This would be the last season of the 80s and the beginning of a transition into a new era as there was 3 new expansion teams who were introduced in the Minnesota Timberwolves, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat these 3 teams would have to go through an Expansion draft on the 23rd June who would take the same players that they all did in our timeline.
5 Days later was the NBA Draft and the draft order would have the 10th-12th picks to be taken by the new expansion teams which in this order would be the Hornets, Heat and Timberwolves. The top 9 picks would be Utah, San Antonio, Cleveland, Seattle, Kentucky, Denver, Atlanta, Houston and Washington. Danny Manning would still be the 1st pick in the draft for Utah but San Antonio wouldn't select Rik Smits with the 2nd pick as they were still waiting for David Robinson and as a result they would take Mitch Richmond to be their new shooting guard and to try and replace George Gervin. Rik Smits would instead start his career in Cleveland while Seattle would take Charles Smith at 4 to further crowd their frontcourt. Chris Morris would go to the Colonels at 5 and Denver would select future all star Hersey Hawkins with the 6th selection. Rex Chapman would go to Houston and Washington would take Rony Seikaly to replace Jeff Ruland who had been forced to retire due to injuries. Dan Majerle would still go to Phoenix as he was projected to go lower then the position that Phoenix took him at. Rod Strickland would go to Chicago to be their new point guard in the last notable pick of the draft.
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Another change that took place in 1988 which would reverberate for years to come was the advent of unrestricted free agency which only applies to players to have played in the league for 7 years and completed 2 full length NBA contracts. The first notable unrestricted free agent was Tom Chambers as Seattle had just drafted Horace Grant and Charles Smith both power forwards and with Seattle not doing too well while Chambers was there he had decided to leave to win a title and there was 1 team who was perfectly suited for him in the Orlando Magic who would sign him to form a deadly Pick and Roll combo with John Stockton. Jeff Hornacek would replace Randy Wittman as starting 2 Guard on the Lakers as he would be traded to Milwaukee in exchange for Reggie Theus who would become the 6th Man, Jerome Kersey would average 17 and 7 while Ralph Sampson who was still averaging 20 and 10. Some other notable changes were that Moses Malone would stay in Dallas and Walter Davis doesn't sign with Denver as he stays with Golden State as they are still a contending team at this point.
In the East it would be a transition year as Boston would transition into a new era with the emergence of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis into stars as Larry Bird missed the whole season due to bone spurs and Alex English and Dennis Johnson would miss some games with Terry Porter taking over the point guard Position from D.J. Also Danny Ainge isn't traded to Sacramento for stiffs due to these circumstances Boston would win only 55 Games and be the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference behind Detroit and Indiana on record who would dominate the season with the Pistons winning 63 games even with the absence of Rick Mahorn who was taken by Minnesota in the expansion draft and keeping Adrian Dantley who was unhappy about having to take a lesser role due to the emergence of Dennis Rodman. As for Indiana they would win 58 games with Jordan and Malone quickly becoming the best duo in the league and it was inevitable that there would be championships ahead for this team. Philadelphia would be the 4th seed on 48 wins with Barkley, then it would be Cleveland with the most improved player in Kevin Johnson leading the way, Chicago, New York and finally the Orlando Magic.
As for the West it would be a return to normal service with Los Angeles getting the 1st seed in the West with a 61 win season but the star was still Magic Johnson who would win his 2nd MVP award. Dallas were the second seed with 54 wins but it appeared that the Mavericks were unlikely to repeat. From 3 to 8 it would be Phoenix with Akeem further solidifying himself, Golden State with Ewing doing the same, Milwaukee Bucks still being a Pseudo-contender , Los Angeles Clippers with their trio of Scott, Worthy and McDaniel , Sacramento with Reggie Miller becoming a starter with the trade of Kelly Tripucka and Portland with Clyde Drexler and 1st time all star Kevin Duckworth.
The East playoffs had a sense of optimism in that the Celtics would be eliminated and that the Pistons would be the team to do it but before that there were other matchups that had to take place as Detroit would first dispose of Atlanta in 3 games and the Barkley’s 76ers in 4 games in the 2nd round as for their rivals Boston would defeat the Knicks in 4 games before losing to the Pacers in a 7 game series with Jordan hitting what would be known as the Shot in Game 7 in what was the first of many meetings in the playoffs with Len Bias. This therefore set up the Pistons vs Pacers in the conference finals which was Indiana’s best chance at winning a title since their ABA days but they would lose to the Pistons once again in 7 games with the Pistons toughness and experience winning out this time but this series also showed that the Jordan Rules didn't work as much as they had in the previous year with Karl Malone establishing himself as one the league’s best power forwards.
