1986–87 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 31, 1986 – April 19, 1987 April 23 – May 30, 1987 (Playoffs) June 2–14, 1987 (Finals) |
Number of teams | 23 |
TV partner(s) | CBS, TBS |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Brad Daugherty |
Picked by | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Los Angeles Lakers |
Season MVP | Magic Johnson (L.A. Lakers) |
Top scorer | Michael Jordan (Chicago) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | Boston Celtics |
Eastern runners-up | Detroit Pistons |
Western champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Western runners-up | Seattle SuperSonics |
Finals | |
Champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Runners-up | Boston Celtics |
Finals MVP | Magic 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.
Offseason | ||
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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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
# |
| ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
# |
| ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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
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 |
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 |
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The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.
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) |
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) |
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) |