1988–89 Phoenix Suns season

The 1988–89 Phoenix Suns season was the 20th season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association.[1] Cotton Fitzsimmons, Suns head coach for the '70–'71 and '71–'72 seasons, returned to the franchise where he got his first head coaching position. The Suns also enjoyed the benefits of the NBA's first free agent signing which brought Tom Chambers to the Valley of the Sun, who would have an All-Star season his first year in Phoenix. The Suns' regular seasons successes were carried on through the playoffs, sweeping Denver in the first round and defeating Golden State four games to one in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Suns saw their playoff fortunes reverse in the Conference Finals when they met the season's MVP Magic Johnson and the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, getting swept four games to zero. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

1988–89 Phoenix Suns season
Head coachCotton Fitzsimmons
General managerJerry Colangelo
OwnersJerry Colangelo
ArenaArizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record55–27 (.671)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Pacific)
Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finishWest Conference Finals
(eliminated 0-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKUTP
ASPN
RadioKTAR
(Al McCoy)

Chambers headed a triplet of Suns who averaged 20 points or more for the season, with Chambers leading the way at 25.7 points per game. Eddie Johnson, who would earn the season's Sixth Man Award, came off the bench for 21.5 per while second-year point guard Kevin Johnson obtained his 20.4 average through a starting role. Johnson, enjoying his first full season with the Suns after a midseason trade the year before, earned Most Improved Player of the Year Award while finishing third behind future Hall of Famers John Stockton and Magic Johnson in assists per game with a 12.2 average. Johnson blossomed in his role with the Suns, appearing in 81 games and finishing second in the league in average minutes per game.

NBA Draft
Main article: 1988 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 7 Tim Perry Forward  United States Temple
1 14 Dan Majerle Guard  United States Central Michigan
2 28 Andrew Lang Center  United States Arkansas
2 38 Dean Garrett Center  United States Indiana
2 50 Steve Kerr Guard  United States Arizona
3 55 Rodney Johns Guard  United States Grand Canyon

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
Phoenix Suns roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOB (Y-M-D)From
PG 7 Johnson, Kevin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1966-03-04 California
G 4 Kerr, Steve 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1965-09-27 Arizona
SG 14 Hornacek, Jeff 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963-05-03 Iowa State
SG 25 Dunn, T. R. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1955-02-01 Alabama
G/F 9 Majerle, Dan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1965-09-09 Central Michigan
SF 8 Johnson, Eddie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1959-05-01 Illinois
SF 23 Corbin, Tyrone 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1962-12-31 DePaul
F 35 Gilliam, Armon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1964-05-28 UNLV
PF 24 Chambers, Tom 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1959-06-21 Utah
PF 45 Nealy, Ed 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1960-02-19 Kansas State
PF 44 Gattison, Kenny 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1964-05-23 Old Dominion
F/C 34 Perry, Tim 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1965-06-04 Temple
C 28 Lang, Andrew 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1966-06-28 Arkansas
C 41 West, Mark 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1960-11-05 Old Dominion
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 5725.695–35–622–1925–9
x-Phoenix Suns 5527.671235–620–2123–11
x-Seattle SuperSonics 4735.5731031–1016–2520–14
x-Golden State Warriors 4339.5241429–1214–2715–19
x-Portland Trail Blazers 3943.4761828–1311–3017–17
Sacramento Kings 2755.3293021–206–3512–22
Los Angeles Clippers 2161.2563617–244–377–27
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers5725.695–
2 y-Utah Jazz5131.6226
3 x-Phoenix Suns5527.6712
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics4735.57310
5 x-Houston Rockets4537.54912
6 x-Denver Nuggets4438.53713
7 x-Golden State Warriors4339.52414
8 x-Portland Trail Blazers3943.47618
9 Dallas Mavericks3844.46319
10 Sacramento Kings2755.32930
11 San Antonio Spurs2161.25636
12 Los Angeles Clippers2161.25636
13 Miami Heat1567.18342

