There are a lot of really great basketball players in the 80s, but I’m going to focus on just 27 of the most famous. Each player has either won an NCAA title or Olympic gold medal and has had a successful career after that. Some are currently in the NBA, while others played their last game over 20 years ago.
1. Mark Aguirre
Mark Anthony Aguirre was born in 1959 in Chicago, Illinois. He was a professional basketball player in the United States (NBA). He stands 6 ft 6 in tall (1.98 m), and his weight is 232 lb (105 kg). After three years at DePaul University, Aguirre was selected first overall in the 1981 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks. After being traded to Detroit from Dallas in exchange for Adrian Dantley, Aguirre played in the NBA from 1981 to 1994, winning two championships with the Detroit Pistons. Dallas Aguirre was a three-time All-Star.
2. Walter Davis
Walter Pearl Davis was born in North Carolina in 1954. He is a former professional basketball player in the United States. His height is 1.98 m, and his weight is 193 lb (88 kg). He was a forward/guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 15 years, the majority of which he spent with the Phoenix Suns. The Suns retired his No. 6 jersey after a six-time NBA All-Star.
3. Marques Johnson
Marques Kevin Johnson was born in 1956 in Louisiana, U.S. His height is 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), and his weight is 218 lb (99 kg). He is a basketball pundit for Fox Sports Net’s Milwaukee Bucks and a former professional basketball player in the United States. He was a five-time All-Star in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1977 to 1989 as a small forward. The Bucks were his team for most of his career.
4. Ralph Sampson
Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. was born in 1960 in Virginia, U.S. He is a retired basketball player from the United States. His height is 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m), and his weight is 228 lb (103 kg). He is a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. Sampson, a 7-foot-4 wonder, three-time College Player of the Year, and a first-round pick in the 1983 NBA draft, arrived in league with high expectations (NBA).
5. Bill Laimbeer
William J. Laimbeer Jr. was born in 1957 in Boston, Massachusetts. Bill Laimbeer is an American professional basketball coach and former player, is the head coach of the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Las Vegas Aces (WNBA). His height is 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), and his weight is 244 lb (111 kg). Laimbeer won back-to-back NBA Championships with the Pistons in 1989 and 1990 and was chosen an NBA All-Star four times.
6. Dennis Johnson
Dennis Wayne Johnson was born in 1954 and died in 2007. He is better known by his moniker “D.J.,” an NBA basketball player with the Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, and a coach for the Los Angeles Clippers. His height is 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), and his weight is185 lb (84 kg). In 1979, he won the Finals MVP Award after leading the Sonics to their only NBA victory. Johnson was also recognized as a clutch player who produced multiple game-changing plays in NBA playoff history.
7. Michael Ray Richardson
Micheal “Sugar” Ray Richardson was born in 1955 in Texas. HIn the United States, he was a professional basketball player and head coach, and head coach in United States. His height is 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), and his weight is 189 lb (86 kg). Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft, spent eight years in the league, playing for the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, and New Jersey Nets. Richardson was a four-time All-Star in the NBA.
8. Bernard King
Bernard King was born in 1956 in New York. His height is 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), and his weight is 205 lb (93 kg). He is a retired professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association who played small forward (NBA). He played for the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Washington Bullets throughout 14 seasons. In 2013, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
9. Sydney Moncrief
Sidney Alvin Moncrief was born in 1957 in Arkansas. Sidney Alvin Moncrief is a retired professional basketball player from the United States. His height is 6 feet 4 in (1.93 m), and his weight is 190 pounds (86 kg). Moncrief played NCAA college basketball for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks from 1975 to 1979, leading them to 1978. He was a five-time NBA All-Star and the first two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards he received in 1983 and 1984.
10. Jack Sikma
Jack Wayne Sikma was born in 1955 in Kankakee, Illinois. His height is 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), and his weight is 230 lb (104 kg). He is a former professional basketball center in the United States. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star with the Seattle SuperSonics, who selected him eighth overall in the 1977 NBA Draft in the first round. With the Seattle SuperSonics, he won an NBA title in 1979. Sikma finished his NBA career with 17,287 points.
11. Charles Barkley
Charles Wade Barkley is an NBA analyst for Inside the NBA and a former professional basketball player in the United States. He was born in 1963 in Leeds, Alabama. His height is 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), and his weight is 252 lb (114 kg). Barkley was an 11-time NBA All-Star, 11-time All-NBA Team member, and the 1993 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). In addition, he was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during the league’s 50th anniversary. For the NBA’s 75th anniversary, he was again named to the list of the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History.
