1987–88 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1987–88 Portland Trail Blazers season was the 18th season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the first month of the regular season in November, the Trail Blazers signed free agent, former Trail Blazers and All-Star forward Maurice Lucas,^[2][3][4] and later on in December signed Richard Anderson, who was previously released by the Houston Rockets.^[5] After only playing just five games the previous season, Sam Bowie suffered a preseason right leg injury, and would miss the entire season.^[6][7][8]

After winning their first two games of the regular season, the Trail Blazers posted a five-game losing streak, but then posted a nine-game winning streak between November and December, and later on held a 26–16 record at the All-Star break.^[9] At mid-season, the team traded Jim Paxson to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Jerry Sichting.^[10][11][12] The Trail Blazers posted another nine-game winning streak between February and March, and won 10 of their final 13 games of the season, finishing in second place in the Pacific Division with a 53–29 record, earning the fourth seed in the Western Conference, and qualifying for the NBA playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.^[13]

Clyde Drexler averaged 27.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.9 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team. In addition, Kiki Vandeweghe played a sixth man role off the bench, and contributed 20.2 points per game, but only played just 37 games due to a back injury,^[14][15][16] and Jerome Kersey, who replaced Vandeweghe as the team's starting small forward, provided the team with 19.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Meanwhile, second-year center Kevin Duckworth averaged 15.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, and was named the NBA Most Improved Player of the Year,^[17][18][19] Steve Johnson provided with 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, but only appeared in just 43 games due to a sore right thumb, and ankle injuries,^[20][21][14] and Terry Porter contributed 14.9 points, 10.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Off the bench, Anderson averaged 6.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while Lucas provided with 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, Mike Holton contributed 5.3 points and 2.6 assists per game, and starting power forward Caldwell Jones averaged 4.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.^[22]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, Drexler and Johnson were both selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team, although Johnson did not participate due to injury; it was his final All-Star selection.^[23][24][25] In addition, Drexler and Kersey both participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest; it was the fourth appearance for Drexler, and the third appearance for Kersey.^[26][27] Drexler finished in fifth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and also finished tied in eighth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[28] while Kersey finished in fifth place in Most Improved Player voting,^[28] and head coach Mike Schuler finished tied in third place in Coach of the Year voting.^[29][28]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1988 NBA playoffs, the Trail Blazers faced off against the 5th–seeded Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, sixth man Thurl Bailey, and John Stockton. The Trail Blazers won Game 1 over the Jazz at home, 108–96 at the Memorial Coliseum.^[30] However, the team lost the next three games, which included a Game 4 loss to the Jazz on the road, 111–96 at the Salt Palace, thus losing the series in four games; it was the third consecutive year that the Trail Blazers lost in the opening round of the NBA playoffs.^[31][32][33]

The Trail Blazers finished tenth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 519,306 at the Memorial Coliseum during the regular season.^[22][34] Following the season, Lucas retired, and Holton was left unprotected in the 1988 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Charlotte Hornets expansion team.^[35][36][37]