Michael Jordan becomes the only player in NBA history to win both the scoring title and Defensive Player of the Year honors. He is also the only player in NBA history to combine these awards with the season's Most Valuable Player award.
Michael Jordan becomes the only player in NBA history to accumulate over 200 steals with over 100 blocks in a season twice, and in a row.
James Worthy records the first ever Game Seventriple double as he records 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists.
TheSan Antonio Spurs are the last team in NBA history to lose 50 or more games in a season, and still make the playoffs. Although they drafted centerDavid Robinson with the No. 1 overall pick the previous year, he does not join the team until the 1989–90 season, due to a two-year commitment to theUnited States Navy.
With the exception of their first-round sweep of San Antonio, theLos Angeles Lakers played seven-game series the rest of the way. During the run, they overcame theUtah Jazz in the semifinals, theDallas Mavericks in the conference finals, and theDetroit Pistons in the NBA Finals. The Mavs' appearance in the conference finals was the team's first, but it would not make the conference finals again until 2003, fifteen years later. Dallas would also make it at least as far as the conference finals in 2006, 2011, 2022, and 2024.
This was the first time that the season extended until the 21st of June, which meant that the entire NBA season covered all four seasons of the year, beginning with autumn in November during the regular season and lasting all the way to Game 7 of the Finals which was played on the first official day of summer.
On January 5, 1988,Hall of FamerPete Maravich died of aheart attack during a pickup game. He was 40 years old. TheUtah Jazz subsequently honored him by sporting a patch containing his jersey No. 7.
ThePhoenix Suns mourned the loss of centerNick Vanos, killed in an airline crash on August 16, 1987.[3] The Suns sported black circular patches with his jersey No. 30 on their uniforms for the season.
TheWashington Bullets played the 1987–88 season with two players on opposite sides of the NBA height record: 7'7"Manute Bol, then the league's tallest player (tied with another former Bullet,Gheorghe Mureșan) and 5'3"Muggsy Bogues, the league's shortest player.
A ticket for Game 1 of the 1988 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks.
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk.Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.
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