List of NBA Players Who Scored the Most Points in the 90s

The 90s have come to become the most romanticized era of basketball. Every barber shop talk about the NBA always leads to ‘back in the old days’ and for a good reason. The 90s saw some of the most competitive and iconic moments of basketball. The 90s saw basketball expand to a global sphere of influence and David Stern started marketing his players more than the teams. With players such as Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Hakeem Olajuwon, the 90s were the time to be alive if you were a basketball fan! Let’s take a recap of the decade and see what has transpired.

Everything about basketball in the 90s begins and ends with Michael Jordan. He was the messiah of basketball, a Black Jesus. His Airness went by many names and he was the center point of basketball. Michael Jordan and the Bulls won a whopping six titles in the decade with every title more impressive than the last. The decade began with the Detroit Pistons at the peak of their powers. ‘The Bad Boy’ Pistons as they were dubbed were among the most notorious and hated teams in the league for their physical play and bad blood with other teams. The Pistons with the 1989-90 NBA championship as they beat the Portland Trail Blazers in six games. It was from here that the era of the Chicago Bulls began. In the ‘91 season, Jordan won his 2nd MVP while leading the Bulls to the best record in the NBA with 61 games and they bested a familiar foe on their way to the finals by sweeping the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. This set up an iconic finals matchup with Magic Johnson and his show-time Lakers, who were on their last legs. An injury to Magic in Game 2 forced the Finals to be more lopsided as the Bulls eased through the Lakers in five games to bring home the Bulls and Jordan’s first championship. The ‘92 season saw the Bulls become comfortable with their prosperity and their place as the NBA’s best team as they won 67 games, the best in the NBA once again, and reached the NBA Finals to play Clyde Drexler and the Trail Blazers. Highlighted by Jordan’s iconic shrug game in Game 1 where he hit a then-NBA record six threes in the first half. The Bulls won the Finals in six and won back-to-back championships for the first time since the show-time Lakers and cemented their place in NBA glory. The ‘93 season saw more of the same as the Bulls beat league MVP Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in one of the greatest NBA Finals ever, most noted for Jordan’s 55-point Game 4 and John Paxon’s championship-sealing three in Game 6. The Bulls had three-peated for the first time since Bill Russell’s Celtics and were on the tip of the Everest of the NBA world.

Tragedy however struck as Jordan’s father's untimely demise and a lot of rumors and speculation about Jordan’s gambling addiction saw Jordan retiring from the NBA just 10 years into his career. This, however, left the NBA wide open and teams were rapidly re-tooling to contend in a Jordan-less NBA, and Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets emerged as winners in this chase. In the ‘94 Finals, Olajuwon bested Patrick Ewing in a classic seven-game series to clinch the Rockets' first championship. The ‘95 season saw the Rockets win every series as the lower-seed and in a high-powered, heavy-weight matchup against Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic, Olajuwon showed the young Shaq that he still has a long way to go as the Rockets shockingly swept the Magic in the ‘95 NBA Finals. The ‘96 season saw Jordan’s return to the NBA and the Bulls took the league by storm once again. Winning a then-NBA record 72 games, the ‘96 have come to be recognized as among the most iconic and powerful teams in the NBA. The Bulls eased their way through the playoffs and beat Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, and the Seattle Supersonics in six games to clinch Jordan’s fourth championship. The ‘97 saw the Bulls and Jordan’s dominance continue as they breezed through the season, winning 69 games, and the playoffs to face Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz in the Finals. The series was nip-and-tuck and saw a close Game 6 where Steve Kerr hit a tie-breaking jumper to seal the Bulls their fifth championship. The ‘98 season was dubbed as ‘The Last Dance’ for the Bulls and what a sign-off it was! In possibly the most iconic Finals in NBA history, the Bulls faced the Jazz in a highly anticipated rematch, and in Game 6 Michael Jordan hit the most iconic shot in NBA history: a series-ending, championship-clinching, ankle-breaking game-winner over Bryon Russell to give the Bulls their sixth championship. It was truly ecstasy for the Bulls as this was their second three-peat and Jordan’s Bulls had attained untouchable almost God-like status in NBA lore. Shortly after the ‘98 NBA season, Jordan announced his retirement and the Bulls tore up their entire roster to commit to a full-time rebuild. The NBA went into a lock-out to enter the ‘98-99 NBA season and the Spurs emerged as the new best team in the NBA beating the shocking 8-seed Knicks in the NBA finals. Let’s now take a look at the league’s best scorers each season.

1989-90 season top 10 scorers

1990-91 season top 10 scorers

1991-92 season top 10 scorers

1992-93 season top 10 scorers

1993-94 season top 10 scorers

1994-95 season top 10 scorers

1995-96 season top 10 scorers

1996-97 season top 10 scorers

1997-98 season top 10 scorers

1998-99 season top 10 scorers