1986–87 NBA season

41st NBA season

Sports season
1986–87 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationOctober 31, 1986 – April 19, 1987
April 23 – May 30, 1987 (Playoffs)
June 2–14, 1987 (Finals)
Number of teams23
TV partner(s)CBS, TBS
Draft
Top draft pickBrad Daugherty
Picked byCleveland Cavaliers
Regular season
Top seedLos Angeles Lakers
Season MVPMagic Johnson (L.A. Lakers)
Top scorerMichael Jordan (Chicago)
Playoffs
Eastern championsBoston Celtics
  Eastern runners-upDetroit Pistons
Western championsLos Angeles Lakers
  Western runners-upSeattle SuperSonics
Finals
ChampionsLos Angeles Lakers
  Runners-upBoston Celtics
Finals MVPMagic Johnson (L.A. Lakers)
NBA seasons

The 1986–87 NBA season was the 41st season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their fourth championship of the decade, beating the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1985–86 coach 1986–87 coach
San Antonio Spurs Cotton Fitzsimmons Bob Weiss
Portland Trail Blazers Jack Ramsay Mike Schuler
Chicago Bulls Stan Albeck Doug Collins
Cleveland Cavaliers Gene Littles Lenny Wilkens
Indiana Pacers George Irvine Jack Ramsay
Golden State Warriors Johnny Bach George Karl
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
New York Knicks Hubie Brown Bob Hill
Phoenix Suns John MacLeod Dick Van Arsdale
Sacramento Kings Phil Johnson Jerry Reynolds

1986–87 NBA changes

  • The Milwaukee Bucks changed their uniforms removing the red areas on the side panels to their jerseys and shorts.

Final standings

By division

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W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics 59 23 .720 39–2 20–21 15–9
x-Philadelphia 76ers 45 37 .549 14 28–13 17–24 12–12
x-Washington Bullets 42 40 .512 17 27–14 15–26 13–11
New Jersey Nets 24 58 .293 35 19–22 5–36 12–12
New York Knicks 24 58 .293 35 18–23 6–35 8–16
Central Division
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W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Atlanta Hawks 57 25 .695 35–6 22–19 17–13
x-Detroit Pistons 52 30 .634 5 32–9 20–21 17–13
x-Milwaukee Bucks 50 32 .610 7 32–9 18–23 17–13
x-Indiana Pacers 41 41 .500 16 28–13 13–28 13–16
x-Chicago Bulls 40 42 .488 17 29–12 11–30 17–12
Cleveland Cavaliers 31 51 .378 26 25–16 6–35 8–22
Midwest Division
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W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Dallas Mavericks 55 27 .671 35–6 20–21 19–11
x-Utah Jazz 44 38 .537 11 31–10 13–28 19–11
x-Houston Rockets 42 40 .512 13 25–16 17–24 19–11
x-Denver Nuggets 37 45 .451 18 27–14 10–31 14–16
Sacramento Kings 29 53 .354 26 20–21 9–32 10–20
San Antonio Spurs 28 54 .341 27 21–20 7–34 9–21
Pacific Division
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W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 65 17 .793 37–4 28–13 24–6
x-Portland Trail Blazers 49 33 .598 16 34–7 15–26 17–13
x-Golden State Warriors 42 40 .512 23 25–16 17–24 17–13
x-Seattle SuperSonics 39 43 .476 26 25–16 14–27 15–15
Phoenix Suns 36 46 .439 29 26–15 10–31 14–16
Los Angeles Clippers 12 70 .146 53 9–32 3–38 3–27

By conference

#
Eastern Conference
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Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Boston Celtics 59 23 .720
2 y-Atlanta Hawks 57 25 .695 2
3 x-Detroit Pistons 52 30 .634 7
4 x-Milwaukee Bucks 50 32 .610 9
5 x-Philadelphia 76ers 45 37 .549 14
6 x-Washington Bullets 42 40 .512 17
7 x-Indiana Pacers 41 41 .500 18
8 x-Chicago Bulls 40 42 .488 19
9 Cleveland Cavaliers 31 51 .378 28
10 New Jersey Nets 24 58 .293 35
11 New York Knicks 24 58 .293 35
#
Western Conference
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Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Los Angeles Lakers 65 17 .793
2 y-Dallas Mavericks 55 27 .671 10
3 x-Portland Trail Blazers 49 33 .598 16
4 x-Utah Jazz 44 38 .537 21
5 x-Golden State Warriors 42 40 .512 23
6 x-Houston Rockets 42 40 .512 23
7 x-Seattle SuperSonics 39 43 .476 26
8 x-Denver Nuggets 37 45 .451 28
9 Phoenix Suns 36 46 .439 29
10 Sacramento Kings 29 53 .354 36
11 San Antonio Spurs 28 54 .341 37
12 Los Angeles Clippers 12 70 .146 53

Notes

  • z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
  • c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
  • y – Clinched division title
  • x – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.

