The 1980s was the period when the NBA was widespread globally, international players other than America were making it to the NBA. Several teams were added on like the Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, and Minnesota Timberwolves which ultimately increased the competitiveness in the NBA.
In the same decade, we also saw the most interesting rivalry between the legend, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. This clash started during their college time, when Magic Johnson was representing Michigan State and Larry Bird was with Indiana State. On March 26, 1979, these two teams were against each other for the NCAA title and the match became the most watched college basketball game ever, with one-fourth of U.S television viewers watching. Therefore, this incident took the NCAA tournament to a great level and is now known as “March Madness”.
This rivalry continued in the NBA and lasted for the whole decade. Magic Johnson was with the ‘Showtime Lakers’ and Larry Bird with the historic Boston Celtics. The Lakers got the name ‘Showtime’ because of their game style which includes excellent ball rotation, dynamic passing, quick fast breaks, and their ability to score offensively well.
Out of the 10 seasons in the 1980s, the Lakers lifted the trophy five times, while the Celtics were also a strong and balanced team at that time, having Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson in their team thus, Celtics won three championships. These two clubs were the only highlighted clubs of that decade that also carry a tremendous fan base.
Besides Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Wilt Chamberlain many other players also established themself in the league and were listed as the leading scorers. Here is the list of players who have scored the most number of points in the 80s-
| Names | Games played | Average | Points |
| Alex English | 811 | 25.9 | 21,018 |
| Moses Malone | 778 | 24.5 | 19,082 |
| Adrian Dantley | 684 | 26.5 | 18,157 |
| Larry Bird | 717 | 25.0 | 17,899 |
| Kareem Abdul Jabbar | 787 | 20.6 | 16,246 |
| Reggie Theus | 787 | 18.7 | 14,729 |
| Dominique Wilkins | 559 | 26.0 | 14,557 |
| Mark Aguirre | 602 | 24.1 | 14,488 |
| George Gervin | 547 | 26.0 | 14,216 |
| Mike Mitchell | 679 | 20.9 | 14,161 |
| Robert Parish | 786 | 17.9 | 14,043 |
| Magic Johnson | 716 | 19.5 | 13,943 |
| Kiki VanDeWeghe | 605 | 22.8 | 13,775 |
| Jack Sikma | 795 | 16.8 | 13,342 |
| Julius Erving | 602 | 22.0 | 13,263 |
| Walter Davis | 687 | 19.1 | 13,106 |
| Tom Chambers | 634 | 20.3 | 12,896 |
| Isiah Thomas | 635 | 20.3 | 12,862 |
| Purvis Short | 685 | 18.6 | 12,740 |
| World B. Free | 583 | 21.7 | 12,662 |
| Terry Cummings | 550 | 22.1 | 12,159 |
| Rolando Blackman | 630 | 19.2 | 12,127 |
| Bernard King | 535 | 22.6 | 12,100 |
| Dennis Johnson | 783 | 15.3 | 11,954 |
FAQs
A. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Alex English, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar are some important names in the 80’s.
A. Larry Bird was considered as the best three-point shooter in the 80's with a field goal percentage of 37.7 % in 717 matches.
A. On March 02, 1962, Wilt Chamberlain became the youngest player to score 80+ points in a match against the New York Knicks.
A. In the 1960s, Wilt Chamberlain recorded 27,098 points, which was the highest number of points scored in a decade.
