Every generation of NBA fans has an era they swear was the best. Some love the physicality of the 1980s and 1990s. Others grew up watching Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan in the 2000s. The 2010s brought LeBron James, Stephen Curry and the Warriors dynasty, while today’s NBA might have the deepest collection of skilled players we have ever seen.
So which era was actually the best?
Let’s break down the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and the current era before making our pick.
1980s: Magic and Bird Help Save the NBA
It is almost impossible for a modern fan to imagine NBA Finals games not being shown live nationally, but that was the reality entering the 1980s. The league was struggling for attention, and CBS even showed some NBA Finals games on tape delay, airing them late at night after the games had already finished.
Then came Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Their rivalry had already captivated basketball fans when Magic’s Michigan State defeated Bird’s Indiana State in the 1979 NCAA Championship Game. Then Magic went to the Lakers, Bird went to the Celtics, and one of basketball’s greatest rivalries exploded.
The Lakers and Celtics combined to win eight championships during the decade, with Magic leading Showtime in Los Angeles while Bird restored Boston to greatness. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, Moses Malone and Isiah Thomas added even more star power, while the Bad Boy Pistons emerged late in the decade. Then Michael Jordan arrived.
The 1980s began with a league struggling to get some of its biggest games shown live nationally and ended with Magic, Bird and Jordan becoming enormous stars. The argument for the 80s is simple: this was the decade that helped transform the NBA.
1990s: The Jordan Era
If Magic and Bird helped rebuild the NBA’s popularity, Michael Jordan took it to another level.
Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won six championships in eight seasons, completing two separate three-peats. Jordan went 6-0 in the Finals, won six Finals MVPs and became one of the most recognizable athletes on Earth.
But the decade wasn’t only Jordan. Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller and Shaquille O’Neal gave the league an incredible collection of stars. Hakeem’s Rockets captured consecutive championships during Jordan’s absence, while teams such as the Knicks, Pacers and Jazz became perennial contenders.
The basketball was physical, the paint was crowded and playoff series could become battles. If your favorite version of basketball involves rivalries, physical defense and Michael Jordan at the height of his powers, the 1990s have a serious argument.
2000s: Superstars Everywhere
Look at some of the names who defined this decade.
Kobe. Shaq. Duncan. Garnett. Dirk. Iverson. Nash. Kidd. Wade. T-Mac. Vince. Pierce. Ray Allen. And eventually LeBron.
The Lakers opened the decade with a three-peat behind Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, while Tim Duncan and the Spurs built another dynasty. Detroit showed that a balanced defensive team could still defeat a roster filled with superstars when the Pistons stunned the Lakers in the 2004 Finals.
The decade also featured wildly different styles. Shaq dominated inside, Kobe and Iverson lived through difficult isolation possessions, Steve Nash’s Suns pushed the pace, Dirk stretched the floor as a seven-footer and LeBron arrived as the next generational superstar.
The argument for the 2000s is its ridiculous collection of individual talent. Almost every team seemed to have somebody you wanted to watch.
2010s: Basketball Changes Forever
The 2010s gave us LeBron James at his peak and Stephen Curry changing the sport at the same time.
LeBron began the decade by forming the Heatles with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, reaching four straight Finals and winning two championships. He then returned to Cleveland and delivered the championship his hometown had waited decades for, overcoming a 3-1 Finals deficit against a 73-win Warriors team in 2016.
Meanwhile, Curry and Golden State changed the geometry of basketball. Three-point shooting exploded, spacing became essential, traditional positions began disappearing and small-ball lineups became championship weapons. The Warriors won three championships and reached five consecutive Finals, including four straight matchups against LeBron’s Cavaliers.
And there was so much more. Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and a young Giannis Antetokounmpo all left their mark. Dirk’s Mavericks stunned Miami in 2011, San Antonio played beautiful team basketball to win in 2014 and Kawhi ended the decade by bringing Toronto its first championship in 2019.
But there was something else about this decade that is harder to put into statistics.
The 2010s had aura. It was just that simple.
The NBA felt enormous. LeBron’s every move became a national sports story. Warriors vs. Cavaliers became an annual event. Steph was changing how an entire generation played basketball. The superteams, rivalries, debates and personalities made the league feel like something you had to follow even when your own team wasn’t involved.
And the television numbers help show just how much attention the biggest moments commanded. The 2016 NBA Finals averaged more than 20 million U.S. viewers, while Game 7 between Cleveland and Golden State averaged roughly 31 million and peaked at nearly 45 million viewers. The following year, Warriors-Cavaliers became the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998.
And that 1998 comparison deserves some context. That was Michael Jordan’s final championship season with the Chicago Bulls, culminating in the Last Shot and the completion of Chicago’s second three-peat. There was an extraordinary amount of attention surrounding what people understood could be the end of the Jordan Bulls dynasty.
For the NBA to return anywhere near that level of television attention during the Warriors-Cavaliers rivalry speaks to just how much the league had captured the public’s attention again.
The 2010s had superteams, dynasties, rivalries, historic comebacks and a complete evolution in how basketball was played.
2020s: The Skill Explosion
The current NBA might feature the highest overall skill level basketball has ever seen.
Nikola Jokic can essentially run an offense from the center position. Giannis Antetokounmpo combines size and athleticism at a ridiculous level. Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have become dominant offensive players, while Victor Wembanyama possesses a combination of size and skill that barely seems real.
Basketball has also become increasingly global. Some of the league’s biggest stars now come from Serbia, Greece, Slovenia, Canada and France, and positional boundaries continue to disappear. Big men handle the ball, centers initiate offense, power forwards shoot threes and defenders are expected to guard multiple positions.
The current era’s biggest disadvantage in this debate is simple: we don’t know how the story ends yet. We are still watching its defining rivalries, players and moments develop.
Our Pick: The 2010s
Every era has an argument. The 1980s helped transform the NBA. The 1990s gave us Michael Jordan’s dynasty. The 2000s were overflowing with legendary superstars. The 2020s may ultimately become the most skilled era ever.
But we’re taking the 2010s.
It gave us LeBron at his peak, Curry changing basketball, Durant becoming one of the greatest scorers ever, the Heatles, the Warriors dynasty, Spurs basketball, Dirk’s championship run, Cleveland’s 3-1 comeback and Kawhi bringing a championship to Toronto.
More importantly, basketball itself changed before our eyes. Three-point shooting exploded. Positions blurred. Small ball became legitimate championship basketball. Offenses became more creative, while some of the greatest players ever were simultaneously competing for championships.
And beyond everything we can measure, the decade simply felt huge. The games, players, rivalries and storylines had an aura around them that made the NBA appointment viewing.
The 2010s had a little bit of everything.
Legendary players. Great teams. Dynasties. Rivalries. Villains. Underdogs. Historic Finals. And a revolution in how basketball was played.
For Ethical Sports Takes, the 2010s were the greatest era in NBA history.
What era are you taking? Let us know in the comments.
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