Definition Team sport
The sport was notable throughout the decade at various levels. Professionally, the popularity of Michael Jordan, widely considered one of the best basketball players ever, and the dominance of his Chicago Bulls were special. At the collegiate level, the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s championship tournament increased in popularity. Furthermore, for the first time, the United States fielded professional players for Olympic Games in 1992.
In 1989, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) allowed professionals to participate in the Olympics, opening the door for the United States to form a formidable team for the 1992 Games. During the 1990’s, the National Basketball Association (NBA) was dominated by the Chicago Bulls, who won six championships. At the amateur level, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament produced many great games throughout the decade and the first team to win back-to-back championships since 1973. In women’s basketball, the development of the Connecticut-Tennessee collegiate rivalry facilitated a rise in interest in the sport, leading to the creation of two professional leagues.
The Chicago Bulls Dynasty
Some analysts have expressed the view that the popularity of professional sports heavily depends on the presence of great teams and great individual players. During the 1990’s, the NBA possessed both. These factors helped the NBA maintain a high level of popularity that had been regained during the 1980’s with the dominance of and rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, led respectively by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
By 1990, it appeared that the Celtics and the Lakers were declining, and Johnson and Bird retired within the following two seasons. For the first time since 1979, neither team made the finals. In 1990, the Detroit Pistons won their second consecutive NBA championship, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers four games to one. Known as the “bad boys” for their rough style, the Pistons featured Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Joe Dumars, John Salley, and Dennis Rodman.
Multiple events on and off the basketball court occurred in 1991, however, that signified the beginning of a new era in the NBA. On the court, the Bulls defeated the Pistons four games to none in the Eastern Conference Finals, thus ending the latter’s reign as champions. In the NBA Finals, the Bulls beat the Lakers four games to one, giving the franchise its first championship. This was the first of three consecutive and six total titles for the Bulls during the 1990’s. Unfortunately, an event off the court became a major story for the NBA. Magic Johnson announced in November, 1991, that he had contracted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which forced him to retire (although he returned to the NBA later). Nevertheless, he was able to compete in the 1992 Olympics and became a powerful advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness.
In 1992, the Bulls won their second championship in a row with a victory over the Trail Blazers four games to two. They won their third straight title the following season by beating the Phoenix Suns four games to two. After the 1993 NBA Playoffs, however, an off-the-court event would once again affect the game. Michael Jordan’s father died tragically. Not long after the incident, Jordan decided to retire.
Without Jordan, the Bulls’ attempt at four consecutive championships failed. In 1994, the New York Knicks knocked off the Bulls four games to three in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Houston Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, defeated the Knicks four games to three to win the championship. Approximately halfway through the next season, Jordan returned to the Bulls. Despite his presence in 1995, the Orlando Magic defeated the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. For the second straight year, however, the Rockets won the NBA title, beating the Magic four games to none.
In the 1995-1996 season, Jordan’s first full season since he came out of retirement, the Bulls achieved the best regular-season record in NBA history at 72-10 and continued their fantastic performance by winning their fourth championship, defeating the Seattle SuperSonics four games to two in the finals. The Bulls won their fifth and sixth championship titles during the next two seasons, ending each with a victory over the Utah Jazz four games to two. In game six of the 1998 finals, Jordan made the game-winning shot to seize the championship. He retired after that season. At that time, Jordan was already being proclaimed by several analysts as the greatest basketball player in NBA history. During the 1990’s, he won the scoring championship seven times and the NBA regular-season Most Valuable Player Award four times.
During the last season of the decade, a dispute between players and owners led to a lockout, which lasted until February, 1999. Thus, this season was approximately half the length of a normal one. At its end, the San Antonio Spurs, led by David Robinson and Tim Duncan, won their first NBA championship by defeating the Knicks four games to one. It was historically significant, as the Spurs became the first team from the former American Basketball Association (ABA) to both play for and win an NBA championship.
The “Dream Team”
Following the U.S. men’s basketball team’s loss to the Soviet Union in the 1988 Summer Olympics (only their second loss in the history of the Olympics), the United States fielded professionals to play in the 1992 Olympics. Dubbed the “Dream Team,” the U.S. team was composed almost entirely of NBA players, including Jordan, Bird, and Johnson. The United States easily won the gold medal by defeating Croatia 117-85, having won eight games by an average margin of forty-four points. In doing so, the United States reestablished its dominance in Olympic basketball and contributed to the growth in international interest in the sport.
The United States put together another Olympic basketball team with professional players in 1996. Including Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Scottie Pippen, the United States won its second consecutive Olympic gold medal in basketball with a 95-69 victory over Yugoslavia.
College: Dominance of Traditional Powers
Men’s college basketball produced a substantial amount of excitement in the 1990’s. After losing badly to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), in the championship game in 1990, Duke University became the first team to win back-to-back national titles in 1991 and 1992 since the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), accomplished this feat in 1973. Coached by Mike Krzyzewski, Duke’s path to each championship included games that analysts consider to be a couple of the greatest in the history of college basketball. In the semifinals in the 1991 NCAA tournament, Duke played UNLV in a rematch of the previous season’s championship game. After winning the championship in 1990, UNLV had many players return the following season and produced an undefeated record entering the 1991 semifinals. Though thought to be overmatched, Duke upset UNLV 79-77 and advanced to the championship game. In the finals, Duke defeated the University of Kansas.
