If you grew up watching basketball in the 1980's then you are well aware that two teams dominated the era. In fact all ten NBA Finals during the decade saw either the Los Angeles Lakers or Boston Celtics participate. The Lakers came away with five rings while the Celtics won three.
It comes as no surprise then that the dominant players in the the '80's were primarily from these two teams. The list below shows the greatest scorers of each NBA Playoffs during the decade. You will notice three league wide changes reflected in the numbers:
- In 1984 the NBA expanded the first round of the playoffs to a best of five as opposed to the best of three series which ran for the previous nine playoffs.
- Elimination of the first round bye for top seeds also began in '84.
- Introduction of the three-point line for the 1980 season. The 3-pointer helped increase NBA average shooting efficiency by about 4% from the '79 playoffs.
Since the best teams played more games and shooting percentages were higher across the league you see higher 'NET Points' totals than in the 1960's and 1970's.
Top NBA Playoff Performers of the 1980's
ranked by NET Points
Playoffs | Team | Games | NET POINTS | Points/Game | |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1980 | LAL | 15 | 87 | 32 |
Magic Johnson | 1980 | LAL | 16 | 47 | 18 |
Cedric Maxwell | 1980 | BOS | 9 | 44 | 18 |
Julius Erving | 1980 | PHI | 18 | 42 | 24 |
Cedric Maxwell | 1981 | BOS | 17 | 61 | 16 |
Moses Malone | 1981 | HOU | 21 | 38 | 27 |
Darryl Dawkins | 1981 | PHI | 16 | 38 | 14 |
Bobby Jones | 1981 | PHI | 16 | 36 | 15 |
Julius Erving | 1982 | PHI | 21 | 64 | 22 |
Andrew Toney | 1982 | PHI | 21 | 47 | 22 |
Bobby Jones | 1982 | PHI | 21 | 46 | 12 |
Magic Johnson | 1982 | LAL | 14 | 45 | 17 |
Kevin McHale | 1982 | BOS | 12 | 37 | 16 |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1983 | LAL | 15 | 72 | 27 |
Moses Malone | 1983 | PHI | 13 | 50 | 26 |
George Gervin | 1983 | SAS | 11 | 39 | 25 |
Johnny Moore | 1983 | SAS | 11 | 35 | 22 |
Playoffs | Team | Games | NET POINTS | Points/Game | |
Larry Bird | 1984 | BOS | 23 | 111 | 27 |
Bernard King | 1984 | NYK | 12 | 81 | 35 |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1984 | LAL | 21 | 78 | 24 |
James Worthy | 1984 | LAL | 21 | 67 | 18 |
Magic Johnson | 1984 | LAL | 21 | 64 | 18 |
Kevin McHale | 1985 | BOS | 21 | 96 | 22 |
James Worthy | 1985 | LAL | 19 | 92 | 21 |
Alex English | 1985 | DEN | 14 | 71 | 30 |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1985 | LAL | 19 | 71 | 22 |
Kevin McHale | 1986 | BOS | 18 | 96 | 25 |
Larry Bird | 1986 | BOS | 18 | 87 | 26 |
Hakeem Olajuwon | 1986 | HOU | 20 | 62 | 27 |
Charles Barkley | 1986 | PHI | 12 | 62 | 25 |
Danny Ainge | 1986 | BOS | 18 | 61 | 16 |
Playoffs | Team | Games | NET POINTS | Points/Game | |
Kevin McHale | 1987 | BOS | 21 | 91 | 21 |
James Worthy | 1987 | LAL | 18 | 84 | 24 |
Larry Bird | 1987 | BOS | 23 | 83 | 27 |
Hakeem Olajuwon | 1987 | HOU | 10 | 70 | 29 |
Magic Johnson | 1987 | LAL | 18 | 69 | 22 |
Robert Parish | 1987 | BOS | 21 | 69 | 18 |
Kevin McHale | 1988 | BOS | 17 | 110 | 25 |
Magic Johnson | 1988 | LAL | 24 | 80 | 20 |
Adrian Dantley | 1988 | DET | 23 | 76 | 19 |
Byron Scott | 1988 | LAL | 24 | 67 | 20 |
Michael Jordan | 1989 | CHI | 17 | 100 | 35 |
James Worthy | 1989 | LAL | 15 | 67 | 25 |
Kevin Johnson | 1989 | PHO | 12 | 55 | 24 |
Magic Johnson | 1989 | LAL | 14 | 46 | 18 |
Chris Mullin | 1989 | GSW | 8 | 43 | 29 |
Italics indicates annual leader
Bold indicates decade record
*Thanks to the Basketball-Reference Play Index
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Top NBA Playoff Performers Top NBA Playoff Performers
of the 1970's of the 1990's
Bold indicates decade record
*Thanks to the Basketball-Reference Play Index
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Top NBA Playoff Performers Top NBA Playoff Performers
of the 1970's of the 1990's
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