1988–89 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 1988–89 NBA season was the 40th season for the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association, and their 26th season in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[1] Despite finishing with a 36–46 record the previous season, the 76ers received the third overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft, and selected power forward Charles D. Smith from the University of Pittsburgh, but soon traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for shooting guard Hersey Hawkins out of Bradley University, as the team needed more backcourt scoring to complement the inside play of All-Star forward Charles Barkley.^[2][3][4] The team also acquired Ron Anderson from the Indiana Pacers during the off-season.^[5][6][7]

1988–89 Philadelphia 76ers season
Head coach	Jim Lynam
General manager	John Nash
Owner(s)	Harold Katz
Arena	The Spectrum
Results
Record	46–36 (.561)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 7th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Knicks 0–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WPHL-TV (Neil Funk, Steve Mix) PRISM (Jim Barniak, Matt Guokas)
Radio	WIP
< 1987–88 1989–90 >

A ticket for a December 1988 game between the 76ers and the Hornets.

The 76ers won ten of their first 15 games of the regular season, then later on held a 26–20 record at the All-Star break,^[8] and won four of their final five games of the season, finishing in second place in the Atlantic Division with a 46–36 record, earning the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, and returning to the NBA playoffs after a one-year absence.^[9]

Barkley averaged 25.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game in Houston, Texas,^[10][11][12] while Mike 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 the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In addition, Anderson played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 16.2 points per game, while Cliff Robinson provided with 15.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, but only played just 14 games due to a knee injury,^[13][14][15] and Maurice Cheeks contributed 11.6 points, 7.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.^[16]

Barkley also finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[17][18] while Anderson finished tied in sixth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[19][18] and finished tied in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting.^[20][18]

In the 1989 NBA playoffs, the 76ers lost an Eastern Conference First Round series to the New York Knicks in a 3–0 sweep;^[21][22][23] Game 2 was notable, because the 76ers blew a 10-point lead with approximately two minutes left in the game, as Knicks guard Trent Tucker's three-point shot with less than 10 seconds left gave New York the win at home, 107–106.^[24][25][26]

Following the season, Cheeks and David Wingate were both traded to the San Antonio Spurs,^[27][28][29] and Robinson was released to free agency.

Draft picks

Main article: 1988 NBA draft

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)

Roster

1988–89 Philadelphia 76ers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 20 Ron Anderson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1958–10–15 Fresno State F 34 Charles Barkley 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 252 lb (114 kg) 1963–02–20 Auburn G 1 Scott Brooks 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1965–07–31 UC Irvine G 10 Maurice Cheeks 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1956–09–08 West Texas A&M F 54 Ben Coleman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1961–11–14 Maryland C 42 Mike Gminski 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1959–08–03 Duke G 33 Hersey Hawkins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–09–29 Bradley G 12 Gerald Henderson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1956–01–16 VCU F 31 Shelton Jones 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1966–04–06 St. John's F 4 Cliff Robinson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1960–05–13 USC C 41 Jim Rowinski 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1961–01–04 Purdue G 21 Derek Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1961–11–01 Louisville F 45 Bob Thornton 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1962–07–10 UC Irvine C 44 Chris Welp 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1964–01–02 Washington G 25 David Wingate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963–12–15 Georgetown

Head coach Jim Lynam Assistant(s) Buzz Braman Fred Carter Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: April 20, 1989

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-New York Knicks	52	30	.634	–	35–6	17–24	18–12
x-Philadelphia 76ers	46	36	.561	6	30–11	16–25	19–11
x-Boston Celtics	42	40	.512	10	32–9	10–31	19–11
Washington Bullets	40	42	.488	12	30–11	10–31	17–13
New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	26	17–24	9–32	9–21
Charlotte Hornets	20	62	.244	32	12–29	8–33	8–22

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Detroit Pistons	63	19	.768	–
2	y-New York Knicks	52	30	.634	11
3	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	57	25	.695	6
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	52	30	.634	11
5	x-Milwaukee Bucks	49	33	.598	14
6	x-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	16
7	x-Philadelphia 76ers	46	36	.561	17
8	x-Boston Celtics	42	40	.512	21
9	Washington Bullets	40	42	.488	23
10	Indiana Pacers	28	54	.341	35
11	New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	37
12	Charlotte Hornets	20	62	.244	43

