NBA Decades Fantasy Draft: The 1980s – With the 2020 NBA Draft approaching, Go GTS takes a look back at the history of the NBA with a fantasy decades draft. Over the next five weeks, four of our scribes will pick one player from each of the 1970s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s. By Draft’s end, each will have an all-time starting five to be envied.
In Week Two, our gnarly writers grabbed the most outrageous players from the 1980s. This decade not only saw bodacious debuts of hardcourt elite, but also the birth of the Dallas Mavericks, (original) Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic. It was also a decade of dominance for the league’s most storied franchises, as the Los Angeles Lakers (eight finals, five championships) and Boston Celtics (five finals, three championships) absolutely owned their conferences. Only the Philadelphia 76’ers (three finals, one championship) and Detroit Pistons (two finals, one championship) were able to break through.
Jon Waldman Selects: Michael Jordan
His Airness continues to be considered the greatest of all time. The accolades start with being a five-time MVP, 10-time scoring leader and a six-time NBA champion. Add his defensive accolades and you have the best in the biz.
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James Gale Selects: Hakeem Olajuwon
Tremendous scorer and an elite defender. Arguably has the best post moves of any center to play the game. We still talk about the dream shake. Shut down prime Ewing and Shaq to win back-to-back NBA titles.
Hakeem Oljajuwon cards on eBay
Russ Cohen Selects: Karl Malone
Karl “The Mailman” Malone was a ferocious scorer down low and one of the great rebounders. The power forward never brought the Utah Jazz a title, but he is second on the all-time scoring list and NBA MVP in ’97 and ’99.
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Rich Klein Selects: David Robinson
Despite losing two years to a Naval commitment, the Admiral was a constant presence in the middle for San Antonio and was instrumental in beginning their nearly three-decade run as an NBA playoff constant.
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NBA Decades Fantasy Draft: The 1980s – Image Gallery
Go GTS NBA Decades Fantasy Draft
1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s
NBA Decades Fantasy Draft: The 1980s
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