NBA: The Difference a Trade Makes

HB62 · Mar 23, 2024

I’ve discovered two new interests in the last six months or so: Alternate History and NBA. So I thought why not combine the two with the help of NBA 2k24. This thread will be looking at how the Knicks not trading away their 1984 draft pick could have affected their approach to the 83-84 season and the subsequent effect of the 1984 draft and beyond..

NBA: The Difference a Trade Makes

September 1983:
The New York Knicks, off the back of a Conference Semi Final season in the 1982-83 season, decided on a quiet summer. Guard Darrell Walker was selected using their Round 1 (12th) Draft Pick whilst Sly Williams was traded to Atlanta Hawks with Rudy Macklin coming the other way. With the Knicks front office satisfied with the roster, rumors of a trade with the Pacers for Billy Knight remained just that, rumors. The Knicks headed into the season hoping that the exploits of Bernard King and Bill Cartwright would be enough for at worst another playoff appearance.

1983-84 Season: Magic vs Bird

The most eye opening result on the opening night came in Milwaukee. The Bucks dispatched the Indiana Pacers by 49 points in a 78-127 win. Not that the Bucks beating the Pacers at home was a surprise, but the manner and size of the win pointed to another long and difficult season for the Pacers. The first big match up came in Detroit when the Celtics rocked up. A difficult encounter on paper for Boston was dealt with comfortably in a 116-97 win, ominous signs early on for the rest of the league. In the West, Los Angeles Lakers were hoping to go one better than last season's runner up finish but found themselves on the end of an early season shock as Kansas City Kings rocked up in LA and left with a 106-104 narrow win. Nevertheless, a Lakers defeat would still be a rare sight through the rest of the season. And that wasn’t the only shock of the opening week. Philadelphia 76ers, having won the opening game of their title defense, were on the end of a shock 108-105 loss at home to the Indiana Pacers. The same Pacers who had been romped by the Bucks mere days earlier.

As November began, the reigning champs’ fortunes didn’t get much better. The Bulls, many people's tips for last place in the East, stung a surprise with a 113-100 win in Philly. This left Philly with a 1-2 start to the season, with both defeats at home against the supposed worst two teams in the East. Not only were the Portland Trail Blazers on the opposite side of the country to the 76ers, but they were also on the other side of the form guide early on. A 134-131 victory over the Utah Jazz gave the Trail Blazers a 7-2 start to the season. Also making a good start in the West were the Warriors, who defeated San Antonio Spurs mid way through the month to make it an 8-2 start to the season. That defeat for the Spurs was their 5th straight as despite the best efforts of George Gervin they made a poor start to the season. The Bulls, not content with upsetting Philly, took things a step further with a stunning victory over Boston in Chicago. The 98-102 loss for the Celtics was their first of the season (8-1) and a continuation of a much better than expected start for the Bulls. The Celtics recovered days later however, inflicting a commanding 121-93 win in Philly as the 76ers suffered a 5th straight loss in a 3-8 start. Ralph Sampson (1983 No 1 Draft Pick for the Rockets) had made a strong start to the season, picking up rookie of the month in October, and looked likely to retain that award in November thanks to a superb 39 point showing as the Rockets beat the Mavericks 124-120 in Dallas.

The Jazz, tipped by many to make the playoffs for the first time this season, had started a slightly disappointing 9-9. And 9-9 became 9-10 at the start of December thanks to a 117-120 loss in Phoenix. Another poor year the Jazz may have kickstarted relocation talks as the team had been disappointing since its move to Utah. By the end of the month, the Jazz were 19-12 in the West and any talk of relocation had gone quiet. The Lakers were the dominant team in the West once more, as they also won in Phoenix (100-97) to go 10 straight wins early on in the season (18-3). In the East, with Philadelphia floundering, it was up to the Detroit Pistons to challenge Boston for the conference title. Unfortunately for Detroit, when it came to actually challenging Boston on the court they continually came up short. Detroit and Boston met for the fourth and final time in mid December and 27 points for Isiah Thomas was not enough to stop Boston winning 112-101 in Detroit and giving them a 4-0 record over the Pistons for the 83-84 campaign. There were a couple of surprise thrashings in December. In San Antonio, Philly’s surprise struggles continued with a 75-122 loss to the Spurs whilst in a battle of 3rd vs 2nd in the West, Utah secured a 117-84 victory in Denver to tighten up the Midwest division. At the other end of the West division, the Rockets suffered an 8th straight loss with a 107-101 defeat to Boston. Golden State’s impressive start to the season was also being undone as a 93-105 loss in LA gave them five straight losses to end the year. One team that wasn’t losing was the Celtics. They finished the year with a 117-109 victory against the Dallas Mavericks to record 22 straight wins. They would go into 1984 with their eyes on the Lakers’ 32 win record.

Jim Paxson started 1984 well with 27 points as the Trail Blazers won 93-120 at home to the Kansas City Kings. For the Kings, it would be the start of a 1-14 month that saw their chance at a playoff spot diminish. The New York Knicks had had an underwhelming first half of the season, sat outside the playoff spots in the East going into 1984. They did however lift the mood with an impressive 100-108 win against the Lakers. That would be as good as it got this season for the Knicks however. The Lakers bounced back from that loss with a 120-98 win in Cleveland that would start another impressive run for them, this time an 11 game streak that left them well clear at the top of the West. Adrian Dantley was looking impressive in an ever improving Jazz side. They won 110-108 in San Diego to move to 24-13 for the season. An incredible story meanwhile was being written in Boston as Larry Bird’s 25 points saw Boston comfortably beat a decent Bucks side 85-113 at Boston Gardens. This moved Boston onto 31 straight victories, one short of the Lakers record. Next up, a trip to Cleveland with a chance to equal a record not many thought would even be neared let alone equalled. Unfortunately for the Celtics, whether it was all the talk about the record or just an inspired Cleveland, they would fall one short of the record in a 109-127 loss to the Cavaliers. Larry Bird took out his frustration on the Chicago Bulls with a 51 point game to get Boston back on the victory train a couple of days later. Back in the West, Houston Rockets ended January with a 95-107 victory over Golden State. Earlier talk of purposeful tanking seemed a little premature as this win was Houston’s 5th straight to get them back within touching distance of the playoffs.

Tanking was instead the talk of the East. The Bulls, struggling to put any sort of form together, had fallen well out of playoff contention and had started racking up losses at a fast rate. Given their roster, most of these losses weren’t exactly unexpected but the uninspiring performances weren’t exactly giving much evidence that the Bulls were desperately trying to avoid being in the coin toss for number one draft pick. They were going to soon have competition in the East though. With an injury to Bernard King at the start of February, the Knicks’ hopes of any sort of rewarding season faded and instead they went on a sustained run of losses. Bill Cartwright saw his minutes dramatically reduced and without him or King the Knicks recorded 16 straight losses through February to find themselves level at the bottom of the East with the Bulls. The race to the bottom was on. With the Knicks and the Bulls going down, the other team that might have been in contention for that last spot was the Pacers. However, without a draft pick of their own (traded to Portland), they instead found form and 7 wins in February including a 121-99 win in Boston pushed them into playoff contention. The Pistons had established themselves as the No 2 side in the East this season. A thrilling game against the Cavs in which 33 points from Isiah Thomas gave them a 111-112 win started a month-long winning streak for Detroit. Despite a 76ers resurgence, it was the Nets who were currently holding that 3rd spot in the East. A 108-101 loss to the Cavs was their first in 10 and it was that nine game run that had them a more than safe bet for another playoff appearance. The 76ers meanwhile had an accomplishment of their own. A 88-114 win over the Knicks moved them into a positive record for the first time since their opening day victory as they banished any ideas about missing out on the playoffs altogether. February was also the month that the top two sides of the season, Boston and LA, met each other. Larry Bird was the star of both games, however the Lakers were still able to take the win at home by a 107-116 margin. A win for the Celtics in Boston however left no one much the wiser as to how a potential Championship finals showdown might end up. Behind the Lakers in the West, Utah Jazz lost four straight at the end of the month to put Denver in pole position to secure the Midwest division.

The race for the playoffs started to hot up in March as teams found form at the right time. A 111-119 win for Cleveland against the Spurs started an 11-4 run that moved them well inside the playoff line. An unexpectedly good season for the unfancied Cavs. With the Knicks and the Bulls having seemingly no interest in the playoff fight, it looked like the Pacers and the Bullets would fight it out in the East for the last spot. There was a four way fight for one spot in the West. With the Rockets also looking down rather than up and the top seven teams well clear it was left to the Clippers, Warriors, Spurs and the Kings to try and climb themselves into that last position. Clippers ended March one game clear with it all still to play for. In the race for the No 1 draft pick, Bernard King had returned from injury and the Knicks started to look like a semi respectable basketball team again. A 97-100 win over the Bullets was one of five wins in March that brought them within a game of the Bulls who were going 1-13 in the same month. Despite good performances from Ralph Sampson, the Rockets were not contending in games. A 91-124 loss to the Trail Blazers a good example of how their second half of the season was going. The Rockets were a lock for that coin toss; the only question was who would be on the other side of the coin.

1st April Playoff Picture:
East
7. Cavaliers - 34-40
8. Pacers - 25-49
---------------------------
9. Bullets - 25-50
10. Bulls - 23-50
11. Knicks - 22-52

West
7. Mavericks - 40-34
8. Clippers - 30-45
----------------------------
9. Warriors - 29-45
10. Spurs - 28-47
11. Kings - 28-47
12. Rockets - 23-51

April started with a Knicks / Bulls double header. Two games that neither team wanted to win. King and Cartwright were on tiny minutes in both games whilst the Bulls were giving subs and reserves majority minutes throughout. Perhaps unsurprisingly, both teams found a way to lose one game each, leaving both teams still in with a chance of that draft pick. The battle for the last Eastern playoff spot threw up a tasty game in Washington. In a close game throughout it was the Bullets who emerged with a crucial win, 92-94 over Indiana. In the West, a hard fought 103-100 win for the Clippers over Portland gave them a massive boost in their playoff push as others around them faded away. A couple of days later in the West, Denver Nuggets won 129-123 in Phoenix to clinch the Midwest division title and secure 2nd seed in the playoffs. In perhaps the biggest surprise of the season the Celtics, who were going for the greatest regular season record ever, suffered a 95-98 loss in New York. There were muted celebrations from New York, who had potentially just played their way out of the draft pick they so desired. The East playoff battle continued right up the last game of the season. Despite the defeat earlier in the month to the Bullets, the Pacers had kept themselves in contention and now had a rematch with the Bullets in what was now an end of season shootout. The winner would make the playoffs and clearly Jeff Ruland wanted to play in the playoffs. 43 points gave Washington a 108-115 victory and a playoff appearance. The big story was now the bottom spot in the East. The Knicks still had it in their hands and thanks to a 92-91 defeat to the Cavaliers and a 100-107 loss to the 76ers, the Knicks successfully tanked their way to place in the coin toss and a potential number one pick in the most stacked draft in recent history.

Eastern Conference Standings
1. Boston Celtics - 72-10
2. Detroit Pistons - 55-27
3. Milwaukee Bucks - 45-37
4. New Jersey Nets - 44-38
5. Philadelphia 76ers - 40-42
6. Atlanta Hawks - 39-43
7. Cleveland Cavliers - 37-45
8. Washington Bullets - 29-53
---------------------------------------
9. Indiana Pacers - 28-54
10. Chicago Bulls - 26-56
11. New York Knicks - 25-57

Western Conference Standings
1. Los Angeles Lakers - 66-16
2. Denver Nuggets - 51-31
3. Portland Trail Blazers - 50-32
4. Phoenix Suns - 47-35
5. Seattle SuperSonics - 46-36
6. Utah Jazz - 46-36
7. Dallas Mavericks - 44-38
8. San Diego Clippers - 34-48
---------------------------------------
9. Golden State Warriors - 32-50
10. San Antonio Spurs - 30-52
11. Kansas City Kings - 30-52
12. Houston Rockets - 26-56

Regular Season Awards:

Player of the Month
Month	Player
October	Sidney Moncrief (Bucks)
November	Larry Bird (Celtics)
December	Isiah Thomas (Pistons)
January	Jack Sikma (SuperSonics)
February	Moses Malone (76ers)
March	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
April	Kareem Abdul-Jabber (Lakers)

Rookie of the Month
Month	Player
October	Ralph Sampson (Rockets)
November	Ralph Sampson (Rockets)
December	Ralph Sampson (Rockets)
January	Clyde Drexler (Trail Blazers)
February	Ralph Sampson (Rockets)
March	Ralph Sampson (Rockets)

All Star Lineups (East 120-117 West)
Eastern	Western
Isiah Thomas	Magic Johnson
Sidney Moncrief	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Larry Bird	Adrian Dantley
Moses Malone	Walter Davis
Robert Parish	Mark Aguirre
Otis Birdsong	George Gavin
World B.Free	Jack Sikma
Jeff Ruland	Alex English
Bernard King	Gus Williams
Dominique Wilkins	Ralph Sampson
Marques Johnson	Kiki Vandeweghe
Dennis Johnson	Darrell Griffith

Individual Awards
Most Valuable Player	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
Rookie of the Year	Ralph Sampson (Rockets)
Sixth Man of the Year	Kevin McHale (Celtics)
Defensive Player of the Year	Tree Rollins (Hawks)
Most Improved Player	Sleepy Floyd (Warriors)

Team Awards
All-NBA 1st	All-NBA 2nd	All-NBA 3rd
Magic Johnson (Lakers)	Gus Williams (SuperSonics)	Walter Davis (Suns)
Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Rolando Blackman (Mavericks)	Otis Birdsong (Nets)
Larry Bird (Celtics)	Mark Aguirre (Mavericks)	Dominique Wilkins (Hawks)
Cliff Robinson (Cavaliers)	Alex English (Nuggets)	Clark Kellogg (Pacers)
Moses Malone (76ers)	Jeff Ruland (Bullets)	Jack Sikma (SuperSonics)

Team Awards
All-Defensive 1st	All-Rookie 1st
Sidney Moncfrief (Bucks)	Ralph Sampson (Rockets)
Magic Johnson (Lakers)	Ennis Whatley (Bulls)
Larry Bird (Celtics)	Clyde Drexler (Trail Blazers)
Bobby Jones (76ers)	Darrell Walker (Knicks)
Tree Rollins (Hawks)	Roy Hinson (Cavaliers)

The Playoffs

East 1st Round
Boston Celtics 3-0 Washington Bullets
Bullets reward for getting into the playoffs is an unsurprising sweep from the Celtics
New Jersey Nets 0-3 Philadelphia 76ers
76ers poor start to the season a distant memory as Moses Malone powers them into the semi's
Milwaukee Bucks 2-3 Atlanta Hawks
Dominique Wilkins is top scorer in 4 of the 5 games to help Hawks upset Bucks and advance
Detroit Pistons 3-1 Cleveland Cavaliers
Detroit continue impressive season by breezing past Cavaliers

West 1st Round
Los Angeles Lakers 3-2 San Diego Clippers
Clippers fight back from 2-0 down to force game 5.` Abdul-Jabber with 35 points as Lakers win 115-88 in decider
Phoenix Suns 3-2 Seattle SuperSonics
Phoenix come from 2-0 down to advance to Western semi's
Portland Trail Blazers 3-2 Utah Jazz
Despite Adrian Dantley's 41 points, Trail Blazers sneak past the Jazz in game 5 131-129
Denver Nuggets 1-3 Dallas Mavericks
Mark Aguirre the star as Dallas shock Denver to advance

East Semi-Finals
Boston Celtics 4-0 Philadelphia 76ers
76ers title defense over as Celtics continue incredible season
Detroit Pistons 4-0 Atlanta Hawks
Detroit win 3 of the 4 games by 20+ points to cruise into finals

West Semi-Finals
Los Angeles Lakers 4 -2 Phoenix Suns
The only non sweep of the semi's as Suns give Lakers some problems but fall short
Portland Trail Blazers 4-0 Dallas Mavericks
Portland take advantage of the Nuggets elimination to sweep the Mavs en route to Finals

East Final
Boston Celtics 4-1 Detroit Pistons
Pistons end Celtics winning run but still lose in 5, Larry Bird with 44 points in game 3

West Final
Los Angeles Lakers 4-3 Portland Trail Blazers
Portland force game 7 with 1 point win in game 6. Magic, Worthy, Kareem and Wilkes all with 20+ points in game 7

1984 Championship Finals
Game 1: Los Angeles Lakers 117-100 Boston Celtics
Abdul Jabber with 30 points as Lakers take advantage of dominant 3rd Quarter to go 1-0 up
Game 2: Los Angeles Lakers 94-88 Boston Celtics
Another strong end to the game for Lakers who turn around a 5 point halftime deficit to win both away games
Game 3: Boston Celtics 141-134 Los Angeles Lakers
Boston keep the series alive by turning around a 16 point 1st Quarter deficit in an incredible game.
Game 4: Boston Celtics 105-107 Los Angeles Lakers
Abdul-Jabber wins it with 2 seconds to go to give Lakers one hand on the trophy, Larry Bird misses 3 point attempt to win it for Celtics
Game 5: Los Angeles Lakers 112-82 Boston Celtics
Boston's incredible season comes up short as Lakers win in 5 to secure a 9th NBA Championship. Despite it being dubbed the Bird v Magic finals, it was Kareem Abdul-Jabber who stole the show in the end.

1983-1984 NBA Championship Result
Boston Celtics 1-4 Los Angeles Lakers

Finals MVP
Kareem Abdul-Jabber

Up Next:
The 1984 off season

HB62 · Mar 24, 2024

1984 - Offseason

The main event of almost any offseason in the NBA was the draft. This year however the frenzy around the draft seemed even higher than usual. The Nigerian Center Akeem Olajuwon was the consensus first pick but great things were expected of the next few on many draft boards as well. Whoever out of the Knicks and the Rockets lost the coin toss could console themselves knowing that the likes of Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, Sam Bowie and Sam Perkins were all still available, all of whom like Akeem were expected to do great things in the NBA.

At the same time as the build up to the draft was going on, San Diego Clippers owner Donald Sterling was in the process of relocating his team north to Los Angeles. Despite no permission to do so from the NBA, Sterling made the controversial move anyway and would win the subsequent legal battle to keep them there.

The 1984 draft kicked off with the coin toss. It would be the last one in the NBA after new lottery rules were introduced for the 1985 season on the back of the undignified tanking of the Rockets, Knicks and the Bulls. It would be the Rockets who would win the last NBA coin toss, giving them the No 1 pick in the most anticipated draft for a long time.

As expected, the Rockets used their first pick to draft Center Akeem Olajuwon. The Knicks, already with Bill Cartwright at Center, decided against the next best Center in Sam Bowie and instead went for Guard Michael Jordan out of North Carolina. The Bulls, who had the third pick, were up next and did need a Center. This led everyone to expect them to pick Bowie however the Bulls spotted an opportunity to do something different. Before the third pick a trade was announced. The Houston Rockets would now not only have the first pick of this stacked draft but also the third. With the third pick of the draft and Dave Corzine heading to Houston, the Bulls picked up Rookie of the Year Ralph Sampson. It seemed like a good play from both teams. The Bulls, having missed out on Akeem, instead got the best rookie from the previous year. The Rockets, now with Akeem as their Center, could afford to lose Sampson and instead picked up Power Forward Charles Barkley who had impressed massively in the pre draft workouts and in his college career. The rest of the night was not without its drama. Sam Perkins unexpectedly fell to 8th pick, where he was picked up by the Atlanta Hawks who had traded for the pick by sending Tree Rollins to Washington. The Kings were very happy with their night, picking up two highly rated prospects with the 6th and 11th picks. The 11th pick was given up by the Hawks, seemingly happy with Perkins, with Larry Drew moving from Kansas to Atlanta in exchange. The Kings would select John Stockton and Otis Thorpe to bolster their roster. The last big storyline was the first round 9th pick from the 76ers who selected Oscar Schmidt from Brazil. Schmidt, reportedly not convinced about the prospect of moving to the NBA, was swayed by the allure of a potential NBA Championship and therefore would sign for Philadelphia ahead of the 1984-85 season.

Full Draft 1st Round:

Akeem Olajuwon - Houston Rockets
Michael Jordan - New York Knicks
Charles Barkley - Houston Rockets
Sam Bowie - Portland Trail Blazers
Melvin Turpin - San Antonio Spurs
John Stockton - Kansas City Kings
Alvin Robinson - Los Angeles Clippers
Sam Perkins - Atlanta Hawks
Oscar Schmidt - Philadelphia 76ers
Kevin Willis - Dallas Mavericks
Otis Thorpe - Kansas City Kings
Michael Cage - Philadelphia 76ers
Jay Humphries - Dallas Mavericks
Lancaster Gordon - New Jersey Nets
Kenny Fields - Milwaukee Bucks
Tim McCormick - Utah Jazz
Mladan Lukovski - Los Angeles Clippers
Jesse Elliot - Phoenix Suns
Vern Fleming - Portland Trail Blazers
Tom Sewell - Philadelphia 76ers
Ron Anderson - Detroit Pistons
Leon Wood - Boston Celtics
Jeff Turner - Los Angeles Lakers

Also during the offseason Indiannapolis was announced as the home for next season's All Star game. The match would take place at Hoosier Dome.

1984-85 Season Preview
Despite the stacked ‘84 draft, the obvious prediction going into the 1984-85 season was that it would still be another year of the Celtics vs the Lakers rivalry for the Championship. The likes of the Rockets and the Knicks who had secured huge prospects were expected to improve but not compete straight away. In the East, it seemed like it would be a battle between Detroit and the Bucks for the Central division and the 2nd seed in the Conference. Philly were seemingly in a bit of rebuilding mode with their 3 first round draft picks in the offseason but were still expected to be comfortably in the playoffs thanks to having Moses Malone on their roster. Behind this top 4, the Bullets were hopeful of continuing to improve with Jeff Ruland proving himself capable of dragging them to the playoffs last season. Also with playoff ambitions this season would be the Knicks and the Bulls. Now with a young superstar each, Jordan and Sampson respectively, both would be looking to dramatically improve on last season’s records. New Jersey and Atlanta, despite missing out on the top draft picks, will be hoping to maintain their position as playoff teams although both might find it tougher going than last season. Behind them, Pacers managed to convince Jim Paxson to sign for them in free agency and will hope he can help the team go one better than last season where they finished 9th in conference. The Cavaliers meanwhile, having had a strong second half of last season, now found themselves seemingly behind the rest of the conference having missed out on a 1st round draft pick or any notable free agency pickups.

Behind the Lakers in the West, the Nuggets and the Jazz were again expected to fight it out for the Midwest division and therefore 2nd seed. Seattle and Portland looked the strongest teams behind the Lakers in the Pacific division and whilst neither looked likely to challenge for the top seed both would expect postseason appearances once more. The Clippers, now in Los Angeles, would be hoping to repeat last season's playoff spot whilst the Spurs surely had to improve on last season's poor showing. Houston, now with Akeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley in their starting roster, would hope both could hit the ground running straight away. Doing so would give them a good chance of getting back into the playoffs. The Mavericks were in a good place after their debut postseason appearance last season. Led by Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman they had hopes of another good year and their roster stacked up well against those also going for those last playoff spots. The Suns, despite still being led by Walter Davis, seemed un-fancied this year but would still hope to compete for the playoffs with the roster they had. Behind them, it looked like Golden State and Kansas would be propping up the conference, with Kansas perhaps needing a year to develop John Stockton and Otis Thorpe.

Eastern Conference Prediction:

Boston Celtics
Detroit Pistons
Philadelphia 76ers
Milwaukee Bucks
Washington Bullets
New York Knicks
Chicago Bulls
New Jersey Nets
Atlanta Hawks
Indiana Pacers
Cleveland Cavaliers

Western Conference Prediction:

Los Angeles Lakers
Denver Nuggets
Seattle SuperSonics
Utah Jazz
Portland Trail Blazers
Los Angeles Clippers
San Antonio Spurs
Dallas Mavericks
Houston Rockets
Phoenix Suns
Golden State Warriors
Kansas City Kings

Up Next:
1984-85 season

HB62 · Mar 24, 2024

1984-85 Season: Well That was Unexpected

The 1984-85 season started off exactly the same as the previous one, a thrashing for the Indiana Pacers. This time Detroit rocked up and won 125-79 to get their season up and running. Two highly anticipated debuts both matched expectations. Akeem managed 22 points for Houston although it wasn’t enough to stop the Denver Nuggets sneaking a 93-92 win. Michael Jordan went even better in New York. 32 points for Jordan helping the Knicks defeat Atlanta Hawks 104-108 in a strong start to the league for the rookie. The first big early season matchup came in Boston, as Philadelphia came to town. Boston, with ambitions of going one better this season after the defeat to Lakers in last season’s Championship finals, made light work of Conference rivals Philly in a 100-125 victory.

The Celtics did lose for the first time in early November. And a surprise loss as well as Golden State came to town and won 120-109. It wouldn’t be the last time GSW would stun a big team this season either. Celtics’ suffered back to back losses in the first rematch of the season of the 83/84 Championship Final. James Worthy with 31 as the Lakers won 106-98 in Boston. One team not losing games right now was the Washington Bullets, who started 5 for 5 including a 105-99 win in Philadelphia. A good start for the Bullets as they looked to improve on last year's 8th place Conference finish. Another team in the East starting well was the Knicks, who went 3-1 thanks to a 96-107 win over the Bucks in New York. The New York revival would be halted however, as they failed to win another game until December. The Spurs were expected to improve this season after missing the playoffs last time out. Unfortunately for Spurs fans, they would defy that expectation early on as a 94-99 loss in Philly left them rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference. In late November, for the first and very much not the last time in his career Akeem was top scorer as Rockets won 107-84 in Indiana to start the season 10-7. Another team in the West making a decent start was the Golden State. Buoyed by their win in Boston earlier in the month, Purvis Short struck 37 points in consecutive games. The second of which a 113-104 win in Washington to close out a good month for the Warriors.

Detroit had made a solid start, leading the East for the most of the first half of the season. This was helped by the performances of Isiah Thomas, 40 points for Isiah at the start of December put Washington on the end of another loss as the Bullets returned to normality after their impressive start. Going the other way to the Bullets were the Nets, predicted by many to fall down the pecking order this year, instead they continued a strong start with a 128-99 win over the young stars in Houston. Speaking of young stars Michael Jordan hit 31 the next day against the Nets as the Knicks got back to back wins to steady the ship after a poor run. Dominique Wilkins was having a great season for the Hawks, but as was so often the case his performances alone just weren’t enough for Atlanta. 40 points against the 76ers still resulting in a 100-105 loss for the Hawks. Another player unable to drag the rest of his team to wins was George Gervin. Gervin shot 30+ points in 3 consecutive games in mid December, Spurs lost all 3. Fortunately for Mark Aguirre, his superb performances were helping the Mavericks pick up wins. His 39 points against the Bulls kept the Mavericks in the race with the Jazz for the Midwest division. Behind those two were the Rockets, who were helped by 27 points from Akeem to win 86-110 at home to the Nets to wrap a much better start to the season for Houston. The year ended with a match up of two old rivals who produced an epic encounter in Philly. Moses Malone shot 29 as the 76ers edged out the Celtics 113-114.

The Bullets up and down season continued with more ups in January. After a strong start and then disappointing December, an early 1985 win in New York over the Knicks put them back in the positive figures (17-16). The Celtics were going the other way at the start of the year, five straight losses culminating with a 109-103 loss to the Nets putting the Celtics down to third in the conference. Another superb Mark Aguirre performance led the Mavericks to a 132-121 win in San Antonio, 42 points for Aguirre. Boston were trailing the Pistons and the Nets after their downturn in form, and 38 points for Otis Birdsong helped the Nets maintain a top two spot with a 109-104 win against the 76ers. The West was the place to be for a couple of thrilling mid-season games as the Lakers just about overcame another Mark Aguirre inspired performance, a 112-111 win for LA over Dallas. And in Portland a Clyde Drexler led Portland edged out the Jazz 112-115 in a thrilling game against two strong play off contenders. Akeem and Jordan were still leading their respective teams up the standings. Houston ended 7 straight losses with a 112-98 win over the Bucks whilst Knicks ended the month with a 116-96 win over a Phoenix Suns side who were 1-12 for January.

The league started to take an end of season like shape in February as teams made their plays for the postseason. The Knicks made it four straight wins with a 99-97 win over the Hawks whilst Kiki Vandeweghe shot a stunning 50 points for the Nuggets in a 123-117 win over the Warriors. In mid february Oscar Schmidt was the star for the 76ers, who were making a run for the Atlantic title. Schmidt the top points scorer as Philly won 118-111 in LA to defeat the Lakers. Making the most of the occasional Lakers loss were the Jazz. Adrian Dantley posted 39 as they thrashed the Pacers 88-147 to keep pace with the leaders in the West. Further down the Western standings, both the Clippers and Rockets were making playoff runs. Terry Cummings and Akeem Olajuwon the main men for their respective sides as the Clippers dispatched the Spurs and Rockets the Cavs to end February inside the top 8.

Michael Jordan started March with a 35 point game against the 76ers, helping the Knicks to another impressive victory although Philadelphia would bounce back to end the month strong. The Celtics were reemerging as the dominant team in the East after sitting behind Detroit and the Nets for the most of the season. Larry Bird with 35 points for 2 games running got them off to a strong start to the penultimate month of the regular season. George Galvin was still trying and failing to drag the rest of his Spurs teammates to wins. 41 points from Galvin not enough as they lost 134-133 at home to the Warriors. Jack Sikma was also on form in the West, leading Seattle to a 105-102 win against the Lakers to lock up another postseason appearance for the SuperSonics. In the East, the Nets had lost their early season form and were now just happy to hold onto fourth seed whilst the Bullets were now in another downward moment, the most inconsistent team in the league now on 7 straight losses to fall into the group of teams fighting for the last couple of spots in the East. Taking advantage of the struggling Bullets were the Knicks and the Bulls, memories of last years tankings long forgotten as both teams secured impressive wins over the Bullets and Mavericks respectively to continue knocking on that postseason door.

1st April Playoff Picture

East:
5. Bucks - 33-41
6. Knicks - 31-43
7. Bullets - 31-44
8. Bulls - 29-46
--------------------------
9. Hawks - 29-47
10. Cavaliers - 28-46
11. Pacers - 27-48

West:
6. Rockets - 40-36
7. Nuggets - 37-40
8. Warriors - 34-40
--------------------------
9. Clippers - 31-45
10. Suns - 31-45
11. Kings - 27-48
12. Spurs - 19-56

In the final month, there was still plenty to play for. Larry Bird hit 42 as the Celtics won 101-89 in Milwaukee. This win, combined with the 76ers loss in Detroit gave the Celtics an uncatchable lead at the top of the East to lock them in as the No 1 seed from the East. Ralph Sampson was looking like a great move for the Bulls, as he sank 47 points in a 101-107 win over the freefalling Nets. The Nets were on the receiving end of another young superstar days later as Michael Jordan led the Knicks to victory. Also struggling in the East were the Bucks, a lock for the playoffs the most of the season they went down to the season's leading points scorer as Dominique Wilkins led the Hawks to a 126-120 win. In the West, the Rockets locked up a playoff spot with a superb 111-112 win at home to the Lakers whilst in a last game shootout, 37 points from Sleepy Floyd gave the Warriors a 117-113 win over the Clippers to give the Golden State team that last playoff position. There was a last game of the season shootout in the East too, the Ralph Sampson led Bulls vs the Dominique Wilkins led Hawks were separated by one game as they faced each other on the last day of the season. Dominique Wilkins, clearly desperate for a playoff appearance, hit 51 points and yet still couldn’t carry his teammates to victory. The Bulls ran out 120-113 winners in Atlanta to clinch 8th spot in the East. The last thing to decide in the regular season was who was going to be 2nd seed in the West. With the Lakers having wrapped up 1st seed and home court advantage through the finals, it was between the Jazz and the Mavericks for the Midwest title and 2nd seed. Adrian Dantley racked up consecutive 40+ point games to put the Jazz one game from the title. The Jazz just needed to beat lowly San Antonio on the last day to secure the title, but almost blew it as they were forced into OT by a Spurs side who found some fight for the first time all season. The Jazz just about came through it, a 121-119 win giving them the Midwest division and 2nd seed in the West.

