1988–89 NBA season

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1988–89 NBA season
League National Basketball Association
Sport Basketball
Duration November 4, 1988 – April 23, 1989
April 27 – June 2, 1989 (Playoffs)
June 6 – 13, 1989 (Finals)
TV partner/s CBS, TBS, TNT
Draft
Top draft pick Danny Manning
Picked by Los Angeles Clippers
Regular season
Top seed Detroit Pistons
Season MVP Magic Johnson (L.A. Lakers)
Top scorer Michael Jordan (Chicago)
Playoffs
Eastern champions Detroit Pistons
  Eastern runners-up Chicago Bulls
Western champions Los Angeles Lakers
  Western runners-up Phoenix Suns
Finals
Finals champions Detroit Pistons
  Runners-up Los Angeles Lakers
Finals MVP Joe Dumars (Detroit)
NBA seasons
← 1987–88

1989–90 →
Los Angeles Lakers facing off against the Boston Celtics in Dec. 1988. This would be Kareem Abdul Jabbar's last jump ball at Boston Garden.

The 1988–89 NBA season was the 43rd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Detroit Pistons winning the NBA Championship, sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals.

Contents

[edit] Notable occurrences

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1987-88 coach 1988-89 coach
Boston Celtics K.C. Jones Jimmy Rodgers
Charlotte Hornets Expansion Dick Harter
Houston Rockets Bill Fitch Don Chaney
Miami Heat Expansion Ron Rothstein
Phoenix Suns John Wetzel Cotton Fitzsimmons
San Antonio Spurs Bob Weiss Larry Brown
Golden State Warriors Ed Gregory Don Nelson
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Portland Trail Blazers Mike Schuler Rick Adelman
Los Angeles Clippers Gene Shue Don Casey
Indiana Pacers Jack Ramsay Mel Daniels
Mel Daniels George Irvine
George Irvine Dick Versace
Utah Jazz Frank Layden Jerry Sloan
  • The NBA adopts the three-official system used in college basketball permanently. The league experimented with three officials per game in 1978–79, but went back to two officials per game for the next nine seasons, although they actually have three with the inclusion of an alternate referee for all playoff games and selected regular season games.
  • The Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets enter the NBA as the league's 24th and 25th franchises. Because of this the Sacramento Kings move to the Pacific Division. The Heat, however, began their season as a member of the Western Conference despite its geographical position, enduring its longest road trips when playing Western Conference teams. They also started the season 0–17, at the time the worst start in NBA history, eventually finishing at 15–67. The Hornets finished a little better at 20–62.
  • The 1989 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, with the West defeating the East 143–134. Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz takes home the game's MVP award.
  • The Detroit Pistons play their first game at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Palace would start a trend of new arenas complete with revenue-increasing luxury boxes and club seating, which other teams soon follow.
  • The Milwaukee Bucks play their first game at the Bradley Center.
  • The Sacramento Kings play their first game at ARCO Arena (now Power Balance Pavilion).
  • TNT begins airing NBA games. They share the cable broadcast rights with sister network TBS.
  • Michael Jordan records ten triple-doubles in eleven games near the end of the season.
  • Prior to the season, the first-year Hornets announce that they choose teal as their primary color, which gave them immediate attention. In the next decade, expansion teams in the other professional sports leagues (most notably the San Jose Sharks of the NHL, the Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball's NL, and the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL) further popularized the use of the color. The Hornets also popularized the use of pinstripes on the uniforms, which were later adopted by the Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls (alternates only), Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers and Charlotte's successor NBA team, the Bobcats.
  • The Chicago Bulls started a playoff tradition by wearing black sneakers. Prior to that, the Boston Celtics were the only team to wear black sneakers. Following the Bulls' unlikely playoff run, other teams began adopting the style, beginning with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1990.
  • The season marks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's last, after 20 seasons. All NBA teams paid tribute to Kareem by staging special events to honor him.
  • The Los Angeles Lakers became the first team to sweep a seven-game playoff series, and then be swept in the next, courtesy of the Detroit Pistons in the 1989 NBA Finals.
  • Larry Bird played in only six games for the Celtics (the first six games) due to heel spurs. Bird was in the prime of his career, having finished no worse than third in NBA MVP balloting over the previous 6 seasons, winning three MVP's over the span. The Celtics, who had won no fewer than 57 games over the previous 9 seasons, won only 42. This season marked the first time that Larry Bird did not win the NBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Shootout contest (Bird had won the first three shootouts). Seattle SuperSonics guard Dale Ellis, who was runner-up the year before, won the shootout.
  • In the wake of the Miami riots, the game between the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns on January 17, 1989 was canceled. It was the first cancellation of an NBA game due to a civil disturbance.
  • Jerry Sloan took over as Utah Jazz head coach in December 1988. He would serve in this capacity for 23 years, the longest such tenure in U.S. professional sports.

