The1988–89 Philadelphia 76ers season was the 40th season for thePhiladelphia 76ers in theNational Basketball Association, and their 26th season inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania.^[1] Despite finishing with a 36–46 record the previous season, the 76ers received the third overall pick in the1988 NBA draft, and selected power forwardCharles D. Smith from theUniversity of Pittsburgh, but soon traded him to theLos Angeles Clippers in exchange for shooting guardHersey Hawkins out ofBradley University, as the team needed more backcourt scoring to complement the inside play of All-Star forwardCharles Barkley.^[2][3][4] The team also acquiredRon Anderson from theIndiana Pacers during the off-season.^[5][6][7]

The 76ers won ten of their first 15 games of the regular season in November, but then struggled losing 9 of their 14 games in December. With starting small forwardCliff Robinson out for the remainder of the season due to a knee injury after only just 14 games,^[8][9][10] the team signed free agent, and rookie small forwardShelton Jones.^[10][11] The 76ers held a 26–20 record at the All-Star break,^[12] and won four of their final five games of the season, finishing in second place in theAtlantic Division with a 46–36 record, earning the seventh seed in theEastern Conference, and returning to theNBA playoffs after a one-year absence.^[13]

Barkley averaged 25.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to theAll-NBA First Team, whileMike Gminski averaged 17.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1 3 blocks per game, and Hawkins provided the team with 15.1 points and 1.5 steals per game, and was named to theNBA All-Rookie First Team. In addition, Anderson played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 16.2 points per game, while Robinson provided with 15.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, andMaurice Cheeks contributed 11.6 points, 7.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.^[14]

During theNBA All-Star weekend at theHouston Astrodome inHouston, Texas, Barkley was selected for the1989 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team.^[15][16][17] Meanwhile,Gerald Henderson participated in theNBA Three-Point Shootout, and Jones participated in theNBA Slam Dunk Contest.^[18][19] Barkley also finished in sixth place inMost Valuable Player voting,^[20][21] while Anderson finished tied in sixth place inSixth Man of the Year voting,^[22][21] and also finished tied in fourth place inMost Improved Player voting.^[23][21]

In the1989 NBA playoffs, the 76ers lost an Eastern Conference First Round series to theNew York Knicks in a 3–0 sweep;^[24][25][26] Game 2 was notable, because the 76ers blew a 10-point lead with approximately two minutes left in the game, as Knicks guardTrent Tucker's three-point shot with less than 10 seconds left gave New York the win at home, 107–106.^[27][28][29]

Following the season, Cheeks andDavid Wingate were both traded to theSan Antonio Spurs,^[30][31][32] while Robinson and Henderson were both released to free agency, and Jones was left unprotected in the1989 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by theMinnesota Timberwolves expansion team.^[33][34][35]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club team
1	3	Charles Smith	PF	United States	Pittsburgh
2	44	Everette Stephens	PG	United States	Purdue
3	57	Hernán Montenegro	C	Argentina	Olimpo (Argentina)

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

• Charles Barkley,All-NBA First Team
• Hersey Hawkins,NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team

• 1988-89 NBA season

• Philadelphia 76ers seasons
• 1988 in sports in Pennsylvania
• 1989 in sports in Pennsylvania
• 1988–89 NBA season by team

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023