The 1986–87 NBA season was the 41st season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their fourth championship of the decade, beating the defending champion Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals .
Notable occurrences [ ] The 1987 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington, with the West defeating the East 154-149 in overtime. It was the highest scoring All-Star Game in NBA history with 303 total points. To the delight of the Seattle crowd, the Seattle 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.
Michael Jordan joined Wilt Chamberlain as only the second player in NBA history to score 3000 points in a season.
This was the last season the Lakers and Celtics (as well as the Celtics' last Finals appearance) 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 20 Hall of Fame players such as Magic Johnson , Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , James Worthy , Larry Bird , Michael Jordan, Kevin McHale , Robert Parish , Moses Malone , Julius Erving, Isiah Thomas , Dominique Wilkins , Charles Barkley , Hakeem Olajuwon , Clyde Drexler , Karl Malone , John Stockton , Alex English , Patrick Ewing , Adrian Dantley , and Joe Dumars .
Despite finishing with a sub-.500 record, the 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 an NBA record by leading the Sacramento Kings 40 to 4 at the end of the first quarter. Final standings [ ] Eastern Conference [ ]
Atlantic Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Boston Celtics
59
23
.720
-
Philadelphia 76ers
45
37
.549
14
Washington Bullets
42
40
.512
17
New Jersey Nets
24
58
.293
35
New York Knicks
24
58
.293
35
Central Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Atlanta Hawks
57
25
.695
-
Detroit Pistons
52
30
.634
5
Milwaukee Bucks
50
32
.610
7
Indiana Pacers
41
41
.500
16
Chicago Bulls
40
42
.488
17
Cleveland Cavaliers
31
51
.378
26
Western Conference [ ]
Midwest Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Dallas Mavericks
55
27
.671
-
Utah Jazz
44
38
.537
11
Houston Rockets
42
40
.512
13
Denver Nuggets
37
45
.451
18
Sacramento Kings
29
53
.354
26
San Antonio Spurs
28
54
.341
27
Pacific Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Los Angeles Lakers C
65
17
.793
-
Portland Trail Blazers
49
33
.598
16
Golden State Warriors
42
40
.512
23
Seattle SuperSonics
39
43
.476
26
Phoenix Suns
36
46
.439
29
Los Angeles Clippers
12
70
.146
53
C - NBA Champions
Statistics leaders [ ] NBA awards [ ] Yearly awards [ ] Most Valuable Player: Magic Johnson, Los Angeles LakersRookie of the Year: Chuck Person, Indiana PacersDefensive Player of the Year: Michael Cooper, Los Angeles LakersSixth Man of the Year: Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee BucksMost Improved Player: Dale Ellis, Seattle SuperSonicsCoach of the Year: Mike Schuler, Portland Trail BlazersAll–NBA First Team:
F - Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
F - Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
C - Akeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets
G - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
G - Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers All–NBA Second Team:
F - Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta Hawks
F - Charles Barkley, Philadelphia 76ers
C - Moses Malone, Washington Bullets
G - Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
G - Fat Lever, Denver Nuggets All–NBA Rookie Team:
John Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers
Roy Tarpley, Dallas Mavericks
Chuck Person, Indiana Pacers
Brad Daugherty, Cleveland Cavaliers
Ron Harper, Cleveland Cavaliers NBA All–Defensive First Team:
Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
Michael Cooper, Los Angeles Lakers
Akeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets
Alvin Robertson, San Antonio Spurs
Dennis Johnson, Boston Celtics NBA All–Defensive Second Team:
Paul Pressey, Milwaukee Bucks
Rodney McCray, Houston Rockets
Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz
Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 76ers
Derek Harper, Dallas Mavericks Player of the week [ ] The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.
Week
Player
Oct. 31 – Nov. 9
Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Nov. 10 – Nov. 16
Robert Parish (Boston Celtics)
Nov. 17 – Nov. 23
Alvin Robertson (San Antonio Spurs)
Nov. 24 – Nov. 30
Hot Rod Williams (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Dec. 1 – Dec. 7
Tom Chambers (Seattle SuperSonics)
Dec. 8 – Dec. 14
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)
Dec. 15 – Dec. 21
Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Dec. 22 – Dec. 28
Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
Dec. 29 – Jan. 4
Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
Jan. 5 – Jan. 11
Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons)
Jan. 12 – Jan. 19
Otis Thorpe (Sacramento Kings)
Jan. 20 – Jan. 26
Alex English (Denver Nuggets)
Jan. 27 – Feb. 1
Fat Lever (Denver Nuggets)
Feb. 10 – Feb. 15
Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Feb. 16 – Feb. 22
Moses Malone (Washington Bullets)
Feb. 23 – Mar. 1
Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Mar. 2 – Mar. 8
Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Mar. 9 – Mar. 15
Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Mar. 16 – Mar. 22
Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Mar. 23 – Mar. 29
Larry Smith (Golden State Warriors)
Mar. 30 – Apr. 5
Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Apr. 6 – Apr. 12
Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Apr. 13 – Apr. 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.
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)
