1988
Reigning belt holder: Magic Johnson
NBA Champion: Los Angeles Lakers
MVP: Michael Jordan
Finals MVP: James Worthy
Scoring champ: Michael Jordan (35.0)
PER champ: Michael Jordan (31.7)
The candidates:
Magic Johnson: Like the previous 18 champions that came before them, Magic and his Lakers had a far bumpier road in their quest to repeat. Magic's numbers dripped a bit across the board as well, but he remained the NBA's most dominant PG with averages of 19.6ppg, 11.9 assists (2nd in the NBA), 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals. And while his Lakers were finally starting to feel vulnerable, he still piloted them to a league-best 62 wins. The playoffs would take everything Magic had, but he persevered. He had 23 points, 16 assists and 9 rebounds in a game 7 2nd round win over the Jazz, and 24 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds in another game 7 win over the Mavericks to barely get his team back to the finals. In another dogfight against a deeper Pistons team that took 3 of the first 5 games, Magic had his two best performances when the Lakers needed them most; 22 points and 19 assists in game 6 and 19 points and 14 assists in game 7, both of which LA won by a single basket. WHile he did not come away with back-to-back finals MVPs, Magic did lead his team to back-to-back championships for the first time in 19 years, and that says enough.
Michael Jordan: Jordan set aside his record-setting 37-points average in 1987 and scaled it back to 35 in 1988, and his production somehow skyrocketed to new levels of absurdity. Once again leading the NBA in scoring, he couple that with leading the NBA in steals at 3.2, to this day the 8th most of all time. He once again became the 2nd player in history to block 100 shots and get 200 steals... after himself in 1987, and he added 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists in a league-leading 40.4 minutes. His PER of 31.9 ranks only beneath Wilt Chamberlain's two best seasons in NBA history. Jordan became the only scoring champion ever to win defensive player of the year, and the league voted him MVP by a wide margin. He still had to translate that to the playoffs however, and he did, opening his playoff campaign against the 5th-seeded Cavs with 50 points in game 1 and 55 more in game two, becoming the first player ever with back to back 50-point playoff performances. His 45.2 series averages snapped Bernard King's 1984 effort, and Chicago took the series 3-2. The tone was a bit different against the NBA's best defensive team in round 2, but Jordan held his own with a 27.4ppg average as the bulls were eliminated 4-1. He had proven enough.
Larry Bird: As Larry's team got older and more banged up, he actually got better. He averaged a career best 29.9ppg in 1988, 3rd best in the league, and his PER of 27.8 ranked only behind Jordan among the league's best, and he retained his 50/40/90 percentages for the 3rd straight season. He was good enough to get the Celtics to an east-best 57 wins and finished 2nd in MVP voting. In the postseason he was once again brilliant, no more so than the 20-point 4th quarter he had in game 7 of the 2nd round series against the Hawks, where he out-dueled Dominique Wilkins for the series win. Ultimately however, Bird's fate would be sealed in the conference finals, where he put up admirable averages of 19.8 ppg, 12.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists, he was held to just 35.1% shooting, and just 28.6% behind the arc as the defensive minded Pistons ground down Bird and his celtics in 6 games to end their 4-year finals streak.
Dominique Wilkins: The human highlight film and the Hawks really started to get serious in 1988. Wilkins surpassed even his own standards, averaging a career-best 30.7 ppg, 2nd only to Jordan, along with 6.4 rebounds. The Hawks won 50 games on his back, which in a deep east was only good enough for the 4th seed, but they made the best of it anyway. Wilkins shredded the 5th seeded Bucks in the first round, lighting them up for 43 points in game 2, and finishing them off with 33 in the decisive game 5 to advance. He kept it going against the top-seeded Celtics, scoring 40 points to tie the series in game 4 and adding 25 more t steal a road win in Boston garden and take a 3-2 lead. However despite Wilkins going for the kill, he couldn't put the celtics away, despite 35 points and 10 rebounds in a 2-point game 6 loss, and an incredible 47 points back at the garden in game 7 in an equally gut-wrenching 2-point defeat.