[edit] Final standings

[edit] By division

Atlantic Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-New York Knicks 52 30 .634 – 35–6 17–24 18–12
x-Philadelphia 76ers 46 36 .561 6 30–11 16–25 19–11
x-Boston Celtics 42 40 .512 10 32–9 10–31 19–11
Washington Bullets 40 42 .488 12 30–11 10–31 17–13
New Jersey Nets 26 56 .317 26 17–24 9–32 9–21
Charlotte Hornets 20 62 .244 32 12–29 8–33 8–22


Central Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Detroit Pistons 63 19 .768 – 37–4 26–15 20–10
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 57 25 .695 6 37–4 20–21 19–11
x-Atlanta Hawks 52 30 .634 11 33–8 19–22 20–10
x-Milwaukee Bucks 49 33 .598 14 31–10 18–23 11–19
x-Chicago Bulls 47 35 .573 16 30–11 17–24 12–18
Indiana Pacers 28 54 .341 35 20–21 8–33 8–22


Midwest Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Utah Jazz 51 31 .622 – 34–7 17–24 19–11
x-Houston Rockets 45 37 .549 6 31–10 14–27 19–11
x-Denver Nuggets 44 38 .537 7 35–6 9–32 18–12
'Dallas Mavericks 38 44 .463 13 24–17 14–27 19–11
San Antonio Spurs 21 61 .256 30 18–23 3–38 9–21
Miami Heat 15 67 .183 36 12–29 3–38 6–24


Pacific Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 57 25 .695 – 35–6 22–19 25–9
x-Phoenix Suns 55 27 .671 2 35–6 20–21 23–11
x-Seattle SuperSonics 47 35 .573 10 31–10 16–25 20–14
x-Golden State Warriors 43 39 .524 14 29–12 14–27 15–19
x-Portland Trail Blazers 39 43 .476 18 28–13 11–30 17–17
Sacramento Kings 27 55 .329 30 21–20 6–35 12–22
Los Angeles Clippers 21 61 .256 36 17–24 4–37 7–27


[edit] By conference

# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Detroit Pistons 63 19 .768 –
2 y-New York Knicks 52 30 .634 11
3 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 57 25 .695 6
4 x-Atlanta Hawks 52 30 .634 11
5 x-Milwaukee Bucks 49 33 .598 14
6 x-Chicago Bulls 47 35 .573 16
7 x-Philadelphia 76ers 46 36 .561 17
8 x-Boston Celtics 42 40 .512 21
9 Washington Bullets 40 42 .488 23
10 Indiana Pacers 28 54 .341 35
11 New Jersey Nets 26 56 .317 37
12 Charlotte Hornets 20 62 .244 43


# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Los Angeles Lakers 57 25 .695 –
2 y-Utah Jazz 51 31 .622 6
3 x-Phoenix Suns 55 27 .671 2
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics 47 35 .573 10
5 x-Houston Rockets 45 37 .549 12
6 x-Denver Nuggets 44 38 .537 13
7 x-Golden State Warriors 43 39 .524 14
8 x-Portland Trail Blazers 39 43 .476 18
9 Dallas Mavericks 38 44 .463 19
10 Sacramento Kings 27 55 .329 30
11 San Antonio Spurs 21 61 .256 36
11 Los Angeles Clippers 21 61 .256 36
13 Miami Heat 15 67 .183 41



Notes

  • z, y – division champions
  • x – clinched playoff spot

[edit] Playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.