Entering the next season, Duke had its top players returning, such as Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, and Bobby Hurley. Throughout the year, Duke was considered one of the best teams in the country, and earned one of the top four seeds in the NCAA tournament in 1992. In the regional finals, Duke met the University of Kentucky, a traditional college basketball power. In what many analysts consider one of the greatest college basketball games, Duke defeated Kentucky 104-103 in double-overtime. With Duke trailing by one point and with 2.1 seconds remaining, Hill threw an in-bounds pass three-quarters the length of the court to Laettner, who made a quick shot eighteen feet from the basket as time expired, providing Duke with the victory. In the semifinals, Duke defeated Indiana University. In the championship game, Duke won easily against the University of Michigan, producing consecutive championships for a single college basketball team for the first time in nineteen years.
In 1993, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, coached by the legendary Dean Smith, won their first national championship in eleven years, as they defeated Michigan 77-71. The University of Arkansas won the national championship in 1994 with a 76-72 victory over Duke. In 1995, UCLA won its first national title in twenty years, as they beat Arkansas in the finals. For the first time in eighteen years, Kentucky won the national championship at the end of the 1996 season. This was the first of three straight seasons in which they made it to the championship game. In 1997, however, they lost to the University of Arizona in overtime by a score of 84-79. Arizona’s path to the national title was unique, as they became the first team to defeat three number-one seeded teams in the NCAA tournament. Though being the runner-up in 1997, Kentucky won the championship in 1998 with a victory over the University of Utah, thus giving Kentucky its second championship in three years. In 1999, the University of Connecticut Huskies won the national championship by defeating Duke.
The Rise of Women’s Basketball
Women’s basketball received increased attention in the 1990’s. A great rivalry emerged at the collegiate level. By the end of the decade, the Universities of Connecticut and Tennessee had established their programs as the top two in the country. Coached by Geno Auriemma, Connecticut completed a perfect season at 35-0 in winning its first national championship in 1995. Legendary coach Pat Summitt of Tennessee led her teams to three consecutive national championships from 1996 to 1998, capping the last of the titles with a 39-0 record.
In addition to collegiate play, the Olympics created more interest in women’s basketball. After winning the bronze medal in 1992, the United States triumphantly reemerged in 1996, winning the gold medal by defeating Brazil 111-87. The U.S. women’s basketball team was led by Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Teresa Edwards. Edwards became the first three-time Olympic gold medal winner in women’s basketball.
A sign of the rise in interest in women’s basketball was the creation of two professional leagues in the latter part of the decade. In 1997, the American Basketball League (ABL) and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) began their inaugural seasons. The ABL started with eight teams and eventually expanded to nine. Its existence, however, was short. In the middle of the 1998-1999 season, it suspended play and filed for bankruptcy.
The WNBA has had more success. It started by making agreements with three television networks to broadcast their games. Furthermore, it decided to hold its season during the summer, as there was less competition with other sports at this time of year. It also succeeded in signing Swoopes and Rebecca Lobo, two great college players. The league started with eight teams, but had twelve by the end of the 1990’s. The Houston Comets won the first three WNBA championships of the decade.
Impact
The Chicago Bulls’ dynasty and the fantastic performance by Michael Jordan helped the NBA maintain the high level of interest that was created in the 1980’s. Furthermore, the U.S. men’s basketball team regained its position as the preeminent power in basketball and generated greater interest in the sport on a global level. Great games in the NCAA tournament in the 1990’s helped make it one of the most popular sporting events in the country.
Women’s basketball has also become more popular. At the college level, the women’s NCAA tournament received greater coverage by the media as the decade progressed. The increase in popularity of the college game, along with the success of the Olympic team in 1996, facilitated the formation of new professional leagues for women’s basketball.
Further Reading
Chansky, Art. Blue Blood: Duke-Carolina: Inside the Most Storied Rivalry in College Hoops . New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2006. A history of the evolution of the men’s basketball rivalry between these two universities. Provides a good account of some of the most exciting games between the two teams.
Jordan, Michael. Driven From Within . New York: Atria Books, 2005. Details the development of Jordan’s talent and his career from his perspective as well as those closest to him. Includes comments from his mother and Dean Smith, his college coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Smith, Dean. A Coach’s Life: My Forty Years in College Basketball . New York: Random House, 2002. An autobiography by one of the most successful and respected coaches in the history of college basketball.
Sports Illustrated. The Basketball Book . New York: Sports Illustrated Books, 2007. A written and pictorial account of the most important events in the history of the game. Includes chapters on basketball’s highlights by decade.
Weiss, Dick, ed. True Blue: A Tribute to Mike Krzyzewski’s Career at Duke . Champaign, Ill.: Sports Publishing, 2005. Twenty-five friends, players, and colleagues provide their views of Duke University’s men’s basketball coach.