After the hiccup of the previous year normal service resumed in the West as the Lakers would easily beat Portland and Golden State to advance to the conference finals where they would meet the defending champions in the Dallas Mavericks who had beaten Sacramento and Phoenix even with Akeem dominating Moses Malone in a 6 game series. For the 4th year in a row it would be the Lakers vs Mavericks in the Western Conference finals and this time the Lakers would have the edge due to the decline of Moses Malone and the defence of Larry Nance on Wilkins who would lead them to victory over Dallas in a 6 game series which ensured that the Lakers and Pistons would meet in the NBA Finals.
The last NBA Finals series of the decade contained one team who had been in almost every NBA Finals series of the decade and the other team who had slowly built their team over the decade which now involved them being 8 deep with a starting lineup of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman, John Salley and Bill Laimbeer with a bench of Adrian Dantley, Ricky Pierce and James Edwards as Rick Mahorn was now in Minnesota. As the Lakers were not driven as hard by Pat Riley in an attempt to rest his players Magic wouldn’t get his hamstring injury until Game 3 in a game which gave the Pistons a lead which they wouldn’t relinquish with them winning the series in 6 Games with Joe Dumars winning Finals MVP for his defence on Magic before his injury and his impact on offense.
The end of the 80s also signalled a transition for the NBA from the Magic and Bird era to the Jordan and Bias era as even though one of Bird and Magic would play till the mid 1990s due to the changes in this situation they would play supporting roles on their teams.
Boston emerged as the team of the decade with 3 NBA titles and 6 final appearances in the decade with the Lakers winning 2 titles and making 7 finals appearances with Larry Bird winning 4 MVPS compared to Magic winning 2.
New Jersey, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Detroit would also all win championships in the 1980s with the Nets, Rockets and Spurs all now rebuilding with varying degrees of success while both the Mavericks and Pistons were still contenders at the turn of the decade.
Eastern Conference
| | | | | |
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Detroit Pistons | 63 | 19 | .768 | – |
| 2 | y- Boston Celtics | 55 | 27 | .671 | 8 |
| 3 | x-Indiana Pacers | 58 | 24 | .707 | 5 |
| 4 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 48 | 34 | .586 | 15 |
| 5 | x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 47 | 35 | .573 | 16 |
| 6 | x-Chicago Bulls | 46 | 36 | .561 | 17 |
| 7 | x-New York Knicks | 44 | 38 | .537 | 19 |
| 8 | x-Orlando Magic | 43 | 39 | .525 | 20 |
| | | | | |
| 9 | Washington Bullets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 23 |
| 10 | Atlanta Hawks | 36 | 46 | .440 | 27 |
| 11 | Kentucky Colonels | 31 | 51 | .377 | 32 |
| 12 | New Jersey Nets | 27 | 55 | .329 | 36 |
| # | Western Conference
| | | | |
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | c-Los Angeles Lakers | 61 | 21 | .744 | – |
| 2 | y-Dallas Mavericks | 54 | 28 | .659 | 7 |
| 3 | x-Phoenix Suns | 50 | 32 | .610 | 11 |
| 4 | x-Golden State Warriors | 47 | 35 | .573 | 14 |
| 5 | x-Milwaukee Bucks | 45 | 37 | .549 | 16 |
| 6 | x-Los Angeles Clippers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 17 |
| 7 | x-Sacramento Kings | 43 | 39 | .524 | 18 |
| 8 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 39 | 43 | .476 | 22 |
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| 9 | San Antonio Spurs | 38 | 44 | .463 | 23 |
| 10 | Utah Stars | 34 | 48 | .414 | 27 |
| 11 | Denver Nuggets | 30 | 52 | .366 | 31 |
| 12 | Houston Rockets | 27 | 55 | .329 | 34 |
| 13 | Seattle SuperSonics | 24 | 58 | .292 | 37 |
| 14 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 15 | 67 | .183 | 46 |
Western Conference
Champion: Los Angeles Lakers
Western Conference Quarterfinals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Portland Trail Blazers : Lakers win series 3–0
- Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 128, Portland 108
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles : Los Angeles 113, Portland 105
- Game 3 @ Portland: Los Angeles 116 Portland 108
(2) Dallas Mavericks vs. (7) Sacramento Kings : Mavericks win series 3–0
- Game 1 @ Dallas: Dallas 123, Sacramento 119
- Game 2 @ Dallas: Dallas 99 , Sacramento 91
- Game 3 @ Sacramento: Dallas 120, Sacramento 106
