1987–88 NBA season

1987–88 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationNovember 6, 1987 – April 24, 1988
April 28 – June 4, 1988 (Playoffs)
June 7–21, 1988 (Finals)
Teams23
TV partner(s)CBS, TBS
Draft
Top draft pickDavid Robinson
Picked bySan Antonio Spurs
Regular season
Top seedLos Angeles Lakers
Season MVPMichael Jordan (Chicago)
Top scorerMichael Jordan (Chicago)
Playoffs
Eastern championsDetroit Pistons
  Eastern runners-upBoston Celtics
Western championsLos Angeles Lakers
  Western runners-upDallas Mavericks
Finals
ChampionsLos Angeles Lakers
  Runners-upDetroit Pistons
Finals MVPJames Worthy (L.A. Lakers)
A ticket for game 1 of the 1988 NBA Finals at The Forum.

The 1987–88 NBA season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their second straight championship, beating the Detroit Pistons in seven hard-fought games in the NBA Finals, becoming the NBA's first repeat champions since the Boston Celtics did it in the 1968–69 NBA season.

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1986–87 coach 1987–88 coach
Dallas Mavericks Dick Motta John MacLeod
Phoenix Suns Dick Van Arsdale John Wetzel
Milwaukee Bucks Don Nelson Del Harris
New York Knicks Bob Hill Rick Pitino
Sacramento Kings Jerry Reynolds Bill Russell
Los Angeles Clippers Don Chaney Gene Shue
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Golden State Warriors George Karl Ed Gregory
Philadelphia 76ers Matt Guokas Jim Lynam
New Jersey Nets Dave Wohl Bob MacKinnon
Bob MacKinnon Willis Reed
Sacramento Kings Bill Russell Jerry Reynolds
Washington Bullets Kevin Loughery Wes Unseld
  • The 1988 NBA All-Star Game was played at Chicago Stadium in Chicago, with the East defeating the West 138–133.[1] Local hero Michael Jordan steals the show during the weekend, taking home the game's MVP award,[1] after winning the slam dunk contest earlier in the week over runner-up Dominique Wilkins.[2]
  • Michael Jordan becomes the only player in NBA history to win both the scoring title and Defensive Player of the Year honors. He is also the only player in NBA history to combine these awards with the season's Most Valuable Player award.
  • Michael Jordan becomes the only player in NBA history to accumulate over 200 steals with over 100 blocks in a season twice, and in a row.
  • James Worthy records the first ever Game Seven triple double as he records 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists.
  • The league awards expansion franchises to Charlotte, Miami, Minneapolis, and Orlando. The Charlotte and Miami franchises would debut in the 1988–89 NBA season, while Minneapolis and Orlando would begin play in the 1989–90 NBA season.
  • The New Jersey Nets had 3 different head coaches during the season, a rare occurrence. The Indiana Pacers had four different head coaches during the following season.
  • The San Antonio Spurs are the last team in NBA history to lose 50 or more games in a season, and still make the playoffs. Although they drafted center David Robinson with the No. 1 overall pick the previous year, he does not join the team until the 1989–90 season, due to a two-year commitment to the United States Navy.
  • With the exception of their first-round sweep of San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers played seven-game series the rest of the way. During the run, they overcame the Utah Jazz in the semifinals, the Dallas Mavericks in the conference finals, and the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals. The Mavs' appearance in the conference finals was the team's first, but it would not make the conference finals again until 2003, fifteen years later. Dallas would also make it at least as far as the conference finals in 2006, 2011, 2022, and 2024.
  • This was the first time that the season extended until the 21st of June, which meant that the entire NBA season covered all four seasons of the year, beginning with autumn in November during the regular season and lasting all the way to Game 7 of the Finals which was played on the first official day of summer.
  • On January 5, 1988, Hall of Famer Pete Maravich died of a heart attack during a pickup game. He was 40 years old. The Utah Jazz subsequently honored him by sporting a patch containing his jersey No. 7.
  • The Phoenix Suns mourned the loss of center Nick Vanos, killed in an airline crash on August 16, 1987.[3] The Suns sported black circular patches with his jersey No. 30 on their uniforms for the season.
  • The Detroit Pistons play their final season at Pontiac Silverdome.
  • The Milwaukee Bucks play their final season at MECCA (Milwaukee Arena).
  • The Sacramento Kings play their final season at ARCO Arena I.
  • The Washington Bullets played the 1987–88 season with two players on opposite sides of the NBA height record: 7'7" Manute Bol, then the league's tallest player (tied with another former Bullet, Gheorghe Mureșan) and 5'3" Muggsy Bogues, the league's shortest player.
  • CBS begins broadcasting the NBA games in stereo.
  • Larry Bird becomes the first player in NBA history to enter the 50–40–90 club more than once, and in consecutive seasons.

