The 1988–89 NBA season was the 23rd season for the

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 Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in the

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

. During the off-season, the team acquired Bill Cartwright from the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

, 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 The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

in December. The Bulls struggled with a 6–8 start to the regular season, but later on held a 27–19 record at the All-Star break. Despite losing eight of their final ten games of the season, the team finished in fifth place in the Central Division with a 47–35 record, and earned the #6 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

led the league in scoring averaging 32.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.9 steals per game, and was named to the

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 ...

, to the

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 tw ...

, and was selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. 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 th ...

showed improvement, replacing Brad Sellers as the team's starting small forward during the regular season, and 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 provided with 12.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Hodges contributed 10.0 points per game in 49 games with the Bulls after the trade, Sam Vincent provided with 9.4 points and 4.8 assists per game, John Paxson contributed 7.3 points and 3.9 assists per game, and Sellers contributed 6.9 points per game. Jordan also finished in second place in

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

voting behind

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time, Johnson List of NBA players who have spent their entire career w ...

of the

Los Angeles 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, and finished in fifth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Pippen finished tied in seventh place in Most Improved Player voting. In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1989 NBA playoffs, the Bulls defeated the heavily favored, and 3rd-seeded

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

in five games, and the heavily favored, and 2nd-seeded

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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

four games to two in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons would reach the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

for the second consecutive year, and defeat the 2-time defending champion

in four straight games, winning their first ever championship. Following the season, head coach Doug Collins was fired after three seasons with the Bulls, while Vincent was left unprotected in the 1989 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the newly expansion

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

, and Sellers was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics.

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, 1989, head coach Doug Collins moved Jordan to the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

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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Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

L 94–107
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Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago from 1929 to 1995. When it was built, it was the largest indoor arena in the world with a maximum seating capacity of 26,000. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and ...

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

L 117–126
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Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

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Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena Oakland Arena, often referred to as the Oakland Coliseum Arena, is an indoor arena in Oakland, California, and part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Authority. Opened in 1966, the arena was originally home to the California Seals of the ...

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L 89–102
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Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

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W 112–93
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W 108–106
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L 98–104 (OT)
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L 102–113
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W 117–116
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W 108–106
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W 102–96
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L 104–122
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Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

W 105–88
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W 129–124
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W 104–103
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Great Western Forum The Kia Forum, also known as Los Angeles Forum and formerly Great Western Forum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located on West Manchester Boulevard, with Laffit Pincay Jr., P ...

, 38–26 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 65 , March 22, 1989 , @ Phoenix
W 112–111
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W 111–110
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W 115–106
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W 106–102
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L 108–115
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L 112–114 (OT)
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W 104–100
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, 46–33

Playoffs

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Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

W 95–88
,

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

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(11) ,

Richfield Coliseum Richfield Coliseum, also known as the Coliseum at Richfield, was an indoor arena located in Richfield Township, between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. It opened in 1974 as a replacement for the Cleveland Arena, and had a seating capacity of 20,27 ...

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L 88–96
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(30) , Grant (14) ,

(10) ,

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W 101–94
,

(44) , Grant (17) ,

(10) ,

17,721 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , May 5, 1989 ,

L 105–108 (OT)
,

(50) , Grant (16) , Hodges,
Pippen (5) ,

18,264 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 5 , May 7, 1989 , @

W 101–100
,

(44) , Pippen (10) ,

(6) ,

20,273 , 3–2 , - , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , May 9, 1989 , @

W 120–109 (OT)
,

(34) , Cartwright (14) ,

(12) ,

19,591 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , May 11, 1989 , @

L 97–114
, Paxson (16) , Davis (9) , Pippen (5) ,

19,591 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , May 13, 1989 ,

W 111–88
,

(40) ,

(15) ,

(9) ,

18,599 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , May 14, 1989 ,

W 106–93
,

(47) ,

(11) , Pippen (8) ,

18,637 , 3–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 16, 1989 , @

L 114–121
,

(38) , Pippen (9) ,

(10) ,

19,591 , 3–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 6 , May 19, 1989 ,

W 113–111
,

(40) , Cartwright (8) ,

(10) ,

18,676 , 4–2 , - , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , May 21, 1989 , @

W 94–88
,

(32) ,

,
Pippen (11) , Pippen (6) , The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , May 23, 1989 , @

L 91–100
,

(27) , Grant (20) , Paxson (6) , The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , May 27, 1989 ,

W 99–97
,

(46) , Pippen (8) , Hodges,

(5) ,

18,676 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , May 29, 1989 ,

L 80–86
,

(23) , Grant (12) , Hodges (5) ,

18,676 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 31, 1989 , @

L 85–94
, Hodges (19) , Cartwright (12) ,

(9) , The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454 , 2–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 6 , June 2, 1989 ,

L 94–103
,

(32) , Grant (13) ,

(13) ,

18,676 , 2–4 , -

Player stats

Regular season

Playoffs

Player Statistics Citation:

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 The Three-Point Contest is a National Basketball Association (NBA) contest held on the Saturday before the annual NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game as part of NBA All-Star weekend, All-Star weekend. The 2019 iteration of the contest involved ten ...

Winner *

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...

References

*
Bulls on Basketball Reference
{{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. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionaries classified ...

1980s in Chicago 1989 in Illinois