Top 5 coolest NBA stars of the 90s

Players like Michael Jordan, whose aerial prowess and competitive spirit captivated fans, and Shaquille O’Neal, whose dominance and charisma were unmatched, became household names. Hakeem Olajuwon dazzled with his agility, while Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen contributed with their relentless drive and defensive skills, making the game more than just a sport—it was a spectacle of talent and excitement.

This era of basketball was not just about the games; it was about the thrill, the culture, and the sheer joy of competition. It’s this spirit of excitement and engagement that connects the basketball of the 90s to the experience offered by WantedWin. Just as the NBA stars of the 90s brought unparalleled excitement to the sport, WantedWin brings a similar thrill to online gaming, offering a platform for those who love the game and the excitement of a gamble.

5th PLACE

• Name: Patrick Aloysius Ewing
• Date of Birth: 5 August 1962
• NBA debut: 1985
• Associated with a team from the ’90s: New York Knicks.
• Team number: 33
• NBA Champion: 0 times
• Total games: 1183
• Total points: 24815
• NBA appearances: 1985-2002
• All-Star Game MVP: 0 times

This Jamaican unique player suffered a lifetime of ridicule and failure, but he always had the fortitude and character to get back up and move on after every fall. That is why he will remain forever in history and entered the Basketball Hall of Fame. He played almost his entire career in New York, only going clubbing a bit at the end of his career. Ewing is also considered one of the strongest players in the NBA who didn’t win a championship title.

He was a part of the very same Dream Team that showed a masterclass at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and didn’t lose a single game. Moreover, that Dream Team consistently scored more than 10 points in every match. The efficiency was tremendous. And Ewing was the centre of that team. In 1999, he became the 10th player in NBA history to reach 22,000 points and 10,000 rebounds.

He also starred as himself in a large number of films, as he was a “landmark” in New York in the 90s. The closest Ewing and his Knicks came to the coveted title was in the 1993/1994 season, when Jordan was interrupting his career. But then they crashed to Hakeem Olajuwon and his Rockets in the Finals.

4th PLACE

• Name: Scottie Maurice Pippen
• Date of birth: 25 September 1965
• NBA debut: 1987
• Associated with a team from the ’90s: Chicago Bulls
• Team number: 33
• NBA Champion: 6 times (1991,1992,1993,1996,1997,1998)
• Total games: 1178
• Total points: 18940
• NBA appearances: 1987-2008
• All-Star Game MVP: 1 time (1994)

This guy didn’t suffer from Michael Jordan’s greatness and dominance in the 90s, but just the opposite. It seems to us that these two were inseparable throughout the 90s. You have to admit, Jordan is closely associated with Pippen. And that’s why I don’t understand why Pippen was ignored in the documentary about the 1997-1998 NBA Finals “The Last Dance”.

I guess something must have run between them after all. But in the ’90s, this destructive duo took down everyone in sight. Who else has six championship rings besides Pippen? Oh, right. The entire Chicago Bulls team. But it was Pippen, along with Jordan, who was instrumental in transforming the Chicago Bulls into a championship team and in the overall popularisation of the NBA in the world. Pippen is considered one of the most outstanding light forwards in NBA history.

He has made the league playoffs 16 times in his 17-year career. There is still a metric by which Pippen is ahead of Jordan. Scottie is the only player in the NBA to win the NBA title twice and the Olympic gold medal in the same year (1992, 1996). Scottie Pippen was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame twice in the same ceremony – as an individual player and as a member of the 1992 Dream Team.

3rd PLACE

• Name: Shaquille Rashawn O’Neal
• Date of birth: 6 March 1972
• NBA debut: 1992
• Associated with a team from the ’90s: Orlando Magic
• Team number: 32
• NBA Champion: 4 times (2000, 2001,2002,2006)
• Total games: 1207
• Total points: 28596
• NBA appearances: 1992-2011
• All-Star Game MVP: 3 times (2000,2004,2009)

Arguably one of the most recognisable basketball players, apart from Jordan, of the 90s era. This size 63, 216cm tall giant was famous for his incredible team-up with Penny Hardaway as he and the Orlando Magic took on Jordan’s Bulls. His incredible instincts under the boards and his excellent accuracy from mid-range allowed Shaquille to easily set records for points scored per game.

