The Most Points Scored in the NBA in the 1980s
Contents
- The highest scoring games in the NBA during the 1980s
- The players who scored the most points in the NBA during the 1980s
- The teams who scored the most points in the NBA during the 1980s
- The biggest scoring margins in the NBA during the 1980s
- The longest scoring streaks in the NBA during the 1980s
- The most points scored in a single season in the NBA during the 1980s
- The most points scored in a single game in the NBA during the 1980s
- The most points scored by a rookie in the NBA during the 1980s
- The most points scored by a player in their career in the NBA during the 1980s
- The most points scored by a player in a single game in the NBA during the 1980s
Take a look at the most points scored in the NBA in the 1980s. You’ll be surprised at who’s at the top of the list!
The highest scoring games in the NBA during the 1980s
In the 1980s, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics were the two best teams in the NBA. They met in the NBA Finals three times, with the Lakers winning twice. But there were some other great teams in the league during that decade, including the Milwaukee Bucks led by MVP and Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the Philadelphia 76ers, led by Julius Erving and the Detroit Pistons who won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990.
There were some Great players in the NBA during the 1980s as well, including Magic Johnson Larry Bird Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant And there were some great games played during that decade as well. Here are some of the highest scoring games in NBA history that took place during the 1980s:
On December 13th, 1983, Mike Newlin of the Houston Rockets scored 49 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers This was not only a career-high for Newlin, but it was also a franchise record for points in a game at that time.
On January 27th, 1987, Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks scored 44 points against Bill Laimbeer and the Detroit Pistons This was a career-high for Ewing at that time. He would go on to score 50 points later that year against another team from Detroit: The Pistons’ cross-town rivals, The bad boys of Basketball – The 1986-87 champion Detroit Pistons
Kareem Abdul Jabbar scored 44 points on 12 occasions during his illustrious career. But one game stands out above all others: On February 21st,1980 – late in his 18th season – Abdul Jabbar became only the second player in NBA history to score 30,000 points. In doing so he eclipsed Wilt Chamberlain’s previous landmark total of 31 years old 29 days set on October 24th , 1974 . On March 6th , 1986 Bernard King had what was then considered an unfathomable game: 60 points for New York Knicks at home against New Jersey Nets . It remains one of only two 60 Point Games in Madison Square Garden history; Wilt Chamberlain did it first on November 16th , 1961 .
The players who scored the most points in the NBA during the 1980s
The players who scored the most points in the NBA during the 1980s were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Alex English, and Dominique Wilkins Abdul-Jabbar, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers scored the most points of any player during the decade, with 18, Mavericks. English, who played for the Denver Nuggets was second, with 17.2 points per game Wilkins, who played for the Atlanta Hawks was third, with 16.7 points per game
The teams who scored the most points in the NBA during the 1980s
The 1980s were a decade of great scoring teams. Here are the teams who scored the most points in the NBA during the 1980s.
1980-81: Boston Celtics 118.0 points per game
1981-82: Los Angeles Lakers 115.8 points per game
1982-83: Milwaukee Bucks 114.8 points per game
1983-84: Detroit Pistons 113.4 points per game
1984-85: Los Angeles Lakers 112.9 points per game
1985-86: Boston Celtics 111.8 points per game
1986-87: Los Angeles Lakers 111.5 points per game
1987-88: Detroit Pistons 109.8 points per game
1988-89: Detroit Pistons 109.6 points per game
The biggest scoring margins in the NBA during the 1980s
The 1980s were a decade of big scoring margins in the NBA. The following is a list of the biggest scoring margins in the NBA during the 1980s.
-1984: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons by 48 points, 129-81.
-1985: The Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers by 45 points, 122-77.
-1988: The Detroit Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks by 44 points, 129-85.
-1986: The Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls by 43 points, 128-85.
The longest scoring streaks in the NBA during the 1980s
The longest scoring streaks in the NBA during the 1980s were as follows:
--Michael Jordan 40 games (1986)
--Wilt Chamberlain 31 games (1960)
--George Gervin 28 games (1981)
--Karl Malone 27 games (1989)
The most points scored in a single season in the NBA during the 1980s
During the 1980s, several record-breaking scores were made in the NBA. The most points scored in a single season was 3,586 by the Utah Jazz in the 1984-1985 season. This record was broken by the Chicago Bulls who scored 3,676 points in 1995-1996.
The most points scored in a single game in the NBA during the 1980s
The 1980s were a particularly high-scoring decade in the NBA. In fact, the record for most points scored in a single game was set during this time. The record-holder is Wilt Chamberlain who scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks in 1962. This record has not been broken since.
During the 1980s, there were several players who came close to breaking Chamberlain’s record. The closest anyone came was Kobe Bryant who scored 81 points in a game against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. However, Bryant’s 81-point game is still not considered the second-highest scoring game of all time. That honor belongs to Elgin Baylor, who scored 71 points in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1960.
The most points scored by a rookie in the NBA during the 1980s
Rookie scoring records in the NBA are always impressive, but they become even more so when looking at the most points scored in a season by a player during the 1980s. The list is led by one of the game’s all-time greats, Michael Jordan who set the rookie scoring record with 2,313 points during his 1984-85 campaign with the Chicago Bulls
Hall of Fame center David Robinson is second on the list, having scored 2,210 points during his 1989-90 rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs. Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone rounds out the top three, having tallied 2,175 points as a rookie during the 1985-86 season.
Among other notable names on the list are Patrick Ewing (4th),Alvin Robertson (5th), Shaquille O’Neal (7th), Charles Barkley (9th), and Mitch Richmond (10th).
The most points scored by a player in their career in the NBA during the 1980s
In the 1980s, the most points scored by a player in their career in the NBA were:
--Michael Jordan 32,292 points
--Karl Malone 36,928 points
--Wilt Chamberlain 31,419 points
The most points scored by a player in a single game in the NBA during the 1980s
In the 1980s, the most points scored by a player in a single game in the NBA was 62, achieved by Kareem Abdul Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 20, 1982. Abdul-Jabbar’s feat stood as the record for most points scored in an NBA game for almost 17 years, until it was surpassed by Wilt Chamberlain’s 63-point performance on March 2, 1962.