Eastern Conference Standings:
1. Boston Celtics - 57-25
2. Detroit Pistons - 50-32
3. Philadelphia 76ers - 54-28
4. New Jersey Nets - 42-40
5. Washington Bullets - 36-46
6. Milwaukee Bucks - 36-46
7. New York Knicks - 35-47
8. Chicago Bulls - 33-49
---------------------------------------
9. Atlanta Hawks - 31-51
10. Cleveland Cavaliers - 30-52
11. Indiana Pacers - 30-52

Western Conference Standings:
1. Los Angeles Lakers - 65-17
2. Utah Jazz - 56-26
3. Dallas Mavericks - 54-28
4. Portland Trail Blazers - 48-34
5. Seattle SuperSonics 47-35
6. Houston Rockets - 42-40
7. Denver Nuggets - 40-42
8. Golden State Warriors - 38-44
-------------------------------------------
9. Los Angeles Clippers - 36-46
10. Phoenix Suns - 34-48
11. Kansas City Kings - 29-53
12. San Antonio Spurs - 20-62

Regular Season Awards

Individual Awards
Most Valuable Player	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
Rookie of the Year	Michael Jordan (Knicks)
Sixth Man of the Year	Larry Drew (Hawks)
Defensive Player of the Year	Ralph Sampson (Bulls)
Most Improved Player	James Worthy (Lakers)

All Star Teams (East 127-118 West)
Eastern	Western
Isiah Thomas	Magic Johnson
Michael Jordan	Walter Davis
Larry Bird	Jack Sikma
Dominique Wilkins	Mark Aguirre
Moses Malone	Adrian Dantley
Otis Birdsong	George Gavin
Jim Paxson	Rickey Green
Jeff Ruland	Alex English
Bernard King	Terry Cummings
Ralph Sampson	James Worthy
Buck Williams	Gus Williams
Sidney Moncrief	Akeem Olajuwon

Player of the Month
Month	Eastern	Western
October	Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
November	Larry Bird (Celtics)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
December	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Mark Aguirre (Mavericks)
January	Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
February	Larry Bird (Celtics)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
March	Dominique Wilkins (Hawks)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
April	Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Adrian Dantley (Jazz)

	Rookie of the Month
Month	Eastern	Western
October	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
November	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
December	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	John Stockton (Kings)
January	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
February	Oscar Schmidt (76ers)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
March	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	John Stockton (Kings)
April	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)

All-NBA Teams
All-NBA 1st	All-NBA 2nd	All-NBA 3rd
Magic Johnson (Lakers)	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Fat Lever (Trail Blazers)
Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Rickey Green (Jazz)	Walter Davis (Suns)
Larry Bird (Celtics)	Mark Aguirre (Mavericks)	Buck Williams (Nets)
Dominique Wilkins (Hawks)	Terry Cummings (Clippers)	Adrian Dantley (Jazz)
Moses Malone (76ers)	Jack Sikma (SuperSonics)	Ralph Sampson (Bulls)

All-Defensive 1st	All-Rookie 1st
Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Michael Jordan (Knicks)
Magic Johnson (Lakers)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
Larry Nance (Suns)	John Stockton (Kings)
Dominique Wilkins (Hawks)	Oscar Schmidt (76ers)
Ralph Sampson (Bulls)	Charles Barkley (Rockets)

The Playoffs

East 1st Round
Boston Celtics 3-0 Chicago Bulls
Celtics, as expected, cruise through the 1st round yet again
New Jersey Nets 3-2 Washington Bullets
Bullets come from 2-0 down to force game 5 but Buck Williams helps Nets make Semi's
Philadelphia 76ers 3-0 Milwaukee Bucks
Bucks again fail to make it past 1st round as they are comfortably swept by Philly
Detroit Pistons 3-2 New York Knicks
Michael Jordan shoots 32 points to force game 5 but Isiah Thomas saves the Pistons to put them through

West 1st Round
Los Angeles Lakers 1-3 Golden State Warriors
One of the biggest playoff upsets in NBA history, Sleepy Floyd the main man for GSW as they stun defending champs Lakers in 4
Portland Trail Blazers 3-0 Seattle SuperSonics
Clyde Drexler on form as Portland sweep Seattle who exit at 1st round again
Dallas Mavericks 3-1 Houston Rockets
Dallas come from 0-1 down to advance past Houston's young stars
Utah Jazz 3-0 Denver Nuggets
Utah are never troubled by Denver who will mark this season down as a disappointing one

East Semi Finals
Boston Celtics 4-1 New Jersey Nets
Boston recover from losing first game to ease into Conference finals
Detroit Pistons 0-4 Philadelphia 76ers
Philly remain unbeaten in playoffs as they sweep Detroit. Malone and Erving on top form

West Semi Finals
Portland Trail Blazers 4-1 Golden State Warriors
Portland take full advantage of Lakers exit to advance into finals, Fat Lever, Clyde Drexler and Calvin Natt all contributing
Utah Jazz 3-4 Dallas Mavericks
The battle of Mark Aguirre and Adrian Dantley ends with Aguirre on top as Dallas come from 3-1 down. Both players had a 43 point game in the series

East Final
Boston Celtics 4-0 Philadelphia 76ers
Boston comfortably into 2nd straight final as Philly fall away

West Final
Dallas Mavericks 4-2 Portland Trail Blazers
Portland lose in second consecutive Conference finals as the combination of Aguire and Blackman sends Dallas through to first ever finals

1985 Championship Finals:
Game 1: Dallas Mavericks 109-103 Boston Celtics
Mark Aguirre hits 30 as Dallas overpower Boston in 2nd half
Game 2: Dallas Mavericks 98-108 Boston Celtics
Larry Bird hits a 30 of his own as Boston recover to level the series
Game 3: Boston Celtics 118-135 Dallas Mavericks
Youngster Dale Ellis steals the show with 27 points as Dallas move into a shock 2-1 lead with another home game to come
Game 4: Boston Celtics 96-114 Dallas Mavericks
Dallas one game from a stunning title thanks to 29 from Aguirre, Larry Bird hits 26 of his own but his Boston teammates don't show up
Game 5: Dallas Mavericks 97-95 Boston Celtics
Dallas produce one of the biggest shocks in NBA history as they inflict defeat on Boston, who lose in 5 for the 2nd consecutive final and again have to watch a team lift the trophy in their own arena

1984-1985 Championship Result:
Boston Celtics 1-4 Dallas Mavericks

Finals MVP:
Mark Aguirre

Up Next:
The 1985 Offseason

HB62 · Mar 24, 2024

1985 - Offseason

The fallout from the 1983-84 season and its subsequent draft was the introduction of the Draft lottery into the NBA for the 1985 draft. In order to dissuade teams from completely tanking, all seven teams who missed out on the playoffs now had an equal chance of securing that first pick. Needless to say the two teams who would have been in the coin toss, the Spurs and the Pacers weren’t best pleased. Especially as the player singled out for the first pick seemed to be way out above the rest when it came to 1985 draft prospects. As it was, the Spurs and the Pacers would instead have their chances of securing Center Patrick Ewing shared with the Kings, Suns, Clippers, Hawks and the reigning champions Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks, having traded for the Cavaliers round 1 pick back in 1981, had a genuine 1 in 7 chance of adding Patrick Ewing to their roster alongside Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman which could potentially see them as constant challengers for the NBA title for the foreseeable future. The start of the draft lottery saw seven large envelopes with each teams logo inside one selected one by one in order to determine the first seven picks. One by one, starting with the seventh pick, the list of teams was read out by commissioner David Stern.

“With the seventh pick of the 1985 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Clippers”

A few murmurs in the room. A few raised eyebrows too, given the friction and legal battles between the NBA and Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Although it was also pointed out that under the previous system the Clippers would also have had the seventh pick. Stern continued to read out names.

“With the sixth pick of the 1985 NBA draft, the San Antonio Spurs”

This caused more noise. TV Cameras zoomed in on the Spurs front office who looked far from pleased. They’d gone from a 50/50 chance at a genuine potential star to the sixth pick.

“With the fifth pick of the 1985 NBA draft, the Atlanta Hawks”

Hawks, whilst disappointed to have missed out on a top 3 picks, can’t be too annoyed as like the Clippers would have had the fifth pick under last years system too.

“With the fourth pick of the 1985 NBA draft, the Dallas Mavericks”

The Mavericks, via Cleveland, had missed out on adding Patrick Ewing to their Championship winning roster but still had a great opportunity to add great strength in depth. They had also acquired two mid first round picks that would also prove useful.

“With the third pick of the 1985 NBA draft, the Indiana Pacers”

The other big loser of the draft, although not as much as the Spurs. Pacers who also would have been in the coin toss drop to third, allowing the Phoenix Suns and the newly located Sacramento Kings as the top two teams left.

“With the second pick of the 1985 NBA draft, the Phoenix Suns”

Groans from the Suns delegation, despite being promoted from sixth pick to second they knew they had missed out on the big name. The Sacramento delegation were celebrating, as they climbed from third to first in the new lottery system and the opportunity to add Ewing to their roster alongside young guns John Stockton and Otis Thorpe.

And that’s exactly what they did once the draft came around. Patrick Ewing found himself drafted by the Sacramento Kings to join their already young team, leaving the rest of the draft lottery teams to pick through the rest of the class.

Full Draft 1st Round:

Patrick Ewing - Sacramento Kings
Wayman Tisdale - Phoenix Suns
Xavier McDaniel - Indiana Pacers
Benoit Benjamin - Dallas Mavericks
Jon Koncak - Atlanta Hawks
Chris Mullin - San Antonio Spurs
Charles Oakley - Los Angeles Clippers
Karl Malone - Chicago Bulls
Ed Pinckney - New York Knicks
Detlef Schrempf - Washington Bullets
Blair Rasmussen - Milwaukee Bucks
Bill Wennington - Golden State Warriors
Terry Porter - Dallas Mavericks
Joe Dumars - Dallas Mavericks
Sam Vincent - Houston Rockets
Hot Rod Williams - Seattle SuperSonics
A.C. Green - Portland Trail Blazers
Keith Lee - Detroit Pistons
Joe Klaine - Philadelphia 76ers
Uwe Blab - Utah Jazz
Alfredrick Hughes - Portland Trail Blazers
Terry Catledge - Los Angeles Lakers
Kenny Green - Dallas Mavericks

Atlanta was announced as this season's home of the All Star Game, it would remain to be seen if any of the above class would be on the court for it.

In an early season trade, the Kings let Tree Rollins (C) move to Washington Bullets in return for Gerald Henderson (PG)

1985-86 Season Preview

A full season had passed since the class of the 1984 draft entered the NBA, and it appeared that that was enough time for the top of that class to develop enough to start improving the standing of their respective teams. With Michael Jordan and Akeem Olajuwon able to move their teams from the bottom rungs of the standings into the playoffs within their first year, there was genuine excitement at how much more improvement the Knicks and the Rockets might make in year two of these two players' careers. Of course, the Celtics and the Lakers were still the favorites. They had the strongest rosters and without doubt still the biggest two stars. But both were vulnerable, the Lakers shocked by Golden State in last year's first round of the playoffs and the Celtics on the back of consecutive five game losses in the Championship finals. And so if one or both of the two superteams were to falter, who was expected to be waiting to dethrone them?

In the East, Detroit was still expected to be up there. Isiah Thomas was still widely considered the third best player in the league and was backed up by Bill Laimbeer and Kelly Tripucka. There was a genuine belief however that the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls could also compete now in the upper regions of the Eastern Conference. The Knicks led by the duo of Michael Jordan and Benjamin King and the Bulls by Ralph Sampson. The Bulls had also added Karl Malone with the eighth pick of the 85 draft and he had impressed in preseason. Whether these two could compete with the Celtics and Pistons was to be seen, but they rosters definitely stacked up favorably compared to 1983 champions Philadelphia 76ers. Moses Malone was still only 30 but he’d started to lose the quality around him, Philly were in danger of dropping into the playoff challenger status rather than Championship challenger. Below the top 5, the three other teams who made last years playoffs will all feel good about repeating that feat. The Nets had a poor second half of the season and took that form into the playoffs, they will hope the offseason allowed them to reset back to the early season form of last year. Milwaukee and Washington still had enough at the top of their rosters to expect postseason appearances although were only an injury away from missing out it appeared. The Hawks missed out on the playoffs in the last game of the regular season, if Dominique Wilkins can keep firing at the same rate as last season and Jon Koncak can start the season up to speed as the rookie Center, then Hawks will fancy their chances of overtaking at least one of the teams who finished above them last season. The Pacers don't appear to have improved sufficiently to expect a playoff push this year, whilst the Cavaliers yet again missing out on a draft pick mean they look set for another year at the bottom.

In the West, reigning champions Dallas Mavericks looked set to challenge again after acquiring four usable draftees in the 85 draft. Benoit Benjamin, the most exciting pick, looked ready to come straight in at Center. The defending champs had improved, and therefore looked a sure bet to contend again. This time it wouldn’t be as much of a surprise. Behind the Lakers and the Mavericks, The slightly aging Jazz would hope to hold off the very much youthful Rockets to be the best of the rest. The Jazz led by Adrian Dantley would still be reeling from throwing away a 3-1 lead to Dallas in the conference semifinals and will be aware they only have a couple more years to challenge with their current roster. The Rockets had Akeem and Charles Barkley but were a little short on quality behind those two. Portland and Seattle looked set for more postseason action, led by Clyde Drexler and Jack Sikma respectively. Both had more than enough quality and would look to challenge Utah and Houston for a top four seed. Below that, it looked like a fight for two spots between four teams. Sacramento now had two top talents with a year under their belt in John Stockton and Otis Thorpe and had added the coveted number one 1985 pick Patrick Ewing. Whether it would be one season too early remained to be seen but an improvement similar to the one shown by the Rockets, Knicks and Bulls last season was expected by the Kings. The Nuggets still had Alex English and Kiki Vandeweghe but there was no doubt the quality in the roster was starting to drop. Four of their starting five was now in their 30s, with Dan Issel likely to play out his final season especially if the Nuggets do miss out on a top 8 spot. The Clippers would hope Terry Cummings could continue to drag them to wins whilst the Warriors, having overachieved last year in reaching the Conference semis, hoped to do similar thanks to the exploits of Sleepy Floyd and Purvis Short. Behind these two, the Suns would probably have to wait a year before Wayman Tisdale could become the player they needed him to be, whilst the Spurs were still short of quality after falling to sixth pick in the draft and still relied on a now 33 year old George Gervin.

Pre Season Prediction

Eastern Conference:
1. Boston Celtics
2. Detroit Pistons
3. New York Knicks
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Philadelphia 76ers
6. New Jersey Nets
7. Milwaukee Bucks
8. Washington Bullets
9. Atlanta Hawks
10. Indiana Pacers
11. Cleveland Cavaliers

Western Conference:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Dallas Mavericks
3. Utah Jazz
4. Houston Rockets
5. Portland Trail Blazers
6. Seattle SuperSonics
7. Sacramento Kings
8. Denver Nuggets
9. Los Angeles Clippers
10. Golden State Warriors
11. Phoenix Suns
12. San Antonio Spurs

Up Next: The 1985-86 Season

HB62 · Mar 24, 2024

1985-86 Season: Normal Service Resumes

The opening night of the 85/86 season sprung surprises. Marques Johnson was the top scorer as Milwaukee defeat the Celtics at home, whilst after back to back hammerings on the last two opening nights Indiana managed to beat the 76ers 115-121 with seven players in double figures. Jordan and King posted a combined 50 points in a warning shot to the rest of the league as New York thrashed Atlanta at home. The ‘on paper’ top two sides of the West met, the Lakers winning 136-132 over Dallas in OT. Byron Scott posting 30. Bostons’ start got no better as they were beaten 112-93 a day later at home to the Nets whilst the Lakers also suffered defeat early losing away in Denver. Vandeweghe with 36 on the night to give Denver a great start. Also having a great start were the Bulls, Knicks and Jazz who along with Denver posted 100% records for October. The Dallas Mavericks, defending champions, were 0-4.

Kareem Abdul Jabber showed no signs of slowing with age as he was top scorer in a 96-92 win in Houston. The Lakers would win all 15 games in November to lay down an early season marker to the rest of the teams. The Knicks started 5-1, thanks to 35 from Bernard King at home to the Nets. Dallas finally won in their 8th game away to Washington but had given themselves work to do to climb back towards the top of the standings. The Bulls and Celtics were having good runs, the Bulls starting 8-1 whilst Celtics put together a 9 game winning run to recover from those opening 2 losses. A Larry Bird 38 against the Bucks the highlight of the run. Patrick Ewing was showing why he was the coveted pick in the ‘85 draft. His 39 points against the Spurs came in just his 10th NBA game. A surprise strong start came in the West for the Clippers. Whilst not on the pace of their neighbors Terry Cummings excellent form had Clippers in the top 3 for the West through November. The big news of the month was an ACL injury suffered by Charles Barkley in a 99-106 win for Houston against Detroit. Barkley would miss the rest of the season and Houston were already up against it (5-12 start).

The Bucks, tipped by a few to struggle more this year, put themselves well on course for another playoff appearance thanks to an 8 game winning run through December. Outside the playoff places in the East however were the 76ers. Defeat in Detroit in early December left them languishing down in 10th in the East. The Lakers had put together an 18 game winning run but this came to an end after the visit of Boston. The Celtics would also beat the Lakers at the end of the month, Larry Bird top scorer on both occasions. Boston weren’t so celebratory after Chicago came to town and won 112-102 to leave the two sides neck and neck at the top of the East. 35 points from Michael Jordan gave the Knicks an 84-102 win over the Barkleyless Rockets and started a 7 game winning run that moved the Knicks closer to the Bulls and Celtics. In the West, Terry Cummings' excellent season continued with 42 against the Kings and on the same night Dallas Mavericks started to find a bit of form. Mark Aguirre’s 28 points moved Dallas to 13-15 for the season.

The new year saw a surprise loss for the Celtics, who went down 113-112 at home to Cleveland despite 37 for Larry Bird. Not so surprising was San Antonio’s loss 100-110 away to Dallas, it was the Spurs' 16th straight loss. Another home defeat for Boston was to follow as Jordan scored 41 to fully establish the Knicks as a contender for top spot in the East. Not to be outdone, Magic Johnson posted 44 in the middle of a 10 game winning run for the Lakers in a 100-109 win over Golden State. Philly were showing signs of recovery thanks to a 111-119 win over Cleveland and the 3 straight wins that followed after that. Also showing playoff potential was Indiana, 121-111 winners over the Bucks. At the top of the East, the Bulls suffered a 121-125 loss in Portland thanks to Clyde Drexler’s 38 points and would slip behind the Knicks in the fight to challenge Boston. The Mavericks, still balancing just inside the playoffs, lost Mark Aguirre for 2 months at the end of January, with Joe Dumars also out for over a month the Mavs strength in depth would be tested to the full.

Another 41 for Michael Jordan at the start of February as the Knicks won 118-103 in Detroit to keep them hot on the heels of Boston. They’d win a day later at home to Philly in a loss for the 76ers which started a 2-10 month and left them outside the top 8. A crucial game in the West saw Denver Nuggets beat Dallas 122-112 in Dallas, Kiki Vandeweghe in superb form in what could be a crucial win for Denver. Meanwhile, 19 straight wins for the Lakers came to an end in Washington, and they would close out the month with another 3 straight losses. Not that their lead at the top of the Western Conference was in trouble given the wins they’d racked up thus far.

In March New York kept up the pressure on Boston and an improved Detroit with a 127-121 win in Chicago, another impressive performance from Michael Jordan who had 39. The Lakers started playing properly again, with a 107-101 win in Indiana which ended a run of 4 losses. It also started another winning streak, this time 15 games stretching the whole of March. A vital win for the Suns as Walter Davis hit 31 to give them a 98-115 win over Denver kept them just about in playoff contention. Also in playoff contention on the other side of the country were Atlanta. Dominique Wilkins had 50 points in a 114-87 win over the Jazz and moved Atlanta into the top eight. Mark Aguirre returned a week earlier than predicted and helped Dallas win all 4 games in the last week of March, including a crucial 126-115 win over Phoenix that kept Dallas inside the cut line. In New Jersey, a potentially season saving 30 points from Moses Malone gave Philadelphia a 113-108 win over the Nets and kept them alive in that playoff battle. Losing ground were Cleveland, who suffered back to back losses to Milwaukee including a 112-113 nailbiter. At the top of the East, despite being run hard all season, a 105-109 win for Boston over Detroit gave them a seemingly insurmountable 4 win cushion at the top as they looked set for that number one seed once more.

1st April Playoff Picture

East:
6. Atlanta Hawks - 34-42
7. Philadelphia 76ers - 33-42
8. Washington Bullets - 32-42
-----------------------------------------
9. Indiana Pacers - 32-43
10. New Jersey Nets - 32-44
11. Cleveland Cavaliers - 29-45

West:
5. Golden State Warriors - 39-37
6. Los Angeles Clippers - 38-38
7. Utah Jazz - 37-38
8. Denver Nuggets - 37-40
-----------------------------------------
9. Phoenix Suns - 32-42
10. Sacramento Kings - 32-43
11. Houston Rockets - 29-46

The 1st of April was a big day in the East. At the top, Robert Parish hit 27 to see Boston past Detroit once more this time 126-95 and wrap up the Eastern Conference once again. The race for the playoffs was the main attraction though, as the 76ers lost in Milwaukee before Cleveland and Indiana both won against the Nets and the Bullets respectively. In the West, the Jazz beat the Lakers at home to leave them no more than a couple of wins from the playoffs, especially as the Suns were losing in Houston on the same night. The following night Cleveland would rack up another win this time in New York whilst New Jersey Nets edged out Atlanta 114-112. At this point in the East, 6th through 11th were separated by 3 wins with games remaining ranging from 4 (New Jersey) to 7 (Washington). On the 3rd, 29 points from Patrick Ewing saw the Sacramento Kings win 116-103 in Phoenix. It was a result that kept Sacramento’s playoff aspirations alive and effectively ended those of Phoenix. A day later there were superb wins for Cleveland, Philly and Indiana (the latter away at Boston) to boost all three’s top eight chances. And Cleveland won their fourth game in five days with a hugely important 101-94 win in Atlanta. The bottom six in the East were now just two wins apart, with games left ranging from 3 (Atlanta & New Jersey) to 5 (Philadelphia & Washington). Philadelphia and Washington would both lose that game in hand the next day to Detroit and Boston respectively whilst the top 8 in the West were confirmed when the Kings lost by one to Seattle SuperSonics (109-110). The only question left in the West was whether Dallas or Utah would steal 2nd seed by winning the Midwest division, with the other facing the prospect of 7th seed due to the outstanding performance from the majority of the Pacific division. Heading into the last week of the regular season, the Nets lost at home to Detroit to leave their chances of the playoffs looking very slim as they found themselves outside the top 8 with only two games remaining. The next day was a good one for Cleveland, who won in Indiana 108-102 thanks to 24 from World B. Free. This, coupled with defeats for the Bullets and the 76ers left 4 teams on an identical 34-45 record, with New Jersey and Washington now a couple of games adrift with time running out. The next night, Pacers had Clark Kellogg to thanks as he led them to a 94-91 win in Washington. This kept Indiana right in the hunt for the top 8 but ended Washington’s hopes of returning to the postseason. The 76ers lost heavily to Boston whilst the Hawks secured a big 113-81 win in Cleveland. With all teams having two games left, Atlanta and Indiana (35 wins) were both looking good bets to advance. Incredibly, Philadelphia were on the brink of a shock exit. Breaking away from the East for a moment, Dallas overcame Utah 112-127 to secure the Midwest division and second seed. A disappointing season for the defending Champions had ended in them receiving a higher seed than they’d managed 12 months ago, sparking calls for a look into how teams were seeded for the playoffs. Back in the East, and a dramatic penultimate night of the season left 1983 champions Philadelphia 76ers on the verge of missing out on the postseason. Atlanta kicked the night off by winning in New York to secure their spot, whilst Indiana did the same by beating the 76ers at home 99-106. This gave Cleveland the chance to overtake Philly which they duly did by beating New Jersey at home 93-111 in a result which officially ended the Nets chances of advancing. With one game left, the Cavs traveled to Chicago whilst Philly hosted New York. The Bulls, with one eye on the playoffs, chose to rest both Ralph Sampson and Karl Malone for the majority of the game. That didn’t bother Quintin Dailey however, who posted 33 points as the Bulls won 95-97 to keep the 76ers hopes alive. Philly now just had to beat New York at home to advance over Cleveland. Moses Malone, unsurprisingly, didn’t take too kindly to the idea of missing the playoffs and his 33 points helped Philly turn around a 6 point halftime deficit to win 109-119 and make the postseason by the skin of their teeth.

Eastern Conference Standings:
1. Boston Celtics - 56-26
2. Detroit Pistons - 53-29
3. New York Knicks - 50-32
4. Chicago Bulls - 47-35
5. Milwaukee Bucks - 41-41
6. Indiana Pacers - 37-45
7. Atlanta Hawks - 36-46
8. Philadelphia 76ers - 35-47
---------------------------------------------
9. Cleveland Cavaliers - 35-47
10. New Jersey Nets - 34-48
11. Washington Bullets - 33-49

Atlantic Division
Central Division

Western Conference Standings:
1. Los Angeles Lakers - 70-12
2. Dallas Mavericks - 41-41
3. Seattle SuperSonics - 47-35
4. Portland Trail Blazers - 47-35
5. Golden State Warriors - 43-39
6. Los Angeles Clippers - 41-41
7. Utah Jazz - 40-42
8. Denver Nuggets - 40-42
------------------------------------------------
9. Sacramento Kings - 37-45
10. Phoenix Suns - 34-48
11. Houston Rockets - 33-49
12. San Antonio Spurs - 13-69

Midwest Division
Pacific Division

Regular Season Awards

Individual Awards
Most Valuable Player	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
Rookie of the Year	Patrick Ewing (Kings)
Sixth Man of the Year	Reggie Theus (Spurs)
Defensive Player of the Year	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
Most Improved Player	Clyde Drexler (Trail Blazers)

All Star Teams (East 104-101 West)
Eastern	Western
Isiah Thomas	Magic Johnson
Michael Jordan	Clyde Drexler
Larry Bird	Terry Cummings
Moses Malone	Mark Aguirre
Dominique Wilkins	Alex English
World B. Free	Walter Davis
Otis Birdsong	Darrell Griffith
Robert Parish	Adrian Dantley
Marques Johnson	Akeem Olajuwon
Buck Williams	Jack Sikma
Ralph Sampson	Kareem Abdul-Jabber
Jim Paxson	Sleepy Floyd

	Player of the Month
Month	Eastern	Western
October	Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Jack Sikma (SuperSonics)
November	Larry Bird (Celtics)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
December	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
January	Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
February	Larry Bird (Celtics)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
March	Moses Malone (76ers)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
April	Clark Kellogg (Pacers)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)

	Rookie of the Month
Month	Eastern	Western
October	Karl Malone (Bulls)	Patrick Ewing (Kings)
November	Xavier McDaniel (Pacers)	Patrick Ewing (Kings)
December	Karl Malone (Bulls)	Patrick Ewing (Kings)
January	Karl Malone (Bulls)	Chris Mullin (Spurs)
February	Xavier McDaniel (Pacers)	Patrick Ewing (Kings)
March	Karl Malone (Bulls)	Chris Mullin (Spurs)
April	Xavier McDaniel (Pacers)	Patrick Ewing (Kings)

All-NBA Teams
All-NBA 1st	All-NBA 2nd	All-NBA 3rd
Magic Johnson (Lakers)	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Norm Nixon (Clippers)
Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Clyde Drexler (Trail Blazers)	Sleey Floyd (Warriors)
Larry Bird (Celtics)	Terry Cummings (Clippers)	Clark Kellogg (Pacers)
Dominique Wilkins (Hawks)	Alex English (Nuggets)	Marques Johnson (Bucks)
Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)	Moses Malone (76ers)	Jack Sikma (SuperSonics)

All-Defensive 1st	All-Rookie 1st
Sidney Moncrief (Bucks)	Patrick Ewing (Kings)
Michel Jordan (Knicks)	Karl Malone (Bulls)
Larry Nance (Suns)	Chris Mullin (Spurs)
Bobby Jones (76ers)	Hot Rod Williams (SuperSonics)
Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)	Benoit Benjamin (Mavericks)

The Playoffs:

East First Round
Boston Celtics 3-0 Philadelphia 76ers
Philly can't capitalise on their last gasp entry into the playoffs, putting up a good fight but are eventually swept in three close games against Boston
Chicago Bulls 0-3 Milwaukee Bucks
After two successive first round exits the Bucks sweep the Bulls who will be left slightly disappointed in how their seasons ends up
New York Knicks 3-2 Indiana Pacers
Clark Kellogg forces game 5 for Indiana before Bernard King pushes the Knicks to the Semi's
Detroit Pistons 3-0 Atlanta Hawks
A Kelly Tripucka Detroit is too strong for Atlanta, who will still be happy just to have made the playoffs. Detroit looking strong ahead of the Knicks semi final matchup

West First Round
Los Angeles Lakers 3-1 Denver Nuggets
Lakers come from 1-0 down to avoid a repeat of last years shock exit. James Worthy has 30 + points in 3 out of the 4 games.
Portland Trail Blazers 3-1 Golden State Warriors
Clyde Drexler on form for Portland who make it four consecutive Conference Semi's
Seattle SuperSonics 2-3 Los Angeles Clippers
Terry Cummings continues his regular season form into the playoffs, 35 points in game 5 and the Clippers advance in an upset.
Dallas Mavericks 0-3 Utah Jazz
Revenge for Utah who were knocked out by Dallas in the Semi Finals last year. Dallas didn't look like the same side all season and not many are surprised by the 1st round exit.

East Semi Finals
Boston Celtics 4-0 Milwaukee Bucks
Larry Bird on fire as Boston sweep through the Semi Finals, just one defeat in their last 3 Semi Final series.
Detroit Pistons 4-1 New York Knicks
40 points from Michael Jordan in game 5 can't save the Knicks, who don't look too far away from contending but exit at the Semi Finals

West Semi Finals
Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 Portland Trail Blazers
Portland can't make the finals as they suffer defeat in five to the Lakers. A Magic v Bird rematch now looks likely
Los Angeles Clippers 4-3 Utah Jazz
Utah push the Clippers all the way but Cummings almost single handedly pulls Clippers through to an all LA semi final

East Final
Boston Celtics 4-1 Detroit Pistons
Boston secure 3 Championship finals in a row, Robert Parish getting them over the line with 30+ points in game 4 & 5

West Final
Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 Los Angeles Clippers
An excellent season for the Clippers, but this final might as well not have been played as they never get near their superior neighbours. 41 from Magic in game 2 the highlight of the sweep

1986 Championship Finals
Game 1: Boston Celtics 95-113 Los Angeles Lakers
48 combined points from Magic and Worthy enough to put the Lakers in front at home
Game 2: Boston Celtics 110-117 Los Angeles Lakers
Boston in danger of 3 successive Championship finals defeats after 28 from Magic and 22 from Kareem
Game 3: Los Angeles Lakers 116-124 Boston Celtics
35 from Robert Parish keeps Boston in the series with another home game to come
Game 4: Los Angeles Lakers 103-108 Boston Celtics
Another 34 points from Parish whilst Bird contributes with 7 steals to level up the series
Game 5: Boston Celtics 89-128 Los Angeles Lakers
37 points in the first quarter and the Lakers never looked back after to move to within one of Championship number 10
Game 6: Boston Celtics 84-116 Los Angeles Lakers
30 points from James Worthy and for the third consecutive year a team Boston taste finals defeat. 3 wins in 4 years for the Lakers

1985-1986 Championship Result
Boston Celtics 2-4 Los Angeles Lakers

Finals MVP
Magic Johnson

Up Next: 1986 Offseason

HB62 · Mar 25, 2024

1986 - Offseason

After the initial shock and change of the NBA draft lottery in 1985, this time around there seemed much less chatter about the dramatic change to the draft system that had been introduced 12 months earlier. In fact, there was much less chatter about the draft in general in 1986. With no obvious budding superstar, a lot of teams instead focussed on their offseason around trading. Teams such as the SuperSonics and the Spurs seemed in the process of reshaping their rosters, unsurprisingly in the case of the Spurs. Donald Sterling, furious at the embarrassing Conference finals sweep by their neighbours, forced the Clippers front office to dismantle the top of their roster whilst the Trail Blazers who allowing young guns to leave in favour of immediate improvement. Before all these could happen, there was still the matter of the draft lottery and as had happened 12 months ago the two teams who would have benefitted from the previous system missed out on a top two pick. The Spurs, who desperately needed some good news after a 13-69 season, and the Bullets, who only missed out on the playoffs by two wins but still finished bottom of the East, instead received the third and fourth pick respectively. Moving up into the top two spots was the New Jersey Nets in second, and for the 3rd time in 4 seasons the Hoston Rockets found themselves with the number one pick in the draft.

