1988–89 Phoenix Suns season

Off-season

The Suns received the seventh overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft, and selected power forward Tim Perry out of Temple University, and also selected shooting guard Dan Majerle from the University of Central Michigan with the 14th overall pick.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the Suns fired head coach John Wetzel, and replaced him with director of player personnel (and former head coach) Cotton Fitzsimmons, who coached the team for the '70–'71 and '71–'72 seasons,^[5][6][7] and signed free agent and one-time All-Star forward Tom Chambers.^[8][9][10]

Regular season

Under Fitzsimmons, and with the addition of Chambers and Majerle, the Suns lost six of their first ten games of the regular season, but then won 16 of their next 21 games, and later on held a 29–17 record at the All-Star break.^[11] The team posted a nine-game winning streak between March and April, and won 18 of their final 22 games of the season. The Suns finished in second place in the Pacific Division with a 55–27 record, which earned them the third seed in the Western Conference.^[12] Fitzsimmons was named the NBA Coach of the Year, after leading the Suns to a 27-game improvement over the previous season.^[13][14][15]

Three members of the team averaged 20 or more points per game; Chambers averaged 25.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, while sixth man Eddie Johnson averaged 21.5 points per game off the bench, and was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year,^[16][17][18] and second-year guard Kevin Johnson provided the team with 20.4 points, 12.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and was named the NBA Most Improved Player of the Year.^[19][20][21] In addition, second-year forward Armen Gilliam provided with 15.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while Jeff Hornacek contributed 13.5 points, 6.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and Majerle contributed 8.6 points per game in only 54 games. Meanwhile, Tyrone Corbin averaged 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and Mark West provided with 7.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.^[22]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas, Chambers was selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team,^[23][24][25] while Perry participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.^[26][27] Chambers and Kevin Johnson were both named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Kevin Johnson finished in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and with Chambers finishing in ninth place.^[28][29]

The Suns finished 20th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 447,061 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum during the regular season.^[22][30]

NBA playoffs

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1989 NBA playoffs, the Suns faced off against the 6th–seeded Denver Nuggets, a team that featured All-Star forward Alex English, All-Star guard Fat Lever, and Michael Adams. The Suns won the first two games over the Nuggets at home at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, before winning Game 3 on the road, 130–121 at the McNichols Sports Arena to win the series in a three-game sweep.^[31][32][33]

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 7th–seeded Golden State Warriors, a team that featured All-Star forward Chris Mullin, Rookie of the Year, Mitch Richmond, and Terry Teagle. With the series tied at 1–1, the Suns won the next two games on the road at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, before winning Game 5 over the Warriors at home, 116–104 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum to win the series in five games.^[34][35][36]

In the Western Conference Finals, the Suns then faced off against the top–seeded, and 2-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, who won the Pacific Division title; the team was led by the quartet of All-Star guard, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, Magic Johnson, All-Star forward James Worthy, Byron Scott, and All-Star center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Suns lost the first two games to the Lakers on the road at the Great Western Forum, and then lost the next two games at home, including a Game 4 loss to the Lakers at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 122–117, thus losing the series in a four-game sweep.^[37][38][39]

The Lakers would advance to the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year, but would lose to the Detroit Pistons in a four-game sweep in the 1989 NBA Finals.^[40][41][42]

Aftermath

Following the season, Corbin was left unprotected in the 1989 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves expansion team.^[43][44][45]

Roster Notes

• Rookie center Dean Garrett was on the injured reserve list due to a fractured foot, missed the entire regular season, and never played for the Suns.^[46][47]

Standings

Game log

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

• Tom Chambers was selected as a reserve in the 1989 All-Star Game. It was his second All-Star selection.

Season

• Kevin Johnson received the Most Improved Player Award.
• Eddie Johnson received the Sixth Man of the Year Award.
• Cotton Fitzsimmons received the Coach of the Year Award.
• Jerry Colangelo received the Executive of the Year Award.
• Kevin Johnson was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Johnson also finished 8th in the Most Valuable Player voting.^[29]
• Tom Chambers was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Chambers also finished 9th in the Most Valuable Player voting.^[29]

Season

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

Playoffs

Player statistics citation:^[22]

Trades

December 14, 1988	To Chicago Bulls Craig Hodges	To Phoenix Suns Ed Nealy 1989 second-round draft pick

Free agents