(3) Phoenix Suns vs. (6) Los Angeles Clippers : Suns win series 3–0
- Game 1 @ Phoenix: Phoenix 104, Los Angeles 103
- Game 2 @ Phoenix: Phoenix 132, Los Angeles 114
- Game 3 @ Los Angeles: Phoenix 130, Los Angeles 121
(4) Milwaukee Bucks vs
(5) Golden State Warriors : Warriors win series 3-1
- Game 1 @ Milwaukee: Golden State 111, Milwaukee 107
- Game 2 @ Milwaukee: Golden State 109, Milwaukee 97
- Game 3 @ Oakland: Milwaukee 126, Milwaukee 107
- Game 4 @ Oakland: Golden State 98, Milwaukee 96
Western Conference Semifinals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Golden State Warriors : Lakers win series 4–0
- Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 113 , Golden State 102
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 130, Golden State 108
- Game 3 @ Oakland: Los Angeles 91, Golden State 86
- Game 4 @ Oakland: Los Angeles 97, Golden State 95
(2) Dallas Mavericks vs. (3) Phoenix Suns : Dallas win series 4–2
- Game 1 @ Dallas: Dallas 130, Phoenix 103
- Game 2 @ Dallas: Phoenix 127, Dallas 122
- Game 3 @ Oakland: Dallas 113, Phoenix 104
- Game 4 @ Oakland: Phoenix 135, Dallas 99
- Game 5 @ Dallas: Dallas 116, Golden State 104
- Game 6 @ Oakland: Dallas 122, Golden State 115
Western Conference Finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) Dallas Mavericks : Lakers win series 4–2
- Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 106, Dallas 99
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles : Los Angeles 108, Dallas 101
- Game 3 @ Dallas: Dallas 117, Los Angeles 106
- Game 4 @ Dallas: Dallas 135, Los Angeles 111
- Game 5 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 111 Dallas 103
- Game 6 @ Dallas: Los Angeles 116 Dallas 112
Eastern Conference
Champion: Detroit Pistons
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
(1) Detroit Pistons VS. (8) Orlando Magic : Pistons win series 3–0
- Game 1 @ Detroit : Detroit 101, Orlando 91
- Game 2 @ Detroit : Detroit 102, Orlando 95
- Game 3 @ Orlando : Detroit 100, Chicago 85
(2) Boston Celtics VS. (7) New York Knicks : Celtics win series 3–0
- Game 1 @ Boston : Boston 102, New York 96
- Game 2 @ Boston : Boston 107, New York 106
- Game 3 @ New York : Boston 116, New York 115 (OT)
(3) Indiana Pacers VS. (6) Chicago Bulls : Pacers win series 3–1
- Game 1 @ Indiana : Indiana 95, Chicago 88
- Game 2 @ Indiana : Indiana 98, Chicago 87
- Game 3 @ Chicago : Chicago 101, Indiana 94
- Game 4 @ Chicago : Indiana 108, Chicago 105
(4) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (5) Cleveland Cavaliers : 76ers win series 3–2
- Game 1 @ Philadelphia : Philadelphia 100, Cleveland 92
- Game 2 @ Philadelphia : Cleveland 108, Philadelphia 98
- Game 3 @ Cleveland : Philadelphia 117, Cleveland 113 (OT)
- Game 4 @ Cleveland : Cleveland 113, Philadelphia 106 (OT)
- Game 4 @ Philadelphia : Philadelphia 96, Cleveland 92
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Eastern Conference Semifinals
(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (4) Philadelphia 76ers : Pistons win series 4–0
- Game 1 @ Detroit: Detroit 85, Philadelphia 80
- Game 2 @ Detroit : Detroit 112, Philadelphia 92
- Game 3 @ Philadelphia : Detroit 110, Philadelphia 90
- Game 4 @ Philadelphia : Detroit 96, Philadelphia 94
(2) Boston Celtics vs.
(3) Indiana Pacers : Pacers win series 4–3
- Game 1 @ Boston: Indiana 120, Boston 109
- Game 2 @ Boston: Boston 114, Indiana 97
- Game 3 @ Indiana: Boston 111, Indiana 98
- Game 4 @ Indiana: Indiana 106, Boston 93
- Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 121, Indiana 114
- Game 6 @ Indiana: Indiana 113,Boston 111
- Game 7 @ Boston: Indiana 101, Indiana 100 MJ Hits the Shot over Danny Ainge
Eastern Conference Finals
(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (3) Indiana Pacers : Pistons win series 4–3
- Game 1 @ Detroit : Indiana 94, Detroit 88
- Game 2 @ Detroit: Detroit 100, Indiana 91
- Game 3 @ Indiana: Indiana 99, Detroit 97 Michael Jordan hits the game-winner with 3 seconds left.
- Game 4 @ Indiana: Detroit 86, Indiana 80
- Game 5 @ Detroit : Detroit 94 Indiana 85
- Game 6 @ Indiana : Indiana 103 Detroit 94
- Game 7 @ Indiana : Detroit 93 Indiana 88
NBA Finals
(W1) Los Angeles Lakers VS.
(E1) Detroit Pistons : Pistons win series 4–2
- Game 1 @ Detroit: Detroit 109, Los Angeles 103
- Game 2 @ Detroit: Los Angeles 111, Detroit 108
- Game 3 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 116, Detroit 114
- Game 4 @ Los Angeles: Detroit 105 , Los Angeles 101
- Game 5 @ Detroit: Detroit 113, Los Angeles 102
- Game 6 @ Los Angeles: Detroit 104, Los Angeles 99