Full Draft 1st Round:

Len Bias – Houston Rockets
Brad Daughtey – New Jersey Nets
Chris Washburn – San Antonio Spurs
Kenny Walker – Washington Bullets
Chuck Person – Sacramento Kings
Roy Tarpley – Dallas Mavericks
William Bedford – Phoenix Suns
Ron Harper – Cleveland Cavaliers *pick sold to Cleveland from league
Scott Skiles – Philadelphia 76ers
Billy Thompson – Atlanta Hawks
John Salley – Indiana Pacers
Brad Sellers – Utah Jazz
Dell Curry – Denver Nuggets
Johnny Newman – Cleveland Cavaliers
John Williams – Denver Nuggets
Greg Dreiling – Milwaukee Bucks
Walter Berry – Golden State Warriors
Buck Johnson – Chicago Bulls
Arvydas Sabonis – Portland Trail Blazers
Mark Alaire – Seattle SuperSonics
Dennis Rodman – New York Knicks
Larry Krystkowiak – Detroit Pistons
Mark Price – Boston Celtics
Joe Ward – Los Angeles Lakers

Selected other picks:
Jeff Hornacek – Phoenix Suns
Drazen Petrovic – Detroit Pistons

Following the draft, Seattle was announced as this years venue of the All Star Game.

With many teams not satisfied with their rosters after the draft, weeks of intense negotiations began between Front Offices as teams tried to reshape their lineups. Firstly, Detroit decided not take up a contract with 2nd round pick Drazen Petrovic. Petrovic would be picked up by the Sacramento Kings to add to an already young roster.

A deal involving five teams was announced before the season. Donald Sterling, determined to change the look of his team after their 4-0 loss to the Lakers in the playoffs, allowed star Terry Cummings to depart for New Jersey. The Nets sent Buck Williams to the Golden State Warriors who in turn were sending Kenny Carr, Bill Wennington and draft picks to Atlanta. The Hawks allowed Doc Rivers and Jon Koncak to go to the Utah Jazz whilst the Jazz lost their star Adrian Dantley to the Clippers to complete the merry go round.

The Clippers also allowed Norm Nixon to move to Cleveland, who sent Ron Harper and a draft pick to Washington. The Bullets, focussed on rebuilding, sent Jeff Ruland to the Clippers who had successfully reshaped the top of their lineup.

Also heading West was Clark Kellogg, who left Indiana for Portland. In return, the Pacers picked up Sam Bowie and picks.

George Gervin was coveted by the Houston Rockets who saw him as an ideal mentor for the young side that was being built. The Spurs, aware that a significant rebuild was required, were happy to let Gervin go in exchange for Alvin Robertson and the Rockets’ Round 1 1987 draft pick.

Tree Rollins was once again on the move, as Washington sent Rollins, Jeff Malone and a Rd 2 draft pick to Phoenix for Walter Davis & William Bedford

The Hawks, having lost Doc Rivers to Utah were on the lookout for a new starting Point Guard. They found one from Philadelphia as Maurice Cheeks and Cling Richardson made the move down to Atlanta. Larry Drew and Dan Roundfield going the other way.

Utah were also on the lookout for a new starter after the loss of Adrian Dantley. In came Marques Johnson and Junior Bridgeman from the Bucks with Joe Barry Carroll and the Jazz 87 draft pick sent to Milwaukee.

And finally, the Knicks, clearly encouraged by last season's improvement, decided to prioritize current roster quality over future as they sent Bill Cartwright and Dennis Rodman to Seattle. Coming the other way was Jack Sikma and Jeff Cook.

1986-1987 Preview:

Following all these offseason movements, a few teams were now bumped either up or down in peoples pre season predictions ahead of the start of the season. Both Boston and the Lakers sat out all the trade drama, both unsurprisingly happy with their rosters. There’s no reason to think both won’t still be at the top of their respective Conferences either, but would it be a third Magic v Bird final in four years?

Behind Boston in the East, New York were confident they could now be viewed as Championship contenders. Having added Jack Sikma they now had a big three of Michael Jordan, Bernard King and Jack Sikma. Detroit were also expected to compete again but had not added to a line up that was continuously falling short in the playoffs. The Bulls had lost Orlando Woolbridge for the season with a torn ACL and after a slightly disappointing season from Ralph Sampson were not as fancied to compete right at the top but should still make the playoffs comfortably. Behind that, no one would be surprised if the race for the top eight was as close as last season. The Bucks would be reasonably confident of making the playoffs again, whilst the Nets had added Terry Cummings which should be enough to make up the small gap they had missed out by last season. Atlanta, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Indiana looked like the four most likely to fill the last two spots but which of the two was anyone’s guess. The Bullets, last in 85/86, and having lost Jeff Ruland were an obvious pick for that bottom spot once more.

In the West, the Trail Blazers looked best place to challenge the Lakers. Having added Clark Kellogg from Indiana and already boasting a good record over the past few years. Dallas would hope to improve after they struggled under the defending champions tag. Houston must be expecting better this time around, assuming they can have Charles Barkley available this time around and adding Len Bias to the roster they should make a playoff return this time out. The Clippers and the Warriors were unfancied last year but both comfortably made the playoffs, the Clippers as far as the Conference finals. Both now had higher expectations on them having added to their rosters over the offseason. The Kings' super young roster was still an unknown. There was clearly talent there and the belief was this was the season it would start to translate to enough wins to make a play for the top eight. The race for the last spot looked likely to be between Denver, Utah and Seattle. Seattle were without Jack Sikma and maybe struggle to recreate last seasons form. Utah had lost Adrian Dantley and it may be that their new look starting line up just take slightly too long to gel, allowing the Nuggets to steal that last spot. Phoenix and San Antonio don’t look in a position to compete heading into October. There were rumors that San Antonio might not be able to financially sustain another season of languishing down the bottom and with the trade of George Gervin making that likely could this be the last year in San Antonio for the Spurs?

Predicted Eastern Conference Rankings:
1. Boston Celtics
2. New York Knicks
3. Detroit Pistons
4. Chicago Bulls
5. New Jersey Nets
6. Milwaukee Bucks
7. Atlanta Hawks
8. Philadelphia 76ers
9. Cleveland Cavaliers
10. Indiana Pacers
11. Washington Bullets

Predicted Western Conference Rankings:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Portland Trail Blazers
3. Dallas Mavericks
4. Houston Rockets
5. Los Angeles Clippers
6. Golden State Warriors
7. Sacramento Kings
8. Denver Nuggets
9. Utah Jazz
10. Seattle SuperSonics
11. Phoenix Suns
12. San Antonio Spurs

Note - Len Bias does not overdose ITL, but there will definitely be mentions of the drug abuse that was associated with a lot of this draft class.

Up Next: the 1986-87 season.

HB62 · Mar 25, 2024

1986 -87 Season: Basketball is back in New York City, my friends!

Larry Bird was clearly still aggrieved about the 1986 finals when the 86/87 campaign kicked off. Bird took his frustration out on the 76ers, as his 40 points saw Boston win 133-136 in a thriller at home. The biggest surprise of the night was in Detroit as the un-fancied Washington Bullets secured a 110-106 victory. Ron Harper, a draft pick traded from Cleveland, scored 25 on his NBA debut. The Lakers laid down an early marker in the West, a 50 point win over the Suns (140-90) in Phoenix included a 48 point third quarter and 50 points from Magic in a triple double start for last year's MVP. Gavin Gervin showed why the Rockets had been keen to trade for him as he started his Houston career with 24 in a 102-115 win in Utah. Also with 20+ points were Charles Barkley, Akeem Olajuwon and Len Bias on debut as Houston's young guns showed up. The Lakers were disappointing in game 2, only winning by 36 points this time at home against the Warriors as their dominating start continued.

One team struggling early on was the Bulls. An 117-89 loss at home to the Pacers highlighted their struggles and it would take Chicago twelve games to record a victory in what would end up being a 2-15 start. Houston were living up to early season expectations winning ten out of their first eleven games. Len Bias scored 35 in a 99-139 win at home to New Jersey as part of that run. Right there with them in the West were Portland. The Nets were also on the end of a Clark Kellogg masterclass as the former Indiana man posted 37 for the Trail Blazers in a 83-101 victory. Both Portland and Houston would start 13-5 through November. The Spurs struggled as expected, despite winning on opening night at home to the Nuggets they would win just twice more in their first 18 games. Both victories came against the Clippers, much to Donald Sterling’s annoyance. The new look Clippers were outside the playoffs going into December thanks to three straight losses against the Nuggets, Lakers and Trail Blazers. Your early season pace setters were the Lakers in the West, and Michael Jordans’ Knicks in the East.

The Cleveland Cavaliers received some bad news in early December when World B. Free was ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn left achilles whilst Julius Erving would struggle to play again this campaign as well suffering the same injury as well for Philadelphia. Cleveland would win just once in December, at home to Dallas, as they struggled without Free and slumped to the bottom of the conference. Philly were relying on Moses Malone to keep them afloat, 37 points also against Dallas was one of six wins for the 76ers that kept them just inside the top 8. Early in December the top two in the East met in New York. And Michael Jordan was top scorer as the Knicks won 92-110 against the Celtics. Was the tide starting to turn in the East? The Knicks would be 5.5 games clear of Boston going into 1987. Defying expectations were the Bullets. Veteran Walter Davis and Youngster Ron Harper were leading the way for Washington who were 4th in the East at the turn of the year. Impressive results included wins in both Portland and Los Angeles against the Clippers. The Lakers were dominant again out West, losing just 4 times before the turn of the year. Despite this, they would still only lead the conference by 5.5 games, thanks to impressive seasons from both the Rockets and also the Sacramento Kings. The two sides with the youthful rosters were coming alive. Patrick Ewing and John Stockton were forming a nice partnership as the Kings won their last 8 in 1986 including a 88-116 win over Boston. Behind them, Portland were still hanging around as they impressed with results such as a 118-119 win at home to the Lakers, Clark Kellogg with 39. The Spurs meanwhile, ended 1986 on a 14 game losing streak and looked likely to go even worse than their 13-69 record from last year.

The Knicks continued their conference leading form with a 111-119 home win over Detroit to start 1987. Bernard King with 28 to lead for New York. Jordan would take over the mantle for the next three, top points scorer in all including in two narrow wins in Boston and Indiana. The Nets were having a fine season thanks to the addition of Terry Cummings. 40 points from Cummings in Denver gave New Jersey a 107-105 win on the road. The playoff race was as close as ever in the East, Moses Malone gave Philadelphia a crucial win at home to the Bucks to move the 76ers one win behind their Milwaukee opponents. Both sides sat just inside the top 8 at the end of January. The Bulls had recovered from their disastrous start as Sampson and Malone started to show glimpses of the form that had excited the Chicago crowd when they first arrived. 34 points from Malone gave Chicago a vital win in Indiana. They ended January 18-28 but only 1 win outside the playoff spots. It would be fair to say Dallas had joined the party in the West. The Mavericks won all 16 games in January including a 107-112 win at home to the Lakers and a super 120-112 win away to Houston. The Mavs climbed to third in conference but were still 3.5 games behind division and state rivals Houston whose form remained solid thanks to Ewing, Olajuwon and Bias. The Spurs finally claimed a win in January, beating next to bottom Utah Jazz 99-100 to move to 5 wins for the season. Phoenix were slightly exceeding expectations by the end of the month thanks to a 6 game winning run that included sixth man Kenneth Griffith scoring 30 against Indiana.

The gap at the top of the East narrowed in February. A 5 game winning run from Detroit brought them to within 3 of New York, Isiah Thomas scoring 37 in Chicago as part of the run. Boston meanwhile had closed the game to 1 thanks to wins such as 111-97 in Detroit and 115-101 in New Jersey. They also won 109-101 in New York despite Jordan scoring 34. Behind them, New Jersey, Milwaukee and surprisingly Washington all looked good for the playoffs. Washington also won impressively in New York in February to exemplify their playoff credentials. Cleveland were stuck rooted to the bottom of the East but just above them was Philadelphia. Champions only 4 years ago but they just didn’t have the team to support Moses Malone and Philly sat at 23-38 at the end of February. The Lakers booked a playoff spot already in February. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still posting impressive numbers at 39 years old, including 29 points in a 112-87 away win at the aforementioned 76ers. The four behind the Lakers all looked set for the playoffs. Houston, Sacramento, Portland and Dallas all at least 10 games clear of the Clippers in ninth. In fact the playoffs in the West were turning into a straight shootout between Phoenix and the Clippers. Both sat on 27 wins at the end of February. Adrian Dantley doing the business when the two sides met in Phoenix as the Clippers won 115-95 to move LAC level with Phoenix.

Milwaukee didn’t get the memo about being set for the playoffs. The Bucks lost their first 8 games in March including a low scoring 90-83 loss at home to Sacramento in which John Stockton was the top scorer with 17. They were then beaten by a Terry Cummings 42 point haul two days later as New Jersey left Milwaukee 107-101 victors. Taking advantage of the Milwaukee slump were Atlanta. Dominique Wilkins was on an incredible run of form. He was the games top scorer in 21 out of 24 matches stretching from mid February through the whole of March. This included back to back 43 points in New York and at home to Washington. The Hawks finished March with a potentially playoff deciding 91-107 win at home to the 76ers. The Bulls were also climbing. A 94-105 win at home to Boston came just three days after Orlando Woolridge had returned early from injury to lead them to a 98-113 win over Indiana. Bulls started the final month of the season 6th in the East. That loss for Boston in Chicago had given New York some breathing room at the top. The Knicks had also won 114-105 in Boston toward the end of March and led by 3 games going into April. In the West, Denver had joined the Phoenix / Clippers battle thanks to their 10 straight losses at the start of March during a tough run where they faced Boston and the Lakers twice. Denver would recover by beating Phoenix back to back to keep them in contention for the postseason. Meanwhile the Lakers had wrapped up the Conference and home advantage through the playoffs despite a 11 game winning streak from Portland. Portland still trailed the Lakers by 15 games even after that run to demonstrate the dominance the Lakers once again had over the rest of the West.

Also in March, the ownership group of the San Antonio Spurs officially announced they were exploring relocation options due to dwindling attendances and soaring losses (both on the court and on the money side). There were three potential locations for the Spurs relocation. Minneapolis, Miami and Tampa Bay. By the end of the season, Tampa Bay was officially announced as the location for the Spurs with a full rebranding to follow. Miami and Minneapolis would join the league as expansion teams by the end of the decade.

1st April Playoff Picture

East
6. Chicago Bulls - 36-41
7. Atlanta Hawks - 34-45
8. Philadelphia 76ers - 33-46
—------------------------------------
9. Indiana Pacers - 32-45
10. Milwaukee Bucks 32-46

West
7. Phoenix Suns - 35-43
8. Los Angeles Clippers - 35-44
—-------------------------------------
9. Denver Nuggets - 34-44

In early April, the 76ers won 92-100 at home to New Jersey to boost their playoff hopes whilst in Dallas the Nuggets were being comfortably beaten 99-118 to boost the chances of Phoenix and the Clippers of making the postseason. Philly won again two days later at home to lowly Cleveland to jump above Atlanta and give them breathing space over the dotted line. The Nuggets bounced back from the Dallas defeat by beating San Antonio 81-95 at home. On the same night Phoenix lost a low scoring game 76-78 in Sacramento whilst Clippers were also losing to Dallas. With two games left for each, all three hopefuls sat on the identical 35-45 record. In the East, Milwaukee and Indiana trailed Atlanta and Philly by 1 game but all except the 76ers had 3 games left. The Pacers made the most of their extra game by winning 96-83 in Detroit, Jim Paxson with 28. On the same night the Knicks won by one at home to the Bullets at the same time as Boston lost 108-109 at home to the Bulls. The two results combined confirmed the Knicks as the Conference champions for the first time since 1973. Also that night, the Hawks lost in Milwaukee to leave all four playoff contenders sat on 34-46 with two games left. Away from playoff talk, the Spurs played their last game in San Antonio and left the city with a 102-104 win against Seattle. It had been a trying time for the Spurs but there's no doubt they would be missed in San Antonio. In the penultimate games in the West, the Clippers pulled off a 90-88 win in Denver to all but guarantee them a playoff place. The Suns unsurprisingly lost at home to the Lakers to leave them and Denver level going into the last day. In the East, it was wins for Philly and Indiana, against the Bucks and Cavs respectively that gave those two the edge going into the last day. Atlanta were also well beaten by a Terry Cummings led Nets to leave them on the outside looking in with one game to go. And the Bucks would only have themselves to blame for missing out on that top 8, a final game defeat in Indiana meant they had lost to Philly and Indiana in their last two games as they missed out on the postseason for the first time since 1979. The win for Indiana booked their spot in the playoffs and left it down to Philly and Atlanta for 8th seed. Atlanta as usual were led by Dominique Wilkins as they dispatched Chicago 89-103 at home meaning Philly must win at home to Detroit to avoid missing out. And in truth despite the importance of the result they never looked like doing it. Isiah Thomas was the top scorer as Detroit won 122-90 and the 76ers would be watching the playoffs rather than taking part for the first time in 12 years. Back in the West, Denver recovered from the narrow loss against the Clippers to get revenge in LA. A 127-104 win put Denver back level with the Clippers and guaranteed both sides a playoff spot. This was because, despite the Suns win over Warriors that left all three times on 36 wins, the Suns win percentage against the other two was the lowest of the three teams. Phoenix would miss out by the narrowest of margins. The San Antonio Spurs last game under that branding would be an 86-98 loss in Utah, Chris Mullin top scorer with 29.

Eastern Conference Standings:
1. New York Knicks - 57-25
2. Detroit Pistons - 50-32
3. Boston Celtics - 53-29
4. New Jersey Nets - 43-39
5. Washington Bullets - 40-42
6. Chicago Bulls - 37-45
7. Indiana Pacers - 36-46
8. Atlanta Hawks - 35-47
--------------------------------------------
9. Philadelphia 76ers - 35-47
10. Milwaukee Bucks - 34-48
11. Cleveland Cavaliers - 18-64

Atlantic Division
Central Division

Western Conference Standings:
1. Los Angeles Lakers - 71-11
2. Houston Rockets - 61-21
3. Portland Trail Blazers - 56-26
4. Sacramento Kings - 52-30
5. Dallas Mavericks - 50-32
6. Seattle SuperSonics - 43-49
7. Denver Nuggets - 36-46
8. Los Angeles Clippers - 36-46
-----------------------------------------------
9. Phoenix Suns - 36-46
10. Golden State Warriors - 27-55
11. Utah Jazz - 13-69
12. San Antonio Spurs - 13-69

Midwest Division
Pacific Division

Regular Season Awards:

Individual Awards
Most Valuable Player	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
Rookie of the Year	Len Bias (Rockets)
Sixth Man of the Year	Len Bias (Rockets)
Defensive Player of the Year	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
Most Improved Player	Kenny Fields (Bucks)

All Star Game (East 124-132 West)
East	West
Michael Jordan	Magic Johnson
Isiah Thomas	Clyde Drexler
Larry Bird	Akeem Olajuwon
Dominique Wilkins	Adrian Dantley
Moses Malone	Alex English
Jim Paxson	Gus Williams
Otis Birdsong	John Stockton
Terry Cummings	James Worthy
Robert Parish	Mark Aguirre
Bernard King	Patrick Ewing
Sidney Moncrief	Buck Williams
Ralph Sampson	Sleepy Floyd

	Player of the Month
Month	Eastern	Western
October	Larry Bird (Celtics)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
November	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
December	Larry Bird (Celtics)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
January	Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
February	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
March	Larry Bird (Celtics)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
April	Dominique Wilkins (Hakws)	Adrian Dantley (Clippers)

	Rookie of the Month
Month	Eastern	Western
October	Brad Daugherty (Nets)	Len Bias (Rockets)
November	Kenny Walker (Bullets)	Len Bias (Rockets)
December	Brad Daugherty (Nets)	Chris Washburn (Spurs)
January	Kenny Walker (Bullets)	Len Bias (Rockets)
February	Mark Price (Celtics)	Len Bias (Rockets)
March	Kenny Walker (Bullets)	Chris Washburn (Spurs)
April	Kenny Walker (Bullets)	Len Bias (Rockets)

	All NBA Teams
All-NBA 1st	All-NBA 2nd	All-NBA 3rd
Magic Johnson (Lakers)	Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	John Stockton (Kings)
Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Clyde Drexler (Trail Blazers)	Gus Williams (SuperSonics)
Larry Bird (Celtics)	Karl Malone (Bulls)	Alex English (Nuggets)
Dominuqe Wilkins (Hawks)	Terry Cummings (Nets)	Adrian Dantley (Clippers)
Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)	Bill Laimbeer (Pistons)	Jeff Ruland (Clippers)

All-Defensive 1st	All-Rookie 1st
Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Len Bias (Rockets)
Sidney Moncrief (Bucks)	Kenny Walker (Bullets)
Larry Bird (Celtics)	Chris Washburn (Spurs)
Larry Nance (Suns)	Kenneth Griffith (Suns)
Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)	Drazen Petrovic (Kings)

The Playoffs

East 1st Round
New York Knicks 3-2 Atlanta Hawks
Dominique Wilkins is top scorer in all five games but Knicks squeeze through 95-97 in game 5
New Jersey Nets 2-3 Washington Bullets
Bullets get revenge for 1985 playoffs, despite Terry Cummings also top scoring in all 5.
Boston Celtics 3-1 Chicago Bulls
The Bulls, as 3rd seed, advance in 4 to meet Detroit in the Semis.
Detroit Pistons 3-1 Indiana Pacers
Detroit come from 1-0 down to advance, despite good performances from Jim Paxson

West 1st Round
Los Angeles Lakers 3-0 Los Angeles Clippers
The Lakers sweep the Clippers in the playoffs again. God knows what Donald Sterling will do to the roster this summer.
Sacramento Kings 0-3 Dallas Mavericks
The young Kings are swept in their first taste of the playoffs.
Portland Trail Blazers 3-0 Seattle SuperSonics
Crtl C + Ctrl V - Portland make Conference Semi Finals
Houston Rockets 3-2 Denver Nuggets
Len Bias is top scorer in game 5 to help Houston advance to the Semi Finals

East Semi Finals
New York Knicks 4-3 Washington Bullets
Michael Jordan scores 35 and then 27 as Knicks come from 3-2 down to make the Conference finals
Detroit Pistons 4-2 Boston Celtics
Boston miss out on the Championship finals for the first time in 4 years, at least they won't have to watch a team from the West celebrate in their arena this year

West Semi Finals
Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 Dallas Mavericks
Another comfortable series for the Lakers who make light work of the 85 champs.
Houston Rockets 2-4 Portland Trail Blazers
A Clyde Drexler inspired Portland knock out the young Rockets who will surely be back at this stage in 12 months time.

East Final
New York Knicks 0-4 Detroit Pistons
The Knicks first Conference final in 13 years is a step too far, but you'd expect them to be a feature at this stage for the next few seasons at least

West Final
Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 Portland Trail Blazers
Clyde Drexler did his best to keep the series interesting but Lakers won all 4 at home thanks to Magic to advance to yet another Championship final

1986-1987 NBA Championship Final
Game 1: Detroit Pistons 85-116 Los Angeles Lakers
A comfortable win for Lakers who look a class above their East opponents
Game 2: Detroit Pistons 99-141 Los Angeles Lakers
An even wider margin in game 2, 39 for Magic
Game 3: Los Angeles Lakers 100-102 Detroit Pistons
A Kelly Tripucka game winner keeps the series alive in Detroit
Game 4: Los Angeles Lakers 96-97 Detroit Pistons
Detroit again grind out the win against their superior opponents to send the series back to LA level.
Game 5: Detroit Pistons 100-121 Los Angeles Lakers
James Worthy shows up to top score in game 5
Game 6: Los Angeles Lakers 109-111 Detroit Pistons
Unbelievably, a third narrow win for Detroit keeps the series alive and sends it to game 7.
Game 7: Detroit Pistons 116-122 Los Angeles Lakers
In the most competitive final for a while, a Tripucka buzzer shot levelled the game and sent it to OT but the Lakers just about come out on top to go back to back

1986-1987 Championship Final Result
Detroit Pistons 3-4 Los Angeles Lakers

Finals MVP
Magic Johnson

Notes:
- I won't be going too crazy with relocations, but the Spurs had been so bad that it seemed logical the ownership might be getting cold feet. The Tampa Bay choice will have butterflies down the line on the expansions to come.
- There are some really stacked teams forming, but right now the Lakers are just a level above. When that team begins to age / break apart I see the playoffs becoming really exciting.

Up Next: The 1987 Offseason

HB62 · Mar 26, 2024

1987 - Offseason

The 1987 offseason was one of changes in the NBA. Kareem Abdul-Jabber announced his retirement [1] not long after the Championship finals win over Detroit. The legendary Center would be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame after his retirement and had his number 33 jersey retired in both Milwaukee and Los Angeles. Abdul-Jabbar retired with 6 NBA championship titles and numerous other awards and records.

Also changing was each conference size. With San Antonio moving to Tampa, it was confirmed that the relocated team would move to the Eastern conference to play in the Atlantic division. This meant the East division grew to 12 teams whilst the West shrunk to 11. The Midwest division would have 5 teams for the 1987/88 season. The full name for the Tampa team was announced not long after the end of the season. With the Spurs name intrinsically linked to the San Antonio area, the Tampa ownership canvassed the local area with possible options for the residents to give opinions on. Clearly, the people of Tampa were still upset about the fall of the Tampa Bay Bandits two years earlier because that was the name that was mentioned unprompted more than anything else during the research process. [2] With the former football team completely defunct, there was nothing in the way of the new NBA team taking up the same name. And so it was announced that the official branding of the team would be the Tampa Bay Bandits, playing in red and white jerseys. [3] (Red at home and White away). With the prospect of NBA in Tampa developing through the 80s, the idea of an arena was well underway by the time the team was officially granted the Spurs franchise. The still to be named multipurpose arena was signed off for construction in 1985 and scheduled to complete in 1989 [4]. The NBA allowed the Bandits to play their first two seasons using the USF Sun Dome as a temporary home.

The Bandits had other good news at the end of the season. Thanks to an unprotected draft pick acquired from Philadelphia, the new side would have two envelopes in the 1987 draft lottery. It wasn’t just the 76ers who had given away the chance at number one pick in 87. Atlanta had picked up the Golden State draft pick in last season's 5 team super trade, Milwaukee had acquired Utah’s pick and also given away their own to New York. The Bucks, however, would get to keep their own pick this season if it landed in the top five of the lottery. In this case the Knicks would get the Bucks’ 88 pick. And so it was only Tampa, Phoenix and Cleveland who would start the 1987 draft lottery with their own pick, with Milwaukee having the possibility of getting their one back depending on when they were drawn out.

And as it was, Milwaukee would keep their pick. First out was Atlanta, via the Golden State meaning they would get seventh pick. This was followed by Tampa Bay being awarded the sixth pick via Philadelphia. Cleveland, last by some way in the East, were only rewarded with the fifth pick which meant the Bucks were now guaranteed two of the top four picks. Perhaps slightly unluckily for Milwaukee, this translated into the third and fourth picks although they would still fancy their chances of improving. This left Phoenix and Tampa Bay to see who would get this year's number one pick. And perhaps rather fittingly, after two years of poor luck in the lottery as the Spurs, it would be Tampa Bay who were announced as having the number one pick in this year's draft. A sign perhaps of the changing fortunes for the relocated franchise. Phoenix would have to settle for their second, 2nd place pick in three years.

1987 Draft 1st Round

1	David Robinson	Tampa Bay Bandits
2	Kevin Johnson	Phoenix Suns
3	Dennis Hopson	Milwaukee Bucks (Via Utah)
4	Scottie Pippen	Milwaukee Bucks (Knicks receive 1988 pick)
5	Reggie Williams	Cleveland Cavaliers
6	Armen Gilliam	Tampa Bay Bandits (Via Philadelphia)
7	Reggie Miller	Atlanta Hawks (Via Golden State)
8	Kenny Smith	Washington Bullets (Via Atlanta)
9	Muggsy Bogues	Los Angeles Clippers
10	Mark Jackson	Chicago Bulls (Via Denver)
11	Horace Grant	Indiana Pacers
12	Derrick Mckey	Chicago Bulls
13	Olden Polynice	Washington Bullets
14	Reggie Lewis	Tampa Bay Bandits
15	Joe Wolf	Atlanta Hawks
16	Tellis Frank	Detroit Pistons
17	Ken Norman	Dallas Mavericks
18	Winston Garland	Sacramento Kings
19	Greg Anderson	Boston Celtics
20	Vincent Askew	Indiana Pacers
21	Doug Lee	New York Knicks
22	Donald Royal	Tampa Bay Bandits
23	Kevin Gamble	Los Angeles Lakers

The NBA announced that the 1988 all star game would be held in New York where the Knicks’ Michael Jordan would almost certainly be the star attraction.

In the theme of changes, the NBA embraced the world of free agency in 1987. After a new labor agreement, players reaching the end of their contract could be free to move without their former club receiving compensation if they met the qualifying requirement. It was set in place that as long as the player had been in the league for at least seven seasons and had played through two NBA contracts, the choice was theirs to choose a new destination.The first big mover of this was Alex English. English, who had been with Denver since 1980, would move approximately 500 miles west to join up with the Utah Jazz whilst Denver received nothing in return.

1987-88 Season Preview:

In the East, there was a sense of a little more unknown heading into the 1987/88 season. Boston had fallen off of top spot for the first time in four seasons, overtaken by the Knicks. New York’s top 3 were as good as anyone's in the league, with Michael Jordan, Bernard King and Jack Sikma, but the 4-0 sweep by Detroit in the conference final exposed their weaknesses behind that. With New York still unable to improve their starting roster outside these three, there were question marks about their ability to go any further than last year. Detroit however had proven themselves finally capable of competing for the Championship, sweeping New York and taking the Lakers to game 7 last season. There was a growing feeling that Detroit needed a title soon after years of close calls. Boston failed to reach the final for the first time in four years last time out and perhaps a similar season this time out could lead Boston closer towards a rebuilding phase. The Nets had an excellent regular season last time out, bouncing back from missing the playoffs in 86 to finish fourth in conference. Led by the excellent Terry Cummings and youngster Brad Daugherty, the 1986 offseason had transformed the Nets into a team you’d now expect to see easily advance to the postseason. The Bulls showed towards the end of the season the team they can be with a full roster available. They missed Orlando Woolridge for most of the season but recovered from a poor start to make the playoffs before being eliminated in the first round by Boston. With Woolridge fit, and two first round draft picks strengthening the depth of the roster, expect Chicago to be back in positive figures for this season. The Hawks, despite losing Doc Rivers, managed to make the playoffs last time out thanks to a last day win over Chicago. Led by Dominique Wilkins who had led the scoring charts now for three seasons and having now added Reggie Miller in the draft, the expectation was that Hawks wouldn’t need to wait until the last game to secure a playoff spot this time out. Milwaukee had collapsed in the second half of last season, going from a top five position in the conference to missing the postseason. That did mean that they got the chance to keep hold of the draft pick they had trade to New York, which they used to draft Scottie Pippen. Pippen, as well as Dennis Hopson, could add much needed quality alongside Sidney Moncrief that gets Milwaukee back into the playoffs. Philadelphia must also be hoping for better this time around. There were plenty of rumors about the 76ers using Moses Malone to trade for future draft picks in the hope of rebuilding themselves back into the championship winning team of 1983, although those rumors hadn’t materialized as of the start of the season. The only thing going for Philadelphia was that the quality at the bottom of the East was low, and just having Malone might ensure they made the top 8 this time around. The mood in Tampa was one of excitement. Having taken on a franchise with 26 wins in their last two seasons combined, there was incredibly a genuine belief that Tampa might make the playoffs first go around. Chris Mullin had developed superbly by being thrust straight into a starting role, David Robinson had been granted an exemption from the Navy to join the NBA straight away after being drafted as first pick and Amen Gilliam had also looked promising in pre-season. If Tampa could get all three of these on the court and firing from the off, a strong first season in the Bay looked likely for the Bandits. After making the conference semi finals last time out, it feels like underestimating the Bullets again might be foolish. However, an injury to Rod Harper looked set to rule him out for a good portion of the season and Walter Davis had been absent through pre-season for undisclosed reasons. Without either of these two, Bullets’ roster just didn’t stack up to the rest and Washington could be in for a tough start. The Pacers had defied expectations to reach the postseason the last two years. Doing so last year meant they had missed out on any top draft picks though and their roster looked a little devoid of quality compared to those above them. Could they overachieve yet again? Unfortunately for Cleveland, they looked set for another difficult season especially after losing Eddie Johnson to Denver.

