We enjoy a little bit of basketball and also a bit of nostalgia. With the new NBA season tipping off in 10 days time we count down 10 memorable performances. 

Firstly, please get this audio going to help set the scene...

Growing up in Australia during the 80's made it difficult to follow the NBA. There was no easy access to American basketball back then. As we moved in to the 90's though, Don Lane on ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) started illuminating our homes with the NBA and NCAA late at night on Fridays. 

It was around 1992 when Network Ten took hold of the broadcasting rights, with the network owning popular ratings at the time. This produced a basketball boom Australia-wide. The whole country could tune in for NBA Action and the NBA Game of the Week at midday every Saturday. We started imitating Michael Jordan's fade-aways and reverse layups. We began collecting Upper Deck, Fleer and Skybox. We bought One-on-One, SLAM and Beckett Monthly. We watched White Men Can't Jump, Space Jam, Blue Chips, Hoop Dreams and Above the Rim. 

Many years have past since that era. For this post, we are going to go back 20 years to 1997. Here are the best plays of that season according to NBA Action.

The Best Players of 1996-97

10. Penny Hardaway

Orlando Magic, Point Guard

20.5 points / 4.5 rebounds / 5.6 assists / 1.6 steals / 0.6 blocks

9. Latrell Sprewell

Golden State Warriors, Shooting Guard

24.2 points / 4.6 rebounds / 6.3 assists / 1.7 steals / 0.6 blocks

8. Tim Hardaway

Miami Heat, Point Guard

20.3 points / 3.4 rebounds / 8.6 assists / 1.9 steals / 0.1 blocks

7. Scottie Pippen

Chicago Bulls, Small Forward

20.2 points / 6.5 rebounds / 5.7 assists / 1.9 steals / 0.5 blocks

6. Hakeem Olajuwon

Houston Rockets, Center

23.2 points / 9.2 rebounds / 3.0 assists / 1.5 steals / 2.2 blocks

5. Glen Rice

Charlotte Hornets, Small Forward

26.8 points / 4.0 rebounds / 2.0 assists / 0.9 steals / 0.3 blocks

4. Shaquille O’Neal

Los Angeles Lakers, Center

26.2 points / 12.5 rebounds / 3.1 assists / 0.9 steals / 2.9 blocks

3. Grant Hill

Detroit Pistons, Small Forward

21.4 points / 9.0 rebounds / 7.3 assists / 1.8 steals / 0.6 blocks

2. Karl Malone  

Utah Jazz, Power Forward

27.4 points / 9.9 rebounds / 4.5 assists / 1.4 steals / 0.6 blocks

1. Michael Jordan 

Chicago Bulls, Shooting Guard

29.6 points / 5.9 rebounds / 4.3 assists / 1.7 steals / 0.5 blocks

Article by Nathan Lee. Nathan is a Co-Founder and Creative Director at Mind Methods and has been delivering brand strategy since 2002. Nathan brings extensive experience spanning a long list of Australian and global brands across a range of industries, delivering outstanding brand, design, print and digital solutions.