Main article: 1989 NBA Playoffs
  First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
                                     
1  L.A. Lakers 3  
8  Portland 0  
  1  L.A. Lakers 4  
 
  4  Seattle 0  
4  Seattle 3
5  Houston 1  
  1  L.A. Lakers 4  
Western Conference
  3  Phoenix 0  
3  Phoenix 3  
6  Denver 0  
  3  Phoenix 4
 
  7  Golden State 1  
2  Utah 0
7  Golden State 3  
  W1  L.A. Lakers 0
  E1  Detroit 4
1  Detroit 3  
8  Boston 0  
  1  Detroit 4
 
  5  Milwaukee 0  
4  Atlanta 2
5  Milwaukee 3  
  1  Detroit 4
Eastern Conference
  6  Chicago 2  
3  Cleveland 2  
6  Chicago 3  
  6  Chicago 4
 
  2  New York 2  
2  New York 3
7  Philadelphia 0  

[edit] Statistics leaders

Category Player Team Stat
Points per game Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 32.5
Rebounds per game Akeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets 13.5
Assists per game John Stockton Utah Jazz 13.6
Steals per game John Stockton Utah Jazz 3.2
Blocks per game Manute Bol Golden State Warriors 4.3
FG% Dennis Rodman Detroit Pistons 59.5
FT% Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers 91.1
3FG% Jon Sundvold Miami Heat 52.2

[edit] NBA awards

Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com

[edit] Player of the week

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.

Week Player
Nov. 4 – Nov. 13 Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
Nov. 14 – Nov. 20 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Nov. 21 – Nov. 27 Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
Nov. 28 – Dec. 4 Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Dec. 5 – Dec. 11 Michael Adams (Denver Nuggets)
Dec. 12 – Dec. 18 Robert Parish (Boston Celtics)
Dec. 20 – Dec. 25 Clyde Drexler (Portland Trail Blazers)
Dec. 26 – Dec. 30 Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Jan. 2 – Jan. 8 Dale Ellis (Seattle SuperSonics)
Jan. 9 – Jan. 15 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Jan. 16 – Jan. 22 Chris Mullin (Golden State Warriors)
Jan. 23 – Jan. 29 Tom Chambers (Phoenix Suns)
Jan. 30 – Feb. 5 Ron Harper (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Feb. 6 – Feb. 19 Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
Feb. 20 – Feb. 26 Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
Feb. 27 – Mar. 5 Chuck Person (Indiana Pacers)
Mar. 6 – Mar. 12 Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons)
Mar. 13 – Mar. 19 Kevin Johnson (Phoenix Suns)
Mar. 20 – Mar. 26 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Mar. 27 – Apr. 2 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Apr. 3 – Apr. 9 Clyde Drexler (Portland Trail Blazers)
Apr. 10 – Apr. 16 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Apr. 17 – Apr. 23 Xavier McDaniel (Seattle SuperSonics)

[edit] Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.

Month Player
November Charles Barkley (Philadelphia 76ers)
December Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
January Chris Mullin (Golden State Warriors)
February Kevin Johnson (Phoenix Suns)
March Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
April Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)

[edit] Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.

Month Rookie
November Willie Anderson (San Antonio Spurs)
December Mitch Richmond (Golden State Warriors)
January Mitch Richmond (Golden State Warriors)
February Charles Smith (Los Angeles Clippers)
March Mitch Richmond (Golden State Warriors)
April Charles Smith (Los Angeles Clippers)

[edit] Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.

Month Coach
November Chuck Daly (Detroit Pistons)
December Lenny Wilkens (Cleveland Cavaliers)
January Del Harris (Milwaukee Bucks)
February Don Nelson (Golden State Warriors)
March Chuck Daly (Detroit Pistons)
April Cotton Fitzsimmons (Phoenix Suns)

[edit] See also
Also this year: 1988 Draft • 1989 Playoffs • 1989 Finals  • 1989 All-Star Game
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
1988–89 NBA season by team
Eastern
Atlantic
Central
Western
Midwest
Pacific
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1988%E2%80%9389_NBA_season&oldid=470351655"
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