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 —3–14–14–24–21–10–21–51–11–15–12–01–11–16–04–12–22–21–11–12–01–11–11–13–1
Boston 1–3—6–01–31–41–11–11–31–11–12–32–01–12–02–25–13–33–30–21–12–02–00–21–12–4
Charlotte 1–40–6—1–40–40–20–20–40–20–22–22–00–21–10–42–42–43–30–20–21–12–01–11–11–5
Chicago 2–43–14–1—0–62–01–10–61–11–14–21–12–02–06–02–23–21–31–12–02–02–02–00–23–1
Cleveland 2–44–14–06–0—2–02–03–31–11–15–11–10–22–03–34–02–23–22–02–02–02–01–11–12–2
Dallas 1–11–12–00–20–2—3–30–21–31–51–13–10–46–00–21–10–21–11–32–22–25–12–24–21–1
Denver 2–01–12–01–10–23–3—1–13–14–21–12–21–35–10–21–11–11–11–32–23–13–32–23–31–1
Detroit 5–13–14–06–03–32–01–1—1–11–14–22–02–02–02–44–00–45–02–01–12–02–02–02–05–0
Golden State 1–11–12–01–11–13–11–31–1—1–31–15–12–34–00–22–02–01–12–42–42–33–12–42–21–1
Houston 1–11–12–01–11–15–12–41–13–1—2–02–21–34–21–12–00–20–21–33–12–26–02–22–40–2
Indiana 1–53–22–22–41–51–11–12–41–10–2—1–10–21–12–41–30–50–41–12–01–12–01–11–11–3
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–21–11–11–32–20–21–52–21–1—1–51–30–21–10–20–21–51–52–33–11–41–30–2
L.A. Lakers 1–11–12–00–22–04–03–10–23–23–12–05–1—4–01–11–11–12–03–35–05–13–14–21–31–1
Miami 1–10–21–10–20–20–61–50–20–42–41–13–10–4—0–21–11–10–20–40–41–32–40–41–50–2
Milwaukee 0–62–24–00–63–32–02–04–22–01–14–22–01–12–0—4–11–33–11–12–02–01–11–11–14–1
New Jersey 1–41–54–22–20–41–11–10–40–20–23–11–11–11–11–4—2–41–51–10–21–11–12–00–21–5
New York 2–23–34–22–32–22–01–14–00–22–05–02–01–11–13–14–2—2–41–12–01–11–11–11–15–1
Philadelphia 2–23–33–33–12–31–11–10–51–12–04–02–00–22–01–35–14–2—0–21–12–01–11–11–14–2
Phoenix 1–12–02–01–10–23–13–10–24–23–11–15–13–34–01–11–11–12–0—2–35–13–14–12–22–0
Portland 1–11–12–00–20–22–22–21–14–21–30–25–10–54–00–22–00–21–13–2—3–34–02–40–41–1
Sacramento 0–20–21–10–20–22–21–30–23–22–21–13–21–53–10–21–11–10–21–53–3—2–21–51–30–2
San Antonio 1–10–20–20–20–21–53–30–21–30–60–21–31–34–21–11–11–11–11–30–42–2—0–41–51–1
Seattle 1–12–01–10–21–12–22–20–24–22–21–14–12–44–01–10–21–11–11–44–25–14–0—3–11–1
Utah 1–11–11–12–01–12–43–30–22–24–21–13–13–15–11–12–01–11–12–24–03–15–11–3—2–0
Washington 1–34–25–11–32–21–11–10–51–12–03–12–01–12–01–45–11–52–40–21–12–01–11–10–2—

Playoffs

Game log
1989 playoff game log
First Round: 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
Conference Semifinals: 4–1 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–0)
Conference Finals: 0–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–2)
1989 playoff schedule

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
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

Season
Phoenix Suns statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Tom Chambers818137.1.471.326.8518.42.91.10.725.7
Tyrone Corbin773021.5.540.000.7885.21.51.10.28.2
Winston Crite203.0.000..0.50.0.0.00.0
Mark Davis*203.5.200.0001.000^0.50.0.0.02.0
T. R. Dunn3419.4.343..7501.80.70.4.01.0
Kenny Gattison204.5.000..5000.50.0.0.00.5
Armon Gilliam746028.6.503..7437.30.70.70.415.9
Craig Hodges*1009.2.444.333.7500.50.80.2.03.9
Jeff Hornacek787331.9.495.333.8263.46.01.70.113.5
Eddie Johnson70729.2.497.413†.8684.42.30.70.121.5
Kevin Johnson818139.2.505.091.882^4.212.21.70.320.4
Steve Kerr2606.0.435.471†.6670.70.90.3.02.1
Andrew Lang62258.5.513..6502.40.10.30.82.6
Dan Majerle54525.1.419.329.6143.92.41.20.38.6
Ed Nealy*3005.5.276.000.4291.80.30.1.00.6
Tim Perry62159.9.537.200.6152.10.30.30.54.1
Mark West823224.6.653..5356.70.50.42.37.2

* – Stats with the Suns.
† – Minimum 55 three-pointers made.
^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.

Playoffs
Phoenix Suns statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Tom Chambers121241.3.459.409.85910.93.81.11.326.0
Tyrone Corbin121225.8.523..7607.12.22.00.39.1
T. R. Dunn809.9.429..5001.90.10.6.00.9
Armon Gilliam9014.0.529..8645.00.20.10.28.1
Jeff Hornacek121231.2.497.000.8405.85.21.30.314.1
Eddie Johnson12032.7.413.342.7697.32.11.00.217.8
Kevin Johnson121241.2.495.300.9274.312.31.60.423.8
Andrew Lang402.0.000..1.50.3.0.00.0
Dan Majerle12029.3.438.286.7924.81.21.10.314.3
Ed Nealy401.5.333..0.80.0.0.00.5
Tim Perry404.3.500..0000.50.00.50.31.0
Mark West121218.9.640..7144.40.50.61.66.2

Transactions

Trades
December 14, 1988
 To Chicago Bulls---- To Phoenix Suns----

Free agents
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