1989
Reigning belt holder: Michael Jordan
NBA Champion: Detroit Pistons
MVP: Magic Johnson
Finals MVP: Joe Dumars
Scoring champ: Michael Jordan (32.5)
PER champ: Michael Jordan (31.1)
The candidates:
Michael Jordan: Fresh off proving himself as a defender, Jordan switched lanes and dabbled in being a point guard. The result? A 3rd consecutive scoring title, Averages of 32.5ppg, 8 assists, 8 rebounds and 2.9 steals (3rd in the league), and a career-best 15 triple-doubles, including seven straight at one point. The Bulls took a step back incorporating their youth into the rotation,winning just 47 games and finishing 6th in the east, but just the playoffs would be a different story entirely. Facing off against the 57-win Cavs in the first round, Jordan went off, dropping 31 points and 11 assists to steal game 2 on the road, and adding 44 more points and 11 assists in game 3 to go up 2-1. After losing despite scoring 50 in game 4, game 5 would prove to be his finest moment of the 80s, when he topped off his 44-point effort with his iconic series-deciding jumper with no time left to take the series by 1 point. Fresh off of that performance, Jordan set his sights on the #2 seed Knicks. If anything he made it look even easier, giving a 34-point, 12-assist 10-rebound triple-double in another game 1 road win, a 47-point 11-rebound game 4 effort to go up 3-1, and 40 points and 10 assists s in game 6 to take the series 4-2. Jordan's toughest challenge against the top-seeded Pistons featured 32 points in a 3rd straight road game 1 win, and 46 more plus another game winning jumper to put the Bulls up 2-1, but this was one series he couldn't win on his own, as the deepest team in the league wore Jordan and the Bulls down and took the series in 6 games.
Magic Johnson: Magic's quest for the even more elusive 3-peat actually went more smoothly than 1988. Carrying an aging, slowing Lakers team as he did in his MVP season of 1987, Magic boosted his averages back up to 22.5ppg, 12.8 assists (#2 in the NBA), 7.9 rebounds and he shot a league-best 91.1% from the FT line. Largely credited for piloting the defending champs to a 57-win season and the West's #1 seed, Magic was awarded his 2nd league MVP, and backed it up in the postseason. He averages roughly 27ppg and 12 assists in a first round sweep of the blazers, led an incredible 29-point comeback on the road in game 4 to complete a sweep of the sonics, and averaged 20 points and 14 assists in a 3rd consecutive sweep of the suns in the conference finals. Sweeping their way back to the finals without a single loss, fate finally came back to bite the Lakers in the Finals, as they lost Byron Scott to injury just before game 1. Overtaxed even by his standards, Magic provided 17 points and 14 assists in a game 1 loss, but pulled his hamstring in game 2 and it effectively ended his series. Magic had to watch game 4 from the bench as the Pistons swept the Lakers out of the finals.
Karl Malone: The Mailman fully arrived in 1989 as a true superstar. Finishing 2nd only to Jordan with 29.1ppg, 5th in rebounding with 10.7, shooting 52.1% from the field and improving his poor FT numbers to 76.6%, Karl Malone led his Utah Jazz to their best season to date, winning 51 games and their division. Malone was rewarded with his first all-NBA 1st team selection and the 3rd-most MVP votes. Unfortunately, there would be no Cinderella playoff run like they had in 1988. Facing a 2-man show in the 7th-seeded Warriors, Malone's dominating 30.7 point, 14.3 rebound averages was nullified by the combined 58.ppg average of Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond. Utah was caught off-guard and unprepared as they were swept out of the playoffs by a 43-win team.
Charles Barkley: The round mound of rebound also had a banner season in 1989. Barkley averaged 25.8ppg and finished 2nd in rebounding with a 12.5 average, all while shooting an absurd 58% from the field, 2nd in the league and by far the best among volume scorers. He carried the Sixers back to the postseason, albeit as a 46-win #7 seed, and was also voted first team all-NBA. To his credit, he dominated the #2 seed Knicks in the first round, averaging 27 points, 11.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists. It wasn't quite enough though, as his SIxers dropped two straight 1-point losses as the Sixers were swept 3-0 in the first round.
