1987–88 NBA season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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)
Number of teams23
TV partner(s)CBS, TBS
Draft
Top draft pickDavid Robinson (did not play regular season games until the 1989–90 season)
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)
NBA seasons
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[edit]

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

1987–88 NBA changes[edit]

Final standings[edit]

By division[edit]

W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics 57 25 .695 36–5 21–20 19–5
x-Washington Bullets 38 44 .463 19 25–16 13–28 13–11
x-New York Knicks 38 44 .463 19 29–12 9–32 10–14
Philadelphia 76ers 36 46 .439 21 27–14 9–32 12–12
New Jersey Nets 19 63 .232 38 16–25 3–38 6–18
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Detroit Pistons 54 28 .659 34–7 20–21 20–10
x-Chicago Bulls 50 32 .610 4 30–11 20–21 16–13
x-Atlanta Hawks 50 32 .610 4 30-11 20-21 16–13
x-Milwaukee Bucks 42 40 .512 12 30–11 12–29 13–17
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 42 40 .512 12 31–10 11–30 11–19
Indiana Pacers 38 44 .463 16 25–16 13–28 13–17
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Denver Nuggets 54 28 .659 35–6 19–22 18–12
x-Dallas Mavericks 53 29 .646 1 33–8 20–21 20–10
x-Utah Jazz 47 35 .573 7 33–8 14–27 18–12
x-Houston Rockets 46 36 .561 8 31–10 15–26 13–17
x-San Antonio Spurs 31 51 .378 23 23–18 8–33 12–18
Sacramento Kings 24 58 .293 30 19–22 5–36 9–21
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 62 20 .756 36–5 26–15 23–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers 53 29 .646 9 33–8 20–21 23–7
x-Seattle SuperSonics 44 38 .537 18 32–9 12–29 19–11
Phoenix Suns 28 54 .341 34 22–19 6–35 11–19
Golden State Warriors 20 62 .244 42 16–25 4–37 7–23
Los Angeles Clippers 17 65 .207 45 14–27 3–38 7–23

By conference[edit]

#
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Boston Celtics 57 25 .695
2 y-Detroit Pistons 54 28 .659 3
3 x-Chicago Bulls 50 32 .610 7
4 x-Atlanta Hawks 50 32 .610 7
5 x-Milwaukee Bucks 42 40 .512 15
6 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 42 40 .512 15
7 x-Washington Bullets 38 44 .463 19
8 x-New York Knicks 38 44 .463 19
9 Indiana Pacers 38 44 .463 19
10 Philadelphia 76ers 36 46 .439 21
11 New Jersey Nets 19 63 .232 38
#
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Los Angeles Lakers 62 20 .756
2 y-Denver Nuggets 54 28 .659 8
3 x-Dallas Mavericks 53 29 .646 9
4 x-Portland Trail Blazers 53 29 .646 9
5 x-Utah Jazz 47 35 .573 15
6 x-Houston Rockets 46 36 .561 16
7 x-Seattle SuperSonics 44 38 .537 18
8 x-San Antonio Spurs 31 51 .378 31
9 Phoenix Suns 28 54 .341 34
10 Sacramento Kings 24 58 .293 38
11 Golden State Warriors 20 62 .244 42
12 Los Angeles Clippers 17 65 .207 45

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[edit]

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[edit]

Category Player Team Stat
Points per game Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 35.0
Rebounds per game Michael Cage Los Angeles Clippers 13.0
Assists per game John Stockton Utah Jazz 13.8
Steals per game Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 3.16
Blocks per game Mark Eaton Utah Jazz 3.71
FG% Kevin McHale Boston Celtics .604
FT% Jack Sikma Milwaukee Bucks .922
3FG% Craig Hodges Milwaukee Bucks .492

NBA awards[edit]

Yearly awards[edit]

Player of the week[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b 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.