1988–89 Denver Nuggets season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1988–89 Denver Nuggets season
Head coachDoug Moe
ArenaMcNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record44–38 (.537)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Midwest)
Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finishWest First Round
(Lost to Suns 0–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKTVD
KMGH-TV
Prime Sports Rocky Mountain
RadioKOA
< 1987–88 1989–90 >

The 1988-89 NBA season was the Nuggets' 13th season in the NBA and 22nd season as a franchise.[1] During the off-season, the team signed free agent All-Star guard Walter Davis.[2] The Nuggets finished third in the Midwest Division with a 44–38 record,[3] while posting a very successful 35–6 home record. Alex English averaged 26.5 points and 4.7 assists per game, and was selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game,[4] while Fat Lever averaged 19.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 2.7 steals per game, and Michael Adams provided the team with 18.5 points, 6.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game. In addition, Davis played a sixth man role, and contributed 15.6 points per game off the bench, while Danny Schayes provided with 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, and Wayne Cooper averaged 6.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.[5]

In the playoffs, the Nuggets were swept by the Phoenix Suns in three straight games in the Western Conference First Round.[6] Following the season, Cooper signed as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Draft picks[]

Main article: 1988 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 23 Jerome Lane PF/SF  United States Pittsburgh
2 43 Todd Mitchell F  United States Purdue
2 47 Vernon Maxwell SG  United States Florida
3 66  United States Memphis

Roster[]

1988–89 Denver Nuggets roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From
G 14 Adams, Michael 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 162 lb (73 kg) 1963–01–19 Boston College
G 1 Cook, Darwin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1958–08–06 Portland
C 42 Cooper, Wayne 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1956–11–16 New Orleans
G/F 6 Davis, Walter 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1954–09–09 North Carolina
F 43 Engelstad, Wayne 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1965–12–06 California
F 2 English, Alex 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954–01–05 South Carolina
F 22 Greenwood, Dave 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1967–05–27 UCLA
F 24 Hanzlik, Bill 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1957–12–06 Notre Dame
G 15 Hughes, Eddie 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1960–05–26 Colorado State
F 35 Lane, Jerome 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–12–04 Pittsburgh
G 12 Lever, Fat 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1960–08–18 Arizona State
C 41 Rasmussen, Blair 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1962–11–13 Oregon
C 34 Schayes, Danny 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1959–05–10 Syracuse
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

Midwest Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Utah Jazz 51 31 .622 – 34–7 17–24 19–11
x-Houston Rockets 45 37 .549 6 31–10 14–27 19–11
x-Denver Nuggets 44 38 .537 7 35–6 9–32 18–12
Dallas Mavericks 38 44 .463 13 24–17 14–27 19–11
San Antonio Spurs 21 61 .256 30 18–23 3–38 9–21
Miami Heat 15 67 .183 36 12–29 3–38 6–24
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers 57 25 .695 –
2 y-Utah Jazz 51 31 .622 6
3 x-Phoenix Suns 55 27 .671 2
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics 47 35 .573 10
5 x-Houston Rockets 45 37 .549 12
6 x-Denver Nuggets 44 38 .537 13
7 x-Golden State Warriors 43 39 .524 14
8 x-Portland Trail Blazers 39 43 .476 18
9 Dallas Mavericks 38 44 .463 19
10 Sacramento Kings 27 55 .329 30
11 San Antonio Spurs 21 61 .256 36
12 Los Angeles Clippers 21 61 .256 36
13 Miami Heat 15 67 .183 42
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