1987–88 NBA changes

Final standings

By division

Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics 5725.695–36–521–2019–5
x-Washington Bullets 3844.4631925–1613–2813–11
x-New York Knicks 3844.4631929–129–3210–14
Philadelphia 76ers 3646.4392127–149–3212–12
New Jersey Nets 1963.2323816–253–386–18
Central Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Detroit Pistons 5428.659–34–720–2120–10
x-Chicago Bulls 5032.610430–1120–2116–13
x-Atlanta Hawks 5032.610430-1120-2116–13
x-Milwaukee Bucks 4240.5121230–1112–2913–17
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 4240.5121231–1011–3011–19
Indiana Pacers 3844.4631625–1613–2813–17
Midwest Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Denver Nuggets 5428.659–35–619–2218–12
x-Dallas Mavericks 5329.646133–820–2120–10
x-Utah Jazz 4735.573733–814–2718–12
x-Houston Rockets 4636.561831–1015–2613–17
x-San Antonio Spurs 3151.3782323–188–3312–18
Sacramento Kings 2458.2933019–225–369–21
Pacific Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 6220.756–36–526–1523–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers 5329.646933–820–2123–7
x-Seattle SuperSonics 4438.5371832–912–2919–11
Phoenix Suns 2854.3413422–196–3511–19
Golden State Warriors 2062.2444216–254–377–23
Los Angeles Clippers 1765.2074514–273–387–23

By conference

#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Boston Celtics5725.695–
2 y-Detroit Pistons5428.6593
3 x-Chicago Bulls5032.6107
4 x-Atlanta Hawks5032.6107
5 x-Milwaukee Bucks4240.51215
6 x-Cleveland Cavaliers4240.51215
7 x-Washington Bullets3844.46319
8 x-New York Knicks3844.46319
9 Indiana Pacers3844.46319
10 Philadelphia 76ers3646.43921
11 New Jersey Nets1963.23238
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Los Angeles Lakers6220.756–
2 y-Denver Nuggets5428.6598
3 x-Dallas Mavericks5329.6469
4 x-Portland Trail Blazers5329.6469
5 x-Utah Jazz4735.57315
6 x-Houston Rockets4636.56116
7 x-Seattle SuperSonics4438.53718
8 x-San Antonio Spurs3151.37831
9 Phoenix Suns2854.34134
10 Sacramento Kings2458.29338
11 Golden State Warriors2062.24442
12 Los Angeles Clippers1765.20745

Notes

  • z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
  • c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
  • y – Clinched division title
  • x – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

A ticket for Game 1 of the 1988 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks.

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.

