1992–93 NBA season

The 1992–93 NBA season was the 47th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third straight NBA Championship, beating the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.

1992–93 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
Duration
  • November 6, 1992 – April 25, 1993
  • April 29 – June 5, 1993 (Playoffs)
  • June 9 – 20, 1993 (Finals)
Number of teams27
TV partner(s)NBC, TBS, TNT
Draft
Top draft pickShaquille O'Neal
Picked byOrlando Magic
Regular season
Top seedPhoenix Suns
Season MVPCharles Barkley (Phoenix)
Top scorerMichael Jordan (Chicago)
Playoffs
Eastern championsChicago Bulls
  Eastern runners-upNew York Knicks
Western championsPhoenix Suns
  Western runners-upSeattle SuperSonics
Finals
ChampionsChicago Bulls
  Runners-upPhoenix Suns
Finals MVPMichael Jordan (Chicago)

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1991–92 coach 1992–93 coach
Denver Nuggets Paul Westhead Dan Issel
Detroit Pistons Chuck Daly Ron Rothstein
Los Angeles Lakers Mike Dunleavy, Sr. Randy Pfund
Milwaukee Bucks Frank Hamblen Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
New Jersey Nets Bill Fitch Chuck Daly
Philadelphia 76ers Jim Lynam Doug Moe
Phoenix Suns Cotton Fitzsimmons Paul Westphal
Sacramento Kings Rex Hughes Garry St. Jean
San Antonio Spurs Bob Bass Jerry Tarkanian
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Dallas Mavericks Richie Adubato Gar Heard
Minnesota Timberwolves Jimmy Rodgers Sidney Lowe
Philadelphia 76ers Doug Moe Fred Carter
San Antonio Spurs Jerry Tarkanian Rex Hughes
Rex Hughes John Lucas
  • The 1993 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the West defeating the East 135–132 in overtime. Much to delight of the local fans, Karl Malone and John Stockton of the Utah Jazz were named co-MVPs of the game.
  • The Phoenix Suns played their first season at America West Arena.
  • The San Antonio Spurs played their final season in the HemisFair Arena.
  • The Charlotte Hornets became the first of the four late 1980s expansion franchises to win a playoff series on Alonzo Mourning's 20-foot jumper at the buzzer in Game 4 of their first round playoff series against the Boston Celtics.
  • Michael Jordan scored his 20,000th career point and tied Wilt Chamberlain's record of seven scoring titles.
  • In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the Suns defeated the Bulls in triple overtime, 129–121. This marked the second time a Finals game lasted three overtimes, along with Game 5 of the 1976 Finals, which also involved the Suns. Coincidentally, in the 1976 game, Paul Westphal played for the Suns, and in the 1993 game, he coached the Suns.
  • Michael Jordan scored 40 or more points in 4 consecutive games of the NBA Finals, setting a record, and averaged an NBA Finals record 41.0 points per game for the series.
  • The Chicago Bulls defeated the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals to become the first team in almost 30 years to win three consecutive championships.
  • New Jersey Nets guard Dražen Petrović was killed in an automobile accident in Munich, Germany on June 7. Almost two months later, on July 27, Boston Celtics guard Reggie Lewis collapsed during practice and died of a heart condition later the same day. Both were later honored by their respective teams by retiring their numbers, and Petrovic would be eventually inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
  • The Dallas Mavericks became the third team to lose 70 games in a season, after the 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1986–87 Los Angeles Clippers, they finished 11–71. They would later be joined by the 1997–98 Denver Nuggets, the 2009–10 New Jersey Nets and the 2015–16 Philadelphia 76ers.
  • During the regular season, there were three instances where games had to be stopped due to damage to the goals.
    • On February 7 in the game between the Orlando Magic and the Phoenix Suns at America West Arena, Magic rookie Shaquille O'Neal went up for a dunk and the recoil due to his massive size was too much for the stanchion to bear; the supports detached and the basket folded in on itself.
    • On March 12, during a game between the Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets at Brendan Byrne Arena that was televised nationally on TNT, Nets forward Chris Morris shattered the glass behind the rim with a forceful dunk.
    • On April 23, in another game played in New Jersey between the Nets and Magic, O'Neal struck again; this time, he dunked with so much force that the entire backboard, including the shot clock positioned above it, was pulled off the goal.[1] This led the league to provide stronger shatterproof backboards. However, every team is still required to have a spare backboard in their home arenas just in case.
  • On April 14, during a timeout in the third quarter of a Chicago Bulls-Miami Heat game, spectator Don Calhoun made a 75-foot shot through the basket from the free-throw line at the opposite end of the court, winning himself 1-million dollars.[2][3]

1992–93 NBA changes

Standings

By division

Eastern Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-New York Knicks6022.73237–423–1823–5
x-Boston Celtics4834.5851228–1320–2119–9
x-New Jersey Nets4339.5241726–1517–2414–14
Orlando Magic4141.5001927–1414–2715–13
Miami Heat3646.4392426–1510–319–19
Philadelphia 76ers2656.3173415–2611–3011–17
Washington Bullets2260.2683815–267–347–21
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Chicago Bulls5725.69531–1026–1519–9
x-Cleveland Cavaliers5428.659335–619–2222–6
x-Charlotte Hornets4438.5371322–1922–1912–16
x-Atlanta Hawks4339.5241425–1618–2312–16
x-Indiana Pacers4141.5001627–1414–2711–17
Detroit Pistons4042.4881728–1312–2912–16
Milwaukee Bucks2854.3412918–2310–3110–18
Western Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Houston Rockets5527.67131–1024–17

