# 1986–87 NBA season

The 1986–87 NBA season was the 41st season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their fourth championship of the decade, beating the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.

## Notable occurrences

Coaching changes :
| Offseason |||
| Team | 1985–86 coach | 1986–87 coach |
| San Antonio Spurs | Cotton Fitzsimmons | Bob Weiss |
| Portland Trail Blazers | Jack Ramsay | Mike Schuler |
| Chicago Bulls | Stan Albeck | Doug Collins |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Gene Littles | Lenny Wilkens |
| Indiana Pacers | George Irvine | Jack Ramsay |
| Golden State Warriors | Johnny Bach | George Karl |
| In-season |||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| New York Knicks | Hubie Brown | Bob Hill |
| Phoenix Suns | John MacLeod | Dick Van Arsdale |
| Sacramento Kings | Phil Johnson | Jerry Reynolds |
* Boston Celtics' top draft pick Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose barely two days after the draft. In the wake of Micheal Ray Richardson's lifetime suspension, several NBA players were suspended for violations of the anti-drug policy; among them Houston Rockets forward Lewis Lloyd and guard Mitchell Wiggins.
* On April 17, three Phoenix Suns players (James Edwards, Jay Humphries, and Grant Gondrezick) and two former players (Gar Heard and Mike Bratz) were indicted for cocaine trafficking at a popular Phoenix nightclub. Several other players were also involved in the scandal.
* When Mychal Thompson joined the Lakers this season alongside the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and James Worthy, the Lakers became the first team to ever have four different #1 draft picks join the same team.
* The 1987 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Kingdome in Seattle, with the West defeating the East 154–149 in overtime. To the delight of the Seattle crowd, the SuperSonics' Tom Chambers won the game's MVP award. Michael Jordan won his first Slam Dunk Contest.
* This was the final NBA season for Philadelphia's Julius Erving who announced his retirement that year. NBA arenas paid tribute to Erving's retirement by staging special events for him. The New Jersey Nets, in particular, retired Erving's No. 32 jersey for his contributions with the franchise. Thus Erving became the only player to have his number retired by a team while still an active player.
* Michael Jordan joined Wilt Chamberlain as only the second player in NBA history to score 3000 points in a season. With a 37.1 ppg, Jordan also began a seven-year reign as the NBA's scoring champion, tied with Chamberlain for the league record.
* This was the last season the Lakers and Celtics matched up in the NBA Finals until 2008.
* The 1986–87 season was also known as the "Golden Era" of the NBA. The 1987 NBA season featured up to 24 Hall of Fame players such as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Bill Walton, Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Isiah Thomas, Dominique Wilkins, Charles Barkley, Akeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Alex English, Patrick Ewing, Artis Gilmore, Adrian Dantley, Joe Dumars, Dennis Johnson and Dennis Rodman.
* Despite finishing with a sub-.500 record, the Seattle SuperSonics were able to upset the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets before bowing down to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals in a four-game sweep.
* In a game on February 4, 1987, the Los Angeles Lakers set two NBA records by jumping out to a 29–0 lead over the Sacramento Kings and leading by 36 points (40–4) at the end of the first quarter. The Lakers went on to win, 128–92.
* The NBA logo was prominently displayed on the uniforms for the first time (usually on the left side of the jersey; it was moved to the top rear in 2014), becoming the first sports league in North America to do so. The practice of placing the league logo on the jerseys eventually spreads to the NFL, NHL and MLB.
* Fernando Martín became the first Spanish player to play in the NBA when he debuted for the Portland Trail Blazers in December 1986. He would pave the way for future Spanish players in the league, including five-time NBA All-Star Pau Gasol.
* Los Angeles Clippers becoming the second team in NBA history to lose 70 or more games joining the 1972–73 76ers, the latter was (1992–93 Mavericks, 1997–98 Nuggets, 2009–10 Nets (including losing 18 straight games to start the season), and the 2015–16 76ers (including a record–tying 26–game losing streak also including losing 18 straight games to start the season).
* Michael Jordan becomes the first player in NBA history to accumulate over 200 steals with over 100 blocks in a season.
* Larry Bird becomes the first player in NBA history to enter the 50–40–90 club.