Shakil was also known for his disastrous free-throw shooting – he just couldn’t hit them. Once he even missed 11 shots in a row, setting a league record. Later, after his move to the Los Angeles Lakers, his teammate Kobe Bryant coached Shaquille in this element and Shaq stopped being targeted by opposing players in the final seconds of games. He started hitting free throws. Yes, he moved to LA for a reason. Shaq wanted to develop his other careers besides sports. He did a lot of film work in the ’90s. Two of his films – “Kazaam” and “Steel” – were very popular on video cassettes among teenagers of the post-Soviet space. Shakil was also extremely successful in the music business.

In addition to releasing his own albums, he is also known for collaborations with popular artists. In particular, at his home studio made their first recordings of the most popular boy bands of the 90s – NSync and Backstreet Boys. For all his apparent obesity and shallowness, Shakil is an extremely intelligent guy. In 2005, at the age of 33, he earned a master’s degree and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. At the time his career ended, he was the only NBA player with a degree. Long story short – well, who doesn’t know Shaquille O’Neal? He’s unrealistically awesome.

2nd PLACE

• Name: Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon.
• Date of birth: 21 January 1963
• NBA debut: 1984.
• Associated with a team from the ’90s: Houston Rockets.
• Team number: 34
• NBA Champion: 2 times (1994,1995)
• Total games: 1238
• Total points: 26946
• NBA appearances: 1984-2002
• All-Star Game MVP: 0 times

As I’ve said before, the 1984 draft is considered the best NBA draft ever, as it gave us some unique players – Stockton, Barkley, Jordan, and actually Hakeem Olajuwon. Hakeem is not only a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and is listed as one of the “50 Greatest Players in NBA History”.

He also, living up to the expectations of experts and fans, took the league championship flag in his hands when Jordan was taking a break in his career in the mid-90s. It was thanks to his efforts that the Houston Rockets twice climbed the championship podium when the formidable rival Bulls were left without their star player for two seasons. Hakeem’s championships in 1994 and 1995 are well deserved, as he was truly THE brightest star in the NBA at the time.

The 12-time All-Star was mesmerising on the court and amazing off the court. After the end of his career, Hakeem became involved in charity work and opened a number of social facilities in his native Nigeria: schools, hospitals. Now he lives in Indonesia, where he is engaged in comprehension of the subtleties of Islam. An extremely positive person and a truly great player.

1st PLACE

• Name: Michael Jeffrey Jordan
• Date of Birth: 17 February 1963
• NBA debut: 1984
• Associated with a team from the ’90s: Chicago Bulls
• Team number: 23
• NBA Champion: 6 times (1991,1992,1993,1996,1997,1998)
• Total games: 1072
• Total points: 32292
• NBA appearances: 1984-2003
• All-Star Game MVP: 3 times (1988, 1996, 1998)

The brightest star of 90s basketball, Michael Jordan, His Airness, two-time Olympic champion, six-time league champion, the man who incredibly popularised the NBA in the 90s, the highest paid athlete in history, the first athlete to earn $1 billion with his skills. Jordan is the leader in NBA history in average points per game at 30.1! He also holds the lead in points per game: in 1986 against the Boston Celtics, he scored 63 points! The list could be very long, considering the number of personal honours this unique athlete possesses.

He made the All-Star Game 14 times during his career, meaning every year he played for his Chicago Bulls. And even after finishing his career, Jordan continued to set records. His uniform, in which he played during the 1996/1997 season, was sold at auction for a record $288,000. And in 2022, he travelled 1,359 kilometres in just a couple of hours (well, yes, by plane) to attend the 2022 All-Star Game.

Many films have been made about him, thousands of books and scientific papers have been dedicated to his phenomenon. In a word: George is a man of the era, a man of basketball, a man-unique, on whom almost all the youth of the 1980s-1990s, not only in the United States, but all over the world, looked up to. His name has long since become a household name. What’s there to add?