets

• 1996 — Chicago Bulls

• 1997 — Chicago Bulls

• 1998 — Chicago Bulls

• 1999 — San Antonio Spurs

Eleven different franchises reached the NBA Finals in the 1990s:

• Chicago Bulls (six times)

• Portland Trail Blazers (twice)

• Houston Rockets (twice)

• Utah Jazz (twice)

• New York Knicks (twice)

• Detroit Pistons (once)

• Los Angles Lakers (once)

• Orlando Magic (once)

• Phoenix Suns (once)

• Seattle SuperSonics (once)

• San Antonio Spurs (once)

That matches the 2000s for the most such franchises in a decade.

Most Championships: 6, Chicago Bulls

The 1990s Bulls are one of only three franchises to win at least five NBA titles in a decade; the others are the 1960s Boston Celtics (nine) and 1980s Los Angeles Lakers (five).

---

---

Best W-L Record, Season: 72-10, Chicago Bulls (1995-96)

The 1995-96 Bulls became the first team in NBA history to reach 70 wins in a season, a feat that has only been accomplished by one other team: the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who went 73-9. Unlike the Warriors, the Bulls were able to cap off their season with a championship, downing the Utah Jazz 4-2 in the Finals.

Best W-L Record, Decade: 558-230, Chicago Bulls

The Bulls made six NBA Finals appearances — winning all six times — and had the decade’s top three single-season win-loss records. In fact, the 1990s Bulls and 2000s Golden State Warriors are the only franchises in NBA history to win at least 80% of their games three times in one decade. No other franchise has recorded more than one such season in a decade.

Worst W-L Record, Season: 11-71, Dallas Mavericks (1992-93) and Denver Nuggets (1997-98)

The 1992-93 Mavericks and 1997-98 Nuggets are two of only six teams in NBA history to lose at least 70 games in a season:

• Philadelphia 76ers (1972-73)

• Los Angeles Clippers (1986-87)

• Dallas Mavericks (1992-93)

• Denver Nuggets (1997-98)

• New Jersey Nets (2009-10)

• Philadelphia 76ers (2015-16)

The 1992-93 Mavericks also own the worst average point differential in NBA history (minus-15.2 PPG).

Worst W-L Record, Decade: 246-542, Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks posted records of 22-60, 11-71, and 13-69 in the 1991-92, 1992-93, and 1993-94 seasons, respectively. They are the only franchise in NBA history to lose 200 games over a three-season span.

Home-Court Winning Percentage: .614

The average team went 25-16 at home. The best home record in a season was 39-2, achieved three times:

• 1994-95 Orlando Magic

• 1995-96 Chicago Bulls

• 1996-97 Chicago Bulls

The worst home record in a season was 6-35 by the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks. That’s also the most home losses in a single season in NBA history.

For the decade as a whole, the Utah Jazz had the best home winning percentage (.845) while the Mavericks had the worst home winning percentage (.393).

Largest Home-Court Advantage: Utah Jazz

The Jazz posted a winning percentage of .845 at home versus .530 on the road in the decade, a difference of plus-.315. The Sacramento Kings ranked second with a home-road differential of plus-.310.

In an average season, the Jazz went 35-6 at home and 22-19 on the road. They had their most extreme season in 1991-92, going 37-4 (.902) at home and 18-23 (.439) on the road, a home-road differential of plus-.463.

Tallest Player: Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muresan, 7-feet-7-inches

Bol and Muresan are the tallest player in NBA history. Bol led the league in blocked shots twice, recording seven seasons with at least 200 rejections. Muresan won the league’s Most Improved Player Award in his third season (1995-96), but his promising career was derailed by injuries.

Shortest Player: Muggsy Bogues, 5-feet-3-inches

Bogues is the shortest player in NBA history. Despite his small stature, Bogues had a solid 14-season career, nine-plus of those seasons spent with the Charlotte Hornets. He ranks 25th on the NBA’s all-time assists list with 6,726, and is the Hornets’ franchise leader in assists with 5,557, (2,249 ahead of the next-closest player) and steals with 1,067 (240 ahead of the next-closest player).

Heaviest Player: Thomas Hamilton, 330 lbs.

Hamilton’s NBA career last just 33 games — 11 appearances with the Boston Celtics in 1995-96 and 22 with the Houston Rockets in 1999-00. He reportedly weighed 360 pounds when he made his debut with the Celtics.

Lightest Player: Earl Boykins and Spud Webb, 133 lbs.

Boykins and Webb are the lightest players in NBA history. Despite their lack of size, both Boykins (13 seasons) and Webb (12) put together long and successful careers.

Best Player by Season:

• 1989-90 — Michael Jordan (Magic Johnson, MVP)

• 1990-91 — Michael Jordan

• 1991-92 — Michael Jordan

• 1992-93 — Michael Jordan (Charles Barkley, MVP)

• 1993-94 — Hakeem Olajuwon

• 1994-95 — David Robinson

• 1995-96 — Michael Jordan

• 1996-97 — Michael Jordan (Karl Malone, MVP)

• 1997-98 — Michael Jordan

• 1998-99 — Shaquille O’Neal (Karl Malone, MVP)

This is my subjective list, of course. Unless otherwise noted, these players also took home the league’s MVP Award in the given season.

Best Season, Player: Michael Jordan (1990-91)

Playing all 82 games in the regular season, Jordan averaged 31.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, and 2.7 SPG. He shot a career-high 53.9% from the field and 85.1% from the free throw line.

Jordan was just as good, if not better, in the postseason as he led the Bulls to their first NBA title. He averaged 31.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 8.4 APG, and 2.4 SPG, shooting 52.4% from the field and 84.5% from the free throw line.

