The 1988–89 NBA season was the Bulls' 23rd season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. During the off-season, the Bulls acquired

Bill Cartwright James William Cartwright (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player and a former head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 7'1" (2.16 m) center, he played 16 seasons for the N ...

from the New York Knicks, then later on acquired three-point specialist

Craig Hodges Craig Anthony Hodges (born June 27, 1960)
''basketball-reference.com''. Retrieved March 19, 2011 is an ...

from the Phoenix Suns in December. The Bulls struggled with a 6–8 start to the season, but later on held a 27–19 record at the All-Star break. Despite losing eight of their final ten games, the team finished fifth in the Central Division with a 47–35 record. Michael Jordan led the league in scoring with 32.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 2.9 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, NBA All-Defensive First Team, was selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game, and finished in second place in Most Valuable Player voting behind Magic Johnson. In addition, second-year forward

Scottie Pippen Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the ...

showed improvement, becoming the team's starting small forward, averaging 14.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game, while Cartwright provided the team with 12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, and second-year forward

Horace Grant Horace Junior Grant Sr. (born July 4, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for Michael Reinsdorf, the president and chief operating officer of the Chicago Bulls. He attended and played college baske ...

provided with 12.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Hodges contributed 10.0 points per game in 49 games with the Bulls, while

Sam Vincent James Samuel Vincent (born May 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Vincent won the State of Michigan "Mr. Basketball" award in 1981, the first year the award was given. He attended Lansing's Eastern High Sch ...

provided with 9.4 points and 4.8 assists per game, and

John Paxson John MacBeth Paxson (born September 29, 1960) is an American basketball administrator and former player who was vice president of basketball operations for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2009 to 2020. He was th ...

contributed 7.3 points and 3.9 assists per game. In the Eastern Conference First Round of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, the Bulls defeated the heavily favored, and 3rd-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, and the heavily favored, and 2nd-seeded New York Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. However, they would lose to the heavily favored, and top-seeded

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

four games to two in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons would reach the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year, and defeat the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in four straight games, winning their first ever championship. Following the season, head coach Doug Collins was fired after three seasons with the Bulls, and Vincent left in the 1989 NBA Expansion Draft.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

In the 1988–89 season, Jordan again led the league in scoring, averaging 32.5 ppg on 53.8% shooting from the field. The Bulls finished with a 47–35 record, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. On March 11, head coach Doug Collins moved Jordan to the point guard position. Two days later, Jordan finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists in just 30 minutes of a blowout win against the Pacers. Jordan continued at point guard through the rest of the regular season.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

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Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. ...

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The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena built in 1988 and located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shoc ...

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L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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Great Western Forum Kia Forum (formerly The Forum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located between West Manchester Boulevard, across Pincay Drive and Kareem Court, it is north of SoFi Stadium and ...

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Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a 14,870-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Phoenix, Arizona, located at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. It hosted the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association from 1968 to 1992, as well as indoor s ...

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Playoffs

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

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Richfield Coliseum Richfield Coliseum, also known as the Coliseum at Richfield, was an indoor arena located in Richfield Township, Summit County, Ohio, Richfield Township, between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. It opened in 1974 as a replacement for the Cleveland Arena ...

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(16) , Pippen, Hodges (5) ,

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W 101–100
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(10) , Michael Jordan (6) ,

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(14) , Michael Jordan (12) , Madison Square Garden
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(16) , Charles Davis (9) ,

(5) , Madison Square Garden
19,591 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , May 13 , New York
W 111–88
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W 106–93
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(8) ,

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Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

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W 99–97
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Craig Hodges Craig Anthony Hodges (born June 27, 1960)
''basketball-reference.com''. Retrieved March 19, 2011 is an ...

(5) ,

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L 85–94
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Craig Hodges Craig Anthony Hodges (born June 27, 1960)
''basketball-reference.com''. Retrieved March 19, 2011 is an ...

(19) ,

(12) , Michael Jordan (9) ,

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L 94–103
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Player stats

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and honors

Craig Hodges Craig Anthony Hodges (born June 27, 1960)
''basketball-reference.com''. Retrieved March 19, 2011 is an ...

, NBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Shootout Winner * Michael Jordan,

All-NBA First Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sel ...

* Michael Jordan,

NBA All-Defensive First Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...

* Michael Jordan,

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, ...

References

Bulls on Database Basketball

{{DEFAULTSORT:1988-89 Chicago Bulls Season Chicago Bulls seasons

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

1980s in Chicago 1989 in Illinois