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1988–89 Phoenix Suns season

The 1988–89 Phoenix Suns season was the 20th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. The Suns received the seventh overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft, and selected power forward Tim Perry out of Temple University, and also selected shooting guard Dan Majerle from the University of Central Michigan with the 14th overall pick. During the off-season, the Suns fired head coach John Wetzel, and replaced him with director of player personnel (and former head coach) Cotton Fitzsimmons, who coached the team for the '70–'71 and '71–'72 seasons, and signed free agent and one-time All-Star forward Tom Chambers.

Under Fitzsimmons, and with the addition of Chambers and Majerle, the Suns lost six of their first ten games of the regular season, but then won 16 of their next 21 games, and later on held a 29–17 record at the All-Star break. The team posted a nine-game winning streak between March and April, and won 18 of their final 22 games of the season. The Suns finished in second place in the Pacific Division with a 55–27 record, which earned them the third seed in the Western Conference. Fitzsimmons was named the NBA Coach of the Year after leading his team to a 27-game improvement.

Three members of the team averaged 20 or more points per game, as Chambers averaged 25.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, while sixth man Eddie Johnson averaged 21.5 points per game off the bench, and was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, and second-year point guard Kevin Johnson contributed 20.4 points, 12.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game for the team, and was named the NBA Most Improved Player of the Year. In addition, second-year forward Armen Gilliam averaged 15.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while Jeff Hornacek contributed 13.5 points, 6.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game, Majerle contributed 8.6 points per game in only 54 games, Tyrone Corbin contributed 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and Mark West averaged 7.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas, Chambers was selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team, while Perry participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Chambers and Kevin Johnson were both named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Kevin Johnson finished in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and with Chambers finishing in ninth place.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1989 NBA playoffs, the Suns faced off against the 6th–seeded Denver Nuggets, a team that featured All-Star forward Alex English, All-Star guard Fat Lever, and Michael Adams. The Suns won the first two games over the Nuggets at home at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, before winning Game 3 on the road, 130–121 at the McNichols Sports Arena to win the series in a three-game sweep.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 7th–seeded Golden State Warriors, a team that featured All-Star forward Chris Mullin, Rookie of the Year, Mitch Richmond, and Terry Teagle. With the series tied at 1–1, the Suns won the next two games on the road at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, before winning Game 5 over the Warriors at home, 116–104 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum to win the series in five games.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Suns then faced off against the top–seeded, and 2-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, who won the Pacific Division title; the team was led by the quartet of All-Star guard, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, Magic Johnson, All-Star forward James Worthy, Byron Scott, and All-Star center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Suns lost the first two games to the Lakers on the road at the Great Western Forum, and then lost the next two games at home, including a Game 4 loss to the Lakers at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 122–117, thus losing the series in a four-game sweep. The Lakers would advance to the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year, but would lose to the Detroit Pistons in a four-game sweep in the 1989 NBA Finals.

The Suns finished 20th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 447,061 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum during the regular season. Following the season, Corbin was left unprotected in the 1989 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves expansion team.

NBA draft

The Suns used their first-round pick to select power forward Tim Perry from Temple. Perry averaged 10.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in four years with the Owls. In his first three years with the Suns, Perry would average 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game playing in a limited role. After becoming a starter in the 1991–92 season, Perry averaged 12.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. After the season, he was traded, alongside Jeff Hornacek and Andrew Lang, to the Philadelphia 76ers for superstar forward Charles Barkley.

The Suns received the 14th pick from a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1988. With the pick they would select swingman Dan Majerle from Central Michigan. Majerle averaged 21.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in four years with the Chippewas. Majerle would spend his first seven seasons with the Suns, appearing in three All-Star games before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1995. He would return to play for the Suns in the 2001–02 season before retiring. His number 9 jersey was retired by the franchise in 2003.