First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
            
E1 Boston* 3
E8 New York 1
E1 Boston* 4
E4 Atlanta 3
E4 Atlanta 3
E5 Milwaukee 2
E1 Boston* 2
Eastern Conference
E2 Detroit* 4
E3 Chicago 3
E6 Cleveland 2
E3 Chicago 1
E2 Detroit* 4
E2 Detroit* 3
E7 Washington 2
E2 Detroit* 3
W1 LA Lakers* 4
W1 LA Lakers* 3
W8 San Antonio 0
W1 LA Lakers* 4
W5 Utah 3
W4 Portland 1
W5 Utah 3
W1 LA Lakers* 4
Western Conference
W3 Dallas 3
W3 Dallas 3
W6 Houston 1
W3 Dallas 4
W2 Denver* 2
W2 Denver* 3
W7 Seattle 2
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage

Statistics leaders

CategoryPlayerTeamStat
Points per gameMichael JordanChicago Bulls35.0
Rebounds per gameMichael CageLos Angeles Clippers13.0
Assists per gameJohn StocktonUtah Jazz13.8
Steals per gameMichael JordanChicago Bulls3.16
Blocks per gameMark EatonUtah Jazz3.71
FG%Kevin McHaleBoston Celtics.604
FT%Jack SikmaMilwaukee Bucks.922
3FG%Craig HodgesMilwaukee Bucks.492

NBA awards

Yearly awards

Player of the week

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.

Week Player
Nov. 6 – Nov. 15 Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
Nov. 16 – Nov. 22 Xavier McDaniel (Seattle SuperSonics)
Nov. 23 – Nov. 29 Clyde Drexler (Portland Trail Blazers)
Nov. 30 – Dec. 6 Clyde Drexler (Portland Trail Blazers)
Dec. 7 – Dec. 13 Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Dec. 14 – Dec. 20 Larry Nance (Phoenix Suns)
Dec. 21 – Dec. 27 Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)
Dec. 28 – Jan. 3 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Jan. 4 – Jan. 10 Byron Scott (Los Angeles Lakers)
Jan. 11 – Jan. 17 Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)
Jan. 18 – Jan. 24 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Jan. 25 – Jan. 31 Bernard King (Washington Bullets)
Feb. 1 – Feb. 14 Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)
Feb. 15 – Feb. 21 John Stockton (Utah Jazz)
Feb. 22 – Feb. 28 Roy Tarpley (Dallas Mavericks)
Feb. 29 – Mar. 6 Bobby Hansen (Utah Jazz)
Feb. 7 – Mar. 13 Clyde Drexler (Portland Trail Blazers)
Mar. 14 – Mar. 20 Charles Barkley (Philadelphia 76ers)
Mar. 21 – Mar. 27 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Mar. 28 – Apr. 3 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Apr. 4 – Apr. 10 Harold Pressley (Sacramento Kings)
Apr. 11 – Apr. 17 Lafayette Lever (Denver Nuggets)
Apr. 18 – Apr. 24 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)

Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.

Month Player
November Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
December Larry Nance (Phoenix Suns)
January Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
February John Stockton (Utah Jazz)
March Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
April Lafayette Lever (Denver Nuggets)

Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.

Month Rookie
November Mark Jackson (New York Knicks)
December Mark Jackson (New York Knicks)
January Armon Gilliam (Phoenix Suns)
February Mark Jackson (New York Knicks)
March Greg Anderson (San Antonio Spurs)
April Kevin Johnson (Phoenix Suns)

Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.

Month Coach
November Doug Collins (Chicago Bulls)
December Chuck Daly (Detroit Pistons)
January Wes Unseld (Washington Bullets)
February Pat Riley (Los Angeles Lakers)
March Doug Moe (Denver Nuggets)
April Lenny Wilkens (Cleveland Cavaliers)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Baker, Chris (February 8, 1988). "A Record the Fans Wouldn't Sit Still for : With Crowd's Urging, Abdul-Jabbar Returns to Set an All-Star Scoring Mark". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  2. ↑ Helin, Kurt (February 15, 2020). "Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins reflect on legendary 1988 dunk contest battle". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  3. ↑ Cohn, Bob (August 18, 1987). "Suns center among dead in jet crash". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2024.

Further reading

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