First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
            
E1 Boston* 3
E8 Chicago 0
E1 Boston* 4
E4 Milwaukee 3
E4 Milwaukee 3
E5 Philadelphia 2
E1 Boston* 4
Eastern Conference
E3 Detroit 3
E3 Detroit 3
E6 Washington 0
E3 Detroit 4
E2 Atlanta* 1
E2 Atlanta* 3
E7 Indiana 1
E1 Boston* 2
W1 LA Lakers* 4
W1 LA Lakers* 3
W8 Denver 0
W1 LA Lakers* 4
W5 Golden State 1
W4 Utah 2
W5 Golden State 3
W1 LA Lakers* 4
Western Conference
W7 Seattle 0
W3 Portland 1
W6 Houston 3
W6 Houston 2
W7 Seattle 4
W2 Dallas* 1
W7 Seattle 3
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage

Statistics leaders

Category Player Team Stat
Points per game Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 37.1
Rebounds per game Charles Barkley Philadelphia 76ers 14.6
Assists per game Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers 12.2
Steals per game Alvin Robertson San Antonio Spurs 3.21
Blocks per game Mark Eaton Utah Jazz 4.06
FG% Kevin McHale Boston Celtics .604
FT% Larry Bird Boston Celtics .910
3FG% Kiki Vandeweghe Portland Trail Blazers .481

NBA awards

Yearly awards

Player of the week

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.

Week Player
October 31 – November 9 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
November 10 – November 16 Robert Parish (Boston Celtics)
November 17 – November 23 Alvin Robertson (San Antonio Spurs)
November 24 – November 30 Hot Rod Williams (Cleveland Cavaliers)
December 1 – December 7 Tom Chambers (Seattle SuperSonics)
December 8 – December 14 Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)
December 15 – December 21 Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
December 22 – December 28 Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
December 29 – January 4 Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
January 5 – January 11 Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons)
January 12 – January 19 Otis Thorpe (Sacramento Kings)
January 20 – January 26 Alex English (Denver Nuggets)
January 27 – February 1 Fat Lever (Denver Nuggets)
February 2 – February 15 Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
February 16 – February 22 Moses Malone (Washington Bullets)
February 23 – March 1 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
March 2 – March 8 Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
March 9 – March 15 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
March 16 – March 22 Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
March 23 – March 29 Larry Smith (Golden State Warriors)
March 30 – April 5 Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
April 6 – April 12 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
April 13 – April 15 Julius Erving (Philadelphia 76ers)

Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.

Month Player
November Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
December Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
January Charles Barkley (Philadelphia 76ers)
February Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
March Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)

Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.

Month Rookie
November Chuck Person (Indiana Pacers)
December Ron Harper (Cleveland Cavaliers)
January Ron Harper (Cleveland Cavaliers)
February Chuck Person (Indiana Pacers)
March Brad Daugherty (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.

Month Coach
November Pat Riley (Los Angeles Lakers)
December Frank Layden (Utah Jazz)
January Bill Fitch (Houston Rockets)
February Mike Schuler (Portland Trail Blazers)
March George Karl (Golden State Warriors)

See also

References

  1. ^ AP. "3 SUNS PLAYERS ARE INDICTED IN DRUG INVESTIGATION". nytimes.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  2. ^ Services, Times Wire (May 9, 1987). "More NBA Players Linked to Arizona Drug/Gambling Probe". Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2018 – via LA Times.
  3. ^ "Twin Towers On The Rise". Sports Illustrated. 65 (18). November 3, 1986. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  4. ^ "NBA Playoffs : Hot Sonics Beat Rockets in Overtime, 111–106". Los Angeles Times. Times Wire Services. May 3, 1987. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  5. ^ "N.B.A. Playoffs; Mavericks Eliminated By Sonics". New York Times. Associated Press. May 1, 1987. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
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