12. Alex English
Alex ander English was born in 1954 in South Carolina. He is a former professional basketball player, coach, and entrepreneur from the United States. His height is 2.03m, and his weight is190 lb (86 kg). In 1976, he was selected in the second round of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) draft. English was a small forward with the Denver Nuggets in the 1980s and was a standout player. The Nuggets made the NBA playoffs nine times in a row from 1979 through 1989, winning two Midwest Division crowns and reaching the Western Conference Finals in 1985. . During the 1980s, English scored more points than any other NBA player.
13. George Gervin
George Gervin was born in 1952 in Michigan. His height is 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), and his weight is180 lb (82 kg). He is an American retired professional basketball player who played with the Virginia Squires, San Antonio Spurs, and Chicago Bulls in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gervin was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996 and one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history in 2021.
14. Adrian Dantley
Adrian Delano Dantley was born in 1955 in Washington, D.C. His height is 1.96 m, and his weight is 208 lb (94 kg). He was a professional basketball player in the past coach in the United States. He was a six-time NBA All-Star and played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dantley was ranked ninth all-time in NBA scoring at his retirement and was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
15. Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon was born in Nigeria in the year 1963. His height is 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), and his weight is 255 lb (116 kg). He is a former Nigerian-American professional basketball player known as “the Dream.” He is widely regarded as the best center of all time and one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He was a center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Houston Rockets and then the Toronto Raptors from 1984 to 2002. In 1994 and 1995, he led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA titles.
16. Kevin McHale
Kevin Edward McHale was born in 1957 in Minnesota. His height is 2.08 m, and his weight is 210 lb (95 kg). He is a former professional basketball player, coach, and analyst from the United States. He spent his entire professional career with the Boston Celtics. He is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and is widely recognized as one of the all-time great power forwards. In addition, he was chosen to the NBA’s All-Time 50th Anniversary Team. As an on-air analyst, During his tenure, there presently works for NBA TV and Turner Sports’ popular NBA on a TNT studio show.
17. James Worthy
James Ager Worthy, an American sports pundit, television broadcaster, analyst, and former professional basketball player, was born in 1961 in North Carolina. His height is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and his weight is 225 lb (102 kg). He was a seven-time NBA All-Star, three-time NBA champion, and the 1988 NBA Finals MVP with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association. In addition, he was named to both the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History and the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History (NBA).
18. Dominique Wilkins
Jacques Dominique Wilkins was born in 1960 in Paris, France. He is a retired professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association who notably played for the Atlanta Hawks (NBA). His height is 2.03m, and his weight is 215 lb (98 kg). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star and is widely regarded as one of the NBA’s most acrobatic slam dunkers, garnering the moniker “the Human Highlight Film.”
19. Julius Erving
Julius Winfield Erving II was born in 1950 in New York. His height is 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), and his weight is 210 lb (95 kg). He is one of the most important basketball players of all time. Erving was the most well-known player in the American Basketball Association (ABA) when it joined with the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1975–76 season. With 30,026 points (NBA and ABA combined), he is the eighth-highest scorer in ABA/NBA history, and he is the only player to be named Most Valuable Player in both the ABA and the NBA.
20. Isiah Thomas
Isiah Lord Thomas III was born in1961 in Chicago, Illinois. He stands at 185 cm tall and weighs 82 kg. He is an NBA TV analyst and former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. The 12-time NBA All-Star was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and designated one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He spent his professional basketball career with the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
21. Michael Jordan, G, Chicago Bulls
Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born in 1963 in New York. His height is 1.98 m, and his weight is 216 lb (98 kg). Michael Jordan, G, Chicago Bulls was a professional basketball player in the United States in the past. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world, and as a result, he became a global cultural figure. Jordan was a 15-year NBA veteran who won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls.
22. Moses Malone
Moses Eugene Malone was born in 1955 and died in 2015. His height is 2.08 m, and his weight is 260 lb (118 kg). He was a three-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), a 12-time NBA All-Star, and an eight-time All-NBA Team selection as a center. In 1983, Malone led the Philadelphia 76ers to an NBA title, capturing the league and Finals MVP awards.
23. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born in 1947 in New York. His height is 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m), and his weight is 225 lb (102 kg). He is a former professional basketball player who played for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member career as a center. In 1996, He was named the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players.
24. Larry Bird, SF, Boston Celtics
Larry Joe Bird was born in 1956 in Indiana. Larry Bird, SF, Boston Celtics is a former NBA basketball player, coach, and executive in the United States (NBA). His height is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and his weight is 220 lb (100 kg). Bird immediately impacted the NBA during the 1979–1980 season, starting at power forward and helping the Celtics to a 32-win increase over the previous season before being defeated in the Conference Finals. He spent his entire professional career (13 seasons) with the Celtics, leading them to five NBA finals trips and three NBA championships.
