The 18 Best NBA Players From The 1990s

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After the beginning and consolidation of the NBA back in the 1950s, the league had amazing, memorable moments, featuring the unbeatable Boston Celtics, the fascinating Los Angeles Lakers. Several legendary players left their mark on the league, such as Bob Petit, Bill Russell, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, among others. But the NBA never had achieved not such intense attention and popularity as in the 90s. And a large part of this enhancement was undoubtedly the emergence and reaffirmation of some truly extraordinary talents, which we detail below. So, here are the 20 best NBA players from the 1990s.

The 1990s was an amazing era for the NBA, full of memorable moments. We saw the Chicago Bulls win two three-peats, with the face of the NBA retiring to play baseball and then coming back in epic fashion, we saw the Houston Rockets win two championships in a row, and witnessed the first of five titles for Gregg Popovich's San Antonio Spurs.

Best of all, there was too much talent on the court in that decade, veterans, superstars, rookies, centers, point guards, forwards, there was talent for everyone. There were several phenomenal players in that era, so it is very difficult to make a list of only 10 names, but here we go. These are the 10 best NBA players from the 1990s.

UPDATE: 2023/09/08 18:30 EST BY ROBERTH PEREZ

After the beginning and consolidation of the NBA back in the 1950s, the league had amazing, memorable moments, featuring the unbeatable Boston Celtics, the fascinating Los Angeles Lakers. Several legendary players left their mark on the league, such as Bob Petit, Bill Russell, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, among others. But the NBA never had achieved not such intense attention and popularity as in the 90s. And a large part of this enhancement was undoubtedly the emergence and reaffirmation of some truly extraordinary talents, which we detail below. So, here are the 20 best NBA players from the 1990s.

20 Shawn Kemp

Born on November 26, 1969, in Elkhart-Indiana, Power Forward Shawn Travis Kemp was selected with the 17th pick in the 1989 draft by the Seattle Supersonics. He had a magnificent career that included outstanding numbers in the 1990s. He had six selections to the All-Star Game in that decade, and he left averages of 17.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game, with a 20.8 Player Efficiency Rating, and a 21.6 Value Over Replacement Player.

19 Kevin Johnson

Kevin Johnson Charles Barkley Phoenix Suns — RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Johnson was a very productive point guard, definitely one of the best of the 1990s. Despite having a relatively short career of 12 seasons (nine in the 90s), he managed to leave a strong mark on the court. We are talking about averages of 18.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game, with a 21.0 Player Efficiency Rating, and a 25.9 Value Over Replacement Player in the decade.

18 Alonzo Mourning

Alonzo Mourning was a center who played 15 seasons, eight of them in the 90s. In this decade, he attended five All-Star Games, and he led the league in blocks and was the Defensive Player Of The Year in the 1998-99 and 1999–2000 seasons. He had averages of 21.1 points 10.1 rebounds 1.5 assists, and 3.1 blocks per game, with a 22.4 Player Efficiency Rating, and 70.5 Win Shares.

17 Grant Hill

Grant Hill was, at some point, considered as the legitimate successor of Michael Jordan, as the face of the NBA, maybe because of his impressive talent and tremendous potential. He played since the 1994-95 season (he was the Rookie Of The Year), and that was enough to be one of the best players of the 1990s. He recorded 21.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, with a 22.4 Player Efficiency Rating, and a 31. Value Over Replacement Player.

16 Chris Webber

In the 1990s, Chris Webber had outstanding averages of 20.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game, with a 21.0 Player Efficiency Rating and a 24.7 Value Over Replacement Player. Those numbers are more than enough to give you a place among the best NBA players of the decade. The athletic center and power forward won the Rookie Of The Year award in the 1993-94 season, led the league in rebounds per game in the 1998-99 season, and he was a two-time All-Star.

15 Dennis Rodman

The stats of Dennis Rodman were not that impressive beyond his rebounding in the latter half of the 1990s. However, his impact on the decade was clearly too important to snub. Rodman won a total of four NBA Championships in the 1990s with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls.

Chicago adding Rodman led to their dominant three-peat when he was the missing piece behind Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Rodman won two Defensive Player of the Year Awards to match his two All-Star appearances and two All-NBA selections in the decade.

14 Tim Hardaway

Few point guards were as strong all-around players as Tim Hardaway in the 1990s. The Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat both witnessed Hardaway joining the list of their greatest players. NBA fans saw him putting up 19.4 points and 9.0 assists throughout the decade.

A total of five All-Star appearances and five All-NBA selections showed that Hardaway was almost always at the top of his position. Hardaway never won an NBA Championship, but he helped Miami contend for the first time in their franchise’s history.

13 Dikembe Mutombo

Defense was extremely important in the 1990s in a way that is not felt today. Dikembe Mutombo was arguably the best overall defender of that time frame. Three of Mutombo’s record-setting four Defensive Player of the Year Awards came in the decade.

Opposing players were fearful of driving into the paint with Mutombo there to stop them most times. Five All-Star selections saw the NBA rewarding him for stellar play. Mutombo averaged 12.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, and an astounding 3.6 blocks per game throughout the 1990s.