The West looked a little simpler on paper to decipher. There were question marks over how much the Lakers would miss Kareem Abdul-Jabbar but they had built themselves such a cushion over the rest of the conference it seemed unlikely to change things enough this season. Behind them, the Rockets should only keep improving and look set for 2nd seed once more. Portland had made five conference semifinals in a row, and with Clyde Drexler and Clark Kellogg saw no reason they wouldn’t make it 6. The Mavericks and Kings should continue improving with their young sides to make the playoffs with ease. Behind them, Golden State were a surprise to miss out on the playoffs and will be hoping for better this time out with their roster. The Clippers should also be in the top 8, being led by Adrian Dantley and Jeff Ruland. Although missing the playoffs may be beneficial if it avoids them being swept again by the Lakers. The last spot could be between Phoenix and Utah. Phoenix lost out to an Alex English led side last season and the same could happen again, unless Kevin Johnson can come in and make an impression straight away as 2nd pick from the 87 draft. Seattle again look weaker than their rivals but do have a habit of making the playoffs. That streak might end this season. Denver, having only just made the playoffs last time and now without Alex English might have to settle for just the regular 82 games this time around.

Eastern Conference Prediction:
1. Detroit Pistons
2. New York Knicks
3. Boston Celtics
4. New Jersey Nets
5. Chicago Bulls
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Milwaukee Bucks
8. Philadelphia 76ers
9. Tampa Bay Bandits
10. Indiana Pacers
11. Washington Bullets
12. Cleveland Cavaliers

Western Conference Prediction:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Houston Rockets
3. Portland Trail Blazers
4. Dallas Mavericks
5. Sacramento Kings
6. Golden State Warriors
7. Los Angeles Clippers
8. Utah Jazz
9. Phoenix Suns
10. Seattle SuperSonics
11. Denver Nuggets

[1] - 2 years earlier than OTL, having already accomplished his 6 OTL titles by 1987 ITL Kareem goes out on a high over a Championship
[2] - The Sharks and the Tropics the other two popular suggestions, with a Shark prominent on the new team logo
[3] - Same as the USFL side
[4] - Basically the story behind the Amway Arena but now in Tampa

Up Next: The 1987-88 Season

HB62 · Mar 27, 2024

1987-88 Season - Part 1 : The Changing of the Guard

Just before the start of the season, it was revealed that Walter Davis’ pre season absence was due to an ongoing drugs related investigation from his time in Phoenix. The Maricopa County attorney’s office had announced indictments against both Davis and current Golden State Warriors player James Edwards. Reportedly, the investigation had begun after a comment from James Edwards made in a night club about how Warriors would not score more than 99 points in the Warriors final regular season game against Edwards’ former team Phoenix Suns. (Suns would win the game 110-96.) Despite no further evidence that the comment was anything more than an embarrassing remark regarding the quality of his own Warriors’ team, the investigation did lead to the uncovering a large drug problem amongst the Phoenix Suns’ teams through the late 70s and early 80s. Edwards, who joined the Suns in 1983 and stayed for 3 seasons, was granted immunity in exchange for testimony. Edwards would name Davis as being a teammate whom he would frequently take cocaine with throughout the 3 years they spent as teammates. (Davis would also leave the Suns in 1986 to join Washington.)

The story dominated the sport headlines through October. Despite neither player currently playing for Phoenix, the allegations were damaging for the team's reputation. With both players leaving the team in 1986, it looked like the team had found out about the drug use and rather than report their own players they would instead trade them away for other assets. Neither Edwards or Davis said they were aware that the Suns front office knew about the drug use and that both assumed the trades were part of the rebuild Phoenix were going through following a disappointing campaign. The prosecution started falling apart before the new season began, with Edwards unable to provide specific details over the drug use or names of those other than Davis who used drugs. Eventually, before the start of the season, Davis self admitted himself to a drug rehabilitation program and wouldn’t play again until 1988. Edwards joined a drug counseling program and continued to play for the Warriors at the start of the 1987-88 season. On October 14, 1987, a group headed by Suns general manager and vice president Jerry Colangelo purchased the franchise from owners Richard L. Bloch, Donald Pitt and Don Diamond. The deal, hastily arranged with the owners wanting out before the start of the season, was potentially crucial for keeping the Suns in Phoenix.

Detroit’s opening home game of the season started with a minute’s silence in memory of the 154 people killed in the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Atlanta Hawks Center Nick Vanos and his fiancée had been in the airport at the time of the crash, waiting to board their own flight back to Atlanta after an offseason holiday in Michigan.

Once the basketball did get underway, there was joy for the Tampa Bay Bandits. The Bandits, having taken over the Spurs Franchise who’d managed just 46 wins in the last three seasons, won their opening game of the season in a 105-85 win over Washington Bullets in Washington. 1987 number one draft pick David Robinson scored 21 for the Bandits. In a close match in Philadelphia, Larry Bird scored 26 as Boston started their season with a 108-105 win over the 76ers. Another debutant starting with 21 points was Scottie Pippen. Pippen’s 21 wasn’t enough though, as the Bucks went down 115-88 at home to last year's Eastern Conference winners the Knicks. Mark Aguirre had 29 for the Mavericks as Tampa lost for the first time, 98-117 in Dallas. Meanwhile the Jazz must have been wondering who in the NBA scheduling department they’d annoyed as they opened with a back to back matchup with the Lakers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the team with 70+ wins in the last two regular seasons were victorious, Magic and Worthy starring despite the absence of the retired Abdul-Jabbar. The Lakers would lose before the end of the October though, Charles Barkley hit 31 in Houston as the Rockets inflicted defeat on their Western conference rivals. The happiest teams after the opening week would be Dallas (3-0), Boston (5-0) and Portland (6-0) as all three made 100% starts to the first month. At the other end of the tables, Phoenix (0-4), Denver (0-5) and Milwaukee (0-6) were still yet to record that elusive first win heading into November.

By the time the season was in full swing, three huge trades had been made as teams readjusted following early season results. Detroit had been looking since defeat to the Lakers in last season's final to adjust the supporting crew behind Isiah Thomas. They made two trades at the start of November. First, Kelly Tripucka left for Denver alongside a draft pick, with Kiki Vandeweghe going the other way to Detroit. Bill Laimbeer also left Detroit, as he and Albert King headed to Chicago. Going the other way was Ralph Sampson and John Drew. Sampson, whose Bulls career had started excellently, had suffered a dip in form over the last two seasons. Detroit were hoping they could unlock that early career performance that might give them the edge to go one better in the playoffs. Sampsons Detroit career began with a 108-95 win in Cleveland and 28 points for the Center. It was the end of an era in Philadelphia. Moses Malone, Finals MVP in Philly’s 1983 championship win, was heading to Los Angeles. Malone, along with Michael Cage, were traded to the Clippers in exchange for Jeff Ruland and Charles Oakley as the 76ers looked to rebuild after missing out on last season's playoffs. One team not needing any roster adjustments right now was the Nets. Led by the always excellent Terry Cummings and ever improving Brad Daugherty, the Nets had started the season well and would finish November with 5 straight wins including a 94-127 thrashing at home to Chicago. The Bandits had their best win yet with a 106-105 win in Portland, including a 29 point haul from Chris Mullin whose partnership with David Robinson was growing. The Moses Malone trade had not brought immediate success to the 76ers. Philadelphia’s struggles were evident as they lost 85-106 in Seattle to start 2-9. Also struggling were Phoenix who had to wait until game nine to record that first win. Incredibly it came against East powerhouses Boston, 99-104 in Phoenix. The Suns would only win once more before December. The Lakers, following the double win start over Utah, had been on a rather indifferent run of form. A 120-122 thriller that ended in defeat in New York left them on a 6-6 record after twelve games. Magic Johnson would then hit 47 and 45 points in his next two games to kick start a 9 game winning run to get the Lakers back on track. That 9 game run wouldn’t be enough to get the Lakers above surprise early West leaders Sacramento Kings. The Kings, led by Patrick Ewing and John Stockton, started 14-5. Also going well in November were Atlanta. The Hawks had been led by Dominique Wilkins almost single handedly for years but had now added rookie Reggie Miller. Miller was taking the load of Wilkins with superb performances early on. He would be top points scorer 5 games in a row at the end of November, including 38 points in a win over Cleveland.

The Knicks were aiming for back to back conference titles in the East and would make a big play for that with 15 straight wins in December. The run was started by a 114-108 win in Cleveland, where Michael Jordan scored 45. The Cummings, Daugherty duo was continuing to work for New Jersey. A 117-121 win over Tampa gave New Jersey a 23-9 start through the end of 1987 and had them placed nicely in the East, although neighbors New York’s winning run still left the Nets trailing in the fight for the Conference. At the other end of the Eastern Conference, the Bucks were seriously struggling. 8 straight games with under 100 points was compounded with a 95-75 loss at home to the Sacramento Kings. Showing signs of recovery in December were Phoenix. A 106-110 win at home to Utah was the first of 8 wins for the Suns who, after a dismal start, looked like they might still put up a fight for those last playoff spots. The Suns were replaced at the bottom of the West by Denver. The Nuggets, who had lost Alex English to the new unrestricted free agency, were sent to the bottom of the conference by a Akeem Olajuwon 28 point haul in Houston. After another playoff loss to the Lakers, the Clippers had changed the top of their roster again. And this time they looked like they may have found the right formula to start troubling their LA counterparts. Newly acquired Moses Malone scored 30 as the Clippers won 109-100 at the start of December over the Lakers. The Lakers would lose another 7 times in December including a 2nd home loss to the Clippers. The Lakers' sized grip at the top of the West was certainly loosening, especially as the Kings were starting a 10 game winning run that would take them into 1988. Also exceeding expectations were the Pacers in the East. Led by Jim Paxson, they would be the last team to beat Sacramento in 1987 with a 120-93 away win. The Pacers looked like a good bet for a third playoff appearance in a row.

If anyone was doubting whether Sacramento might be able to maintain their West conference title bid, those doubts were banished at the start of 1988. A 99-112 win over the Lakers gave the Kings a decent gap at the top. And it wasn’t even the Lakers who were closest to the Kings through January, with Dallas occupying 2nd spot in the West thanks to wins such as a 115-129 win at home to New Jersey. Also going well in the West were Portland, who once again would fancy themselves to make the Conference semifinals at a minimum. Clark Kellogg had 39 in a 102-111 over a hapless Milwaukee. The only thing going for the Bucks right now was that Cleveland were struggling just as much, 6 straight losses through January included a 99-89 home loss to Phoenix. Above both of these were the Bandits, who had cleared the 13 wins achieved by San Antonio in the two previous seasons and still had their sights on the postseason. A 105-118 win over Washington kept them in the hunt, Chris Mullin with another excellent 32 points. An eagerly anticipated matchup in January was taking place in Chicago with the first return of Ralph Sampson. And Sampson would come back to haunt his former club, with 37 points for his new side Detroit in a narrow 121-118 win for the Pistons. Other sides going well in the West were Atlanta, who romped past a struggling 76ers side 84-119 thanks to 36 from Dominique Wilkins and also the Knicks. Jordan finished January with 43 at home to Chicago as a 119-121 win for New York maintained their sizable gap at the top.

The All Star game was held in New York, with Michael Jordan the star attraction. Jordan would end the game as MVP, scoring 24 points in a 124-116 win the East.

All Star Line Ups
Eastern	Western
Michael Jordan	Magic Johnson
Isiah Thomas	John Stockton
Larry Bird	Alex English
Terry Cummings	Adrian Dantley
Karl Malone	Akeem Olajuwon
Jim Paxson	Clyde Drexler
Norm Nixon	Byron Scott
Jeff Ruland	Moses Malone
Jack Sikma	Patrick Ewing
Kiki Vandeweghe	James Worthy
Sidney Moncrief	Charles Barkley
Ralph Sampson	Sleepy Floyd

Conference Standings as of 1st February 1988

Eastern
1. New York Knicks - 37-10
2. Detroit Pistons - 29-18
3. New Jersey Nets - 31-17
4. Boston Celtics 30-17
5. Atlanta Hawks - 26-20
6. Washington Bullets - 25-24
7. Chicago Bulls - 22-23
8. Indiana Pacers - 21-25
----------------------------------------
9. Tampa Bay Bandits - 20-27
10. Philadelphia 76ers - 13-34
11. Cleveland Cavaliers - 12-34
12. Milwaukee Bucks - 11-35

Western:
1. Sacramento Kings - 37-11
2. Dallas Mavericks - 31-14
3. Los Angeles Lakers - 32-16
4. Houston Rockets - 32-18
5. Los Angeles Clippers 26-13
6. Portland Trail Blazers - 23-24
7. Seattle SuperSonics - 20-26
8. Utah Jazz - 20-27
-------------------------------------------
9. Phoenix Suns - 14-31
10. Denver Nuggets - 14-33
11. Golden State Warriors - 13-32

League Leaders:
PPG:
1. Magic Johnson (29.5)
2. Michael Jordan (27.7)

REB:
1. Charles Oakley (13)
2. Jeff Ruland (12.4)

AST:
1. John Stockton (12.4)
2. Magic Johnson (11.5)

STL
1. Michael Jordan (2.3)
2. Clyde Drexler (1.9)

BLK
1. Benoit Benjamin (2.9)
2. Patrick Ewing (2.7)

TO
1. Michael Jordan (3.3)
2. Magic Johnson (3.1)

Up Next: 1987-88 Part 2

HB62 · Mar 27, 2024

1987-88 Season - Part 2 : History Made

The Sacramento Kings, top of the West at the end of January, would lose seven games in February. The last of which enough to knock them off that top spot. They were replaced by their opposition in that last game, as a Len Bias inspired Houston Rockets won 103-117 in Houston to take over the top of the West. The Lakers were a few wins back in third, keeping the top two in touching distance with important wins such as a 110-108 win in Portland. The Jazz had started February in the last remaining playoff spot, but with a decent game to the teams below them. That gap was extended in February thanks to the exploits of Darryl Griffith and Alex English. The two were instrumental in back to back wins for the Jazz over closest playoff rivals Phoenix Suns. One team not thinking of the playoffs this year were Golden State Warriors. The Warriors, despite boasting Sleepy Floyd, Purvis Short and Buck Williams on their roster won just once in February and looked set to take over the old San Antonio Spot at the bottom of the conference. The expectation was that potentially all three of the Warriors top roster might be traded away in a summer rebuild. Adrian Dantley and Moses Malone were proving a good combination for the Clippers, who made up some ground to the teams above with a solid month. Dantley had 38 in a 94-122 win at home to Phoenix whilst Malone went 4 better with 42 at home to Portland. No one could rival the form of Houston in February however. The Rockets with 13 straight wins including the one against Sacramento to climb from 4th to 1st in the West. Boston were without Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in February, and that led to an indifferent run of form that saw them lose four straight games on two separate occasions during the month. Kiki Vandeweghe was top scorer as Detroit won in Boston 113-95. The playoff race in the East looked to be solely between Indiana and Tampa Bay. Jim Paxson scored 30 as the two met in Tampa, with the Pacers winning 112-106 to remain a couple of wins ahead of their rivals.

By the end of March, 15 out of the 16 teams had already qualified for the postseason. It was perhaps an indication that the gap in quality between the top and the bottom of the NBA had grown. On closer inspection though, with the Lakers and Celtics now no longer locks for the conference titles it appeared that more likely was teams from the middle of the pack had improved thanks to smart trades and good draft prospects which left the bottom 3 in each division a long way from anyone else. The battle for the West conference was as close as it had been for years, with three teams still in contention. In the East, perennial winners Boston found themselves in fourth with just a few regular season games remaining. The top two in the West played out a thriller in Houston. The Kings, out for revenge after losing top spot at the end of February snatched victory back to Sacramento with a 115-114 win that bought the teams level at the top. Sacramento would struggle through the middle of the month though, including a back to back loss to Seattle that left them trailing Houston once more. Seattle, boosted by those two wins over Sacramento, went into a home game over Phoenix with the opportunity to clinch the last playoff spot with a win. And win they did, 90-113 over the Suns meaning the top 8 in the West was locked in. Phoenix, Denver and Golden State would have some work to do in the offseason to make up the ground before next year. The race for the Eastern conference wasn't quite as close. The Knicks won their last 8 games in March to wrap up the title, Michael Jordan top scorer in the last 5 games and the Knicks would go into the playoffs as potentially the favourites thanks to their impressive form and superstar in Jordan. The last remaining playoff spot was still to be decided. Tampa Bay Bandits made the most of the Pacers tough end of March schedule to narrow the gap back to 2. The Pacers had to play the Knicks twice and an away game in Boston to round out the month, resulting in 3 losses. The Bandits meanwhile won two out of their last three, beating Dallas and Chicago to keep their playoffs hope alive.

1st April Playoff Picture

East
8. Indiana Pacers - 36-40
-------------------------------
9. Tampa Bay Bandits - 34-42

The gap that was two, was halved at the start of April. Pacers tough run of fixtures continued with a trip to LA to face the Lakers. The Lakers were comfortable 90-105 winners whilst on the same night the Bandits edged out Washington 90-94 at home thanks to 30 points from David Robinson. The Lakers win kept them in touch at the top of the West, especially as the Kings were losing at home to Utah at the same time. The Bandits would win again the following night, now on a streak of four wins out of five thanks to a 109-102 win in Milwaukee. This left both teams on 36 wins, with Tampa having one less game left than Indiana but the form book was very much in their favour. Indiana couldn't make the most of the game in hand the next day, losing 98-88 at home to Washington Bullets. The same night, Houston had the opportunity to clinch the West division but failed to do so, Utah making them wait for their title thanks to a 101-109 win. Chris Mullin was the Bandit hero the next day, scoring 30 as Tampa Bay sneaked a 100-99 win away at the West whipping boys Golden State. The Pacers were thrashed in Detroit on the same night and now Tampa had the one game advantage with three games left each. Houston made no mistake on the second attempt at clinching the West title, 22 points from Charles Barkley enough as they won 116-113 in Dallas. For the first time in seven years the Lakers would go into the playoffs as something other than the no 1 seed for the West whilst it was the second conference title for the Rockets. Tampa Bay had the momentum behind them now, climbing into the playoff spot for the first time all season with the win over the Warriors. They used that momentum to stretch that winning run, winning 113-94 in Milwaukee to really put the pressure on Indiana. And the Pacers couldn't respond, losing 89-87 at home to Chicago the next night. Tampa were now on a 5 game winning run, whilst the Pacers had collapse to lose the last 7. One more win for Tampa and they would finish their first season in the Bay, in the playoffs. And sure enough, that win would come in a famous night at the temporary USF Sun Dome home. 35 points from Chris Mullin led the Bandits to a 103-117 win at home to Atlanta to complete an incredible late comeback and send Tampa into the playoffs. The Pacers finally stopped the rot, winning 122-116 in New Jersey but they had left it too late.

Eastern Conference Standings:
1. New York Knicks - 62-20
2. Detroit Pistons - 46-36
3. Boston Celtics - 50-32
4. New Jersey Nets - 48-34
5. Chicago Bulls - 45-37
6. Washington Bullets - 45-37
7. Atlanta Hawks - 45-37
8. Tampa Bay Bandits - 39-43
-------------------------------------
9. Indiana Pacers - 38-44
10. Philadelphia 76ers - 28-54
11. Milwaukee Bucks - 26-56
12. Cleveland Cavaliers - 19-63

Western Conference Standings:
1. Houston Rockets - 59-23
2. Los Angeles Lakers - 56-26
3. Sacramento Kings - 54-28
4. Dallas Mavericks - 46-36
5. Los Angeles Clippers - 46-36
6. Portland Trail Blazers - 41-41
7. Utah Jazz - 40-42
8. Seattle SuperSonics - 36-46
-------------------------------------
9. Phoenix Suns - 31-51
10. Denver Nuggets - 25-57
11. Golden State Warriors - 18-64

Regular Season Awards

Individual Awards
Most Valuable Player	Michael Jordan (Knicks)
Rookie of the Year	David Robinson (Bandits)
Sixth Man of the Year	Len Bias (Rockets)
Defensive Player of the Year	David Robinson (Bandits)
Most Improved Player	William Bedford (Bullets)

	Player of the Month
Month	Eastern	Western
October	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
November	Larry Bird (Celtics)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
December	Karl Malone (Bulls)	Alex English (Jazz)
January	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
February	Larry Bird (Celtics)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
March	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
April	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)

	Rookie of the Month
Month	Eastern	Western
October	David Robinson (Bandits)	Steve Harris (Warriors)
November	Reggie Miller (Hawks)	Kevin Johnson (Suns)
December	David Robinson (Bandits)	Muggsy Bogues (Clippers)
January	David Robinson (Bandits)	Kevin Johnson (Suns)
February	Scottie Pippen (Bucks)	Muggsy Bogues (Clippers)
March	David Robinson (Bandits)	Kevin Johnson (Suns)
April	David Robinson (Bandits)	Kevin Johnson (Suns)

	All-NBA Teams
All-NBA 1st	All-NBA 2nd	All-NBA 3rd
Magic Johnson (Lakers)	Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Clyde Drexler (Trail Blazers)
Michael Jordan (Knicks)	John Stockton (Kings)	Gus Williams (SuperSonics)
Larry Bird (Celtics)	Dominique Wilkins (Hawks)	Alex English (Nuggets)
Karl Malone (Bulls)	Terry Cummings (Nets)	Adrian Dantley (Clippers)
Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)	David Robinson (Bandits)	Patrick Ewing (Kings)

All-Defensive 1st	All-Rookie 1st
Michael Jordan (Knicks)	David Robinson (Bandits)
Sidney Moncrief (Bucks)	Armen Gilliam (Bandits)
Larry Bird (Celtics)	Scottie Pippen (Bucks)
Xavier McDaniel (Pacers)	Reggie Miller (Hawks)
Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)	Kevin Johnson (Suns)

The Playoffs

East 1st Round
New York Knicks 1-3 Tampa Bay Bandits
Reggie Theus unbelievably steals the show in Game 4, as the young Bandits cause an incredible 1st Round upset to knock out the favourites
New Jersey Nets 3-1 Chicago Bulls
New Jersey are now the highest seed team left in the East after being the Bulls in 4 games, despite 47 points from Karl Malone in game 4
Boston Celtics 1-3 Washington Bullets
Another stunning upset as Larry Bird can't prevent Boston exiting at the 1st Round stage. The Celtics miss out on the Semi Finals for the first time since 1979
Detroit Pistons 0-3 Atlanta Hawks
Detroit's early season reshuffle fails to pay off as Dominique Wilkins fires Atlanta into their first semi final since 1984

West 1st Round
Houston Rockets 3-2 Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle's streak of 1st Round exits continues as Houston advance in 5.
Dallas Mavericks 3-2 Los Angeles Clippers
Dallas will have eyes on repeating their 1985 triumph after coming from 2-1 down to knock out the Clippers
Sacramento Kings 2-3 Portland Trail Blazers
The Kings, so impressive for so much of the season, fall short as once again Clyde Drexler comes alive in the postseason to top score in all 5 games.
Los Angeles Lakers 3-1 Utah Jazz
The Lakers the only team not to need 5 games in the West to advance. With the shock early exits of the East powerhouses, they must be confident of a third straight title.

East Semi Final
New Jersey Nets 1-4 Tampa Bay Bandits
Tampa's incredible run after climbing into the playoffs on the last week continues. It's their first conference final since 1983
Washington Bullets 1-4 Atlanta Hawks
7th seed Atlanta are now the highest ranked team left in the East as Dominique Wilkins continues fantastic form to top score in all 5.

West Semi Final
Houston Rockets 4-2 Dallas Mavericks
The 1985 champs are eliminated by the 1981 runners up as top seed Houston advance to the conference finals
Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 Portland Trail Blazers
With 7th and 8th seed meeting in the East, it's the more traditional 1st v 2nd conference final in the West. Portland again fall short to a Magic led Lakers

East Final
Atlanta Hawks 0-4 Tampa Bay Bandits
Simply unbelievable scenes as the new look Tampa Bay Bandits, on the back of two straight 13 win seasons, become the first 8th seed to ever reach the NBA finals in their first season in Tampa.

West Final
Houston Rockets 4-3 Los Angeles Lakers
A quite incredible series in the West. The Rockets led 2-1, trailed 2-3 before winning the last two to prevail. Charles Barkley with two free throws right at the death to win game 7 118-119.

1987 - 1988 NBA Championship Finals
Game 1: Tampa Bay Bandits 98-140 Houston Rockets
George Gervin, against his old franchise, top scores for Houston. Bias, Barkley and Akeem also all have 20+ points.
Game 2: Tampa Bay Bandits 108-100 Houston Rockets
The Tampa run continues as they come alive in game 2, Chris Mullin with 25 levels the series.
Game 3: Houston Rockets 133-112 Tampa Bay Bandits
Another high scoring game for Houston and George Gervin who win in Tampa to lead 2-1
Game 4: Houston Rockets 125-104 Tampa Bay Bandits
Back to back away wins leaves the Rockets 1 game from their first title. Gervin again top scorers.
Game 5: Tampa Bay Bandits 121-118 Houston Rockets
Tampa force a game 6 thanks to dominant first half. David Robinson with 32
Game 6: Houston Rockets 122-92 Tampa Bay Bandits
Houston secure their first NBA title thanks to dominant win in Tampa.

NBA Championship Final Result
Tampa Bay Bandits 2-4 Houston Rockets

Finals MVP
Charles Barkley

Up Next: A 5 Year Recap

HB62 · Mar 27, 2024

The 5 Year Recap (1983-1988)

The Season's in Short

	Champions	Runner Up	Finals MVP	Season MVP	Leading Points Scorer	Rookie of the Year	Sixth Man of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Most Improved Player
1983-84	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Magic Johnson (PG) (Lakers)	Larry Bird (SF) (26.7) (Celtics)	Ralph Sampson (Rockets)	Kevin McHale (Celtics)	Tree Rollins (Hawks)	Sleepy Floyd (Warriors)
1984-85	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics	Mark Aguirre	Magic Johnson (PG) (Lakers)	Dominique Wilkins (SF) (28.7) (Hawks)	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Larry Drew (Hawks)	Ralph Sampson (Bulls)	James Worthy (Lakers)
1985-86	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics	Magic Johnson	Magic Johnson (PG) (Lakers)	Dominique Wilkins (SF) (29.0) (Hawks)	Patrick Ewing (Kings)	Reggie Theus (Spurs)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)	Clyde Drexler (Trail Blazers)
1986-87	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons	Magic Johnson	Magic Johnson (PG) (Lakers)	Dominique Wilkins (SF) (27.4) (Hawks)	Len Bias (Rockets)	Len Bias (Rockets)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)	Kenny Fields (Bucks)
1987-88	Houston Rockets	Tampa Bay Bandits	Charles Barkley	Michael Jordan (SG) (Knicks)	Michael Jordan (SG) (28.0) (Knicks)	David Robinson (Bandits)	Len Bias (Rockets)	David Robinson (Bandits)	William Bedford (Bullets)

Division Winners

	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988
Atlantic	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks	New York Knicks
Central	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Pistons
Midwest	Denver Nuggets	Utah Jazz	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Pacific	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers

Conference Winners

	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988
East	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks	New York Knicks
West	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets

Regular Season Wins

	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	Total
Atlanta Hawks	39	31	36	35	45	186
Boston Celtics	72	57	56	53	50	288
Chicago Bulls	26	33	47	37	45	188
Cleveland Cavaliers	37	30	35	18	19	139
Dallas Mavericks	44	54	41	50	46	235
Denver Nuggets	51	40	40	36	25	192
Detroit Pistons	55	50	53	50	46	254
Golden State Warriors	32	38	43	27	18	158
Houston Rockets	26	42	33	61	59	221
Indiana Pacers	28	30	37	36	38	169
Kansas City / Sacramento Kings	30	29	37	52	54	202
Los Angeles Lakers	66	65	70	71	56	328
Milwaukee Bucks	45	36	41	34	26	182
New Jersey Nets	44	42	34	43	48	211
New York Knicks	25	35	50	57	62	229
Philadelphia 76ers	40	54	35	35	28	192
Phoenix Suns	47	34	34	36	31	182
Portland Trail Blazers	50	48	47	56	41	242
San Antonio Spurs / Tampa Bay Bandits	30	20	13	13	39	115
San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers	34	36	41	36	46	193
Seattle SuperSonics	46	47	47	43	36	219
Utah Jazz	46	56	40	24	40	206
Washington Bullets	29	36	33	40	45	183

Playoff History (Team eliminated by in brackets)

	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988
Atlanta Hawks	SF (Pistons)	DNQ	1 Rd (Pistons)	1 Rd (Knicks)	East Final (Bandits)
Boston Celtics	NBA Final (Lakers)	NBA Final (Maverick)	NBA Final (Lakers)	SF (Pistons)	1 Rd (Bullets)
Chicago Bulls	DNQ	1 Rd (Celtics)	1 Rd (Bucks)	1 Rd (Celtics)	1 Rd (Nets)
Cleveland Cavaliers	1 Rd (Pistons)	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
Dallas Mavericks	SF (Trail Blazers)	W	1 Rd (Jazz)	SF (Lakers)	SF (Rockets)
Denver Nuggets	1 Rd (Mavericks)	1 Rd (Jazz)	1 Rd (Lakers)	1 Rd (Rockets)	DNQ
Detroit Pistons	East Final (Celtics)	SF (76ers)	East Final (Celtics)	NBA Final (Lakers)	1 Rd (Hawks)
Golden State Warriors	DNQ	SF (Trail Blazers)	1 Rd (Trail Blazers)	DNQ	DNQ
Houston Rockets	DNQ	1 Rd (Mavericks)	DNQ	SF (Trail Blazers)	W
Indiana Pacers	DNQ	DNQ	1 Rd (Knicks)	1 Rd (Pistons)	DNQ
Kansas City / Sacramento Kings	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	1 Rd (Mavericks)	1 Rd (Trail Blazers)
Los Angeles Lakers	W	1 Rd (Warriors)	W	W	West Final (Rockets)
Milwaukee Bucks	1 Rd (Hawks)	1 Rd (76ers)	SF (Celtics)	DNQ	DNQ
New Jersey Nets	1 Rd (76ers)	SF (Celtics)	DNQ	1 Rd (Bullets)	SF (Bandits)
New York Knicks	DNQ	1 Rd (Pistons)	SF (Pistons)	East Final (Pistons)	1 Rd (Bandits)
Philadelphia 76ers	SF (Celtics)	East Final (Celtics)	1 Rd (Celtics)	DNQ	DNQ
Phoenix Suns	SF (Lakers)	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
Portland Trail Blazers	West Final (Lakers)	West Final (Mavericks)	SF (Lakers)	West Final (Lakers)	SF (Lakers)
San Antonio Spurs / Tampa Bay Bandits	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	NBA Final (Rockets)
San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers	1 Rd (Lakers)	DNQ	West Final (Lakers)	1 Rd (Lakers)	1 Rd (Mavericks)
Seattle SuperSonics	1 Rd (Suns)	1 Rd (Trail Blazers)	1 Rd (Clippers)	1 Rd (Trail Blazers)	1 Rd (Rockets)
Utah Jazz	1 Rd (Trail Blazers)	SF (Mavericks)	SF (Clippers)	DNQ	1 Rd (Lakers)
Washington Bullets	1 Rd (Celtics)	1 Rd (Nets)	DNQ	SF (Knicks)	SF (Hawks)

- Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns are on the longest playoff drought, each missing the last four postseasons.
- Seattle SuperSonics have made all 5 postseasons but lost at the 1st Round on each occasion
- Portland Trail Blazers are the only team to have made at least the Semi Final's in each of the five seasons, but have never made the Championship final
- Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers & Seattle SuperSonics have made all five playoffs
- Tampa Bay Bandits became the first ever 8th seed to reach the Championship final in 1988, in their first season in Tampa

Starting Line Ups (As at end of 1987-88 season)

	PG	SG	SF	PF	C	6
Atlanta Hawks	Derek Harper	Reggie Miller	Dominique Wilkins	Sam Perkins	Joe Wolf	Bill Wennington
Boston Celtics	Mark Price	Dennis Johnson	Larry Bird	Kevin McHale	Robert Paris	Cedric Maxwell
Chicago Bulls	Ennis Whatley	Quintin Dailey	Orlando Woolridge	Karl Malone	Bill Laimbeer	Albert King
Cleveland Cavaliers	Norm Nixon	Mike Woodson	Reggie Williams	Cliff Robinson	Mark Eaton	Craig Hodges
Dallas Mavericks	Brad Davis	Rolando Blackman	Mark Aguirre	Antoine Carr	Benoit Benjamin	Dale Ellis
Denver Nuggets	John Bagley	Dell Curry	Marques Johnson	Rick Mahorn	Richard Anderson	Kelly Tripucka
Detroit Pistons	Isiah Thomas	Vinnie Johnson	Kiki Vandeweghe	Cliff Levingston	Ralph Sampson	John Drew
Golden State Warriors	Sleepy Floyd	Lester Conner	Purvis Short	Buck Williams	Steve Harris	James Edwards
Houston Rockets	Sam Vincent	George Gervin	Rodney McCray	Charles Barkley	Akeem Olajuwon	Len Bias
Indiana Pacers	Maurice Cheeks	Jim Paxson	Xavier McDaniel	Bill Martin	Herb Williams	Jerry Sichting
Los Angeles Clippers	Johnny Moore	Clint Richardson	Adriant Dantley	Michael Cage	Moses Malone	Muggsy Bogues
Los Angeles Lakers	Magic Johnson	Michael Cooper	Jamaal Wilkes	James Worthy	Terry Catledge	Byron Scott
Milwaukee Bucks	Kenny Fields	Sidney Moncrief	Scottie Pippen	Larry Smith	Joe Barry Carroll	Paul Pressey
New Jersey Nets	Darwin Cook	Otis Birdsong	Terry Cummings	Darryl Dawkins	Brad Daugherty	Lancaster Gordon
New York Knicks	Rory Sparrow	Michael Jordan	Bernard King	Ed Pinckney	Jack Sikma	Trent Tucker
Phildadelphia 76ers	Larry Drew	Andrew Toney	Oscar Schmidt	Charles Oakley	Jeff Ruland	Joe Kleine
Phoenix Suns	Kevin Johnson	Jeff Malone	Kenneth Griffith	Wayman Tisdale	Kurt Rambis	Rod Foster
Portland Trail Blazers	Fat Lever	Clyde Drexler	Clark Kellogg	Mychal Thompson	A.C. Green	Darnell Valrntine
Sacramento Kings	John Stockton	World B. Free	Mike Mitchell	Otis Thorpe	Patrick Ewing	Chuck Person
Seattle SuperSonics	Gus Williams	Jon Sundvold	Gene Banks	Hot Rod Williams	Manute Bol	David Thompson
Tampa Bay Bandits	John Paxson	Reggie Theus	Chris Mullin	Armen Gilliam	David Robinson	Mike Bratz
Utah Jazz	Doc Rivers	Darrell Griffith	Alex English	Thurl Bailey	Jon Koncak	Junior Bridgeman
Washington Bullets	Kenny Smith	John Long	Kenny Walker	Detlef Schrempf	Williams Bedford	Michael Adams

Up Next: The 1988 Offseason

HB62 · Mar 28, 2024

1988 - Offseason

May 21 1988

Pacers Count Their Blessings with Lottery Win

The Indiana Pacers hit the jackpot in the National Basketball Assn. draft lottery Saturday, winning the first pick and the accompanying right to select All-American forward Danny Manning of Kansas in next month’s draft. Manning, however, won’t come cheap. Manning will reportedly seek a $35-million contract, the richest rookie deal ever.

Ron Grinker, Manning’s agent, said he plans to ask for a contract that will exceed the $33.5-million, 10-year deal that center Patrick Ewing signed with the Sacramento Kings in 1985 and the $26-million, 10-year one that center David Robinson signed with the Tampa Bay Bandits. Both contracts, however, included substantial interest-free loans. Ewing was the first choice in the 1985 draft, and Robinson was the first player selected in last year’s draft.

“The only thing I can assure you is that Danny Manning won’t consider anything less than either Ewing or Robinson got,” Grinker said from his home in Cincinnati. “Danny Manning is the most unique player to come into the NBA because he can play five positions like (Boston Celtics star) Larry Bird. Danny Manning carried a very ordinary Kansas team to a championship.”

The Pacers had comfortably the best record of any of the seven teams involved in the lottery, registering 38 wins during the season and only missed out on the playoffs by one game to Tampa. Golden State Warriors, who had the worst overall record amongst all teams in the NBA last season, were rewarded with second pick. They will be followed by two big names in the East, 1983 Champions Philadelphia 76ers and the conference champions of the last two years New York Knicks (thanks to pick acquired from Milwaukee Bucks). Phoenix Suns will pick fifth, Cleveland Cavaliers sixth and Denver Nuggets seventh when the draft takes place on June 28.

June 22 1988

NBA Champion Found Dead in Hotel Room

In a devastating turn of events, Houston Rockets basketball star Len Bias has been pronounced dead this afternoon. The 24 year old Power Forward, just three days after winning his first NBA title with the Rockets, was found collapsed in a hotel room this morning. Evidence of cocaine was found in samples taken during attempts to save Bias, according to police sources. Photos have emerged of Bias out partying in Houston last night, before he presumably returned to his hotel room where he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.

Rockets' General Manager Ray Patterson released a short statement on behalf of the team.
"We are distraught to learn of the death of one of our own Len Bias. The city of Houston has turned from celebration to mourning today, having lost a player so instrumental in our incredible first NBA Championship last Sunday. Len was a class act, a basketball player full of talent and above all a great person, friend and teammate. We send our deepest condolences to the Bias family and Len's friends. Plans to celebrate Len's life will be announced in due course, but for now we ask for privacy for Len's family, friends and teammates. Rest in Peace Len.

Bias played two seasons in the NBA. In 1987, his first, he received Rookie of the Year after being selected as first pick in the 1986 draft by Houston. He won Sixth Man of the Year in both his NBA seasons, having served as backup to 1988 final MVP Charles Barkley. Both Houston and Bias won their first NBA Championships on Sunday, beating Tampa Bay Bandits in the finals. Bias' two seasons saw him score 3,262 points, 518 rebounds, 765 assists, 243 steals and 136 blocks in total. Given the successful first two seasons he had, the question marks over how the rest of his career might have turned out will now remain one of the biggest What Ifs in Basketball.

June 23 1988

Miami and Charlotte Expansion Draft Results Revealed

After the April announcement that franchises would be headed to Miami and Charlotte, today NBA commissioner David Stern revealed the 23 players selected between the two teams that would form the basis of their first squads. Miami's first pick was Chris Washburn, who joins from Miami's nearest rivals Tampa Bay Bandits. Charlotte, picking 2nd, selected Darryl Dawkins from New Jersey Nets. Miami picked first due to last weeks coin toss which was won by Charlotte, who then chose to have the 8th pick in this years NBA draft, with Miami picking one pick later in 9th. Both teams will play in the Eastern conference in their inaugural seasons, in the new league alignment announced recently. Miami and Charlotte take the place of Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks, who have been moved into the Western Conference to play in the Midwest division. Charlotte have been placed in the Atlantic Division alongside New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, Washington Bullets & Philadelphia 76ers. Miami will play in the Central division, alongside Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Tampa Bay Bandits (moved from Atlantic to Central) and Indiana Pacers. The full expansion draft picks can be seen below.

Miami Heat:
1. Chris Washburn
2. Brad Davis
3. Lewis Lloyd
4. Dennis Rodman
5. Rod Higgins
6. Craig Hodges
7. Joe Kleine
8. Winston Garland
9. Chris Dudley
10. Doug Lee
11. Ron Grandison
12. Luis Hicks

Charlotte Hornets:
1. Darryl Dawkins
2. Craig Ehlo
3. Greg Anderson
4. Rickey Green
5. Johnny Davis
6. Frank Johnson
7. Muggsy Bogues
8. Vincent Askew
9. Chase Bullard
10. Laurence Barker
11. Greg Dreiling

June 28 1988

Manning Joins Indiana in NBA Draft

Derek Manning was selected as first pick in the 1988 NBA draft by Indiana Pacers. Manning, a 6-foot 9-inch, 230-pound forward who was selected as college basketball’s player of the year after leading Kansas to the 1988 National Collegiate Athletic Assn. title, is expected to make a major contribution to the Pacers, who only just missed out on last seasons playoffs and now can have reasonable expectations of making the postseason. They have not made it past the first round in three playoff appearances, but will hope Manning can be the star to lead them further than ever before. Center Rik Smits was chosen second by Golden State Warriors, with Charles Smith going third to Philadelphia. Before the draft got underway, a moving tribute was played to Len Bias, who died just three days after his Houston Rockets team clinched last seasons title. A video was shown, with highlights from Bias' two seasons in the NBA and words from those who had played with him. A long round of applause followed as the NBA remembered a young star taken too soon.

1988 NBA Draft 1st Round Selection
1. Derek Manning - Indiana Pacers
2. Rik Smits - Golden State Warriors
3. Charles Smith - Philadelphia 76ers
4. Rony Seikaly - New York Knicks
5. Chris Morris - Phoenix Suns
6. Mitch Raymond - Cleveland Cavaliers
7. Hersey Hawkins - Denver Nuggets
8. Rex Chapman - Charlotte Hornets
9. Tim Perry - Miami Heat
10. Willie Anderson - Seattle SuperSonics
11. Mark Bryant - Tampa Bay Bandits
12. Gary Grant - Utah Jazz
13. Jeff Grayer - Portland Trail Blazers
14. Kevin Edwards- Chicago Bulls
15. Dan Majerle - Atlanta Hawks
16. Rod Strickland - Washington Bullets
17. Brian Shaw - Detroit Pistons
18. Winny Del Negro - Dallas Mavericks
19. Will Perdue - Sacramento Kings
20. Randolph Keys - New Jersey Nets
21. Derrick Chievous - Boston Celtics
22. Tom Tolbert - Sacramento Kings
23. Steve Kerr - Los Angeles Lakers
24. Harvey Grant - New York Knicks
25. Grant Long - Houston Rockets

November 1 1988

Parish heads West to join up with old rivals Lakers, Boston Rebuilding?

Just three days before the start of the new NBA season, Los Angeles Lakers announced the arrival of the longtime Boston Celtics Center Robert Parish. Parish, 35, has spent nine years at Boston, winning the 1981 title and also finishing runner up on three other occasions. Boston suffered a mini slump last season, dropping to third in the Eastern Conference before being knocked out in the First Round of the playoffs by Washington Bullets. Parish suffered an injury that ruled him out of most of the second half of the season, leading many to speculate that Boston are trading him away whilst they can still get some value back. In return, Lakers have sent Byron Scott and their 1991 1st Round draft pick. Boston will have to hope for a dramatic drop in fortunes for the Lakers in order for the draft pick to be early on in the 1991 draft. The trade between Boston and the Lakers is one of many in a busy offseason for the NBA teams.

Notable Trades / Signings
Miami Heat sign Maurice Cheeks - Free Agency
New Jersey Nets Doc Rivers - Free Agency
Utah Jazz trade Alex English, SF, to Miami Heat for their 1989 & 1990 1st Round draft picks
Cleveland Cavaliers trade Cliff Robinson, PF, & Norm Nixon, PG, to Washington Bullets for Rod Strickland, PG, and Detlef Schrempf, SF.
Golden State Warriors trade Sleepy Floyd, PG, & Purvis Short, SF, to Phoenix Suns for Wayman Tisdale, PF, & their 1989 1st Round draft pick.
Golden State Warriors trade Buck Williams, PF, & Lester Conner, SG, to Chicago Bulls for Derrick McKey, SF, & their 89 2nd Round, 90 1st Round (Top 10 protected) & 92 1st Round draft pick.
Seattle SuperSonics trade Gus Williams, PG, & Bill Cartwright, C, to Charlotte Hornets for Darryl Dawkins, C, & their 1989 1st Round draft pick (Top 5 protected)
Denver Nuggets trade Eddie Johnson, SF, to Utah Jazz for Jon Koncak, C.
Phoenix Suns trade Larry Nance, SF, to Los Angeles Clippers for their 1991 & 1992 1st Round draft picks.
Boston Celtics trade Robert Parish , C, to Los Angeles Lakers for Byron Scott, SG, & their 1991 1st Round draft pick.

November 3 1988

1988 - 1989 Season Preview

Here at ESPN, we look ahead at the NBA season that gets underway tomorrow and see what may be in store for each of the now 25 teams. The Eastern Conference now looks very different going into the new season. Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks have both departed, heading for the Western Conference to be replaced by the two new expansion teams, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat. The move has prompted calls by some to move the playoffs to the top 16 teams across both conferences combined, with many feeling the West is now a greatly stronger conference. Teams from the West have won each of the last five NBA titles. For now though, it will still be the top 8 in the East heading into the postseason and that should be no problem for the New York Knicks. The Knicks, back to back Eastern Conference winners, still have last seasons regular season MVP Michael Jordan as well as supporting cast Bernard King and Jack Sikma. The Knicks will be hoping for much better this time out in the playoffs, suffering a shock defeat to eventual finalists Tampa Bay Bandits. Battling it out for the Conference title with New York should be Detroit Pistons. Detroit must make the most of having the talented Isiah Thomas before it's too late, having also suffered a shock exit in the East First Round last time around, swept by Atlanta Hawks. Boston are no longer seen as the favourites in the East, but still have Larry Bird and Kevin McHale to call on and should also be up there. They are without Robert Parish this season, but have gained Byron Scott and have an ever improving Mark Price to compensate. The Nets made last years Eastern Semi Finals, and may have been slightly disappointed not to go further after being the highest seeded team to reach that stage. They've had two excellent seasons with Terry Cummings and Brad Daugherty leading the team. They've added Doc Rivers in the offseason and should be the nearest challengers to the big three in the East. Tampa Bay Bandits shocked all of basketball last season, drawing wide spread support during their underdog run all the way to the NBA finals. The Bandits, now in their second season since their switch from San Antonio, should face a much simpler job of reaching the playoffs as youngsters David Robinson, Chris Mullin and Armen Gilliam all improve. Whether they can go one better than last years sensational showing remains to be seen. Everybody's second favourite team will be fun to watch again for sure. The playoff fight this year is expected to be between Atlanta, Indiana, Washington and Philadelphia. Atlanta added Derek Harper from Dallas and Reggie Miller from the draft last season to support the excellent Dominique Wilkins. Atlanta made last years East final before being soundly beaten by the Tampa train. The often unfancied side have made the last three postseasons, and show no signs of stopping that streak this time around. Indiana barely missed out on last seasons playoffs, but may now be glad they did. Despite winning seven more games than anyone else in the draft lottery, they were awarded the number one pick. Derek Manning was the choice, and the Pacers will be hoping he can have a similar impact to that of David Robinson with Tampa last season. Washington are Basketball analysts bogey side. One glance at their roster and you'd have them as a lock to miss out on the playoffs but that has been the case the past two seasons where they've ended up at the Semi Final stage both times. Their spirit and togetherness has made up for any lack of quality, and this year they've added Norm Nixon and Cliff Robinson from Cleveland. This year no one can be surprised if the Bullets find themselves playing more than 82 games. Philadelphia 76ers are in a difficult place. Letting Moses Malone go last season was the start of a supposed rebuilding phase but the two players replacing Malone were unable to produce enough quality last season. Charles Smith should be a much needed addition at Small Forward, and if Charles Oakley and Jeff Ruland can start discovering that form they can produce then maybe Philly can return to the playoffs this time around. Miami have had a strong first offseason in the NBA. The quality in the expansion draft was low as expected, but they've been able to add Maurice Cheeks in free agency and have taken the big risk of adding 34 year old Alex English from Utah and trading away their next two first round draft picks. If English can bring his good form to Miami, then the Heat could make a surprise first season challenge for the playoffs. They may need to, because without their next two draft picks this season could be Miami's best for a while. Cleveland will be hoping the addition of two expansion teams might lift them off the bottom of the East. Miami's roster already looks stronger however, and Cleveland have trade proven quality for young prospects in acquiring Rod Strickland and Detlef Schrempf from Washington. Cleveland should still just about have enough to finish above Charlotte's new side, but that may be as good as it gets for now for the Cavaliers. Charlotte weren't able to get someone like Alex English in the offseason but they do still have their next two draft picks. Gradual improvement will be the name of the game for the Hornets over the next few years.

In the West, last years top seed and eventual NBA Champions Houston Rockets were rocked over the summer when, just three days after their game 6 win over Tampa in the NBA final, Len Bias was found dead in his hotel room. The Rockets have had an understandably quiet offseason since then, and it's unknown the effect Bias' death will have on the team. Perhaps a more modest playoff position is to be expected from the Rockets this time around. Los Angeles Lakers launched a big play to get back to the top of the pile just a few days ago. Announcing the pick up of Robert Parish, the Lakers have dramatically improved their starting roster at Center. The Lakers may only have a couple more goes at adding to the titles of Magic and Worthy, three of their starting five are now well into their thirties, but they will be confident this season with their offseason addition of Parish. Sacramento once again look well positioned with Patrick Ewing and John Stockton. The Kings again fell short in the playoffs but the team is still young and learning how to deal with the postseason pressure. Chuck Person is now in his third season and will add more quality to help take the load off of Ewing and Stockton. Dallas' roster also remains in a position to contend this year. Benoit Benjamin has developed massively and now leads the team alongside Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman. There is an argument that their current line up is considerably stronger than the one that secured the Championship in 1985, so why can't Dallas win Championship No 2 this time around? Behind the top 4, expect Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers all to make the playoffs this season. The Clippers duo of Moses Malone and Adrian Dantley can still compete amongst the best and have had a season playing together now. The Bulls are back in the West for the first time since 1980 and added Buck Williams in the summer to ball alongside superstar Karl Malone and Center Bill Laimbeer. The Bulls have a sneaky contending roster but it does feel like they've underachieved since drafting Malone in 1985. Portland are the only team to have made the past five playoff semi finals, with Clyde Drexler leading them to every one. It would be reasonable to assume the same again this time around, although their continued drift away from the top in the regular season may continue as others strengthen. The playoff fight looks to be between Phoenix and Milwaukee this season. Phoenix have added the former Golden State duo Sleepy Floyd and Purvis Short who bring experience to an exciting young line up featuring Kevin Johnson and Chris Morris. Milwaukee, also back in the West for the first time since 1980, have struggled recently and will need Scottie Pippen and Kenny Fields to step up this season to support Sidney Moncrief. Behind these two, Denver led by Kelly Tripucka may be the best place side to launch a playoff campaign. The Nuggets have a few young players waiting to break through and this year could be the year they do so. The Jazz traded away star Alex English for what they hope will be two low numbered draft picks from Miami. Expect Utah's own draft pick to feature in next year's lottery, given the state of the current roster now without English. Golden State are in a big rebuilding period, having fallen out the playoffs straight to the bottom of the West. The Warriors let their three best players leave for two young talents in Wayman Tisdale and Derrick McKey and a plethora of draft picks. The Warriors will hope they can say the next couple of years of certain struggles will be worth it come the 90s. Seattle's strange trade decisions may finally come to haunt them this year. Losing Bill Cartwright and Gus Williams from an already weak roster means they may finally miss out on the playoffs after seven straight appearances in the off season. They do always seem to find away to make that top 8, so never say never for the SuperSonics, but it looks unlikely this time around.

Eastern Conference Prediction
1. New York Knicks
2. Detroit Pistons
3. Boston Celtics
4. New Jersey Nets
5. Tampa Bay Bandits
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Indiana Pacers
8. Washington Bullets
9. Philadelphia 76ers
10. Miami Heat
11. Cleveland Cavaliers
12. Charlotte Hornets

Western Conference Prediction
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Sacramento Kings
3. Dallas Mavericks
4. Houston Rockets
5. Los Angeles Clippers
6. Chicago Bulls
7. Portland Trail Blazers
8. Phoenix Suns
9. Milwaukee Bucks
10. Denver Nuggets
11. Utah Jazz
12. Golden State Warriors
13. Seattle SuperSonics

Up Next: The 1988-89 Season

HB62 · Mar 28, 2024

1988-89 Season - Part 1: The Closest Season Yet

Eastern Conference champions New York Knicks stumbled out of the blocks in 1988. Starting with a trip to Philadelphia, a low scoring game resulted in an 82-88 win for the 76ers as Jordan managed just 7 points, compared to a 28 point haul in 23 minutes for Scott Skiles on the home side. The Cummings / Daugherty duo made a hot start for the Nets, with 52 between them in a 118-128 home win against Cleveland. The Bandits continued where they left off from the previous season, surprising the top teams. They started with a 91-118 win at home to Boston. Detroit made it three for three in terms of opening night losses for the big teams in the East, going down 128-96 at home to Indiana. It was an emotional night in Houston, with the life of Len Bias celebrated before the game. Akeem and Barkley produced a show to honor their former teammate, scoring 31 points each in a 91-102 win against the Lakers. Both expansion teams got underway on night two. Miami Heat, at home to Washington, went down 97-85 whilst Charlotte faced an even tougher matchup facing the Lakers at home. Lakers would get their first win of the season, 109-101 in Charlotte. New York and Boston both recovered from the opening night losses with wins over Phoenix and Cleveland respectively. The Golden State struggles were evident early on in the season. Having lost their first two games, the Warriors then scored just 68 points at home to Portland in a 99-68 loss. A difficult seasons for the Warriors looked likely. The Lakers got revenge for their opening night loss, beating Houston 98-125 at home whilst Boston lost again on the road going down 97-112 in Milwaukee. After the game, it was announced that Larry Bird would miss the remainder of the season following surgery to remove bone spurs in both of his heels. Despite 30 points from Kiki Vandeweghe, Detroit would lose their second game on the road to the Mavericks (103-113). For Dallas, it would be a third straight win to start the season. Detroit’s start would get even worse when they lost at home to Miami next time out, scoring just 86 compared to Miami’s 101. It was Miami’s first win of the season and first as a franchise. Defending champions Houston were now 1-3 after losing in Sacramento. The Rockets had faced a tough start, playing the Lakers twice and away games at the other big two in the West, Dallas and Sacramento. Scottie Pippen was showing signs of growing into his starting role at Milwaukee. The 1987 draftee scored 32 as the Bucks narrowly beat the Clippers 98-99 at home. Both teams started 2-3. Two teams at the opposite ends of the form table met up in Detroit in mid November. Detroit were 0-3 to start whilst New Jersey had won 5 from 5 to start the season. The form book was chucked out the window however, with Detroit just about getting their first win of the season, 103-106. Also with a slender win on the same night was Tampa, who were now 4-1 after winning 117-116 in Indiana. Chris Mullin with 30. Charlotte Hornets had lost their first 4 as a franchise, but put the record straight in game 5. A 101-109 win at home to the Milwaukee Bucks got Charlotte on the board. Not yet on the board were Golden State Warriors who lost again, this time in Seattle. It was an 0-6 start for the Warriors who would then taste victory for the first time next time out, at home to Chicago. Tampa Bay were proving they had no intention of letting last seasons finals run be a fluke. A 118-107 win in Houston was Tampa’s 7th win in their first 9. The young trio of David Robinson, Chris Mullin and Armen Gilliam proving a match for anyone else in the league early on. Once again defying expectations were the Washington Bullets. The Bullets were also 7-2 like the Bandits when they rocked up at a Birdless Boston. The Bullets won 103-93 and topped the East. John Stockton was the start of the show in a thrilling win for Sacramento over the Clippers. Stockton had 23 points and 16 assists in a 116-115 win in LA. The Kings were keeping up with the Lakers early on. New Jersey’s form continued to be strong right the way through the month, winning 110-102 away to the Lakers to overtake Washington at the top of the East. Both expansion teams improved as the month went on, and would both end it with good starts. Charlotte with a 7-9 start whilst Miami were one better with 8-8.

East Top 3 (1st December)

New Jersey Nets - 11-4
Tampa Bay Bandits - 11-6
Washington Bullets - 11-5

West Top 3

Sacramento Kings - 12-4
Chicago Bulls - 12-5
Los Angeles Lakers - 12-5

Chicago, after an impressive start to life back in the West Conference, struggled in early December. They started the month with 6 defeats out of 7, their sole win a Karl Malone inspired victory in Sacramento. Going the other way in the West was Houston. The defending champs won 9 out of their last ten in the month as they took advantage of a favorable run of fixtures to climb back into the top 3. The Jazz, on the other hand, were utterly dismal in December. Utah lost all 14 games, scored above 100 only twice (102 & 103), and looked set to rival the dismal Spurs teams of a few years ago. Magic continued to be Magic with back to back 40+ point games against Chicago and Dallas as the Lakers hung around the top of the West throughout the month. Despite not being the pretty much unbeatable team as they were before Abdul-Jabbar’s retirement, the Lakers still were proving difficult to topple as teams came and then fell away again due to the Lakers' consistency. In the East, the Bullets faded a little despite impressing in back to back wins over Detroit in the middle of the month. Two losses to the Cavaliers were particularly tough to take considering Washington had traded for Cleveland’s two best players in the off season. Incredibly, as the calendar rolled into 1989, the two teams propping up the East were the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics. The Isiah, Ralph and Kiki trio in Detroit could never all play well at the same time, leading to inconsistent results. They would win in Boston one night and then lose in Miami and Milwaukee either side of that. Boston were struggling without the departed Robert Parish and injured Larry Bird. Kevin McHale was also not always 100% fit, with his injury from last season turning into a recurring one. The Celtics did win 5 of their last 6 in December, in a glimpse of a revival. The run included home wins against the current leaders of each conference, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. Miami continued to impress in their debut season. A five game winning streak brought them back into a positive record mostly thanks to Alex English’s performances. The pre-season trade was looking good for the Miami team. Reggie Miller was certainly coming alive in Atlanta. The 1987 draft pick had 43 in an early in the month victory over Milwaukee and it was a win that started a good run for Atlanta to lift them up the East.

East Top 3 (1st January)

New York Knicks 21-11
Atlanta Hawks - 20-12
Tampa Bay Bandits - 19-11

West Top 3

Los Angeles Lakers - 22-9
Houston Rockets - 21-11
Sacramento Kings - 21-9

The fortunes of Boston and Detroit did not improve much in January. The top two for almost all of the 80s had both suffered a dramatic fall alongside each other. The cause of Boston’s fall was easy to see, they had lost Parish to the Lakers, lost Bird for the whole season to injury, and lost a 100% fit McHale. Their big three had been dismantled in the space of a couple of months. For Detroit, the cause of their issues was less obvious. They still had Isiah, supported by Vandeweghe and Sampson. It was clear though that Sampson was not turning into the Hall of Fame player he had been tipped to be in 1983. Certainly Houston sending him to Chicago to allow them to pick up Barkley alongside Akeem in 84 was looking more and more like a masterstroke. Kiki offered a lot offensively but nothing defensively and Isiah was clearly becoming more and more disillusioned as his talents continued to be wasted. A 72-112 loss for Detroit in Cleveland was a particularly low point for the franchise in January. After defying expectations to sit in the playoff positions, Cleveland had dropped back to reality in January. 8 straight losses to end the month undid a lot of the team's good work. Although the run did involve playing in New York, Houston and a back to back with the Lakers. Looking a better bet for the playoffs was Miami. The Heat looked unfazed in their first season, with Alex English leading the side. He scored 35 in an impressive home win over Sacramento. It was incredibly tight at the top of the East. New York were taking advantage of Detroit and Boston’s struggles in the East to lead, but their lead was a slender one over a bunch of teams who must have been getting nose bleeds at their mid-season positions. Even without an injured Danny Manning, Indiana were able to use the exploits of Xavier McDaniel and Jim Paxson to climb into the top 3. Impressive results included wins at home to Tampa Bay and New Jersey. Washington played their first ‘home’ game since 1973 in Baltimore in January. The visit of Seattle was a disaster as the Bullets lost 94-72 in their worst performance of the season. The Baltimore experiment wouldn’t continue past the end of the season. The West was equally as wide open at the top. The Lakers had fallen off the top after a slightly inconsistent month. That was despite Magic top scoring in nine consecutive games through the middle of January including 40 in Cleveland and 35 down the road against the Clippers. The noisy neighbors were not put off by that loss however, as that would be the last time they lost in January. The best January run went to Chicago, who had recovered from a poor December to get themselves back into contention. Karl Malone was as impressive as ever, with 39 in Utah and 31 in Dallas the high points. There was an equally tight affair for the playoffs in the West. With, similarly to the East, 5 teams looking to be battling out for 1 final spot. The SuperSonics, now led by Nick Vanos, were continually able to nick the odd unlikely win to keep themselves from drifting away. Wins in both Washington and Phoenix helping their prospects this month. It was Phoenix who currently occupied that last playoff spot, taking advantage of a 6 game losing run for the Milwaukee Bucks. 32 points from Jeff Malone in a 106-132 win at home to Cleveland was enough to see Phoenix climb to 8th.

The 1989 All Star game was held at the home of defending champions Houston. There were tributes to Len Bias throughout. The East, despite struggling to get one over the West in the Championship finals, were becoming experts at the All Star game. They would win this one 115-105, with Michael Jordan top scorer with 19. Despite losing, home town star Charles Barkley was named MVP.