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 – 3–1 4–1 4–2 4–2 1–1 0–2 1–5 1–1 1–1 5–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 6–0 4–1 2–2 2–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 3–1
Boston 1–3 – 6–0 1–3 1–4 1–1 1–1 1–3 1–1 1–1 2–3 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–2 5–1 3–3 3–3 0–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–4
Charlotte 1–4 0–6 – 1–4 0–4 0–2 0–2 0–4 0–2 0–2 2–2 2–0 0–2 1–1 0–4 2–4 2–4 3–3 0–2 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–5
Chicago 2–4 3–1 4–1 – 0–6 2–0 1–1 0–6 1–1 1–1 4–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 6–0 2–2 3–2 1–3 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 0–2 3–1
Cleveland 2–4 4–1 4–0 6–0 – 2–0 2–0 3–3 1–1 1–1 5–1 1–1 0–2 2–0 3–3 4–0 2–2 3–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–2
Dallas 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 – 3–3 0–2 1–3 1–5 1–1 3–1 0–4 6–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–3 2–2 2–2 5–1 2–2 4–2 1–1
Denver 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 3–3 – 1–1 3–1 4–2 1–1 2–2 1–3 5–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–3 2–2 3–1 3–3 2–2 3–3 1–1
Detroit 5–1 3–1 4–0 6–0 3–3 2–0 1–1 – 1–1 1–1 4–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–4 4–0 0–4 5–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 5–0
Golden State 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 1–3 1–1 – 1–3 1–1 5–1 2–3 4–0 0–2 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–4 2–4 2–3 3–1 2–4 2–2 1–1
Houston 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 5–1 2–4 1–1 3–1 – 2–0 2–2 1–3 4–2 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 1–3 3–1 2–2 6–0 2–2 2–4 0–2
Indiana 1–5 3–2 2–2 2–4 1–5 1–1 1–1 2–4 1–1 0–2 – 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–4 1–3 0–5 0–4 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–3
L.A. Clippers 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–3 2–2 0–2 1–5 2–2 1–1 – 1–5 1–3 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–5 1–5 2–3 3–1 1–4 1–3 0–2
L.A. Lakers 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–0 4–0 3–1 0–2 3–2 3–1 2–0 5–1 – 4–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 3–3 5–0 5–1 3–1 4–2 1–3 1–1
Miami 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–6 1–5 0–2 0–4 2–4 1–1 3–1 0–4 – 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–4 0–4 1–3 2–4 0–4 1–5 0–2
Milwaukee 0–6 2–2 4–0 0–6 3–3 2–0 2–0 4–2 2–0 1–1 4–2 2–0 1–1 2–0 – 4–1 1–3 3–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 4–1
New Jersey 1–4 1–5 4–2 2–2 0–4 1–1 1–1 0–4 0–2 0–2 3–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–4 – 2–4 1–5 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–5
New York 2–2 3–3 4–2 2–3 2–2 2–0 1–1 4–0 0–2 2–0 5–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 4–2 – 2–4 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 5–1
Philadelphia 2–2 3–3 3–3 3–1 2–3 1–1 1–1 0–5 1–1 2–0 4–0 2–0 0–2 2–0 1–3 5–1 4–2 – 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 4–2
Phoenix 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 0–2 3–1 3–1 0–2 4–2 3–1 1–1 5–1 3–3 4–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 – 2–3 5–1 3–1 4–1 2–2 2–0
Portland 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 2–2 2–2 1–1 4–2 1–3 0–2 5–1 0–5 4–0 0–2 2–0 0–2 1–1 3–2 – 3–3 4–0 2–4 0–4 1–1
Sacramento 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–2 1–3 0–2 3–2 2–2 1–1 3–2 1–5 3–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–5 3–3 – 2–2 1–5 1–3 0–2
San Antonio 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–5 3–3 0–2 1–3 0–6 0–2 1–3 1–3 4–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–3 0–4 2–2 – 0–4 1–5 1–1
Seattle 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–2 2–2 0–2 4–2 2–2 1–1 4–1 2–4 4–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–4 4–2 5–1 4–0 – 3–1 1–1
Utah 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–4 3–3 0–2 2–2 4–2 1–1 3–1 3–1 5–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 4–0 3–1 5–1 1–3 – 2–0
Washington 1–3 4–2 5–1 1–3 2–2 1–1 1–1 0–5 1–1 2–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–4 5–1 1–5 2–4 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 —

Game log[]

Playoffs[]

1989 playoff game log
First round: 0–3 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 28 @ Phoenix L 103–104 Walter Davis (34) Fat Lever (12) Fat Lever (17) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
14,471 		0–1
2 April 30 @ Phoenix L 114–132 Alex English (36) Michael Adams (12) English, Cook (6) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
14,471 		0–2
3 May 2 Phoenix L 121–130 Walter Davis (26) Elston Turner (7) Bill Hanzlik (6) McNichols Sports Arena
12,660 		0–3
1989 schedule

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[]

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

Playoffs[]

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

Awards and records[]

Transactions[]

References[]

  1. ^ "1988-89 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  2. ^ "Sports People; Davis Joins Nuggets". New York Times. July 7, 1988. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "1988–89 Denver Nuggets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  4. ^ "1989 NBA All-Star Game: West 143, East 134". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  5. ^ "1988–89 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  6. ^ "Suns 130, Nuggets 121". UPI Archives. May 3, 1989. Retrieved February 12, 2022.

See also[]

  • 1988-89 NBA season
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