12 Gary Payton

The Seattle SuperSonics became a relevant top franchise in the 1990s thanks to Gary Payton leading the way. Payton was considered the best defensive guard and was the last guard to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 26 years until Marcus Smart broke the streak.

The stats of 16.3 points, 6.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds saw Payton impacting every area of the game. Payton made five All-Star appearances and received six All-NBA selections in the ten-year time. Seattle even had a 64-win season behind Payton and made the NBA Finals in 1996 before falling just short to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.

11 Clyde Drexler

The Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets both saw Clyde Drexler becoming a huge part of their respective franchises in the 1990s. Drexler was arguably the greatest player in Trail Blazers history, and then he won an NBA Championship with the Rockets.

Stats of 20.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists proved that Clyde was a stellar all-around player. Drexler made seven All-Star appearances and received four All-NBA selections as a top small forward most seasons.

10 Reggie Miller

Certainly Reggie Miller wasn't a phenomenal passer, and he didn't grab many rebounds, but he did score a lot of points, especially from long range. Reggie Miller is one of the best three-point shooters of all time, top three undoubtedly.

Miller was way ahead of his time, making three-pointers with impressive ease. In the decade, Miller had a true shooting percentage of .622, leading the league two years, he had a 39.8 VORP, and scored 20.6 points per game.

9 Patrick Ewing

In the 1990s, Patrick Ewing averaged 24.1 points, 11 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, putting up several impressive performances and being one of the league's most consistent players.

Ewing did not win any collective or individual awards in the decade, but he was in the top five in MVP voting five times, and led the New York Knicks to the playoffs every year.

8 Scottie Pippen

Obviously Michael Jordan gets all the credit and the spotlight, but we can't forget about his faithful squire, Scottie Pippen. In the decade, Pippen averaged 19.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game, accumulating a 48.2 Value Over Replacement Player.

Pippen made seven All-Star Game appearances and was an eight-time first team All-Defensive Player. Pippen was undoubtedly very important in the Bulls' six championships.

7 Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley was a real killer on the court, and he was undoubtedly one of the best players of the 1990s, even though he had a noticeable decline in the last third of the decade.

In that 10-year span, Sir Charles recorded 22.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game, with a 24.6 Player efficiency rating and in 43.5 VORP, being named MVP of the 1992-93 season and making seven All-Star Game appearances.

6 Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O'Neal was the first overall pick in the 1992 Draft, and he did not disappoint at all. In fact, you could say he exceeded expectations. Shaq was Rookie of the Year and quickly established himself as an unstoppable force, one of the most dominant players in the league.

In the 1990s, O'Neal averaged 27.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. He was scoring champion in the 1994-95 season, and he was selected to the All-Star Game six times.

5 Karl Malone

Karl-Malone-1 — RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

Karl Malone is one of the greatest NBA players to never win a championship ring, but still, he was one of the best players from the 1990s. The Utah Jazz power forward was a beast, one of the most intense players of that era.

In 703 games in the 1990s, Malone had averages of 26.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.9 blocks per game, with a 57.9 VORP. The Mailman was a two-time MVP and nine-time All-Star during that 10-year span.

4 John Stockton

Like Karl Malone, John Stockton never won a championship ring, which is strange considering the two of them formed one of the most lethal duos of all time.

In the 1990s, Stockton was the league's best passer in six consecutive seasons, averaging 11.6 assists per game, along with 14.7 points and 2.2 steals, with a 57 VORP. In the decade John Stockton had eight All-Star Game appearances, taking MVP honors in the 1993 All-Star Game.

3 David Robinson

David Robinson was an exceptional player, a delight to watch. In the 1990s, Robinson averaged 24.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.4 blocks and 1.6 steals per game. The Spurs saw him winning MVP of the 1994-95 season, Defensive Player of the Year in 1991-92, and Rookie of the Year in 1989-90

Robinson was scoring champion and block champion, he was NBA champion in the 1998-99 season, and had eight All-star Game appearances.

Obviously, Robinson was one of the best NBA players of the 1990s, and he has a well-deserved place in the Hall of Fame.

2 Hakeem Olajuwon

The first overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft met, and perhaps exceeded, expectations. Hakeem Olajuwon had a fantastic career, being at the top of his game during the 1990s.

In that decade Olajuwon averaged 23.9 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game, being a three-time block champion, six-time All-Star, 1993-94 season MVP, two-time Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Finals MVP. The Dream was arguably the most dominant player of the 1990s.

1 Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan Bulls — © USA TODAY Sports

Michael Jordan was undoubtedly the best NBA player of the 1990s. His Airness dominated virtually the entire decade, and the years he didn't dominate, it was because he was retired, which is absolutely mind-blowing. Jordan won six championship rings, was a six-time Finals MVP and four-time MVP.

In the decade, Mike averaged 30.3 points per game in the regular season, with a 62.3 Value Over Replacement Player, and averaged 32.9 points per game in the playoffs, with a 28.5 player efficiency rating. Michael Jordan was the one and only.