1988–89 Denver Nuggets season

The 1988-89 NBA season was the Nuggets' 13th season in the NBA and 22nd season as a franchise.[1] During the off-season, the team signed free agent All-Star guard Walter Davis.[2] The Nuggets got off to an 11–4 start to the season, but played below .500 afterwards, and held a 25–23 record at the All-Star break. Despite losing six of their final eight games, the team finished third in the Midwest Division with a 44–38 record,[3] while posting a very successful 35–6 home record.

1988–89 Denver Nuggets season
Head coachDoug Moe
ArenaMcNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record44–38 (.537)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Midwest)
Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finishWest First Round
(Lost to Suns 0–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKTVD
KMGH-TV
Prime Sports Rocky Mountain
RadioKOA

Alex English averaged 26.5 points and 4.7 assists per game, and was selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game,[4] while Fat Lever averaged 19.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 2.7 steals per game, and Michael Adams provided the team with 18.5 points, 6.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game. In addition, Davis played a sixth man role, and contributed 15.6 points per game off the bench, while Danny Schayes provided with 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, and Wayne Cooper averaged 6.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.[5]

In the playoffs, the Nuggets were swept by the Phoenix Suns in three straight games in the Western Conference First Round.[6] Following the season, Cooper signed as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Draft picks
Main article: 1988 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
123Jerome LanePF/SF United StatesPittsburgh
243Todd MitchellF United StatesPurdue
247Vernon MaxwellSG United StatesFlorida
366Dwight Boyd United StatesMemphis