All Star Line Ups
Eastern	Western
Michael Jordan	Magic Johnson
Isiah Thomas	John Stockton
Dominique Wilkins	Charles Barkley
Alex English	Akeem Olajuwon
David Robinson	Karl Malone
Jim Paxson	Sidney Moncrief
Byron Scott	Adrian Dantley
Terry Cummings	Moses Malone
Jeff ruland	Patrick Ewing
Kevin McHale	Robert Parish
Bernard King	Drazen Petrovic
Gus Williams	Kenny Fields

Conference Standings as of 1st February 1988

Eastern
1. New York Knicks - 30-15
2. Tampa Bay Bandits - 28-16
3. Indiana Pacers - 29-19
4. Atlanta Hawks - 27-17
5. New Jersey Nets - 27-19
6. Washington Bullets - 23-20
7. Miami Heat - 21-24
8. Cleveland Cavaliers - 16-27
----------------------------------------
9. Charlotte Hornets - 16-28
10. Philadelphia 76ers - 17-30
11. Detroit Pistons - 16-30
12. Boston Celtics - 16-30

Western:
1. Los Angeles Clippers - 33-13
2. Houston Rockets - 31-14
3. Los Angeles Lakers - 32-14
4. Sacramento Kings - 29-15
5. Dallas Mavericks - 30-17
6. Chicago Bulls - 29-16
7. Portland Trail Blazers - 27-15
8. Phoenix Suns - 18-24
-------------------------------------------
9. Milwaukee Bucks - 17-28
10. Denver Nuggets - 16-29
11. Seattle SuperSonics - 15-29
12. Golden State Warriors - 12-32
13. Utah Jazz - 5 - 39

League Leaders:
PPG:
1. Magic Johnson (29.2)
2. Dominique Wilkins (27.7)

REB:
1. Charles Oakley (13.2)
2. Jeff Ruland (12.2)

AST:
1. John Stockton (11.7)
2. Magic Johnson (11.6)

STL
1. Michael Jordan (2.2)
2. Isiah Thomas (1.8)

BLK
1. David Robinson (2.5)
2. Akeem Olajuwon (2.5)

TO
1. Isiah Thomas (3.2)
2. Derek Harper (3.0)

Up Next: 1988-89 Part 2

HB62 · Mar 29, 2024

In April 1987, the NBA announced the upcoming expansion of the NBA with the addition of 4 teams. The Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets joined in the 1988 offseason, both entering the East division and becoming reasonably competitive from the off. The first of the two franchises to enter the NBA in 1989 were to be based in Minneapolis. Minneapolis had been a serious contender to take over the struggling San Antonio Spurs franchise that has thrived since relocating to Tampa Bay. Instead of taking over the Spurs, Minneapolis were instead granted a 1989 expansion team. The franchise conducted a "name the team" contest and eventually selected two finalists, "Timberwolves" and "Polars", in December 1986. The team then asked the 842 city councils in Minnesota to select the winner and "Polars" prevailed by nearly 2–1. The reasoning behind the Polars vote was that “Timberwolves” would have meant it would be difficult to avoid similar branding to the other franchise joining the NBA in 1989, and so in order to improve the chances of marketing the team the “Polars” name was chosen. The team was officially named the "Minnesota Polars" on January 23, 1987. Due to the increased popularity in the NBA during the 80’s, the interest in a Canadian based NBA team had risen. The Magic v Bird finals, Michael Jordan in New York, the underdog stories of Dallas and Tampa Bay and the exciting Houston and Sacramento teams were all big contributions towards the increasing Basketball popularity. The NBA began to seriously consider expansion into Canada after they received an unsolicited application fee from the Palestra Group, headed by Larry Tanenbaum. The Palestra Group was one of several seeking an NBA franchise, with Professional Basketball Franchise (Canada) Inc. (PBF) formally submitting an application for a Toronto-based team on November 23, 1986. Early on in 1987, the NBA Expansion Committee visited various existing and proposed stadium sites along with bid contenders. After conducting the visits, the committee recommended conditionally awarding PBF the franchise. The team was formalized in April of 87, when the NBA announced that alongside Miami, Charlotte and Minneapolis, Toronto would also be granted an NBA franchise. For Toronto, there was no need for a naming contest like in Minneapolis. The overwhelming sentiment when news of the application broke in ‘86 was a return of the Toronto Huskies name, the team that had featured in the NBA in its first ever season and then promptly folded. The Huskies were part of the first ever NBA game, versus the New York Knickerbockers. The Toronto Huskies name was confirmed in December 1986. The Minnesota Polars and Toronto Huskies would join the NBA at the conclusion of the thrilling 1988-89 season, won by… (Excerpt from The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy, by Bill Simmons)

1988-89 Season - Part 2: Them Indiana boys on an Indiana night

Both expansion teams would struggle at the start of February. Miami managed just 74 points against a poor Denver team, whilst Charlotte were soundly beaten in Chicago. It would be the start of a poor couple of months for both franchises, who had surpassed expectations in the first half of the season but would find the second half more challenging. Norm Nixon came back to haunt his old team Cleveland in early February. The Cavaliers were on a 9 game losing run and that was extending into double figures thanks to 30 points for Norm in a 99-108 defeat for Cleveland in Washington. If the Knicks were hoping to make the most of the lack of Detroit and Boston challenging them for the Eastern Conference, they were going about it the wrong way in February. The Knicks suffered home defeats to both Atlanta (110-92) and Tampa Bay (105-100) as the chasing pack kept themselves close to New York. In the West, there was a difficult night for the SuperSonics in Dallas. Seattle would score just 62 in a 62-127 loss. The 65 point margin of victory was the largest in NBA history. To make Seattle feel a little better, Dallas limited Portland to 68 in their next game, although managed only 80 themselves in a low scoring affair. The Los Angeles Clippers had led the West at the end of January. That lead would unfortunately not last too long into the following month as back to back losses to the Washington Bullets was followed by a 113-119 defeat to rivals Lakers. And it would be the Lakers who replaced their local rivals, losing just three times in February to climb to the top of the West.

Phoenix Suns, without a playoff appearance since 1984, had an excellent March and were looking good to end their streak of missed postseasons. The Suns had an 8 game winning run during the middle of the month that included a crucial 104-102 win in Milwuakee. The run also saw wins over Denver, Seattle and Utah (twice) to allow the Suns to move clear of those below them. Defending champions Houston had their own 8 game run in March. Their 8 wins included 3 over the Clippers, with Charles Barkley and Akeem Olajuwon proving too much to handle for the LA side. The two form sides of the West met at the end of the month, and Phoenix came out on top thanks to 29 points from Kevin Johnson in a 119-123 win at home. The two form teams in the East were Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks. Jim Paxson was leading the Pacers up to the dizzy heights of 2nd in the East thanks to performances such as 33 points against Miami and 34 in Washington. The Pacers lost just once in March, incredibly to a struggling Seattle side at home. They finished the month with a 82-112 point win over New York in Indiana, Danny Manning with 29. The Hawks finished the month with an impressive win of their own, beating the Lakers in LA 102-99. The big surprise of the season had been the performances of Boston and Detroit. The two sides had propped up the rest of the East for the majority of the season but were now both making a bit of a run at the playoffs. Isiah and Sampson finally showed up for Detroit, who had Kiki Vandeweghe ruled out for the rest of the season in February, as they won their last three in March, including a nice 95-119 win over Tampa at home. For Boston, they had a four game run of their own that included a win over Detroit to lift them inside the playoff line for the time being.

1st April Playoff Picture

East
7. Boston Celtics - 30-45
8. Cleveland Cavaliers - 29-44
----------------------------------------
9. Detroit Pistons - 28-46
10. Miami Heat - 26-49
11. Philadelphia 76ers - 23-53
12. Charlotte Hornets - 22-52

West
8. Phoenix Suns - 34-41
------------------------------------------
9. Denver Nuggets - 28-46
10. Milwaukee Bucks - 28-46

The seemingly insurmountable gap between Phoenix and the teams below became ever so slightly closer at the start of April. The Suns suffered a narrow 101-106 loss in Chicago whilst the Bucks won 91-98 at home to Washington to close the gap to 5 with 7 games remaining. Dennis Hopson top scored for the Bucks with 21. The Indiana Pacers kept hopes of a first ever Conference title alive with a big win in Charlotte. The Pacers scored 136 to Charlotte’s 105. Jim Paxson top scored once more. There was a big result in Miami in early April. The Heat came from 6 points down in the last quarter to win a low scoring contest against Boston 80-83. The win brought the Heat to within 3 wins of Boston. The Bucks potential late playoff run was halted meanwhile by a disappointing loss at home to Seattle, meaning the Suns were now almost assured of a return to the playoffs. Also hopeful of a return to the playoffs for the first time since ‘84 were the Cavaliers. The Cavs had been unfancied by many at the start of the year, but the addition of two Washington Bullets players had added previous unseen fight to the side and a superb 96-92 win in New York was a good demonstration of that. The win moved Cleveland level with Boston. The win also meant Indiana moved within 1 win of the top of the East as they enjoyed a thrilling 101-102 overtime win at home to Portland. Phoenix wrapped up their playoff spot with a 121-104 win in Charlotte. Kevin Johnson, Sleepy Floyd and Purvis Short all had 20+ points as well whilst rookie Eric Leckner had a double double. A crucial game in Cleveland saw a shocking result. Cleveland won 75-115 in a dominant victory over Boston to move above their opposition and exposed Boston’s current state. Fortunately for Boston, the sides below them were remaining inconsistent although Detroit did have two games extra to play. They would lose the first of those extra games 94-117 at home to Seattle. There was a big matchup in April as the New York Knicks traveled to Houston in a battle of the two top sides in each conference. It was an important win for New York on the road too, 109-84, with 25 points from Jordan. The win kept New York clear of Indiana who had beaten Utah on the same night. The Lakers had the chance to move level with Houston after that result, but surprisingly gave up that opportunity with a 105-108 loss in Milwaukee. Cleveland produced a win in Charlotte that gave them a 3 game lead over the outside of the playoff places, putting them on the brink of a much welcomed playoff return. Roy Hinson the clutch player for the Cavs in April. The Knicks had another good result the following night, this time beating the Lakers 99-104 at home. It was a result that meant the Lakers would almost certainly miss out on top seed in the West once again. Also securing a good win at home was Detroit, who beat Tampa Bay 93-99. Isiah Thomas top scored as Detroit moved level with Boston with 4 games each remaining. It was definitely not the sort of battle both sides were expecting to have with each other 7 months previous. The Rockets gave themselves breathing room at the top of the West with a 116-111 win over Atlanta. George Gervin continued to lead the team with his experience alongside the young superstars Akeem and Barkley. The Pacers kept their slim Conference chances alive in a 119-120 overtime win over Phoenix whilst the Celtics were losing again, 98-90 at home to the New Jersey Nets who were without an injured Terry Cummings. A big game to start the last week of the season saw Michael Jordan top score as the Knicks won 97-94 in Detroit. The result gave the Knicks, like Houston in the West, breathing room at the top. Cleveland secured their playoff return with a home win over New Jersey, leaving Detroit and Boston to scrap it out over the final place. The Rockets secured the West thanks to a 71-109 demolition of the Charlotte Hornets. Detroit and Boston both lost again, leaving both on 30 wins with two games remaining. The penultimate game saw the two struggling sides face off against each other. Win for Detroit would see them clinch that final playoff spot due to a superior head to head record. It was a tight, cagey affair. Eventually, Detroit would see off the Celtics 100-98 to secure a spot in the playoffs and leave Boston unbelievably watching the postseason from home in a dramatic fall from the top.

Eastern Conference Standings:
1. New York Knicks - 60-22
2. Indiana Pacers - 57-25
3. Atlanta Hawks - 51-31
4. Tampa Bay Bandits - 51-31
5. Washington Bullets - 47-35
6. New Jersey Nets - 44-38
7. Cleveland Cavaliers - 33-49
8. Detroit Pistons - 31-51
---------------------------------------
9. Boston Celtics - 31-51
10. Miami Heat - 27-55
11. Philadelphia 76ers - 26-56
12. Charlotte Hornets - 22-60

Western Conference Standings:
1. Houston Rockets - 59-23
2. Sacramento Kings - 57-25
3. Los Angeles Lakers - 55-27
4. Los Angeles Clippers - 54-28
5. Chicago Bulls - 53-29
6. Portland Trail Blazers - 52-30
7. Dallas Mavericks - 50-32
8. Phoenix Suns - 37-45
--------------------------------------------
9. Milwaukee Bucks - 32-50
10. Seattle Supersonics - 31-51
11. Denver Nuggets - 28-54
12. Golden State Warriors - 21-61
13. Utah Jazz - 16-66

Regular Season Awards

Individual Awards
Most Valuable Player	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
Rookie of the Year	Mitch Richmond (Cavaliers)
Sixth Man of the Year	Hot Rod Williams (SuperSonics)
Defensive Player of the Year	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
Most Improved Player	Marvis Fresh (Heat)

	Player of the Month
Month	Eastern	Western
November	Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
December	Alex English (Heat)	Karl Malone (Bulls)
January	David Robinson (Bandits)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
February	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
March	Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Karl Malone (Bulls)
April	Dominique Wilkins (Hawks)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)

	Rookie of the Month
Month	Eastern	Western
November	Mitch Richmond (Cavaliers)	Rik Smits (Warriors)
December	Danny Manning (Pacers)	Chris Morris (Suns)
January	Rony Seikaly (Knicks)	Rik Smits (Warriors)
February	Mitch Richmond (Cavaliers)	Chris Morris (Suns)
March	Mitch Richmond (Cavaliers)	Willie Anderson (SuperSonics)
April	Danny Manning (Pacers)	Rik Smits (Warriors)

	All-NBA Teams
All-NBA 1st	All-NBA 2nd	All-NBA 3rd
Magic Johnson (Lakers)	Isiah Thomas (Pistons)	Jim Paxson (Pacers)
Michael Jordan (Knicks)	John Stockton (Kings)	Scott Skiles (76ers)
Dominique Wilkins (Hawks)	Alex English (Heat)	Adrian Dantley (Clippers)
Karl Malone (Bulls)	Charles Barkley (Rockets)	Hot Rod Williams (SuperSonics)
Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)	David Robinson (Bandits)	Patrick Ewing (Kings)

All-Defensive 1st	All-Rookie 1st
Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Mitch Richmond (Cavaliers)
Magic Johnson (Lakers)	Chris Morris (Suns)
Scottie Pippen (Bucks)	Danny Manning (Pacers)
Kevin McHale (Celtics)	Rik Smith (Warriors)
Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)	Rod Strickland (Cavaliers)

The Playoffs

East 1st Round
New York Knicks 3-1 Detroit Pistons
New York recover from 1-0 down to make the Semi Finals
Tampa Bay Bandits 3-0 Washington Bullets
An easy sweep for Tampa, Bullets fail to score more than 81 in any game
Atlanta Hawks 3-1 New Jersey Nets
Dominique Wilkins leads Atlanta to another semi-final, including 41 in game 1
Indiana Pacers 3-0 Cleveland Cavaliers
Jim Paxson and Danny Manning prove too much for Cleveland. The Pacers make the semi-finals for the first time

West 1st Round
Houston Rockets 2-3 Phoenix Suns
A huge shock as the defending champs are knocked out by Phoenix
Los Angeles Clippers 1-3 Chicago Bulls
Karl Malone on top form as Chicago make their first semi-final since 1981
Los Angeles Lakers 3-1 Portland Trail Blazers
Portland's incredible semi-final streak ends, the Lakers are the only top 4 seed to advance in the West
Sacramento Kings 2-3 Dallas Mavericks
Sacramento's playoff woes continue, with Stockton and Ewing again out in Round 1

East Semi Final
New York Knicks 4-3 Tampa Bay Bandits
Last years runner up Tampa put up a hell of a fight but the Knicks make a return to the East final thanks to a narrow game 7 win
Indiana Pacers 4-0 Atlanta Hawks
The Pacers excellent season continues, sweeping Atlanta to now make their first ever conference final

West Semi Final
Chicago Bulls 4-3 Phoenix Suns
Bill Laimbeer saves Chicago in game 6, as the Bulls overturn a 10 point final quarter deficit before advancing in 7
Los Angeles Lakers 2-4 Dallas Mavericks
Benoit Benjamin is the top player for Dallas who shock the Lakers to advance to their first conference final since their title winning 1985 season.

East Final
New York Knicks 2-4 Indiana Pacers
Despite Michael Jordan's best efforts, the Pacers win in 6 and now make their first ever NBA final

West Final
Chicago Bulls 1-4 Dallas Mavericks
Dallas' superior defense comes up trumps, can they make it two 80s titles?

1988-89 NBA Championship Final
Game 1: Dallas Mavericks 85-96 Indiana Pacers
Jim Paxson and Xavier McDaniel star as Pacers win at home
Game 2: Dallas Mavericks 102-86 Indiana Pacers
Dallas romp the first quarter to secure a potentially vital away win. Mark Aguirre the top scorer and Benoit Benjamin with 11 rebounds
Game 3: Indiana Pacers 94-130 Dallas Mavericks
A superb Dallas score a big win at home, Aguirre, Carr and Dumars all have 20+
Game 4: Indiana Pacers 97-115 Dallas Mavericks
Dallas run away with the last quarter after a close game, another 11 rebounds for Benjamin.
Game 5: Dallas Mavericks 100-115 Indiana Pacers
Fantastic team performance from Indiana keeps the series going to game 6
Game 6: Indiana Pacers 101-102 Dallas Mavericks
A thrilling see saw battle as Pacers race clear in the first quarter before being pegged back going into the last. With the game tied in the last minute, Harvey Grant sunk a dunk to give the Pacers a two point lead. A missed attempt from Aguirre saw him then foul to give McDaniel two free throws to clinch the game. Xavier missed both, before Porter hit a shot from the three point line on the buzzer that sailed through the air and into the basket to sink the hearts of Indiana and give Dallas a 2nd NBA title in the most dramatic fashion.

NBA Championship Final Result
Indiana Pacers 2-4 Dallas Mavericks

Final MVP
Mark Aguirre

HB62 · Mar 30, 2024

1989 - Offseason

The 1989 offseason had the potential to be the most consequential since the stack draft of 1984. Whilst the draft quality of 1989 was nowhere near the level of '84, it was rather the free agency pick up and blockbuster trades that were causing the headlines during the summer of '89. Before all of that, the newly added expansion teams Minnesota Polars and Toronto Huskies had the task of adding players to their new rosters.

1989 Expansion Draft

1	Minnesota Polars	Marvis Fresh
2	Toronto Huskies	David Thompson
3	Minnesota Polars	James Edwards
4	Toronto Huskies	Jay Vincent
5	Minnesota Polars	Dennis Hopson
6	Toronto Huskies	Keith Edmonson
7	Minnesota Polars	John Salley
8	Toronto Huskies	Ken Norman
9	Minnesota Polars	Michael Holton
10	Toronto Huskies	Richard Anderson
11	Minnesota Polars	Leon Wood
12	Toronto Huskies	Melvin Turpin
13	Minnesota Polars	Billy Thompson
14	Toronto Huskies	Spud Webb
15	Minnesota Polars	Harvey Grant
16	Toronto Huskies	Gary Grant
17	Minnesota Polars	Brian Shaw
18	Toronto Huskies	Vincent Askey
19	Minnesota Polars	Will Perdue
20	Toronto Huskies	Mark Bryant
21	Minnesota Polars	Grant Long
22	Toronto Huskies	Kevin Gamble
23	Minnesota Polars	Jeff Grayer

The 1989 Draft Lottery

For the first time ever the draft lottery involved nine teams, two more than the seven it had been since 1985.

"With the 9th pick in the 1989 NBA Draft.... Boston Celtics"
"With the 8th pick in the 1989 NBA Draft... Golden State Warriors"
"With the 7th pick in the 1989 NBA Draft... Seattle SuperSonics"
"With the 6th pick in the 1989 NBA Draft... Utah Jazz"
"With the 5th pick in the 1989 NBA Draft... Denver Nuggets"
"With the 4th pick in the 1989 NBA Draft... Utah Jazz" (Pick acquired from Miami)
"With the 3rd pick in the 1989 NBA Draft... Charlotte Hornets"
"With the 2nd pick in the 1989 NBA Draft... Philadelphia 76ers"
"With the 1st pick in the 1989 NBA Draft... Milwaukee Bucks"

It was the second year in a row that the team with the best record of all the lottery teams had received the number one pick. With the addition of another two teams missing out on the playoffs in the 89-90 season, it was highly likely the draft lottery would be changed in someway by the time the 1990 draft takes place. The rumours in the NBA circle was a reduction back down to the worst 7 teams, or possibly even the worst 5.

The 1989 Draft - 1st Round

1	Pervis Ellison	Milwaukee Bucks
2	Sean Elliott	Philadelphia 76ers
3	J.R. Reid	Charlotte Hornets
4	Glen Rice	Utah Jazz
5	Danny Ferry	Denver Nuggets
6	Stacey King	Utah Jazz
7	George McCloud	Seattle SuperSonics
8	Tim Hardaway	Golden State Warriors
9	Vlade Divac	Boston Celtics
10	Nick Anderson	Toronto Huskies
11	Pooh Richardson	Minnesota Polars
12	Randy White	Detroit Pistons
13	Todd Lichti	Washington Bullets
14	Blue Edwards	Golden State Warriors
15	Tom Hammonds	New Jersey Nets
16	Michael Smith	Washington Bullets
17	Shawn Kemp	Atlanta Hawks
18	Mookie Blaylock	Tampa Bay Bandits
19	Cliff Robinson	Portland Trail Blazers
20	B.J Armstrong	Chicago Bulls
21	Jeff Sanders	Los Angeles Clippers
22	Kenny Payne	Los Angeles Lakers
23	Kenny Battle	Sacramento Kings
24	Dana Barros	Indiana Pacers
25	Sherman Douglas	Houston Rockets
26	Dino Radja	New York Knicks
27	Doug West	Dallas Mavericks

Throughout the summer, it was clear the Detroit Pistons were in some turmoil. Having fought to make the playoffs, and eventually just making it in as eighth seed before falling to New York at the first hurdle, Detroit's two biggest stars now wanted out. Ralph Sampson had failed to find the form from his first couple of seasons in the NBA and Detroit had been quietly shopping him around since the end of the season. The problem for Detroit was that Sampson discovered this, and became instantly disillusioned at what he saw as Detroit pinning the blame of their poor season on him. Eventually, Pistons found a team willing to take a gamble on Sampson in the Philadelphia 76ers. Philly would send Scott Skiles, Andrew Toney & Larry Drew to Detroit in exchange for Sampson. What Detroit were not aware of was just how much their biggest star wanted out as well. Isiah Thomas, desperately wanting to win an NBA Championship, was realising that Detroit may not be the place to do it. After four seasons of contending, two consecutive first round exits left Detroit looking far away from being a team capable of winning a title. Thomas, with one year left on his contract made it clear to Detroit he would be leaving as a free agent if not traded away beforehand. And so, with Detroit not wanting to lose Isiah for nothing, they were forced into a trade. The team with the best offer on the table? Defending champions Dallas Mavericks. Dallas agreed to send Rolando Blackman, Dale Ellis and draft picks to Detroit in exchange for one of the leagues best players. It looked like Isiah Thomas would be back at the top end of the NBA next season. Detroit weren't done there though. Realising they needed to find a new main man, they entered negotiations with the Milwaukee Bucks for Scottie Pippen. The two teams eventually agreed on a deal whereby Scottie Pippen would head to Detroit in exchange for Dale Ellis, Andrew Toney and Vinnie Johnson.

Notable Offseason Trades & Free Agency:
Adrian Dantley joins Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent
Terry Cummings joins Utah Jazz as a free agent
Jeff Ruland joins Phoenix Suns as a free agent
George Gervin joins New York Knicks as a free agent
Purvis Short joins Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent
Clark Kellogg joins Boston Celtics as a free agent

Detroit Pistons trade Ralph Sampson to Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Scott Skiles, Andrew Toney & Larry Drew
Detroit Pistons trade Isiah Thomas to Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Dale Ellis, Rolando Blackman and Draft Picks
Milwaukee Bucks trade Scottie Pippen to Detroit Pistons in exchange for Dale Ellis, Vinnie Johnson & Andrew Toney
New York Knicks trade Jack Sikma and Darrell Walker to Washington Bullets in exchange for Cliff Robinson & Norm Nixon
Chicago Bulls trade Buck Williams to Tampa Bay Bandits in exchange for Armen Gilliam
Seattle SuperSonics trade Tom Chambers to Miami Heat in exchange for Manute Bol
Seattle SuperSonics trade Nick Vanos to Tampa Bay Bandits in exchange for Reggie Lewis and Draft Picks

1989 - 90 Season Preview:

With the 1989-1990 NBA season days away, Sports Illustrated took a look at all 27 teams and where they might find themselves in 82 games time.

Eastern Conference

Title Contenders
New York Knicks
Last Season Record - 60-22
The Knicks made a big decision in the offseason of trading away Center Jack Sikma in order to improve the depth of the team. They now boast quality in all five positions, and are still led by Michael Jordan. The signing of Geroge Gervin could be a shrewd one for the Knicks, with the 37 year old the perfect player to take the load of Jordan towards the end of the season if the Knicks can get the East wrapped early. A well rested Jordan could be what the Knicks need to finally make the Championship final.

Indiana Pacers
Last Season Record - 57-25
The Pacers are coming off the back of an outstanding season. They got past the first round for the first time ever and then just kept going before eventually losing to Dallas Mavericks in the Championship final. The Pacers are still led by Jim Paxson and have talents Xavier McDaniel, Horace Grant and Danny Manning getting better season by season. There's every reason to think Indiana can compete at the same level as last season.

Boston Celtics
Last Season Record - 31-51
A deeply disappointing 88-89 season for Boston, missing out on the playoffs last time around. They were without Larry Bird for almost the whole season, leaving an injury prone Kevin McHale to carry the side. This season though, they've got Bird back and added Clark Kellogg from the Trail Blazers to help manage Bird's minutes. You feel Boston's season hinges on keeping Larry Bird fit and whether or not rookie Vlade Divac can fill the Center sized hole that's been in Boston's roster for a while now

Tampa Bay Bandits
Last Season Record - 51-31
The rise of the Bandits since their move to Tampa from San Antonio has been nothing short of sensational. From back to back 13 wins seasons to a thrilling NBA finals run in their first year and then a well deserved semi final appearance last go around. They're a young team, but have a lot of depth especially in the Center position where so many struggle. They've added a bit of experience in Buck Williams which makes an exciting trio alongside Chris Mullin and David Robinson. Do not be surprised to see Tampa challenging for the No 1 seed this season.

Play Off Challengers
Philadelphia 76ers
Last Season Record - 26-56
It's now 3 consecutive seasons without a postseason appearance for Philadelphia. Considering it's only 6 years since their last title, that sounds pretty unthinkable that a team can fall off so quickly. They've had potentially the best offseason of anyone however, having added Adrian Dantley from free agency and acquired Ralph Sampson from Detroit. Dantley is a known commodity, and will win games on his own for the 76ers. The big if, is can Sampson find that extra consistency. If Philly can get Sampson playing well more often than Detroit managed, they should end their playoff drought this season.

Washington Bullets
Last Season Record - 47-35
The Bullets have always been a difficult team to figure out. They're one of the best examples not just in Basketball but in sport of hard work beats talent. Their roster has never been the strongest, in fact on paper one of the weakest, and yet they've had two conference semi final appearances in the last three seasons. They've added Jack Sikma from New York, and his added quality should see the Bullets into the top 8 once more in the East.

Detroit Pistons
Last Season Record - 32-50
No one can say for certainty what Detroit will look like this season. Yes their team does not have Isiah Thomas in it anymore, but they've managed to replace him with two young talents in Scott Skiles and Scottie Pippen and also the known talents of Rolando Blackman. The expectation is that Kiki Vandeweghe may also leave when he returns from his back injury, a successful trade there may be there difference for Detroit as to whether they can make the postseason or not.

Miami Heat
Last Season Record - 27-55
Miami have done expansion differently to most. Wanting to compete straight away they were able to lure Alex English from Utah although had to give away two first round draft picks to do it. English is already 35, so Miami need to make the most of his talents this year or risk falling into obscurity once he starts to loss his talent. Playoffs must be the expectation for the Heat this season.

Cleveland Cavaliers
Last Season Record - 33-49
Cleveland probably didn't expect to be fighting with Boston and Detroit in the East last time out. In the end they actually managed to finish above both and make the playoffs as 7th seed, losing to Indiana in the first round. Mitch Richmond has begun his NBA excellently and alongside Detlef Schrempf and Rod Strickland the Cavs have a trio they can build around for a few years. They'll definitely fancy the postseason once more.

The Unknowns
Atlanta Hawks
Last Season Record - 51-31
Until a few days ago, Atlanta would have featured somewhere between Contenders and Playoff Challengers. The devastating news that Dominique Wilkins will miss the season after heavy foot surgery changes everything for the Hawks. The man they've relied on so often and who pretty much single handedly dragged them back into the playoffs in '86 and '87. Since then, he's had the support of Reggie Miller but Miller won't be able to carry this Hawks team on his own. It would be a surprise to see Atlanta make the playoffs without Wilkins

New Jersey Nets
Last Season Record - 44-38
Another team missing their star small forward is the Nets. Terry Cummings has decided on a new challenge in Utah and with the Nets receiving nothing for him, it appears they may be headed to a few years of rebuilding. They certainly have a good player to build round though in Brad Daugherty, and between Daugherty and Doc Rivers the Nets might still have enough to feature in playoff conversations during the season.

The Rest
Charlotte Hornets & Toronto Huskies
Last Season Record - 22-60 & N/A
Very easy to group these two together, both have low quality rosters and will do well to get above 20 wins. Both as expected will take a few years to get themselves ready to challenge the top 8.

Western Conference

Title Contenders
Dallas Mavericks
Last Season Record - 50-32 (Defending Champions)
Difficult to put Dallas anywhere other than the top here, given they won the title and have added arguably the third best player in the league currently. (Magic and Jordan as 1&2, and a few making a claim for that No 3 spot). They've had to lose some depth to do it, but there's no doubt the addition of Isiah Thomas should put Dallas in a favourable position to go back to back.

Los Angeles Lakers
Last Season Record - 55-27
Some people talk about the Lakers like they've fallen off like a Detroit or Boston. This is not the case, and they are also in a much more competitive conference. The Lakers have dropped from a 70 win team to a mid 50 win team since Abdul-Jabbars retirement, but the additions of Robert Parish last year and now Purvis Short this year gives the Lakers a lot of quality in that starting five. If the Lakers have an injury hit season I expect them to make the Conference final at least.

Houston Rockets
Last Season Record - 59-23
Last seasons West top seed who were shocked by Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs. They still have Akeem and Barkley so will be challenging for the top seed once more, and you'd have thought will go better in the playoffs this time around too.

Sacramento Kings
Last Season Record - 57-25
Possibly the most balanced, quality ridden starting five in the league right now. Led by Ewing and Stockton, backed up by Person, Petrovic and Thorpe. All of those five are still 27 or under, which sounds like the Kings still have time on their side but they need to solve their playoff struggles asap.

Play Off Challengers
Chicago Bulls
Last Season Record - 53-29
The Bulls made the conference final in their first season back in the West, and it's easy to forget the quality they have given the stacked nature of the West at the moment. Karl Malone has established himself as one of the best forwards in the league and if he and Gilliam can find a way to play together then the Bulls will be strong again this season.

Portland Trail Blazers
Last Season Record - 52-30
Portland's run of semi finals or better ended last season, although we'll excuse a first round loss to the Lakers. They still have Clyde Drexler, so no reason to think anything other than around 45-50 wins and a good showing in the playoffs.

Phoenix Suns
Last Season Record - 37-45
The Suns returned to the playoffs last season and then knocked out the at the time defending champions Houston in the first round. The Suns have a nice mix of experience (Sleepy Floyd, Jeff Ruland) and young talent (Chris Morris, Kevin Johnson). Back to back post season appearances is definitely on the cards for Phoenix.

Milwaukee Bucks
Last Season Record - 32-50
Criticised heavily for letting Scottie Pippen leave, the Bucks need to hit the ground running this season to validate that decision to go with the proven Dale Ellis as well as the added strength of the second team in Vinnie Johnson. They didn't miss out by too much last time, and I think they might just get the few extra wins needed this time around to go one better.

Utah Jazz
Last Season Record - 16-66
The Jazz have had a seriously good offseason. The signing of Terry Cummings instantly turns them from the worst team in the league to playoff potentials. They also added Glen Rice and Stacey King as 4th and 6th pick in the draft respectively. The Jazz's biggest problem is the unbalanced nature of their roster, whereby all the quality comes in the two forward positions. If they can get all their best players playing somehow, the Jazz might just improve enough to get back into the playoffs.

Los Angeles Clippers
Last Season Record - 54-28
The Clippers had a really good regular season in 87/88, reaching 54 wins which was only good enough for fourth seed due to the quality in the West. They've lost Adrian Dantley however and Moses Malone was just starting to show signs of losing a touch of that All Star ability last season. There's no real young talents coming through either, so the Clippers will need to rely on the experience of the supporting cast to get them back into the playoffs.

The Rest
Denver Nuggets, Seattle SuperSonics, Golden State Warriors & Minnesota Polars
Last Season Record - 28-54, 31-51, 21-61 & N/A
Here's why these four teams are in this category.
Denver - Hideously unbalanced roster
Seattle - Not enough quality
Golden State - Too young, Jeff Hornacek is the oldest of the starters by quite some way and he's 26. Expect them to be fun to watch though
Minnesota - Roster full of players no one else wanted.