Reigning belt holder: Michael Jordan
NBA Champion: Detroit Pistons
MVP: Magic Johnson
Finals MVP: Joe Dumars
Scoring champ: Michael Jordan (32.5)
PER champ: Michael Jordan (31.1)
The candidates:
Michael Jordan: Fresh off proving himself as a defender, Jordan switched lanes and dabbled in being a point guard. The result? A 3rd consecutive scoring title, Averages of 32.5ppg, 8 assists, 8 rebounds and 2.9 steals (3rd in the league), and a career-best 15 triple-doubles, including seven straight at one point. The Bulls took a step back incorporating their youth into the rotation,winning just 47 games and finishing 6th in the east, but just the playoffs would be a different story entirely. Facing off against the 57-win Cavs in the first round, Jordan went off, dropping 31 points and 11 assists to steal game 2 on the road, and adding 44 more points and 11 assists in game 3 to go up 2-1. After losing despite scoring 50 in game 4, game 5 would prove to be his finest moment of the 80s, when he topped off his 44-point effort with his iconic series-deciding jumper with no time left to take the series by 1 point. Fresh off of that performance, Jordan set his sights on the #2 seed Knicks. If anything he made it look even easier, giving a 34-point, 12-assist 10-rebound triple-double in another game 1 road win, a 47-point 11-rebound game 4 effort to go up 3-1, and 40 points and 10 assists s in game 6 to take the series 4-2. Jordan's toughest challenge against the top-seeded Pistons featured 32 points in a 3rd straight road game 1 win, and 46 more plus another game winning jumper to put the Bulls up 2-1, but this was one series he couldn't win on his own, as the deepest team in the league wore Jordan and the Bulls down and took the series in 6 games.
Magic Johnson: Magic's quest for the even more elusive 3-peat actually went more smoothly than 1988. Carrying an aging, slowing Lakers team as he did in his MVP season of 1987, Magic boosted his averages back up to 22.5ppg, 12.8 assists (#2 in the NBA), 7.9 rebounds and he shot a league-best 91.1% from the FT line. Largely credited for piloting the defending champs to a 57-win season and the West's #1 seed, Magic was awarded his 2nd league MVP, and backed it up in the postseason. He averages roughly 27ppg and 12 assists in a first round sweep of the blazers, led an incredible 29-point comeback on the road in game 4 to complete a sweep of the sonics, and averaged 20 points and 14 assists in a 3rd consecutive sweep of the suns in the conference finals. Sweeping their way back to the finals without a single loss, fate finally came back to bite the Lakers in the Finals, as they lost Byron Scott to injury just before game 1. Overtaxed even by his standards, Magic provided 17 points and 14 assists in a game 1 loss, but pulled his hamstring in game 2 and it effectively ended his series. Magic had to watch game 4 from the bench as the Pistons swept the Lakers out of the finals.
Karl Malone: The Mailman fully arrived in 1989 as a true superstar. Finishing 2nd only to Jordan with 29.1ppg, 5th in rebounding with 10.7, shooting 52.1% from the field and improving his poor FT numbers to 76.6%, Karl Malone led his Utah Jazz to their best season to date, winning 51 games and their division. Malone was rewarded with his first all-NBA 1st team selection and the 3rd-most MVP votes. Unfortunately, there would be no Cinderella playoff run like they had in 1988. Facing a 2-man show in the 7th-seeded Warriors, Malone's dominating 30.7 point, 14.3 rebound averages was nullified by the combined 58.ppg average of Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond. Utah was caught off-guard and unprepared as they were swept out of the playoffs by a 43-win team.
Charles Barkley: The round mound of rebound also had a banner season in 1989. Barkley averaged 25.8ppg and finished 2nd in rebounding with a 12.5 average, all while shooting an absurd 58% from the field, 2nd in the league and by far the best among volume scorers. He carried the Sixers back to the postseason, albeit as a 46-win #7 seed, and was also voted first team all-NBA. To his credit, he dominated the #2 seed Knicks in the first round, averaging 27 points, 11.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists. It wasn't quite enough though, as his SIxers dropped two straight 1-point losses as the Sixers were swept 3-0 in the first round.