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1988-89 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	4–1	4–2	4–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	6–0	4–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Boston	1–3	—	6–0	1–3	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	5–1	3–3	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–4
Charlotte	1–4	0–6	—	1–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–4	2–4	3–3	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–5
Chicago	2–4	3–1	4–1	—	0–6	2–0	1–1	0–6	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	6–0	2–2	3–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–1
Cleveland	2–4	4–1	4–0	6–0	—	2–0	2–0	3–3	1–1	1–1	5–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–3	4–0	2–2	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2
Dallas	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	—	3–3	0–2	1–3	1–5	1–1	3–1	0–4	6–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	5–1	2–2	4–2	1–1
Denver	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–3	—	1–1	3–1	4–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	5–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	3–3	2–2	3–3	1–1
Detroit	5–1	3–1	4–0	6–0	3–3	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	4–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–4	4–0	0–4	5–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–0
Golden State	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	—	1–3	1–1	5–1	2–3	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–4	2–4	2–3	3–1	2–4	2–2	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–4	1–1	3–1	—	2–0	2–2	1–3	4–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	6–0	2–2	2–4	0–2
Indiana	1–5	3–2	2–2	2–4	1–5	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–5	2–2	1–1	—	1–5	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–5	1–5	2–3	3–1	1–4	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	3–2	3–1	2–0	5–1	—	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	5–0	5–1	3–1	4–2	1–3	1–1
Miami	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–6	1–5	0–2	0–4	2–4	1–1	3–1	0–4	—	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–4	0–4	1–5	0–2
Milwaukee	0–6	2–2	4–0	0–6	3–3	2–0	2–0	4–2	2–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	—	4–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1
New Jersey	1–4	1–5	4–2	2–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4	—	2–4	1–5	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–5
New York	2–2	3–3	4–2	2–3	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–2	—	2–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–1
Philadelphia	2–2	3–3	3–3	3–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	0–5	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–3	5–1	4–2	—	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–2
Phoenix	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	4–2	3–1	1–1	5–1	3–3	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	—	2–3	5–1	3–1	4–1	2–2	2–0
Portland	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–2	1–3	0–2	5–1	0–5	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–2	—	3–3	4–0	2–4	0–4	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	3–2	2–2	1–1	3–2	1–5	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–5	3–3	—	2–2	1–5	1–3	0–2
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	3–3	0–2	1–3	0–6	0–2	1–3	1–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	—	0–4	1–5	1–1
Seattle	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	4–2	2–2	1–1	4–1	2–4	4–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	4–2	5–1	4–0	—	3–1	1–1
Utah	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–4	3–3	0–2	2–2	4–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	5–1	1–3	—	2–0
Washington	1–3	4–2	5–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–5	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–4	5–1	1–5	2–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	—

Game log

Regular season

1988–89 game log Total: 46–36 (home: 29–12; road: 17–24)
November: 10–5 (home: 9–2; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 November 4 L.A. Clippers 2 November 5 Boston 3 November 8 Detroit 4 November 9 @ Milwaukee 5 November 11 Atlanta 6 November 15 @ Chicago 7 November 16 Chicago 8 November 18 New York 9 November 19 @ New York 10 November 22 @ Washington 11 November 23 Cleveland 12 November 25 Charlotte 13 November 26 Indiana 14 November 28 L.A. Lakers 15 November 30 Portland
December: 5–9 (home: 3–2; road: 2–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 16 December 1 @ Charlotte 17 December 3 @ Indiana 18 December 7 Denver 19 December 9 @ Boston 20 December 10 @ Detroit 21 December 13 Milwaukee 22 December 14 @ Atlanta 23 December 16 @ New Jersey 24 December 17 Utah 25 December 20 Dallas 26 December 25 Washington 27 December 27 @ Golden State 28 December 28 @ L.A. Lakers 29 December 30 @ Utah
January: 9–5 (home: 5–1; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 30 January 5 @ San Antonio 31 January 7 @ Houston 32 January 9 @ Dallas 33 January 11 New Jersey 34 January 13 Atlanta 35 January 15 @ Charlotte 36 January 16 Charlotte 37 January 18 Boston 38 January 20 @ Boston 39 January 21 @ Washington 40 January 25 Chicago 41 January 27 Golden State 42 January 28 @ New Jersey 43 January 31 @ Cleveland
February: 6–5 (home: 3–2; road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 44 February 1 Washington 45 February 3 Detroit 46 February 8 Seattle All-Star Break 47 February 14 @ Indiana 48 February 15 Indiana 49 February 17 New Jersey 50 February 18 @ Cleveland 51 February 22 @ Miami 52 February 24 @ Phoenix 53 February 26 @ Denver 54 February 28 @ L.A. Clippers
March: 9–7 (home: 6–3; road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 55 March 1 @ Sacramento 56 March 3 @ Portland 57 March 4 @ Seattle 58 March 6 Phoenix 59 March 7 @ Chicago 60 March 9 Sacramento 61 March 11 Detroit 62 March 15 New Jersey 63 March 16 @ New York 64 March 18 @ Washington 65 March 20 New York 66 March 22 Cleveland 67 March 24 San Antonio 68 March 26 @ Boston 69 March 28 Boston 70 March 31 Miami
April: 6–6 (home: 3–2; road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 71 April 2 Houston 72 April 4 @ New York 73 April 5 @ Atlanta 74 April 7 @ Charlotte 75 April 8 @ Milwaukee 76 April 11 @ Cleveland 77 April 14 Charlotte 78 April 16 New York 79 April 18 Milwaukee 80 April 20 @ New Jersey 81 April 21 @ Detroit 82 April 23 Washington
1988–89 schedule

Playoffs

1989 playoff game log
First Round: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 27 @ New York L 96–102 Ron Anderson (26) Charles Barkley (12) Maurice Cheeks (16) Madison Square Garden 19,591 0–1 2 April 29 @ New York L 106–107 Charles Barkley (30) Charles Barkley (12) Maurice Cheeks (12) Madison Square Garden 19,591 0–2 3 May 2 New York L 115–116 (OT) Charles Barkley (29) Charles Barkley (11) Maurice Cheeks (11) Spectrum 16,236 0–3
1989 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Playoffs

Awards and records

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