19–7

x-San Antonio Spurs4933.598631–1018–2317–9
x-Utah Jazz4735.573828–1319–2216–10
Denver Nuggets3646.4391928–138–3313–13
Minnesota Timberwolves1963.2323611–308–3310–16
Dallas Mavericks1171.134447–344–373–23
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Phoenix Suns6220.75635–627–1421–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics5527.671733–822–1922–8
x-Portland Trail Blazers5131.6221130–1121–2019–11
x-Los Angeles Clippers4141.5002127–1414–2715–15
x-Los Angeles Lakers3943.4762320–2119–2213–17
Golden State Warriors3448.4152819–2215–269–21
Sacramento Kings2557.3053716–259–326–24

By conference

#
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-New York Knicks6022.732
2 y-Chicago Bulls5725.6953
3 x-Cleveland Cavaliers5428.6596
4 x-Boston Celtics4834.58512
5 x-Charlotte Hornets4438.53716
6 x-New Jersey Nets4339.52417
7 x-Atlanta Hawks4339.52417
8 x-Indiana Pacers4141.50019
9 Orlando Magic4141.50019
10 Detroit Pistons4042.48820
11 Miami Heat3646.43924
12 Milwaukee Bucks2854.34132
13 Philadelphia 76ers2656.31736
14 Washington Bullets2260.26838
#
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Phoenix Suns6220.756
2 y-Houston Rockets5527.6717
3 x-Seattle SuperSonics5527.6717
4 x-Portland Trail Blazers5131.62211
5 x-San Antonio Spurs4933.59813
6 x-Utah Jazz4735.57315
7 x-Los Angeles Clippers4141.50021
8 x-Los Angeles Lakers3943.47623
9 Denver Nuggets3646.43926
10 Golden State Warriors3448.41528
11 Sacramento Kings2557.30537
12 Minnesota Timberwolves1963.23243
13 Dallas Mavericks1171.13451

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 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
            
E1 New York* 3
E8 Indiana 1
E1 New York* 4
E5 Charlotte 1
E4 Boston 1
E5 Charlotte 3
E1 New York* 2
E2 Chicago* 4
E3 Cleveland 3
E6 New Jersey 2
E3 Cleveland 0
E2 Chicago* 4
E2 Chicago* 3
E7 Atlanta 0
E2 Chicago* 4
W1 Phoenix* 2
W1 Phoenix* 3
W8 LA Lakers 2
W1 Phoenix* 4
W5 San Antonio 2
W4 Portland 1
W5 San Antonio 3
W1 Phoenix* 4
W3 Seattle 3
W3 Seattle 3
W6 Utah 2
W3 Seattle 4
W2 Houston* 3
W2 Houston* 3
W7 LA Clippers 2
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage

Statistics leaders

CategoryPlayerTeamStat
Points per gameMichael JordanChicago Bulls32.6
Rebounds per gameDennis RodmanDetroit Pistons18.3
Assists per gameJohn StocktonUtah Jazz12.0
Steals per gameMichael JordanChicago Bulls2.83
Blocks per gameHakeem OlajuwonHouston Rockets4.17
FG%Cedric CeballosPhoenix Suns.576
FT%Mark PriceCleveland Cavaliers.948
3FG%B. J. ArmstrongChicago Bulls.453

NBA awards

Yearly awards

Player of the week

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.

Week Player
Nov. 6 – Nov. 15 Shaquille O'Neal (Orlando Magic)
Nov. 16 – Nov. 22 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Nov. 23 – Nov. 29 David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
Nov. 30 – Dec. 6 Dražen Petrović (New Jersey Nets)
Dec. 7 – Dec. 13 Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns)
Dec. 14 – Dec. 20 Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
Dec. 21 – Dec. 27 Sean Elliott (San Antonio Spurs)
Dec. 28 – Jan. 3 David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
Jan. 4 – Jan. 10 Shawn Kemp (Seattle SuperSonics)
Jan. 10 – Jan. 17 Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
Jan. 18 – Jan. 24 Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
Jan. 25 – Jan. 31 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Feb. 1 – Feb. 7 Nick Anderson (Orlando Magic)
Feb. 8 – Feb. 14 Larry Johnson (Charlotte Hornets)
Feb. 23 – Feb. 28 Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
Mar. 1 – Mar. 7 Rony Seikaly (Miami Heat)
Mar. 8 – Mar. 14 Rumeal Robinson (New Jersey Nets)
Mar. 15 – Mar. 21 Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
Mar. 22 – Mar. 28 Dikembe Mutombo (Denver Nuggets)
Mar. 29 – Apr. 4 Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns)
Apr. 5 – Apr. 11 Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
Apr. 12 – Apr. 18 Alonzo Mourning (Charlotte Hornets)
Apr. 19 – Apr. 25 Larry Johnson (Charlotte Hornets)

Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.

Month Player
November Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
December Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns)
January Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
February Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)
March Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
April Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)

Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.

Month Rookie
November Shaquille O'Neal (Orlando Magic)
December Shaquille O'Neal (Orlando Magic)
January Shaquille O'Neal (Orlando Magic)
February Shaquille O'Neal (Orlando Magic)
March Alonzo Mourning (Charlotte Hornets)
April Alonzo Mourning (Charlotte Hornets)

Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.

Month Coach
November Mike Dunleavy (Milwaukee Bucks)
December Paul Westphal (Phoenix Suns)
January John Lucas (San Antonio Spurs)
February Lenny Wilkens (Cleveland Cavaliers)
March Bob Weiss (Atlanta Hawks)
April Rudy Tomjanovich (Houston Rockets)

See also

References

  1. "Morris Shatters Backboard". Articles.orlandosentinel.com. March 3, 1993. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  2. Michael Wilbon (April 16, 1993). "Long shot comes home a million-dollar winner". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  3. Ryan Hockensmith (April 11, 2023). "The $1 million shot that changed sports contests forever". ESPN. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.