The Suns received the 28th pick from a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1988. With the pick they would select center Andrew Lang from Arkansas. Lang averaged 6.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in four years with the Razorbacks. Like Perry, Lang played a limited role in his first three seasons, averaging 3.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. After becoming a starter in the 1991–92 season, Lang averaged 7.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, before being traded to the 76ers.

In 1987, the Suns traded their second-round pick to the Sacramento Kings for Eddie Johnson. The pick was then traded to the New York Knicks and then to the Detroit Pistons, who selected small forward Fennis Dembo with the 30th pick.

The Suns received the 38th pick from a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1988. With the pick they would select center Dean Garrett from Indiana. Garrett averaged 13.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in two years with the Hoosiers. Garrett suffered a fractured foot before appearing in any games, and missed the entire season. He was waived before the start of the 1989–90 season without appearing in any games for the franchise.

The Suns received the 50th pick from a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1985. With the pick they would select guard Steve Kerr from Arizona. Kerr averaged 11.2 points and 3.4 assists per game in four years with the Wildcats. Kerr would spend most of his rookie season on the injured reserve, averaging 2.1 points per game in 26 games, before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989.

The Suns used their third-round pick to select point guard Rodney Johns from Grand Canyon. Johns averaged 13.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in two years with the Antelopes. The Suns signed Johns to a contract on September 27, but he was waived on November 1 before the start of the season.

Roster

Roster Notes

Regular season

Standings

Playoffs

Game log

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | April 28 | Denver | W 104–103 | Chambers, K. Johnson (26) | Tom Chambers (17) | Kevin Johnson (9) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum<br>14,471 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | April 30 | Denver | W 132–114 | Kevin Johnson (34) | Tom Chambers (12) | Kevin Johnson (14) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum<br>14,471 | 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | May 2 | @ Denver | W 130–121 | Chambers, K. Johnson (32) | Tom Chambers (17) | Kevin Johnson (16) | McNichols Sports Arena<br>12,660 | 3–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | May 6 | Golden State | W 130–103 | Tom Chambers (25) | Eddie Johnson (9) | Kevin Johnson (11) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum<br>14,471 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | May 9 | Golden State | L 122–127 | Eddie Johnson (35) | Eddie Johnson (9) | Kevin Johnson (12) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum<br>14,471 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | May 11 | @ Golden State | W 113–104 | Tom Chambers (31) | Chambers, Corbin (14) | Kevin Johnson (15) | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena<br>15,025 | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | May 13 | @ Golden State | W 135–99 | Eddie Johnson (34) | Tyrone Corbin (13) | Hornacek, K. Johnson (8) | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena<br>15,025 | 3–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | May 16 | Golden State | W 116–104 | three players tied (24) | Chambers, E. Johnson (11) | Kevin Johnson (11) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum<br>14,471 | 4–1

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | May 20 | @ L.A. Lakers | L 119–127 | Kevin Johnson (27) | Tom Chambers (10) | Kevin Johnson (18) | Great Western Forum<br>17,505 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | May 23 | @ L.A. Lakers | L 95–101 | Kevin Johnson (22) | Tom Chambers (10) | Kevin Johnson (10) | Great Western Forum<br>17,505 | 0–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | May 26 | L.A. Lakers | L 107–110 | Tom Chambers (26) | Jeff Hornacek (11) | Kevin Johnson (15) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum<br>14,471 | 0–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | May 28 | L.A. Lakers | L 117–122 | Tom Chambers (41) | Tom Chambers (13) | Kevin Johnson (10) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum<br>14,471 | 0–4 |-

Awards and honors

Week/Month

  • Tom Chambers was named Player of the Week for games played January 23 through January 29.
  • Kevin Johnson was named Player of the Week for games played March 13 through March 19.
  • Kevin Johnson was named Player of the Month for February.
  • Cotton Fitzsimmons was named Coach of the Month for April.