25. Magic Johnson
Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr. was born in 1959 in Michigan. His height is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and his weight is 220 lb (100 kg). He is an American former professional basketball player and former head of basketball operations for the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers (NBA). Often recognized as the greatest point guard of all time. In his inaugural season, he won a championship and the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, and he went on to win four more titles with the Lakers in the 1980s.
26. Stephon Marbury
Stephon Xavier Marbury is an American basketball coach and former player who currently serves as the Chinese Basketball Association’s Beijing Royal Fighters (CBA) head coach. He was born in 1977 in New York. His height is 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), and his weight is205 lb (93 kg). He was an NBA All-Star Nets in 2001 and the Suns in 2003; He was named the All-NBA Third Team in 2000 and 2003.
27. Steve Nash
Stephen John Nash OC OBC was born in 1974 in South Africa. His height is 1.91 m, and his weight is178 lb (81 kg). Steve Nash is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who now serves as the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets (NBA) head coach. He was an eight-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA selection during his 18-year NBA career. While playing for the Phoenix Suns, Nash was named NBA’s Most Valuable Player twice.
28. Bill Walton
William Theodore Walton III was born in 1952 in California. His height is 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), and his weight is 210 lb (95 kg). He is an American television sportscaster and former basketball player. He won three straight national collegiate players of the year awards (1972–1974) while leading UCLA to NCAA titles in 1972 and 1973 and an 88-game winning run for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins. Walton led the Portland Trail Blazers to an NBA title in 1977 after being taken first overall in the 1974 NBA draft. That season, he won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. In 1986, he won another NBA championship with the Boston Celtics.
29. Karl Malone
Karl Anthony Malone was born in 1963 in Louisiana. His height is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and his weight is 259 lb (117 kg). Karl Malone was a professional basketball player in the United States before retiring. He was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 14-time NBA All-Star, and an 11-time All-NBA first-team selection. His 36,928 career points are second only to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in NBA history.
30. Darryl Dawkins, PF, Philadelphia 76ers
Darryl R. Dawkins was born in 1957 and died in 2015. His height is 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), and his weight is 251 lb (114 kg). Darryl Dawkins, PF, Philadelphia 76ers was an NBA basketball player in the United States. He was known for his thunderous dunks, which led to the NBA implementing breakaway rims after he shattered two backboards in 1979. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and he competed in three NBA Finals.
31. John Stockton
John Houston Stockton was born in 1962 in Washington. His height is 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), and his weight is 170 lb (77 kg). He spent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) as a point guard for the Utah Jazz, and the team made the playoffs in each of his 19 seasons. Stockton and longtime teammate Karl Malone led the Jazz to their only two NBA Finals appearances in 1997 and 1998, lost to the Chicago Bulls.
32. Mark Price
William Mark Price was born in 1964 in Oklahoma. He is a former basketball player and coach from the United States. His height is 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), and his weight is 170 lb (77 kg). He was the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers most recently. He was a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 12 seasons, from 1986 to 1998.
33. Scottie Pippen
Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr was born in 1965 in Arkansas. He is a retired American professional basketball player. His height is 2.03 m, and his weight is 228 lb (103 kg). He was a 17-year veteran of the National Basketball Association (NBA), earning six titles with the Chicago Bulls. During the 1990s, Pippen and Michael Jordan were instrumental in developing the Bulls into a championship team and popularizing the NBA worldwide.
34. Patrick Ewing
Patrick Aloysius Ewing was born in 1962 in the Colony of Jamaica. His height is 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), and his weight is 240 lb (109 kg). During his tenure, the Knicks reached the NBA Finals twice (1994 and 1999). As a member of the United States men’s Olympic basketball teams in 1984 and 1992, he won gold medals in both games. Ewing was designated one of the 50 Greatest Americans in 1996 Players in NBA History, and in 2021, he was named one of the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History.
35. Willis Reed
Willis Reed Jr. was born in 1942 in Louisiana. His height is 2.08 m, and his weight is 240 lb (109 kg). He is a former basketball player, coach, and general manager in the United States. He was named as one of the “50 Greatest Players in NBA History” in 1996. Reed used to be vice president of the New Jersey Nets (1989–1996). He led them to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 as senior vice president of basketball operations.
37. Danny Manning
Daniel Ricardo Manning was born in 1966 in Mississippi. His height is 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), and his weight is 275 lb (125 kg). He is an interim head coach for the Maryland Terrapins and a former professional basketball player in the United States. He spent 14 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won the national title with the Jayhawks in 1988 and as an assistant coach in 2008.
38. David Robinson
David Maurice Robinson was born in 1965 in Florida. His height is 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m), and his weight is 235 lb (107 kg). David Maurice Robinson is a minority owner of the San Antonio Spurs and a former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003. Robinson was a 10-time NBA All-Star, the 1995 NBA MVP, a two-time NBA champion (1999 and 2003).
