The'84 Draft: A Forever Different NBA
1986-87 NBA Season
Houston’s season:
Ralph Sampson recovered well from his knee injury. The Rockets steamrolled through the season posting a 62-20 mark, the best record in the league. Michael Jordan won his first MVP award (30.5ppg, 6.1rpg, 7.2apg, 2.9spg). Sampson was an All Star again (19.5ppg, 12.6rpg, 3.2bpg) and young Karl Malone (16.5ppg, 10.9rpg) was far exceeding expectations. In four regular season matchups, Houston was 4-0 against the Lakers. None of the games were close.
Midway through the season the Rockets traded swingman Lewis Lloyd to Phoenix for guard Jay Humphries. This deal would be the cause of bad blood between the two franchises for years, as Lloyd was soon out of the league due to drug problems. Humphries became a solid contributor for the Rockets, working his way into the starting five.
With Humphries, Robert Reid and Jim Peterson providing stellar support, the Rockets ‘Big 3’ looked destined to go all the way this time.
Portland’s season:
Akeem Olajuwon (24.4ppg, 14.0rpg, 4.1bpg) won his first Defensive Player of the Year award in ’86-87. He continued to develop his offensive skills and was now clearly the best centre in the NBA. Clyde Drexler had also established himself as a superstar, and the Blazers were becoming a juggernaut. They had the best home record in the league (38-3) and won the Pacific with a 60-22 mark.
Chicago’s season:
With addition of Moses Malone, the Bulls were transformed into a contender overnight. Malone and Barkley (23.5ppg, 12.1rpg) were both All Stars, and Dumars made the All-Defensive Team. The Bulls posted a 51-31 record, good for second in the Central division, just one game behind the Atlanta Hawks.
Golden State’s season:
The ’86-87 season was a disaster for the Warriors. Patrick Ewing broke his foot and missed 45 games, and Purvis Short also missed most of the season due to injury. The Warriors fell back into the Lottery with a 29-53 season. In the 37 games he played, Ewing (19.5ppg, 12.2rpg, 2.9bpg) looked fantastic. The Future still looked good for the Warriors.
New York’s season:
Brad Daugherty (17.5ppg, 9.2rpg) won Rookie of the Year honours and teamed with Chris Mullin (19.9ppg) to give the Knicks a dangerous offense. New York profited from the vacuum in the Atlantic division created by Philadelphia’s rebuild and Washington’s woes (more on that later). The Knicks finished with a 42-40 record, good for second in the Atlantic division.
The League:
In the Eastern Conference, the defending champion Boston Celtics overcame a rash of injuries to top the Atlantic division with a 58-24 record. Atlanta, Chicago and Detroit all won at least 50 games in the Central division. The Philadelphia 76ers suffered an ignominious fall from glory with a 28-54 record in Julius Irving’s final season, however their young big men (Tarpley and Sellers) both showed signs of developing into good players. The Washington Bullets also had a horror year with Sam Bowie missing the entire season, and rookie Chris Washburn beset by drug issues. Washburn was a bust and would play only 56 games in his pro career. In Cleveland, Len Bias had a terrific rookie campaign (18.1ppg, 7.0rpg) but the Cavaliers were still a Lottery team.
In the West, the Rockets (62-20), Blazers (60-22) and Lakers (59-23) dominated. LA made line-up changes starting AC Green and Byron Scott in an effort to get younger and more athletic and the move paid off with both having great years. The Utah Jazz took a big step to relevancy posting a 46-36 record. John Stockton and Ron Harper gelled beautifully and quickly became one of the best backcourts in the league. The Clippers went 10-72 as Bernard King missed the whole season.
In the Playoffs Boston faced a tough second round series against the tough Detroit Pistons, but won it in six games. Chicago and Atlanta fought a thrilling seven game series with Charles Barkley and Dominique Wilkins going head to head. In the end, the Bulls won the seventh game in Atlanta with Barkley scoring 48 points in the best game of his career. The Celtics defeated the Bulls in the Conference Finals in six games, but Chicago was very competitive, and Barkley was the outstanding player in the series.
In the West, Houston suffered a huge blow in their first round series against Denver with Michael Jordan breaking his foot in game two. He would be lost for the rest of the Playoffs. The Rockets advanced, but were beaten by Utah in the Second round in six games.
Portland defeated the Lakers in six games with Olajuwon and Drexler out running and out jumping Magic and Kareem. Many people now began asking if Showtime was effectively dead. The Blazers swept Utah in the Western Conference Finals.
In the Finals, Portland dominated the Celtics. Olajuwon had his way, with Robert Parish struggling with an ankle injury. The Celtics guards were unable to contain Drexler, and even Bird’s outstanding play wasn’t enough to give the Celtics a chance. At the end of their 110-99 game five victory, the Blazers celebrated on the Boston Garden court. It was the franchise’s second title. Olajuwon was the clear choice as Finals MVP.
NEXT: The 1987 NBA Draft