All-Star

Season

Player statistics

Season

|- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 81 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 81 || 37.1 || .471 || .326 || .851 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 8.4 || 2.9 || 1.1 || 0.7 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 25.7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 77 || 30 || 21.5 || .540 || .000 || .788 || 5.2 || 1.5 || 1.1 || 0.2 || 8.2 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 2 || 0 || 3.0 || .000 || . || . || 0.5 || 0.0 || .0 || .0 || 0.0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | * || 2 || 0 || 3.5 || .200 || .000 || 1.000^ || 0.5 || 0.0 || .0 || .0 || 2.0 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 34 || 1 || 9.4 || .343 || . || .750 || 1.8 || 0.7 || 0.4 || .0 || 1.0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 2 || 0 || 4.5 || .000 || . || .500 || 0.5 || 0.0 || .0 || .0 || 0.5 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 74 || 60 || 28.6 || .503 || . || .743 || 7.3 || 0.7 || 0.7 || 0.4 || 15.9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | * || 10 || 0 || 9.2 || .444 || .333 || .750 || 0.5 || 0.8 || 0.2 || .0 || 3.9 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 78 || 73 || 31.9 || .495 || .333 || .826 || 3.4 || 6.0 || 1.7 || 0.1 || 13.5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 70 || 7 || 29.2 || .497 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | .413<small>†</small> || .868 || 4.4 || 2.3 || 0.7 || 0.1 || 21.5 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 81 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 81 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 39.2 || .505 || .091 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | .882^ || 4.2 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12.2 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 1.7 || 0.3 || 20.4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 26 || 0 || 6.0 || .435 || .471<small>†</small> || .667 || 0.7 || 0.9 || 0.3 || .0 || 2.1 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 62 || 25 || 8.5 || .513 || . || .650 || 2.4 || 0.1 || 0.3 || 0.8 || 2.6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 54 || 5 || 25.1 || .419 || .329 || .614 || 3.9 || 2.4 || 1.2 || 0.3 || 8.6 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | * || 30 || 0 || 5.5 || .276 || .000 || .429 || 1.8 || 0.3 || 0.1 || .0 || 0.6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 62 || 15 || 9.9 || .537 || .200 || .615 || 2.1 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.5 || 4.1 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 82 || 32 || 24.6 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | .653 || . || .535 || 6.7 || 0.5 || 0.4 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 2.3 || 7.2

<small>* – Stats with the Suns.</small><br> <small>† – Minimum 55 three-pointers made.</small><br> <small>^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.</small>

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="" | || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 41.3 || .459 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | .409 || .859 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 10.9 || 3.8 || 1.1 || 1.3 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 26.0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12 || 25.8 || .523 || . || .760 || 7.1 || 2.2 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 2.0 || 0.3 || 9.1 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 8 || 0 || 9.9 || .429 || . || .500 || 1.9 || 0.1 || 0.6 || .0 || 0.9 |- align="center" bgcolor="f0f0f0" | || 9 || 0 || 14.0 || .529 || . || .864 || 5.0 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 0.2 || 8.1 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12 || 31.2 || .497 || .000 || .840 || 5.8 || 5.2 || 1.3 || 0.3 || 14.1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12 || 0 || 32.7 || .413 || .342 || .769 || 7.3 || 2.1 || 1.0 || 0.2 || 17.8 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12 || 41.2 || .495 || .300 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | .927 || 4.3 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12.3 || 1.6 || 0.4 || 23.8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 4 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || . || . || 1.5 || 0.3 || .0 || .0 || 0.0 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12 || 0 || 29.3 || .438 || .286 || .792 || 4.8 || 1.2 || 1.1 || 0.3 || 14.3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 4 || 0 || 1.5 || .333 || . || . || 0.8 || 0.0 || .0 || .0 || 0.5 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 4 || 0 || 4.3 || .500 || . || .000 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 1.0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 12 || 18.9 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | .640 || . || .714 || 4.4 || 0.5 || 0.6 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 1.6 || 6.2

Player statistics citation:

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions

Player Transactions Citation:

References