1989-90 NBA Championship Betting Odds
Los Angeles Lakers +350
New York Knicks +550
Dallas Mavericks +550
Houston Rockets +600
Sacramento Kings +800
Boston Celtics +800
Chicago Bulls +1000
Indiana Pacers + 1200
Tampa Bay Bandits +1500
Portland Trail Blazers +2000
Philadelphia 76ers +2000
Detroit Pistons +2000
Los Angeles Clippers +2500
New Jersey Nets +2500
Phoenix Suns +3500
Milwaukee Bucks +3500
Atlanta Hawks +4000
Washington Bullets +6500
Miami Heat +7000
Utah Jazz +8000
Denver Nuggets +8000
Cleveland Cavaliers +8500
Golden State Warriors +12500
Seattle SuperSonics +15000
Charlotte Hornets +20000
Toronto Huskies +500000
Minnesota Polars +500000

(Who's your money on?)

Up Next: The 1989-90 Season

HB62 · Mar 31, 2024

1989-90 Season - Part 1: A Dallas Dynasty?

November
The hottest start in November came in LA, where the Lakers were looking to reclaim the title that had eluded them the past two seasons. The Lakers actually lost on the opening night (104-90 at home to Denver) but would recover to start with a 13-2 record. Magic averaged 26.0 points and 11.7 assists through the month. It was the expected suspects who lined up behind LA in the West. The Rockets had a 12-4 start, Barkley with a 26.0 point average to match Magic whilst Akeem averaged 12.0 rebounds. Defending champions Dallas, now with Isiah Thomas, took a few games to adjust to their new line up addition but soon found form to also get to 12 wins by the end of the month. Mark Aguirre led the way once more in points for Dallas (18.4) whilst Thomas notched up a 7.9 assist average. The two surprises in the West were the performances of the Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers. The Bucks beat Sacramento on the opening day and then ground out wins all through November eventually ending on an 11-4 record. Kenny Fields doing a lot of the scoring for Milwaukee. Portland were surprising for the wrong reasons, winning just 4 of 15 to start. The one highlight so far a Clyde Drexler 43 in a win over the Warriors but plenty of improvement needed in Portland. Minnesota Polars won their 2nd game as a NBA team, winning 111-109 in Chicago. The Polars then lost their next 13, finishing November with a 1-14 record and a difficult start to life in the NBA. In the East, the idea that the Knicks were going to stroll to the top seed was chucked out the window in the first month of the season. The Knicks were failing to click so far, with disappointing defeats such as 94-114 in Charlotte and 73-79 in Washington. It was a 7-8 start for New York. Tampa topped the pile in the East. David Robinson averaged 21.2 points whilst Buck Williams was having 9.9 rebounds a game as Tampa raced into a 14-3 start. The highlight was possibly a 118-98 win in Phoenix and 36 from Robinson. The big surprise was the performance of New Jersey. Tipped to struggle without Terry Cumming, the Nets instead won their first 9 games of the season before eventually losing at home to Indiana. 4 defeats in their last 5 has seen them slip out of top spot but still a strong start from the Nets. Also starting well was Boston, who had Larry Bird back and were looking much better this season. 12 wins to start the month had them nicely placed although they had yet to play any of the top sides so far. The Toronto Huskies were having a better start than their expansion counterparts in the West. They won their opening game 87-98 at home to Detroit, and then won their first game on the road to 102-80 in Denver. In total, the Huskies have won 4 games so far, including an excellent 120-91 win in Boston.

December
The final month of the year was an excellent month for the Tampa Bay Bandits. The Bandits already led the East conference heading into the month and extended their lead, reaching 24 wins in their first 30 games. Chris Mullin had 36 in a home win over Cleveland as the Tampa train rolled on into 1990. Boston’s strong form at home kept them in the top three of the East, including a 88-96 win over Tampa to keep the Bandits in sight. The Pacers were showing no signs of going away after last season's playoff run, they lost just twice in December to join Tampa and Boston in the top three. The impressive month included wins over Sacramento, Lakers and twice over Boston. New Jersey were struggling to find the form that had seen them win their first 8 games. A 6-14 run since had seen them slip to just inside the playoff line, and they finished the year scoring just 65 in Indiana, losing 65-106. Scoring was becoming a big issue for the Nets since the departure of Terry Cummings. Also inside the playoff line heading into 1990 was Philadelphia, looking to return to the postseason for the first time since 1986. Philly’s off-season signing Adrian Dantley had settled in well, and hit 44 points in a 101-140 home win over Cleveland. The big news in the East during December was that Michael Jordan would be out until at least the All Star weekend with a muscle injury. There were new leaders in the West by the end of the month. The reigning champs hit form as Dallas lost just three times to start stretching their legs at the top. The biggest game of the month saw Dallas travel to Detroit for the return of Isiah Thomas to his former team. And Thomas would top score, coming back to haunt Detroit with 32 points in a 106-88 win for Dallas. The Lakers were still hanging around, but lost top spot mostly due to a 4 game loss streak in the middle of the month including a disappointing defeat at home to Seattle. The Bucks, Rockets and Kings all continued strong starts as the top five started to put some distance between themselves and the rest in the West.

January
Both conferences started to take shape in January. In the East, Tampa were able to maintain a healthy lead at the top with good wins including at home to Boston (100-123) and Houston (85-88). They did suffer a narrow defeat in an exciting contest with Detroit. Scottie Pippen was the star of the show as Detroit won 104-103 in Tampa. Behind Tampa, Boston and Indiana continued to be the two who kept the closest to the Bandits. Clark Kellogg became invaluable in supporting the minutes of backing up Larry Bird and the hope was if Boston could keep Bird fit enough for the playoffs then Boston might have a chance at a deep postseason run. New York would just be happy to have kept inside the top 4 having to go most of January without Jordan. The Knicks did enjoy some good wins without MJ, notably a 96-111 win at home to the Lakers where Bernard King top scored with 34. The Bullets had had a poor season so far, and their run of 3 playoff appearances in a row was in danger of coming to an end as they languished among Charlotte and Toronto at the bottom of the east. Four straight wins to end the month did help their cause a little, moving them back in slight touching distance of the top 8. The highlight a superb 91-120 win at home to leaders Tampa as well as a win in Indiana. Perhaps a strong second half of the season beckoned for Washington. Dallas, like Tampa, had eked out a gap at the top of their conference. The trio of Aguirre, Benjamin and Thomas was dominating the court for Dallas and they looked even stronger than either of their two championship winning teams of the 80s. The big Lakers news in January was an injury to Magic Johnson, who tore an MCL and would be out until the end of March and missed the All Star game. The Bucks fell off the pace a little during the month, losing three successive games on two separate occasions. This included a slim 93-92 loss at home to the Warriors where rookie Tim Hardaway continued his impressive first season to top score. Hardaway was well clear as top points scorer amongst the rookies, and was instantly thrown in as a start in an already young Warriors side. Hardaway also led amongst rookies in both assists and steals. The Warriors still found themselves amongst a bunch of teams harboring playoff aspirations in what was turning into a 7 for 2 playoff battle in the West. Portland had recovered from their poor start to climb into the top 8 but were still very much in catching distance, as were Utah who had surpassed last season's win total already in early January.

Eastern Conference Standings (1st February)

Tampa Bay Bandits - 33-10
Boston Celtics - 29-18
Indiana Pacers - 28-16
New York Knicks - 25-17
New Jersey Nets - 23-21
Philadelphia 76ers - 24-23
Detroit Pistons - 21-22
Atlanta Hawks - 23-25
Cleveland Cavaliers - 22-24
Miami Heat - 17-24
Washington Bullets - 19-27
Charlotte Hornets - 18-28
Toronto Huskies - 12-32

Western Conference Standings

Dallas Mavericks - 32-12
Los Angeles Lakers - 28-16
Houston Rockets - 29-13
Milwaukee Bucks - 29-15
Chicago Bulls - 29-18
Sacramento Kings - 27-19
Utah Jazz - 23-22
Portland Trail Blazers - 21-23
Phoenix Suns - 18-25
Golden State Warriors - 19-27
Seattle SuperSonics - 19-27
Denver Nuggets - 16-29
Los Angeles Clippers - 13-28
Minnesota Polars - 4-40

League Leaders

Points

Karl Malone (26.3)
Reggie Miller (25.6)

Rebounds

Brad Daugherty (14.1)
Benoit Benjamin (12.8)

Assists

John Stockton (10.8)
Magic Johnson (10.0)

Steals

Michael Jordan (2.2)
Maurice Cheeks (2.2)

Blocks

Benoit Benjamin (3.3)
Patrick Ewing (3.0)

Turnovers

Tim Hardaway (3.7)
Derek Harper (3.4)

In the 1990 All Star game, the East again made up for their playoff failures by getting their now annual win over the West. Larry Bird was named MVP, with 19 points and 6 assists in 21 minutes. Isiah Thomas led the scoring for the West.

All Star Line Ups
Eastern	Western
Michael Jordan	Clyde Drexler
Jim Paxson	Isiah Thomas
David Robinson	Charles Barkley
Larry Bird	Akeem Olajuwon
Brad Daugherty	Karl Malone
Byron Scott	John Stockton
Derek Harper	Sidney Moncrief
Ralph Sampson	Patrick Ewing
Alex English	Robert Parish
Adrian Dantley	Benoit Benjamin
JackSikma	Mark Aguirre
Rolando Blackman	Sleepy Floyd

Up Next: The 1989-90 Season - Part 2

HB62 · Mar 31, 2024

1989-90 Season - Part 2: Rocket Men

February
In February, the 7 for 2 playoff race that had opened up in January quite quickly closed into a 3 for 2 race. The Clippers, Warriors, SuperSonics and Nuggets all fell away in February, with Denver finishing the month with 8 straight losses. Included in those 8 were damaging losses to Portland and twice to Phoenix, the teams currently occupying those last two spots. Seattle would lose 7 of their last 8 in the month, and the sole win was by one point over Milwaukee. The Warriors still had Tim Hardaway in good form but the reality was they were still a couple of years away from being the finished article. The only team of the 4 who potentially could still make a run was the Clippers, who had a couple of games extra to play than those above them. The Clippers kept themselves in the hunt with a 5 game win streak against teams that were around them in the league, beating Seattle twice, the Warriors, Jazz and Portland. The Lakers were the form team at the top, winning 10 of their last 11 in February. It still wasn’t enough to lead the conference however, as the Rockets also put together a strong month and led. Dallas, who had led at the end of January, were still right in there but had fallen off the top after 5 defeats in 6 during the middle of the month. The 5 defeats included two to the Lakers and once to the Rockets (38 for Barkley in this one). Akeem Olajuwon had a sensational month for Houston, elevating him to favorite for the season MVP race, one that this year was hotly contested due to Magic’s injury. Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley were also among the contenders, with David Robinson the sole mention from the players in the East. Speaking of the East, Tampa’s lead had been cut slightly in February. Boston put together an 8 game win streak of their own (that included 3 wins of New Jersey) whilst New York finished the month with 7 wins out of 8. The Bandits would lose 6 times through the month, including two to Detroit and a surprising loss at home to Utah. The playoff race was very close in the East. Everyone from Indiana in 4th down to Charlotte in 12th would probably still be considered in the race for a postseason appearance. Cleveland had won 5 straight to move in to the last spot, although 3 of those wins were against the two new expansion sides. Behind Cleveland, New Jersey’s excellent start to the season was a distant memory as they continued to slide despite having Brad Daugherty and his talents. Just inside the playoff spots was Detroit and Philadelphia, who would both probably be happy with their seasons so far given the recent upheaval in rosters for both.

March
The start of March bought good news for the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks had had Dominique Wilkins ruled out before the start of the season for what they thought would be the whole campaign. Despite this, Atlanta had kept themselves inside the playoff spots thanks to the form of Reggie Miller and Derek Harper. Then, at the start of March, the Hawks announced that Wilkins would make a return from injury months earlier than expected. The momentum of this good news, plus having a player of Wilkins’ caliber back in the roster, gave the Hawks a boost that saw them win 12 of 13 games in March and actually promoted them to being the closest team to leaders Tampa. Incredibly, Wilkins would score 41 points in his first game back, at home to Phoenix. Boston would fall away from the top in March, losing nine straight including defeats to those around them (Tampa, New York, Atlanta & Detroit). The highest point of Boston’s month was a great win in LA against the Lakers, where former Laker Byron Scott top scored. Detroit, having only been a couple of games above the playoff line going into the month, had actually booked their spot in the postseason by the time the month had finished. They lost just 4 times all month and booked their playoff spot with a 115-102 win in Miami. Two teams who were not winning games in the East were Charlotte and Toronto. Neither side won a game in March, and were on long losing streaks. (14 for Charlotte and 18 for Toronto.) In the West, Minnesota won in Utah at the end of the month to end an 18 game losing run of their own. Also in the West, the top 8 seemed to become a lock by the month end. Utah, having been close to Portland and Phoenix, lost 7 of their last 9 games in the month as Phoenix and Portland pulled clear and into positive figures. Portland especially had started the month at a 29-30 record, and would finish it at 41-32 after an incredible month as Clyde Drexler started to hit top form for his side. Phoenix, whilst not as productive, still notched up 9 wins to keep themselves ticking over including a nice win in Tampa over the East leaders, Kevin Johnson top scorer on that day. The real battle in the West was the one for the top seed. The big 4, Houston, Dallas, the Lakers and Sacramento ended the month within two games of each other. It was the Lakers who ended the month on top, with Houston and Sacramento 1 game behind and Dallas another 1 game back. The race was very much on going into April.

1st April Playoff Picture

East
7. Philadelphia 76ers - 38-35
8. New Jersey Nets - 38-36
---------------------------------------
9. Washington Bullets - 34-39
10. Cleveland Cavaliers - 34-41

West
8. Phoenix Suns - 39-36
---------------------------------------
9. Utah Jazz - 33-41

April

1 April
Minnesota Polars 94-93 Golden State Warriors
Atlanta Hawks 104-109 Chicago Bulls
Washington Bullets 98-93 Philadelphia 76ers
Houston Rockets 103-92 Utah Jazz
Cleveland Cavaliers 102-95 Seattle SuperSonics

A good day for Tampa without even playing, as they moved to within one win of clinching the top seed in the East after Atlanta’s loss in Chicago. There was a big win for Washington as they moved within three wins of the 76ers with an away win in Philly and allowed Cleveland to do the same with their win in Seattle. Houston moved level with the Lakers thanks to their win in Utah, although had now played a game more. Minnesota and Golden State had nothing to play for, but any win for Minnesota this season is notable in its own right. Utah’s loss against Houston also meant Phoenix were one win away from clinching the last spot in the West side of the playoffs

3 April
Phoenix Suns 95-118 Charlotte Hornets

Phoenix missed out on the chance to clinch that playoff spot with a surprise thrashing in Charlotte. Dave Greenwood hit 24 points and 10 rebounds as the Hornets ended their long losing streak.

5 April
Atlanta Hawks 108-104 New Jersey Nets
Houston Rockets 104-94 Toronto Huskies
Los Angeles Lakers 111-89 Los Angeles Clippers
Tampa Bay Bandits 114-102 Milwaukee Bucks
Cleveland Cavaliers 100-79 Washington Bullets
Sacramento Kings 119-86 Seattle SuperSonics
Dallas Mavericks 120-105 Philadelphia 76ers
Utah Jazz 79-62 Minnesota Polars

A night full of key games at both ends of the table and both sides of the country. Atlanta kept the conference race alive in the East and kept New Jersey looking over their shoulders at the teams below them. The top 4 in the West all won, to keep it all as it was in the race for the top seed. Despite Atlanta’s earlier win, Tampa clinched the East with a win in Milwaukee. John Paxson had an incredible 19 assists. It was Tampa’s first top seed since relocating from San Antonio and continued an incredible rise for the franchise since the move. In the playoff race in the East, Cleveland won in the battle of the chasing teams in Washington whilst Philly had a not unexpected loss at home to Dallas.

8 April
Tampa Bay Bandits 67-89 Washington Bullets

It appeared the Bandits were still recovering from a night of celebration as they scored just 67 in Washington. It was a big win for the Bullets though, moving them to within two wins of Philly and New Jersey.

11 April
Toronto Huskies 95-79 New Jersey Nets
Houston Rockets 102-97 Los Angeles Clippers
Philadelphia 76ers 105-94 Phoenix Suns
Los Angeles Lakers 98-115 Dallas Mavericks

A shock defeat for New Jersey at home to Toronto will get the nerves up with Washington and Cleveland closing in. The 76ers give themselves a bit of breathing space as they beat Phoenix, who in turn will still now have one eye on Utah. At the top of the West, Houston won again whilst Dallas beat the Lakers. Joe Dumars top scoring with 26. The result means the top 4 are now separated by 1.5 games, with Houston currently on top.

12 April
Dallas Mavericks 99-112 Sacramento Kings
Phoenix Suns 107-88 New York Knicks
Houston Rockets 101-111 Detroit Pistons
Washington Bullets 89-96 Atlanta Hawks
Cleveland Cavaliers 88-89 Toronto Huskies

The Kings jump to the top of the West with an excellent win at home to Dallas who can’t back up their own excellent win over the Lakers the night before. Houston also suffered defeat in Detroit in a dent to their top seed hopes. Washington and Cleveland both suffer damaging defeats in their playoff fights, whilst Phoenix clinched the last spot in the West with a good win in New York.

13 April
Los Angeles Clippers 95-106 Los Angeles Lakers
Boston Celtics 121-109 Philadelphia 76ers

The Lakers move level on wins with Houston and Sacramento, with an extra game left to play. Purvis Short with 32 against the Clippers. In the East, Philly continued to struggle to get over the line after defeat at home to Boston.

15 April
New Jersey Nets 101-115 Sacramento Kings
Denver Nuggets 88-89 Dallas Mavericks
Washington Bullets 96-89 Tampa Bay Bandits

New Jersey made it 4 straight losses with defeat in Sacramento, which keeps the Kings top of the West for the time being. Dallas kept their chances of topping the West alive just about, winning by one over Denver thanks to the performances of Isiah Thomas and Benoit Benjamin. Washington move to within one of New Jersey by beating the Bandits in Tampa.

16 April
Utah Jazz 102-115 Los Angeles Lakers
Detroit Pistons 108-99 Philadelphia 76ers
Cleveland Cavaliers 97-105 Boston Celtics

The Lakers win again to move back level with Sacramento with one game more to play. Detroit dealt Philly a blow despite a double double from Ralph Sampson against his old team. Scottie Pippen with 26 for Detroit. The 76ers were leaving themselves vulnerable to both New Jersey and Washington, but not Cleveland as their playoff challenge came to an end in Boston, leaving themselves with too much to do with just three games left.

17 April
Washington Bullets 99-107 Portland Trail Blazers
New Jersey Nets 99-107 Houston Rockets
Golden State Warriors 106-112 Los Angeles Lakers
Philadelphia 76ers 96-108 Dallas Mavericks

It was a good night for home teams, with wins for Houston, Dallas and the Lakers leaving all three still with a chance at the top of the West. The Lakers moved above Sacramento to the top with a win. The three teams battling for 7th and 8th in the East all lost, leaving it still with all to play for. Washington were running out of games to climb into the top 8 however.

18 April
Dallas Mavericks 102-90 Milwaukee Bucks
New Jersey Nets 109-110 Utah Jazz
New York Knicks 88-90 Boston Celtics

Dallas kept up their chances at winning both the Western Conference and the Midwest division with a win in Milwaukee. The Nets suffered a big blow, just losing out to Utah to leave the door open for Washington. Terry Cummings had 24 to hurt his former team. Meanwhile, in an intriguing battle in the East, Boston won at home to New York to move level with the Knicks. Whoever came out on top over the last two games would win the Atlantic division and 2nd seed in the East.

19 April
Denver Nuggets 119-124 Philadelphia 76ers
Indiana Pacers 83-104 Washington Bullets
Houston Rockets 112-105 Los Angeles Lakers

Philly finally secured a playoff spot with a win over Denver. Adrian Dantley scored a massive 49 points, helping the 76ers make a return to the postseason for the first time in 4 years. There was a big win for Washington at home to Indiana, moving them level with New Jersey although still trailing on head to head. And in the biggest result of the night Houston moved level with the Lakers at the top of the West. With two games each to go, the Lakers, Rockets and Kings all sat on 55 wins, with Dallas one back on 54.

20 April
Dallas Mavericks 105-99 Sacramento Kings
Boston Celtics 93-76 Tampa Bay Bandits
New York Knicks 95-100 Indiana Pacers

Stockton and Ewing both show up to help Dallas win in Sacramento, the win moves Dallas level with the Kings, Rockets and the Lakers but both Houston and the Lakers have 2 games left compared to Dallas and Sacramento’s one. Boston moved within a win of securing the Atlantic Division back from New York, winning in Tampa whilst New York were losing in Indiana.

21 April
Sacramento Kings 102-108 Houston Rockets
Dallas Mavericks 97-82 Seattle SuperSonics
Portland Trail Blazers 101-98 Los Angeles Lakers
Detroit Pistons 109-95 Washington Bullets
Atlanta Hawks 117-100 New Jersey Nets
Philadelphia 76ers 87-112 Boston Celtics

A massive win for Houston thanks to 38 points from Charles Barkley which, coupled with the Lakers' shock home loss to Portland, leaves Houston one win from top seed. The Kings’ defeat to Houston, coupled with Dallas’ win in Seattle, means Sacramento will be 4th seed and Dallas 3rd. In the East, both Washington and New Jersey lose at home, meaning Washington must win and New Jersey lose on the final day for a change in positions for the 8th spot. Boston clinched the Atlantic Division with a win over Philly.

22 April
Miami Heat 101-109 Washington Bullets
Milwaukee Bucks 107-109 New Jersey Nets
Los Angeles Lakers 125-84 Los Angeles Clippers
Seattle SuperSonics 93-113 Houston Rockets

Washington do the business at home to Miami, but Brad Daugherty is the star for New Jersey as they cling on against Milwaukee to secure the final spot in the East. In the West, the Lakers thrash the Clippers to win the battle of LA but Houston, as expected, have too much for Seattle at home and clinch top spot by one win over the Lakers and Dallas.

Final Conference Standings
East
1. Tampa Bay Bandits - 55-27
2. Boston Celtics - 49-33
3. Atlanta Hawks - 50-32
4. Indiana Pacers - 50-32
5. Detroit Pistons - 48-34
6. New York Knicks - 48-34
7. Philadelphia 76ers - 40-42
8. New Jersey Nets - 39-43
-------------------------------------
9. Washington Bullets - 39-43
10. Cleveland Cavaliers - 37-45
11. Miami Heat - 33-49
12. Charlotte Hornets - 27-55
13. Toronto Huskies - 19-63

Atlantic Division
Central Division

West
1. Houston Rockets - 57-25
2. Los Angeles Lakers - 56-26
3. Dallas Mavericks - 55-27
4. Sacramento Kings - 55-27
5. Chicago Bulls - 52-30
6. Portland Trail Blazers - 47-35
7. Milwaukee Bucks - 44-38
8. Phoenix Suns - 42-40
---------------------------------------
9. Utah Jazz - 36-46
10. Golden State Warriors - 32-50
11. Denver Nuggets - 29-53
12. Los Angeles Clippers - 29-53
13. Seattle SuperSonics - 28-54
14. Minnesota Polars - 10-74

Midwest Division
Pacific Division

Playoff Brackets
(1E) Tampa Bay Bandits
(8E) New Jersey Nets

(4E) Indiana Pacers
(5E) Detroit Pistons

(3E) Atlanta Hawks
(6E) New York Knicks

(2E) Boston Celtics
(7E) Philadelphia 76ers
-------------------------------
(1W) Houston Rockets
(8W) Phoenix Suns

(4W) Sacramento Kings
(5W) Chicago Bulls

(3W) Dallas Mavericks
(6W) Portland Trail Blazers

(2W) Los Angeles Lakers
(7W) Milwaukee Bucks

Regular Season Awards

Individual Awards
Most Valuable Player	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
Rookie of the Year	Tim Hardaway (Warriors)
Sixth Man of the Year	Clark Kellogg (Celtics)
Defensive Player of the Year	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
Most Improved Player	Gary Grant (Huskies)

	Player of the Month
Month	Eastern	Western
November	Alex English (Heat)	Karl Malone (Bulls)
December	Brad Daugherty (Nets)	Patrick Ewing (Kings)
January	David Robinson (Bandits)	Karl Malone (Bulls)
February	Alex English (Heat)	Magic Johnson (Lakers)
March	Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)
April	Brad Daugherty (Nets)	Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)

	Rookie of the Month
Month	Eastern	Western
November	Shawn Kemp (Hawks)	Tim Hardaway (Warriors)
December	Vlade Divac (Celtics)	Tim Hardaway (Warriors)
January	Randy White (Bullets)	Glen Rice (Jazz)
February	Shawn Kemp (Hawks)	Tim Hardaway (Warriors)
March	Vlade Divac (Celtics)	Glen Rice (Jazz)
April	Shawn Kemp (Hawks)	Tim Hardaway (Warriors)

	All-NBA Teams
All-NBA 1st	All-NBA 2nd	All-NBA 3rd
Magic Johnson (Lakers)	Clyde Drexler (Trail Blazers)	John Stockton (Kings)
Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Isiah Thomas (Mavericks)	Kenny Fields (Bucks)
Karl Malone (Bulls)	Alex English (Heat)	Hot Rod Williams (SuperSonics)
Charles Barkley (Rockets)	Scottie Pippen (Pistons)	Larry Bird (Celtics)
Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)	Patrick Ewing (Kings)	David Robinson (Bandits)

All-Defensive 1st	All-Rookie 1st
Michael Jordan (Knicks)	Tim Hardaway (Warriors)
Sidney Moncrief (Bucks)	Vlade Divac (Celtics)
Scottie Pippen (Bucks)	Glen Rice (Jazz)
Karl Malone (Bulls)	Pervis Elliosn (Bucks)
Akeem Olajuwon (Rockets)	Shawn Kemp (Hawks)

Up Next: The 1989-90 Playoffs - Be great to see any predictions below!

HB62 · Apr 1, 2024

1989-90 Season - Part 3: Written in the Stars

Before the playoffs, the NBA announced that the Sixth Man of the Year Award, won by Clark Kellogg at Boston this season, was to be renamed the Len Bias Sixth Man of the Year award. Bias, who died just days after his Houston Rockets side won the 1988 NBA Championship, won the Sixth Man award in both his two seasons in the NBA.

The Playoffs

East 1st Round
Tampa Bay Bandits 3-0 New Jersey Nets
A comfy sweep for the Bandits as the top seed advance to a third straight semi final

Indiana Pacers 1-3 Detroit Pistons
Detroit win in 4 thanks to 32 points from Vandeweghe and 22 points and 16 assists from Scott Skiles in game 4.

Atlanta Hawks 3-2 New York Knicks
Michael Jordan forces game 5 with 33 points and a last second winner in game 4, but he and the Knicks are knocked out by 39 points and 13 assists from Reggie Miller in game 5.

Boston Celtics 3-0 Philadelphia 76ers
Philly have clearly forgotten how to play more than 82 games in a season during their playoff drought, as Boston win in 3 with ease to reach their first semi final since 1987.

West 1st Round
Houston Rockets 3-0 Phoenix Suns
Revenge for Houston after last seasons exit as Akeem posts 34 points and 10 rebounds in game 3

Sacramento Kings 3-1 Chicago Bulls
Karl Malone won game 3 on the buzzer to keep the series going to a fourth, but free scoring Sacramento break their playoff hoodoo to advance to the semis

Dallas Mavericks 3-1 Portland Trail Blazers
Dallas advance in 4, despite Clyde Drexler posting 42 points in game 4 in his attempt to keep the series going.

Los Angeles Lakers 3-0 Milwaukee Bucks
Bucks will feel the sweep scoreline is a little deceiving, as the Lakers won the first and third games by two points, and the second game by just one point but it's the Lakers who do advance to put the big 4 in the West all in the semis with two mouthwatering matchups.

East Semi Finals
Tampa Bay Bandits 2-4 Detroit Pistons
Game 1: 26 from Pippen gives Detroit an away win (0-1)
Game 2: Bandits level it up in the series with dominant first half to give them a comfortable win (1-1)
Game 3: Pistons dominate in Detroit thanks to 27 from Skiles and 24 from Vandeweghe (1-2)
Game 4: Impressive defense from Detroit continues their strong playoff form and leaves them one game from final (1-3)
Game 5: Bandits keep series going with comfortable win at home (2-3)
Game 6: Detroit recover from difficult 1st Quarter to progress to the final, Blackman top scorer. (2-4)

Boston Celtics 1-4 Atlanta Hawks
Game 1: 2nd Quarter domination gives Hawks 1-0 lead in Boston (0-1)
Game 2: A lackluster Boston are beaten again at home to give the Hawks a strong advantage (0-2)
Game 3: Boston roar back with away win of their own. Scott, Price, Kellogg and McHale all score 20+ (1-2)
Game 4: Larry Bird top scores but can’t stop Atlanta moving 3-1 up in the series (1-3)
Game 5: Wilkins / Miller duo too strong for Boston who suffer a disappointing exit as rumours of a Larry Bird retirement grow (1-4)

West Semi Finals
Houston Rockets 0-4 Sacramento Kings
Game 1: Back and Forth game goes way of Kings. Ewing with 22 Points and 12 Rebounds (0-1)
Game 2: Sacramento’s playoff hoodoo seems well and truly broken with two away wins in Houston (0-2)
Game 3: Double Doubles for Stockton and Ewing as Sacramento hold on to go 3-0 up (0-3)
Game 4: Sacramento race into 17 point lead, pegged back by Houston before late bucket by Lasalle Thompson sends Sacramento through to their first final since 1981 (0-4)

Los Angeles Lakers 3-4 Dallas Mavericks
Game 1: 23 points and 13 Assists for Isiah as Dallas lead throughout to take home an away win (0-1)
Game 2: Magic with 33 and one rebound short of a triple double as Lakers thrash Dallas (1-1)
Game 3: Crazy back and forth game until Lakers go clear in 4th Quarter. Double Doubles for Magic, Worthy and Parish (2-1)
Game 4: Crazy 82 point 3rd Quarter between the two left Dallas 1 point up before they moved clear in last quarter to level series (2-2)
Game 5: Triple Double from Magic as well as 30 points from Parish is too much for Dallas to stop (3-2)
Game 6: 34 points from Aguirre and a double double from Thomas sends this brilliant series to a game 7, Magic Johnson suffers a bad eye injury and will miss the deciding game. (3-3)
Game 7: Dallas are far too strong for a Magic-less Lakers, with double doubles for Isiah and Dumars. (3-4)

East Final
Atlanta Hawks 3 - 4 Detroit Pistons
Game 1: Detroit hold off Atlanta fight back to win first game in Atlanta (0-1)
Game 2: Atlanta stage 4th Quarter comeback to level series (1-1)
Game 3: Atlanta steal another one late on, in a 35 point game for Dominique Wilkins (2-1)
Game 4: Reggie Miller on form in game 4 to put Atlanta one away from the NBA final (3-1)
Game 5: Pistons keep series alive with narrow win in Atlanta (3-2)
Game 6: Dominant win for Detroit at home thanks to 20+ from Vandeweghe, Blackman and Skiles takes the series to Game 7 (3-3)
Game 7: Pippen, Skiles, Vandeweghe and Blackman all score 20+, with Detroit staging a 15 point fourth quarter comeback to storm into the NBA finals. (3-4)

Dallas Mavericks 4 - 3 Sacramento Kings
Game 1: 40 points and 14 rebounds from Ewing in playoff masterclass gives Kings an away win and continues their now 8 game winning run in the playoffs (0-1)
Game 2: Dallas don’t mess around in game 2, racing clear and not looking back in dominant win to level (1-1)
Game 3: Kings return the favour on Dallas in a game 3 domination, winning all 4 quarters to lead 2-1 (1-2)
Game 4: Dallas leave it too late to stage comeback and the Kings go 3-1 up (1-3)
Game 5: Another double double from Thomas keeps Dallas in the series (2-3)
Game 6: Crazy game in Sacramento that was still back and forth late on. Isiah’s 24 is enough to send the series to a decider (3-3)
Game 7: Both defences are on top in a cagey game, but Thomas is once again the main man scoring 26 to set up a mouthwatering NBA final against his old side Detroit (4-3)

1989-90 NBA Championship Final

The Road to the Final

Detroit Pistons
Conference Rank: 5th
Division Rank: 4th
Playoff Run
1R - Indiana Pacers (3-1)
SF - Tampa Bay Bandits (4-2)
F - Atlanta Hawks (4-3)
Key Players: Scottie Pippen, Kiki Vandeweghe, Rolando Blackmann

Dallas Mavericks
Conference Rank: 3rd
Division Rank: 2nd
Playoff Run
1R - Portland Trail Blazers (3-1)
SF - Los Angeles Lakers (4-3)
F - Sacramento Kings (4-3)
Key Players: Isiah Thomas, Mark Aguirre, Benoit Benjamin

Game 1:
A back and forth 1st quarter sees 7 lead changes and Dallas eventually lead 24-25 at the end of it. Dallas extended that lead to 6 by half time, leading 46-52 at the midway point. Aguirre had 17 points in the first half, shooting 8 out of 11 from the field. The 3rd quarter was another up and down 12 minutes, eventually Detroit would take the quarter by 1, giving Dallas a 5 point lead going into the 4th. Dallas stretched clear in the 4th, leading by 12 with 3 minutes to play. Scottie Pippen sunk a three point shot to reduce the deficit to 9 before Benoit Benjamin extended the lead back to 11 with a rebound and dunk to give him the double double. Dallas kept Detroit at bay late on to eventually win by 15.