---

---

Best Offense, Season: Chicago Bulls (1991-92)

The 1991-92 Bulls averaged 115.5 points per 100 possessions, the highest such figure of the decade. At the time it was the second-highest such figure ever recorded, trailing only the 1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers (115.6).

Best Offense, Decade: Utah Jazz

The Jazz averaged 111.1 points per 100 possessions for the decade, second among all teams in the decade (Phoenix Suns, 111.3). Led by the lethal pick-and-roll duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone, Utah fielded a top-four offense in six seasons, and never ranked lower than 11th in points per 100 possessions.

Worst Offense, Season: Chicago Bulls (1998-99)

In the first season of the post-Jordan era, the Bulls averaged a paltry 92.4 points per 100 possessions. No other team came within three points per 100 possessions of that figure.

Worst Offense, Decade: Dallas Mavericks

Dallas averaged just 103.4 points per 100 possessions for the decade, the worst such figure among franchises who played all 10 seasons. The Mavericks fielded a bottom-three offense five times, twice finishing last in the league.

All Offense/No Defense, Team: Atlanta Hawks (1989-90)

The 1989-90 Hawks were coached by Mike Fratello, whose teams were known for their deliberate pace. Even though the Hawks ranked 11th in the NBA in scoring average (108.5 PPG), they finished third in points per 100 possessions (113.0). The Hawks gave most of it back on defense, though, posting the league’s third-worst defensive rating (111.9). They had a record of 41-41, one game out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

All Offense/No Defense, Player: Reggie Miller

I have Miller rated 68.5 wins above average on offense and 9.8 wins below average on defense, the biggest disparity of the decade. An incredibly efficient scorer, Miller posted shooting splits of 48.2/40.5/88.4 for the decade.

Best Defense, Season: New York Knicks (1993-94)

The top six defenses by points allowed per 100 possessions came from the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. But to be honest, that really wasn't great defense, it was just bad basketball.

The next team on that list is the 1993-94 Knicks, who gave up just 98.2 points per 100 possessions on their way to a 57-25 record. Forward Charles Oakley was an All-Defensive First Team selection, while center Patrick Ewing ranked fifth in the league in blocks.

Best Defense, Decade: New York Knicks

The Knicks allowed just 102.6 points per 100 possessions, the decade’s best defensive rating. They produced a top-four defense eight times, including three consecutive number-one ranked units (1992-93 through 1994-95).

Worst Defense, Season: Denver Nuggets (1990-91) and Dallas Mavericks (1992-93)

For all intents and purposes, these two teams finished in a statistical tie, both allowing 114.7 points per 100 possessions. The 1990-91 Nuggets look much worse because they gave up an NBA-record 130.8 PPG (versus 114.5 PPG for the Mavericks), but Denver played at a frenetic pace under the guidance of Paul Westhead. After adjusting for possessions, the two teams were equally bad.

Worst Defense, Decade: Dallas Mavericks

Dallas gave up 109.8 points per 100 possessions, the worst such figure among franchises who played the entire decade. Although they only had the worst unit in one season (1992-93), they finished in the bottom seven seven other times.

All Defense/No Offense, Team: Cleveland Cavaliers (1997-98)

Well what do you know, another extreme squad led by Mike Fratello (see “All Offense/No Defense, Team” above). The Cavaliers were first in the league on defense, allowing just 99.1 points per 100 possessions, but ranked 24th out of 29 teams in offensive rating (102.1). Cleveland finished 47-35 and lost in the first round of the NBA Playoffs to the Indiana Pacers.

All Defense/No Offense, Player: Chris Dudley

I have Dudley — a notoriously poor offensive player — rated 20.4 wins below average on offense and 10.3 wins above average on defense, the largest such disparity of the decade. Please see my post Dudley Do-Wrong for more about this unique player.

Best Backcourt, Season: Portland Trail Blazers (1990-91)

Point guard Terry Porter was an NBA All-Star and averaged 17.0 PPG, 8.0 APG, and 2.0 SPG; shooting guard Clyde Drexler was also an All-Star selection, averaging 21.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 6.0 APG; and supersub Danny Ainge contributed 11.1 PPG despite playing just 21.4 MPG, shooting 40.6% from 3-point range.

Best Frontcourt, Season: Seattle SuperSonics (1994-95)

Forwards Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf were both All-Star and All-NBA selections, while center Sam Perkins led the team in 3-point field goals made and attempted. All three were incredibly efficient scorers, ranking second (Schrempf), eighth (Kemp), and ninth (Perkins) in the league in true shooting percentage.

All-Decade Team:

• G — John Stockton (766 GP, 14.9 PPG, 11.9 APG, 2.3 SPG)

• G — Michael Jordan (585 GP, 30.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.1 APG)

• F — Karl Malone (785 GP, 27.2 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 53.1 FG%)

• F — Charles Barkley (664 GP, 22.4 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 52.3 FG%)

• C — David Robinson (685 GP, 24.4 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 3.4 BPG)

This team was incredibly easy to select. I suppose some people might make an argument for Hakeem Olajuwon over Robinson, but taking an objective look at the decade as a whole I have little doubt Robinson was the superior player.

Player of the Decade: Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)

Four MVP Awards, six championships, and six NBA Finals MVP Awards. Enough said.

Coach of the Decade: Phil Jackson (Chicago Bulls)

Jackson had an average win-loss record of 61-21 during the regular season. He recorded five 60-win seasons in the decade, a feat no other coach has matched, and his eight 50-win seasons are tied for second (Gregg Popovich had 10 such seasons in the 2000s).

In the postseason, Jackson’s Bulls won six titles in six trips to the NBA Finals. The only other coach to win at last five championships in a decade is the Boston Celtics’ Red Auerbach with seven in the 1960s.