NBA Coach of the Year Award
In his first year as coach of the Trail Blazers, Schuler led the team to a 49–33 record, winning the NBA Coach of the Year Award. He followed that up with a 53–29 campaign, though the season ended in a first-round playoff defeat. In his third season with the Blazers, the team was racked with dissension and posted a 25–22 record before Schuler was fired in mid-February. Then-assistant coach Rick Adelman was promoted to replace him on an interim basis. After the Blazers reached the 1989 NBA Playoffs, Adelman was made the head coach on a full-time basis.