Roster
1988–89 Denver Nuggets roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 14 Adams, Michael 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 162 lb (73 kg) 1963–01–19 Boston College
G 1 Cook, Darwin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1958–08–06 Portland
C 42 Cooper, Wayne 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1956–11–16 New Orleans
G/F 6 Davis, Walter 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1954–09–09 North Carolina
F 43 Engelstad, Wayne 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1965–12–06 California
F 2 English, Alex 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954–01–05 South Carolina
F 22 Greenwood, Dave 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1967–05–27 UCLA
F 24 Hanzlik, Bill 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1957–12–06 Notre Dame
G 15 Hughes, Eddie 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1960–05–26 Colorado State
F 35 Lane, Jerome 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–12–04 Pittsburgh
G 12 Lever, Fat 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1960–08–18 Arizona State
C 41 Rasmussen, Blair 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1962–11–13 Oregon
C 34 Schayes, Danny 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1959–05–10 Syracuse
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Utah Jazz 5131.622–34–717–2419–11
x-Houston Rockets 4537.549631–1014–2719–11
x-Denver Nuggets 4438.537735–69–3218–12
Dallas Mavericks 3844.4631324–1714–2719–11
San Antonio Spurs 2161.2563018–233–389–21
Miami Heat 1567.1833612–293–386–24
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers5725.695–
2 y-Utah Jazz5131.6226
3 x-Phoenix Suns5527.6712
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics4735.57310
5 x-Houston Rockets4537.54912
6 x-Denver Nuggets4438.53713
7 x-Golden State Warriors4339.52414
8 x-Portland Trail Blazers3943.47618
9 Dallas Mavericks3844.46319
10 Sacramento Kings2755.32930
11 San Antonio Spurs2161.25636
12 Los Angeles Clippers2161.25636
13 Miami Heat1567.18342
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1988-89 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta –3–14–14–24–21–10–21–51–11–15–12–01–11–16–04–12–22–21–11–12–01–11–11–13–1
Boston 1–3–6–01–31–41–11–11–31–11–12–32–01–12–02–25–13–33–30–21–12–02–00–21–12–4
Charlotte 1–40–6–1–40–40–20–20–40–20–22–22–00–21–10–42–42–43–30–20–21–12–01–11–11–5
Chicago 2–43–14–1–0–62–01–10–61–11–14–21–12–02–06–02–23–21–31–12–02–02–02–00–23–1
Cleveland 2–44–14–06–0–2–02–03–31–11–15–11–10–22–03–34–02–23–22–02–02–02–01–11–12–2
Dallas 1–11–12–00–20–2–3–30–21–31–51–13–10–46–00–21–10–21–11–32–22–25–12–24–21–1
Denver 2–01–12–01–10–23–3–1–13–14–21–12–21–35–10–21–11–11–11–32–23–13–32–23–31–1
Detroit 5–13–14–06–03–32–01–1–1–11–14–22–02–02–02–44–00–45–02–01–12–02–02–02–05–0
Golden State 1–11–12–01–11–13–11–31–1–1–31–15–12–34–00–22–02–01–12–42–42–33–12–42–21–1
Houston 1–11–12–01–11–15–12–41–13–1–2–02–21–34–21–12–00–20–21–33–12–26–02–22–40–2
Indiana 1–53–22–22–41–51–11–12–41–10–2–1–10–21–12–41–30–50–41–12–01–12–01–11–11–3
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–21–11–11–32–20–21–52–21–1–1–51–30–21–10–20–21–51–52–33–11–41–30–2
L.A. Lakers 1–11–12–00–22–04–03–10–23–23–12–05–1–4–01–11–11–12–03–35–05–13–14–21–31–1
Miami 1–10–21–10–20–20–61–50–20–42–41–13–10–4–0–21–11–10–20–40–41–32–40–41–50–2
Milwaukee 0–62–24–00–63–32–02–04–22–01–14–22–01–12–0–4–11–33–11–12–02–01–11–11–14–1
New Jersey 1–41–54–22–20–41–11–10–40–20–23–11–11–11–11–4–2–41–51–10–21–11–12–00–21–5
New York 2–23–34–22–32–22–01–14–00–22–05–02–01–11–13–14–2–2–41–12–01–11–11–11–15–1
Philadelphia 2–23–33–33–12–31–11–10–51–12–04–02–00–22–01–35–14–2–0–21–12–01–11–11–14–2
Phoenix 1–12–02–01–10–23–13–10–24–23–11–15–13–34–01–11–11–12–0–2–35–13–14–12–22–0
Portland 1–11–12–00–20–22–22–21–14–21–30–25–10–54–00–22–00–21–13–2–3–34–02–40–41–1
Sacramento 0–20–21–10–20–22–21–30–23–22–21–13–21–53–10–21–11–10–21–53–3–2–21–51–30–2
San Antonio 1–10–20–20–20–21–53–30–21–30–60–21–31–34–21–11–11–11–11–30–42–2–0–41–51–1
Seattle 1–12–01–10–21–12–22–20–24–22–21–14–12–44–01–10–21–11–11–44–25–14–0–3–11–1
Utah 1–11–11–12–01–12–43–30–22–24–21–13–13–15–11–12–01–11–12–24–03–15–11–3–2–0
Washington 1–34–25–11–32–21–11–10–51–12–03–12–01–12–01–45–11–52–40–21–12–01–11–10–2—

Playoffs
1989 playoff game log
First round: 0–3 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 28 @ Phoenix L 103–104 Walter Davis (34) Fat Lever (12) Fat Lever (17) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
14,471		 0–1
2 April 30 @ Phoenix L 114–132 Alex English (36) Michael Adams (12) English, Cook (6) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
14,471		 0–2
3 May 2 Phoenix L 121–130 Walter Davis (26) Elston Turner (7) Bill Hanzlik (6) McNichols Sports Arena
12,660		 0–3
1989 schedule

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

References
  1. "1988-89 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  2. "Sports People; Davis Joins Nuggets". New York Times. July 7, 1988. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  3. "1988–89 Denver Nuggets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  4. "1989 NBA All-Star Game: West 143, East 134". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  5. "1988–89 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  6. "Suns 130, Nuggets 121". UPI Archives. May 3, 1989. Retrieved February 12, 2022.

See also
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