Reigning belt holder: Magic Johnson
NBA Champion: Los Angeles Lakers
MVP: Michael Jordan
Finals MVP: James Worthy
Scoring champ: Michael Jordan (35.0)
PER champ: Michael Jordan (31.7)
The candidates:
Magic Johnson: Like the previous 18 champions that came before them, Magic and his Lakers had a far bumpier road in their quest to repeat. Magic's numbers dripped a bit across the board as well, but he remained the NBA's most dominant PG with averages of 19.6ppg, 11.9 assists (2nd in the NBA), 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals. And while his Lakers were finally starting to feel vulnerable, he still piloted them to a league-best 62 wins. The playoffs would take everything Magic had, but he persevered. He had 23 points, 16 assists and 9 rebounds in a game 7 2nd round win over the Jazz, and 24 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds in another game 7 win over the Mavericks to barely get his team back to the finals. In another dogfight against a deeper Pistons team that took 3 of the first 5 games, Magic had his two best performances when the Lakers needed them most; 22 points and 19 assists in game 6 and 19 points and 14 assists in game 7, both of which LA won by a single basket. WHile he did not come away with back-to-back finals MVPs, Magic did lead his team to back-to-back championships for the first time in 19 years, and that says enough.
Michael Jordan: Jordan set aside his record-setting 37-points average in 1987 and scaled it back to 35 in 1988, and his production somehow skyrocketed to new levels of absurdity. Once again leading the NBA in scoring, he couple that with leading the NBA in steals at 3.2, to this day the 8th most of all time. He once again became the 2nd player in history to block 100 shots and get 200 steals... after himself in 1987, and he added 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists in a league-leading 40.4 minutes. His PER of 31.9 ranks only beneath Wilt Chamberlain's two best seasons in NBA history. Jordan became the only scoring champion ever to win defensive player of the year, and the league voted him MVP by a wide margin. He still had to translate that to the playoffs however, and he did, opening his playoff campaign against the 5th-seeded Cavs with 50 points in game 1 and 55 more in game two, becoming the first player ever with back to back 50-point playoff performances. His 45.2 series averages snapped Bernard King's 1984 effort, and Chicago took the series 3-2. The tone was a bit different against the NBA's best defensive team in round 2, but Jordan held his own with a 27.4ppg average as the bulls were eliminated 4-1. He had proven enough.
Larry Bird: As Larry's team got older and more banged up, he actually got better. He averaged a career best 29.9ppg in 1988, 3rd best in the league, and his PER of 27.8 ranked only behind Jordan among the league's best, and he retained his 50/40/90 percentages for the 3rd straight season. He was good enough to get the Celtics to an east-best 57 wins and finished 2nd in MVP voting. In the postseason he was once again brilliant, no more so than the 20-point 4th quarter he had in game 7 of the 2nd round series against the Hawks, where he out-dueled Dominique Wilkins for the series win. Ultimately however, Bird's fate would be sealed in the conference finals, where he put up admirable averages of 19.8 ppg, 12.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists, he was held to just 35.1% shooting, and just 28.6% behind the arc as the defensive minded Pistons ground down Bird and his celtics in 6 games to end their 4-year finals streak.
Dominique Wilkins: The human highlight film and the Hawks really started to get serious in 1988. Wilkins surpassed even his own standards, averaging a career-best 30.7 ppg, 2nd only to Jordan, along with 6.4 rebounds. The Hawks won 50 games on his back, which in a deep east was only good enough for the 4th seed, but they made the best of it anyway. Wilkins shredded the 5th seeded Bucks in the first round, lighting them up for 43 points in game 2, and finishing them off with 33 in the decisive game 5 to advance. He kept it going against the top-seeded Celtics, scoring 40 points to tie the series in game 4 and adding 25 more t steal a road win in Boston garden and take a 3-2 lead. However despite Wilkins going for the kill, he couldn't put the celtics away, despite 35 points and 10 rebounds in a 2-point game 6 loss, and an incredible 47 points back at the garden in game 7 in an equally gut-wrenching 2-point defeat.
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