Detroit Pistons 96-111 Dallas Mavericks

Game 2:
Detroit started fast in game 2, hitting 33 points in the first quarter to lead by 10. Scottie Pippen had 10 points of his own, but sustained an injury that would hamper him for the rest of the game. Dallas reduced the gap to 7 in a cagey 2nd quarter, before Detroit stuttered to just 13 points in the third leaving the game tied on 66 points each with just the fourth quarter remaining. The fourth was insanely close, Skiles leveling the game up at 84 each with 3 minutes to go. Aguirre put Dallas up by two before a superb Benjamin block allowed Dallas back up the other end to extend their lead to 4 inside the last 90 seconds. Detroit would score just one more bucket before the end of the game, as they fell short again in the last quarter. Benoit Benjamin finished the game with another double double, 13 points and 20 rebounds.

Detroit Pistons 86-97 Dallas Mavericks

Game 3:
Detroit made the most of home advantage in game 3. They led 34-57 at half time and would also win the 3rd and 4th quarters, albeit by narrower margins, to record a comfortable home win. Larry Drew top scored for the Pistons, with 23 in 23 minutes whilst there were double doubles for Scott Skiles and George Montgomery. Montgomery had been undrafted in the 1985 draft and was only eventually signed in 1987 as cover for Detroit, yet was putting in an incredible performance on the biggest stage.

Dallas Mavericks 83-113 Detroit Pistons

Game 4:
The game where the defending champions really showed their teeth. Dallas would score 36 in the first quarter alone, to Detroit’s 19 and eventually led by 21 with 12 minutes to go. Thomas had 17 in the first three quarters whilst Benjamin was just unbeatable under the hoops, with 21 rebounds with another quarter to go. Detroit mounted a mini revival in the last quarter, but left themselves with too much to do. The bad news for Dallas, Benoit Benjamin picked up a late ankle injury that would rule the, up until now, finals MVP out of the rest of the series.

Dallas Mavericks 101-90 Detroit Pistons

Game 5:
Dallas, one game from the title, started well at home. They led by three after the first quarter, but were pegged back by a resurgent Detroit who led at the halftime mark. Dallas pulled it back level by the end of the third quarter before both teams exchanged leads at the start of the final 12. Kevin Willis was filling in superbly for the injured Benjamin, with 16 points and 8 rebounds through the first 3 quarters. With just under 4 minutes to go, a field goal from Blackman brought Detroit back within one of Dallas. An Aguirre layup was canceled out by a Levingston field goal to keep the gap at 1 at the 3 minute to go mark. With a minute to go, a Scottie Pippen layup again brought Detroit within one, having trailed by 5 at one stage after buckets from Aguirre and Thomas. Aguirre then received the ball from Thomas under the rim before perfecting the alley Oop to re-extend the lead back to 3 and leave Dallas 52 seconds from back to back titles. Another Levingston dunk kept Detroit right in the game. The big moment came in the next play, with Dallas moving the ball up the pitch and moving it right to Isiah Thomas. Thomas, who had moved from Detroit to Dallas to, in his words, win titles, hit the perfect jump shot that sailed through the middle of the rim to put Dallas back to 3 clear, 31 seconds now on the clock. Detroit called a timeout, before moving the ball into Pippen in the Dallas half who drove inside and hit a close range jumpshot that got Detroit back to that margin of one once more. Skiles intentionally fouled from the restart to try and extend the game. After Dumars scored his first free throw, he missed his second but the rebound was picked up by Kite who was also fouled to give Kite the chance to put Dallas four clear. Kite, though, missed both, giving Detroit a timeout with 19 seconds left and a chance to tie up the game with potentially their last play. The ball was moved to Pippen, who held the ball midway inside the Dallas half. With four seconds left, he drove down the side to the basket, but his jumpshot hit the rim and lipped out. Another foul on Kite gave him the opportunity to wrap it up for Dallas. Kite would again miss both free throws, leaving the gap at two with the game in the final second. William Bedford launched one before the buzzer from the other end of the court, but his effort hit the rim, the backboard and then bounced clear, giving Dallas back to back titles and validating the decision of Isiah Thomas.

Detroit Pistons 96-98 Dallas Mavericks

1989-90 NBA Championship Final
Detroit Pistons 1-4 Dallas Mavericks

Finals MVP
Mark Aguirre

(Scott Skiles hits a jump shot during the 4th Quarter of game 5)

(Isiah Thomas against his former side sinks one to keep Dallas in front)

Note: The Dallas side had 3 OTL Detroit players from their 1990 title winning side. Isiah Thomas, Mark Aguirre and Joe Dumars
Up Next: The 1990 Offseason

HB62 · Apr 3, 2024

1990 - Offseason

At the beginning of the 1990 off season, the NBA announced that beginning with the 1991 draft lottery, only the 7 teams with the worst records would take part in the lottery, with the remainder of the draft sorted by league records including the 4 teams who would miss out on the playoffs but take no part in the lottery. It comes after much speculation about how the draft lottery would be changed, following two consecutive years of the team with the best record receiving the number one pick. [1]

Also new, this in time for the start of this season, was a deal between the NBA and NBC. Following 17 years of the NBA being shown on CBS, Commissioner David Stern had cut a deal with NBC in order for more games to be shown live throughout the season. The NBA and NBC reached an agreement on a four-year, US$700 million, contract starting from the 1990-1991 season. [2]

The final, biggest offseason announcement came out of Boston. Larry Bird announced that the 1990-91 season would be his last. Bird revealed he had played through most of last season with back injuries, as well as still recovering from the surgery in both feet that had kept him out of most of the 88-89 season. There was still hope from those in Boston that the legendary forward might bow out by adding to his criminally low tally of one Championship. [3]

1990 Draft

For the third year in a row, the team with the best record secured the number one pick in the draft. Washington Bullets, having only missed out on the playoffs due to their head to head record with New Jersey, were awarded the number one pick in the 1990 draft. The second pick went to the team with the second best record last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

1990 1st Round Draft Picks

1	Derrick Coleman	Washington Bullets
2	Gary Payton	Cleveland Cavaliers
3	Chris Jackson	Seattle SuperSonics
4	Dennis Scott	Seattle SuperSonics
5	Bo Kimble	Los Angeles Clippers
6	Felton Spencer	Toronto Huskies
7	Kendall Gill	Minnesota Polars
8	Lionel Simmons	Denver Nuggets
9	Willie Burton	Golden State Warriors
10	Rumeal Robinson	Utah Jazz
11	Tyrone Hill	Utah Jazz
12	Alex Kessler	New Jersey Nets
13	Travis Mays	Philadelphia 76ers
14	Loy Vaught	Phoenix Suns
15	Terry Mills	Milwaukee Bucks
16	Gerald Glass	Portland Trail Blazers
17	Jerrod Mustaf	New York Knicks
18	Duane Causwell	Denver Nuggets
19	Dee Brown	Boston Celtics
20	Dwayne Schintzius	Atlanta Hawks
21	Antonio Davis	Indiana Pacers
22	Jayson Williams	Golden State Warriors
23	Tate George	Toronto Bay Bandits
24	Anthony Bonner	Sacramento Kings
25	Elden Campbell	Los Angeles Lakers
26	Alaa Abdelnaby	Utah Jazz
27	Toni Kukoc	Dallas Mavericks

Selected Others:
2nd Round - Cedric Ceballos - Phoenix Suns

1990-91 Season Preview

Eastern Conference
Tampa Bay Bandits
Last Season Record: 55-27
Starting 5: John Paxson, Reggie Theus, Chris Mullin, Buck Williams, David Robinson
Conference Prediction: 5th
Playoff Prediction: 1st Round

Boston Celtics
Last Season Record: 49-33
Starting 5: Mark Price, Byron Scott, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Vlade Divac
Conference Prediction: 2nd
Playoff Prediction: Runner Up

Atlanta Hawks
Last Season Record: 50-32
Starting 5: Derek Harper, Reggie Miller, Dominique Wilkins, Sam Perkins, Nick Vanos
Conference Prediction: 6th
Playoff Prediction: 1st Round

Indiana Pacers
Last Season Record: 50-32
Starting 5: Jerry Sichting, Jim Paxson, Kiki Vandeweghe, Danny Manning, Herb Williams
Conference Prediction: 1st
Playoff Prediction: 1st Round

Detroit Pistons
Last Season Record: 48-34
Starting 5: Scott Skiles, Rolando Blackman, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Manute Bol
Conference Prediction: 3rd
Playoff Prediction: Semi Final

New York Knicks
Last Season Record: 48-34
Starting 5: Terry Porter, Michael Jordan, Dale Ellis, Ed Pinckney, Pervis Ellison
Conference Prediction: 4th
Playoff Prediction: Conference Final

Philadelphia 76ers
Last Season Record: 40-42
Starting 5: Michael Williams, Vinnie Johnson, Sean Elliot, Charles Oakley, Ralph Sampson
Conference Prediction: 11th
Playoff Prediction: N/A

New Jersey Nets:
Last Season Record: 39-43
Starting 5: Doc Rivers, Lancaster Gordon , Kenny Walker, Tom Hammonds, Brad Daugherty
Conference Prediction: 10th
Playoff Prediction: N/A

Washington Bullets
Last Season Record: 39-43
Starting 5: Darrell Walker, Josh Long, Larry Nance, Derrick Coleman, Jack Sikma
Conference Prediction: 8th
Playoff Prediction: Semi Final

Cleveland Cavaliers
Last Season Record: 37-45
Starting 5: Gary Payton, Mitch Raymond, Detlef Schrempf, Tom Chambers, Stacey King
Conference Prediction: 7th
Playoff Prediction: 1st Round

Miami Heat
Last Season Record: 33-49
Starting 5: Rod Strickland, Paul Pressey, Alex English, Tim Perry, Mark Eaton
Conference Prediction: 9th
Playoff Prediction: N/A

Charlotte Hornets
Last Season Record: 27-55
Starting 5: Muggsy Bogues, Rex Chapman, Marques Johnson, J.R. Reid, Bill Cartwright
Conference Prediction: 12th
Playoff Prediction: N/A

Toronto Huskies
Last Season Record: 19-63
Starting 5: Spud Webb, Nick Anderson, Eddie Johnson, Jay Vincent, Rony Seikaly
Conference Prediction: 13th
Playoff Prediction: N/A

Western Conference
Houston Rockets:
Last Season Record: 57-25
Starting 5: Sam Vincent, Ricky Pierce, Xavier McDaniel, Charles Barkley, Akeem Olajuwon
Conference Prediction: 2nd
Playoff Prediction: 1st Round

Los Angeles Lakers
Last Season Record: 56-26
Starting 5: Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper, Purvis Short, James Worthy, Robert Parish
Conference Prediction: 1st
Playoff Prediction: Conference Final

Dallas Mavericks
Last Season Record: 55-27
Starting 5: Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Mark Aguirre, Antoine Carr, Benoit Benjamin
Conference Prediction: 4th
Playoff Prediction: Semi Final

Sacramento Kings
Last Season Record: 55-27
Starting 5: John Stockton, Drazen Petrovic, Chuck Person, Otis Thorpe, Patrick Ewing
Conference Prediction: 3rd
Playoff Prediction: Champion

Chicago Bulls
Last Season Record: 52-30
Starting 5: Ennis Whatley, Quintin Dailey, Armen Gilliam, Karl Malone, Bill Laimbeer
Conference Prediction: 7th
Playoff Prediction: Semi Final

Portland Trail Blazers
Last Season Record: 47-35
Starting 5: Fat Lever, Clyde Drexler, John Williams, A.C. Green, Tree Rollins
Conference Prediction: 9th
Playoff Prediction: N/A

Milwaukee Bucks
Last Season Record: 44-38
Starting 5: Kenny Fields, Sidney Moncrief, Bernard King, Terry Mills, Joe Barry Carroll
Conference Prediction: 5th
Playoff Prediction: 1st Round

Phoenix Suns
Last Season Record: 42-40
Starting 5: Sleepy Floyd, Jeff Malone, Chris Morris, Cliff Robinson, Jeff Ruland
Conference Prediction: 8th
Playoff Prediction: 1st Round

Utah Jazz
Last Season Record: 36-46
Starting 5: Pooh Richardson, Darrell Griffith, Terry Cummings, Glen Rice, Tim McCormick
Conference Prediction: 11th
Playoff Prediction: N/A

Golden State Warriors
Last Season Record: 32-50
Starting 5: Tim Hardaway, Jeff Hornacek, Blue Edwards, Wayman Tisdale, Rik Smits
Conference Prediction: 6th
Playoff Prediction: 1st Round

Denver Nuggets
Last Season Record: 29-53
Starting 5: Darnell Valentine, Dell Curry, Kelly Tripucka, Danny Ferry, Jon Koncak
Conference Prediction: 10th
Playoff Prediction: N/A

Los Angeles Clippers
Last Season Record: 29-53
Starting 5: Johnny Moore, Craig Ehlo, Rodney McCray, Michael Cage, Moses Malone
Conference Prediction: 11th
Playoff Prediction: N/A

Seattle SuperSonics
Last Season Record: 28-54
Starting 5: Jon Sundvold, Willie Anderson, Gene Banks, Hot Rod Williams, James Donaldson
Conference Prediction: 13th
Playoff Prediction: N/A

Minnesota Polars
Last Season Record: 10-74
Starting 5: Maurice Cheeks, Dennis Hopson, Marvis Fresh, Harvey Grant, William Bedford
Conference Prediction: 12th
Playoff Prediction: N/A

1990-91 NBA Championship Betting Odds
Dallas Mavericks +350
Los Angeles Lakers +400
Houston Rockets +450
Sacramento Kings +600
Detroit Pistons +700
Tampa Bay Bandits +1000
Boston Celtics +1200
New York Knicks +1500
Chicago Bulls +1500
Indiana Pacers +2000
Milwaukee Bucks +2500
Atlanta Hawks +2500
Philadelphia 76ers +3000
Portland Trail Blazers +3500
New Jersey Nets +4000
Phoenix Suns +4000
Cleveland Cavaliers +5500
Washington Bullets +6500
Golden State Warriors +7000
Denver Nuggets +7500
Utah Jazz +8000
Miami Heat +8500
Los Angeles Clippers +8500
Seattle SuperSonics +15000
Charlotte Hornets +200000
Minnesota Polars +200000
Toronto Huskies +500000

Up Next: The 1990-91 Season
[1]: A different system to the one introduced in OTL. ITTL, the initial 7 team system worked well, evidenced by the rise of the Bandits and improvement of teams such as the Bulls & Cavs. 11 teams in the lottery were too many however, so it made sense to return to the 7 team system in order to continue to prevent tanking.
[2]: Slightly more money than OTL, despite the lack of Larry v Bird in the late 80s, the Dallas Dyansty, Bandits' run in 88, and early expansion into Canada all boost NBA viewing figures enough to increase the figure.
[3]: Announced 2 years earlier than OTL, although will only retire 1 year earlier. Due to tougher regular seasons ITTL and less NBA Championships & Finals. (Bird's final OTL Championship Final was 1987, compared to 1986 ITTL. 3 time Champion OLT, compared to 1 time ITTL.

HB62 · Apr 7, 2024

1990-91 Season - Part 1: End of an Era

3rd November 1990

NBA Season Opens in Japan

Portland and Minnesota opened the 1990-91 NBA season in Tokyo - 6,750 miles west of the league's New York City address in a deal agreed by NBA Commissioner David Stern with the league’s Japan based investors. In a surprise opening, it was the Minnesota Polars who would win both games in Tokyo. Both games were played in front of capacity (10,111 for each game) at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. 27 year old forward Reggie Williams was the Minnesota star in the first game, with 30 points as the Polars bagged an 83-98 victory over a low scoring Trail Blazers. The Polars made it 2 out of 2 with a 112-95 win the following afternoon, with Williams and rookie Kendall Gill both shooting 9 out of 12 from the field. Clyde Drexler, arguably the star of the NBA congregation, hit 53 points across the two games but it was to no avail as Portland got off to a sluggish start. For Minnesota, after a difficult first season in the NBA with just 10 wins, perhaps a stronger season beckoned. Certainly the additions of Reggie Williams from Cleveland and Kendall Gill from the draft look to have given some much needed quality to the Polars’ line up. Both teams will now face a long flight back to North America as they look to recover and prepare for their next games. The Trail Blazers will look to bounce back at home to the Clippers whilst the Polars face a tough home game against Houston.

7th November 1990

Worthy Is Arrested on Sex Charge

Lakers star James Worthy was arrested Wednesday afternoon on two counts of solicitation of prostitution and was jailed hours before the team’s game against the Rockets.
Worthy was released on $500 bail and rejoined his teammates, arriving in the second quarter.

Worthy refused to comment on the arrest.

Sgt. Ross Gonzales, a spokesman for the Houston Police Department, gave these details:
“At approximately 2:30 or 3 o’clock, he (Worthy) was arrested by undercover vice officers on two counts of solicitation of prostitution.
“Our understanding is that he contacted an escort service that we monitor. Two of our vice officers responded to the request he made. He arranged a transaction, at which time they made an arrest.”

Gonzales said the charge is a Class B misdemeanor under Texas law.

There had been no communication between Worthy and his teammates since his arrest, and they didn’t know if he’d play in Houston or tonight in Dallas. Indeed, there was speculation among Laker officials that he would fly home instead.

Worthy ran onto the court with 11:23 to play in the half, and the crowd cheered loudly. When he entered the game with 9:41 to play, it cheered again.

In what turned out to be an epic encounter, the home side would emerge victorious by 3, winning 117-120. Akeem Olajuwon scored 29 whilst his teammate Charles Barkley had 23, both with 11 rebounds each.

10 February 1991

East win All Star Game Again - Richmond MVP

The East All Stars were once more victorious in this season’s All Star Game, winning 132-101 in North Carolina. The main headline was Larry Bird, playing in his 11th and final All Star Game after he announced his retirement from the NBA at the start of the season. Bird played 21 minutes and scored 16 points, the third highest in the East including a late 3 pointer much to the enjoyment of the players, staff and crowd. The game’s MVP was Cleveland’s Mitch Richmond, playing in his first All Star game. Richmond, who was having a stunning season for Cleveland, had 23 points in 27 minutes. Also lighting up the scoreboard in his first game was Miami’s Rod Strickland, with 17 points as the new guys showed signs of breaking through. New York’s Michael Jordan missed the game with a right knee injury, which could keep him out of action until the playoffs. For the West, it was another defeat although Magic did hit a double double. Houston’s Akeem Olajuwon missed the game with an injured shoulder.

12th April 1991

Boston Secure East Conference with win over Miami

After doing their best to make the Eastern Conference relatively close with five straight defeats, Boston finally secured the East Conference with a 114-93 win in Miami. The Celtics had needed just one win since the start of the month, but defeats to Cleveland, Portland, Indiana, Washington and nearest rivals Tampa had somehow kept the Conference open until today. But the victory in Miami meant it was a first top seed for Boston since 1986 as Larry Bird looks to bow out with a second NBA Championship.

The Celtics started with 37 points in the first quarter to give them an early 10 point cushion which they gradually increased through the rest of the game. There were numerous impressive performances on the Boston team, with Byron Scott top scoring with 29 and backed up by double doubles from Clark Kellogg (19pts, 10reb) and Kevin McHale (14pts, 11reb). Larry Bird had 18 points whilst Mark Price was 1 assist away from a double double of his own with 17 points and 9 assists. It is still unknown who Boston might play in the first round, with Atlanta, Philadelphia, Detroit and New Jersey all battling for spots 5 through 8.

19th April 1991

Win for Philly clinches Playoffs

A big win for Philadelphia 76ers at home to playoff rivals New Jersey Nets secured them a spot in the NBA postseason. The 76ers went into the game one win ahead of the Nets, who now trail by two wins with just one game each remaining. Defeat for the Nets also secured last season’s runner ups Detroit Pistons a spot in this year's playoffs, with Detroit also two wins clear of the Nets. Detroit and Philadelphia will both be looking for that last win to try and avoid meeting the Boston Celtics in the first round. Detroit currently sits in that coveted seventh spot. It was the final quarter that secured the win for Philly tonight, sitting seven points in front going into the last twelve minutes, the 76ers blew out their New Jersey opponents 19-35 in the last quarter. Ralph Sampson was the games star with 26 points and 16 rebounds. Charles Oakley continued his impressive season with 15 rebounds of his own. Brad Daugherty’s quest to single handedly take the Nets to the playoffs fell short, despite 30 points and 14 rebounds. The 0 assists from Daugherty summed up the Nets’ season.

21st April 1991

Dramatic Night in the West as Kings clinch Conference

With things wrapped up in the East, the Western conference took centre stage as the NBA regular season came to a close tonight. The Sacramento Kings secured their first ever Conference season title with a hard fought victory at home to Portland 105-107. The Kings were made to work hard for the win, Drazen Petrovic eventually coming up trumps in the final quarter to secure that top spot. They were pushed all the way by the reigning back to back Champions Dallas Mavericks, but defeat to the Lakers yesterday in Dallas’ final game gave Sacramento the opening to steal the top seed in the West away from the Mavericks. The Lakers meanwhile were leapfrogged by the Rockets after losing to the Nuggets on the final night. Houston won at Golden State to overtake the Lakers into 3rd seed. The result in Denver was also significant for the Nuggets, who stunned the Lakers 121-132 to book a return to the playoffs for the first time since 1987. The Nuggets push out Phoenix Suns, who suffered defeat to the Minnesota Polars in their last game two nights ago, giving Denver the chance to steal that 8th and final spot in the playoffs.

Final Season Standings:
East:
1. Boston Celtics - 62-20
2. Tampa Bay Bandits - 50-32
3. Cleveland Cavaliers - 46-36
4. New York Knicks - 46-36
5. Washington Bullets - 45-37
6. Atlanta Hawks - 43-39
7. Detroit Pistons - 42-40
8. Philadelphia 76ers - 41-41
--------------------------------------
9. New Jersey Nets - 40-42
10. Miami Heat - 31-51
11. Indiana Pacers - 29-53
12. Charlotte Hornets - 28-54
13. Toronto Huskies - 18-64

West:
1. Sacramento Kings - 61-21
2. Dallas Mavericks - 60-22
3. Houston Rockets - 56-26
4. Los Angeles Lakers - 55-27
5. Milwaukee Bucks - 53-29
6. Portland Trail Blazers - 44-38
7. Chicago Bulls - 42-40
8. Denver Nuggets - 40-42
--------------------------------------
9. Phoenix Suns - 39-43
10. Golden State Warriors - 37-45
11. Minnesota Polars - 33-49
12. Utah Jazz - 32-50
13. Seattle SuperSonics - 31-51
14. Los Angeles Clippers - 24-58

22nd April 1991

Magic Johnson Wins 6th MVP - Ties Record

Magic Johnson was voted as the 1990-1991 NBA MVP today, giving him his sixth title. Only former teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar can match Magic for regular season MVP awards, also with 6. The only two players to have won the MVP award in the last 8 years, Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon, both missed significant amounts of the season through injury, leaving the path clear for Magic to claim the award. His nearest challengers this season were Patrick Ewing of the Sacramento Kings and Charles Barkley of the Houston Rockets, both finished well off in the voting however. Magic will now be hoping to add to his 5 NBA Championships as the Lakers kick off their playoff finals with a 1st Round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks.

2nd May 1991

Magic-less Lakers crash out of Playoffs

The Los Angeles Lakers were stunned by the Milwaukee Bucks last night as the Bucks secured a 3-1 playoff series win to advance to the West semifinals. In a dominant win, the Bucks won 94-127 at home thanks to an excellent performance from Bernard King. For the Lakers, the loss of Magic Johnson (out with illness) had a big effect on the team. The Lakers won the first g.ame with Magic top scoring but since the loss of the now six time season MVP, the Lakers lost two narrow games by one and two points respectively before last night's blowout. It is the first time the Lakers have not made it past the first round since 1985, when they suffered a shock loss to the 8th seed Golden State Warriors. Elsewhere in the West, there were wins for the other big three as Sacramento advanced past Denver to set up a meeting with Milwaukee in the semifinals whilst Dallas swept Chicago and Houston beat Portland in 4 to set up a semifinal clash between the two Texas teams. In the East, Boston swept Philadelphia whilst the Knicks edged past Washington in 5 to set up a mouthwatering semi final clash. Last year's runner ups Detroit are out after losing all three games to Tampa and Cleveland’s impressive season came to an end after defeat in 5 to playoff specialists Atlanta

4th May 1991

Magic Johnson has AIDS virus

Basketball star Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers has tested positive for the AIDS virus and is retiring from the game, The Associated Press and CNN reported today.

A very high official with the team confirmed the retirement and said that Johnson is “a very sick man.

He missed the Lakers’ last three games of this season because of what was described as the flu, watching on as they were knocked out by the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs.

He retires just 22 assists short of the all-time record currently held by Oscar Robertson.

On Apr. 27, when the team announced he would miss the rest of the Bucks’ series, Lakers spokesman John Black said Johnson was suffering from “dehydration and fatigue caused by an influenza virus.”

Two days ago, Johnson had said he had recently felt weak. “Your legs and wind are the first things that go,” he said. “So the good conditioning I had is now lost.”

Johnson led the Lakers to five NBA championships and won six NBA Most Valuable Player awards. At 6-foot-9, Johnson revolutionized the point-guard position after leading Michigan State to the NCAA championship as a sophomore in 1979. Johnson was the first selection in the 1979 NBA draft and he immediately established himself as one of the league’s best players, leading the Lakers to the league championship the following spring. With Center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar unable to play because of injury in the sixth game of the NBA Finals against Philadelphia, Johnson came through with a storybook performance. Playing all five positions, he had 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in a 123-107 Lakers victory at the Spectrum to clinch the title. He was selected as the MVP of the Finals, the first rookie to receive such an honor.

The Lakers reached the NBA Finals six times in Johnson’s 12 seasons, although not since 1987 when they were victorious over the Detroit Pistons.

14th May 1991

Bird bids NBA Farewell as Knicks Deliver Knockout blow to Boston

The playoffs belonged to one player through the first two rounds, as a Michael Jordan inspired New York Knicks comfortably dispatched Boston to advance to the East Conference Final in five games against the top seeds. It was almost the perfect ceremonial changing of the guard in the East, as Larry Bird played his last game and could do little as Jordan dominated his Boston team. The Knicks won game five in Boston 101-96 thanks to another top scoring performance from Jordan, who top scored in all four of New York's series victories. The series' most memorable moment came in Game 3, in New York. Having won the first two games in Boston, it looked like the Celtics were going to respond with a win in New York having led 100-99 with a few seconds remaining. Jordan had over ideas however, receiving the ball high up the Boston half, stepping inside before dropping a field goal on Boston on the buzzer to put New York 3-0 up in the series. Even a stunning Boston comeback in game 4 was merely a consolation as New York now advance to face Atlanta Hawks in the East Final. For Larry Bird, he leaves the sport as just a one time NBA Champion, a disappointing return for a player who has dominated his conference for the past decade. There is no doubt however that the 11 x All Star and 9 x 1st team All-NBA will go down as one of the greatest players to have played in the NBA. It also means that both Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, the two most influential players of the 1980's dominating their respective Conferences, have left the sport in the space of 10 days. In the West, Sacramento suffered a shock defeat last night 119-115 at home to Milwaukee to trail 3-2 in the series with game 6 to come in Milwaukee. Reigning Champions Dallas also trail 3-2 to Houston, with game 6 to come in Houston.

June 2 1991

Ewing Evicts Rockets as Kings set up Knicks Showdown

A superb performance from Patrick Ewing in tonight's game 7 decider sent the Sacramento Kings into the NBA Finals to face the New York Knicks. The Kings had to come from 3-2 down in the series, just like they’d done in the semi finals against Dallas, in order to make their first ever final under the Sacramento name and their first as a franchise since 1951 when they were the Rochester Royals. Ewing and Drazen Petrovic were key for the kings, scoring 61 between them in a 106-126 win in Sacramento. John Stockton was his usual provider self, offering up 15 assists to go with 12 points of his own. For Houston, once against Hakeem and Barkley were a cut above the rest of their teammates, with 52 points and 21 rebounds between them. Houston once again will be disappointed to fall short of reaching the Championship final, now failing to make that stage since their Championship win in 1988. Given they have 2 of the top 5 players in the league, the Rockets must be contemplating a change to the rest of their starting five in the offseason. The Kings will meet the New York Knicks in the final, after the Knicks delivered a crushing 4-0 sweep on the Atlanta Hawks. Michael Jordan scored 43, 39, 42 & 30 points across the four games and looks every bit recovered from the knee injury that made him sit out most of the season half of the regular season. The Kings have the stronger starting five on paper, but have had two grueling seven game series in a row, whilst the Knicks have breezed through Boston and Atlanta suffering just one loss across the two series. It promises to be an intense matchup, with the two stars Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan both looking to win their first NBA Championship.

The Playoffs So Far:
East
1st Round:
(1) Boston Celtics 3-0 Philadelphia 76ers (8)
(4) New York Knicks 3-2 Washington Bullets (5)
(3) Cleveland Cavaliers 2-3 Atlanta Hawks (6)
(2) Tampa Bay Bandits 3-0 Detroit Pistons (7)

Semi Finals
(1) Boston Celtics 1-4 New York Knicks (4)
(2) Tampa Bay Bandits 2-4 Atlanta Hawks (6)

Final
(4) New York Knicks 4-0 Atlanta Hawks (6)

West
1st Round
(1) Sacramento Kings 3-1 Denver Nuggets (8)
(4) Los Angeles Lakers 1-3 Milwaukee Buckets (5)
(3) Houston Rockets 3-0 Portland Trail Blazers (6)
(2) Dallas Mavericks 3-1 Chicago Bulls (7)

Semi Final
(1) Sacramento Kings 4-3 Milwaukee Bucks (5)
(2) Dallas Mavericks 3-4 Houston Rockets (3)

Final
(1) Sacramento Kings 4-3 Houston Rockets (3)

Up Next: The 1991 NBA Championship Final - Sacramento Kings v New York Knicks

NBA: The Difference a Trade Makes

1993 Champion

Atlanta Hawks

Indiana Pacers

New York Knicks

Tampa Bay Bandits

Houston Rockets

Sacramento Kings

Phoenix Suns

Golden State Warriors

Recent threadmarks

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

HB62

Worthy Is Arrested on Sex Charge

Magic Johnson has AIDS virus

Recent threadmarks

NBA: The Difference a Trade Makes

1993 Champion

Atlanta Hawks

Indiana Pacers

New York Knicks

Tampa Bay Bandits

Houston Rockets

Sacramento Kings

Phoenix Suns

Golden State Warriors

Worthy Is Arrested on Sex Charge​

Magic Johnson has AIDS virus​

Worthy Is Arrested on Sex Charge

Magic Johnson has AIDS virus