## Teams

1986-87 National Basketball Association :
| Eastern Conference |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Atlantic | Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 14,890 |
| Atlantic | New Jersey Nets | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Brendan Byrne Arena | 20,049 |
| Atlantic | New York Knicks | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 19,812 |
| Atlantic | Philadelphia 76ers | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | The Spectrum | 18,176 |
| Atlantic | Washington Bullets | Landover, Maryland | Capital Centre | 18,756 |
| Central | Atlanta Hawks | Atlanta, Georgia | Omni Coliseum | 16,378 |
| Central | Chicago Bulls | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Stadium | 18,676 |
| Central | Cleveland Cavaliers | Richfield, Ohio | Richfield Coliseum | 20,900 |
| Central | Detroit Pistons | Pontiac, Michigan | Pontiac Silverdome | 33,000 |
| Central | Indiana Pacers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Market Square Arena | 17,171 |
| Central | Milwaukee Bucks | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | MECCA Arena | 10,783 |
| Western Conference |||||
| Midwest | Dallas Mavericks | Dallas, Texas | Reunion Arena | 18,293 |
| Midwest | Denver Nuggets | Denver, Colorado | McNichols Sports Arena | 17,171 |
| Midwest | Houston Rockets | Houston, Texas | The Summit | 16,285 |
| Midwest | Sacramento Kings | Sacramento, California | ARCO Arena | 10,333 |
| Midwest | San Antonio Spurs | San Antonio, Texas | HemisFair Arena | 16,057 |
| Midwest | Utah Jazz | Salt Lake City, Utah | Salt Palace | 12,686 |
| Pacific | Golden State Warriors | Oakland, California | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 13,335 |
| Pacific | Los Angeles Clippers | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | 16,161 |
| Pacific | Los Angeles Lakers | Inglewood, California | The Forum | 17,505 |
| Pacific | Phoenix Suns | Phoenix, Arizona | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 14,870 |
| Pacific | Portland Trail Blazers | Portland, Oregon | Memorial Coliseum | 12,888 |
| Pacific | Seattle SuperSonics | Seattle, Washington | Seattle Center Coliseum | 14,252 |

## 1986–87 NBA changes

* The Milwaukee Bucks changed their uniforms removing the red areas on the side panels to their jerseys and shorts.

## Final standings
### By division

| Atlantic Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Boston Celtics | 59 | 23 | .720 | – | 39–2 | 20–21 | 15–9 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 14 | 28–13 | 17–24 | 12–12 |
| x-Washington Bullets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 17 | 27–14 | 15–26 | 13–11 |
| New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 35 | 19–22 | 5–36 | 12–12 |
| New York Knicks | 24 | 58 | .293 | 35 | 18–23 | 6–35 | 8–16 |
| Central Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Atlanta Hawks | 57 | 25 | .695 | – | 35–6 | 22–19 | 17–13 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 52 | 30 | .634 | 5 | 32–9 | 20–21 | 17–13 |
| x-Milwaukee Bucks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 7 | 32–9 | 18–23 | 17–13 |
| x-Indiana Pacers | 41 | 41 | .500 | 16 | 28–13 | 13–28 | 13–16 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 40 | 42 | .488 | 17 | 29–12 | 11–30 | 17–12 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 31 | 51 | .378 | 26 | 25–16 | 6–35 | 8–22 |
| Midwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Dallas Mavericks | 55 | 27 | .671 | – | 35–6 | 20–21 | 19–11 |
| x-Utah Jazz | 44 | 38 | .537 | 11 | 31–10 | 13–28 | 19–11 |
| x-Houston Rockets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 13 | 25–16 | 17–24 | 19–11 |
| x-Denver Nuggets | 37 | 45 | .451 | 18 | 27–14 | 10–31 | 14–16 |
| Sacramento Kings | 29 | 53 | .354 | 26 | 20–21 | 9–32 | 10–20 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 28 | 54 | .341 | 27 | 21–20 | 7–34 | 9–21 |
| Pacific Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 65 | 17 | .793 | – | 37–4 | 28–13 | 24–6 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 49 | 33 | .598 | 16 | 34–7 | 15–26 | 17–13 |
| x-Golden State Warriors | 42 | 40 | .512 | 23 | 25–16 | 17–24 | 17–13 |
| x-Seattle SuperSonics | 39 | 43 | .476 | 26 | 25–16 | 14–27 | 15–15 |
| Phoenix Suns | 36 | 46 | .439 | 29 | 26–15 | 10–31 | 14–16 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 12 | 70 | .146 | 53 | 9–32 | 3–38 | 3–27 |

### By conference

| # | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | c-Boston Celtics | 59 | 23 | .720 | – |
| 2 | y-Atlanta Hawks | 57 | 25 | .695 | 2 |
| 3 | x-Detroit Pistons | 52 | 30 | .634 | 7 |
| 4 | x-Milwaukee Bucks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 9 |
| 5 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 14 |
| 6 | x-Washington Bullets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 17 |
| 7 | x-Indiana Pacers | 41 | 41 | .500 | 18 |
| 8 | x-Chicago Bulls | 40 | 42 | .488 | 19 |
| 9 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 31 | 51 | .378 | 28 |
| 10 | New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 35 |
| 11 | New York Knicks | 24 | 58 | .293 | 35 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Los Angeles Lakers | 65 | 17 | .793 | – |
| 2 | y-Dallas Mavericks | 55 | 27 | .671 | 10 |
| 3 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 49 | 33 | .598 | 16 |
| 4 | x-Utah Jazz | 44 | 38 | .537 | 21 |
| 5 | x-Golden State Warriors | 42 | 40 | .512 | 23 |
| 6 | x-Houston Rockets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 23 |
| 7 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 39 | 43 | .476 | 26 |
| 8 | x-Denver Nuggets | 37 | 45 | .451 | 28 |
| 9 | Phoenix Suns | 36 | 46 | .439 | 29 |
| 10 | Sacramento Kings | 29 | 53 | .354 | 36 |
| 11 | San Antonio Spurs | 28 | 54 | .341 | 37 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Clippers | 12 | 70 | .146 | 53 |
Notes
* z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
* c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
* y – Clinched division title
* x – Clinched playoff spot

## Playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.
| First Round | First Round | First Round | | | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | | NBA Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals |
| E1 | Boston* | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E8 | Chicago | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E8 | Chicago | 0 | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E4 | Milwaukee | 3 | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Milwaukee | 3 | | | E4 | Milwaukee | 3 | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Philadelphia | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Philadelphia | 2 | | | | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Boston* | 4 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E3 | Detroit | 3 | | | | |
| E3 | Detroit | 3 | | | | | | | | | E3 | Detroit | 3 | | | | |
| E6 | Washington | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Washington | 0 | | | E3 | Detroit | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E2 | Atlanta* | 1 | | | | | | | |
| E2 | Atlanta* | 3 | | | E2 | Atlanta* | 1 | | | | | | | |
| E7 | Indiana | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E7 | Indiana | 1 | | | | | | | | | | E1 | Boston* | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 |
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 |
| W8 | Denver | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W8 | Denver | 0 | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W5 | Golden State | 1 | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Utah | 2 | | | W5 | Golden State | 1 | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Golden State | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Golden State | 3 | | | | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W7 | Seattle | 0 | | | | |
| W3 | Portland | 1 | | | | | | | | | W7 | Seattle | 0 | | | | |
| W6 | Houston | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | Houston | 3 | | | W6 | Houston | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W7 | Seattle | 4 | | | | | | | |
| W2 | Dallas* | 1 | | | W7 | Seattle | 4 | | | | | | | |
| W7 | Seattle | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage

## Statistics leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| Points per game | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls | 37.1 |
| Rebounds per game | Charles Barkley | Philadelphia 76ers | 14.6 |
| Assists per game | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers | 12.2 |
| Steals per game | Alvin Robertson | San Antonio Spurs | 3.21 |
| Blocks per game | Mark Eaton | Utah Jazz | 4.06 |
| FG% | Kevin McHale | Boston Celtics | .604 |
| FT% | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | .910 |
| 3FG% | Kiki Vandeweghe | Portland Trail Blazers | .481 |

## NBA awards
### Yearly awards

* Most Valuable Player: Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
* Rookie of the Year: Chuck Person, Indiana Pacers
* Defensive Player of the Year: Michael Cooper, Los Angeles Lakers
* Sixth Man of the Year: Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee Bucks
* Most Improved Player: Dale Ellis, Seattle SuperSonics
* Coach of the Year: Mike Schuler, Portland Trail Blazers

### Player of the week

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.
| Week | Player |
| October 31 – November 9 | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) |
| November 10 – November 16 | Robert Parish (Boston Celtics) |
| November 17 – November 23 | Alvin Robertson (San Antonio Spurs) |
| November 24 – November 30 | Hot Rod Williams (Cleveland Cavaliers) |
| December 1 – December 7 | Tom Chambers (Seattle SuperSonics) |
| December 8 – December 14 | Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks) |
| December 15 – December 21 | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| December 22 – December 28 | Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks) |
| December 29 – January 4 | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) |
| January 5 – January 11 | Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons) |
| January 12 – January 19 | Otis Thorpe (Sacramento Kings) |
| January 20 – January 26 | Alex English (Denver Nuggets) |
| January 27 – February 1 | Fat Lever (Denver Nuggets) |
| February 2 – February 15 | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| February 16 – February 22 | Moses Malone (Washington Bullets) |
| February 23 – March 1 | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) |
| March 2 – March 8 | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| March 9 – March 15 | Karl Malone (Utah Jazz) |
| March 16 – March 22 | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| March 23 – March 29 | Larry Smith (Golden State Warriors) |
| March 30 – April 5 | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| April 6 – April 12 | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) |
| April 13 – April 15 | Julius Erving (Philadelphia 76ers) |

### Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.
| Month | Player |
| November | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) |
| December | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| January | Charles Barkley (Philadelphia 76ers) |
| February | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) |
| March | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) |

### Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.
| Month | Rookie |
| November | Chuck Person (Indiana Pacers) |
| December | Ron Harper (Cleveland Cavaliers) |
| January | Ron Harper (Cleveland Cavaliers) |
| February | Chuck Person (Indiana Pacers) |
| March | Brad Daugherty (Cleveland Cavaliers) |

### Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.
| Month | Coach |
| November | Pat Riley (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| December | Frank Layden (Utah Jazz) |
| January | Bill Fitch (Houston Rockets) |
| February | Mike Schuler (Portland Trail Blazers) |
| March | George Karl (Golden State Warriors) |