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.

Notable occurrences

• 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 died of a heart attack during practice. 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, three backboards were broken. Two were done by Orlando's Shaquille O'Neal, once against Phoenix where he dunked the ball so hard the entire goal collapsed and once against New Jersey when he pulled the entire backboard off of the goal. The other was by New Jersey's Chris Morris, who dunked with such force during a game against Chicago that the backboard glass shattered.^[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.

1992–93 NBA changes

• The Atlanta Hawks changed their uniforms.
• The Dallas Mavericks changed their road uniforms from green to blue.
• The New York Knicks changed their logo.
• The Phoenix Suns changed their logo and uniforms, and moved into the America West Arena.

Standings

By division Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-New York Knicks 60 22 .732 — 37–4 23–18 23–5 x-Boston Celtics 48 34 .585 12 28–13 20–21 19–9 x-New Jersey Nets 43 39 .524 17 26–15 17–24 14–14 Orlando Magic 41 41 .500 19 27–14 14–27 15–13 Miami Heat 36 46 .439 24 26–15 10–31 9–19 Philadelphia 76ers 26 56 .317 34 15–26 11–30 11–17 Washington Bullets 22 60 .268 38 15–26 7–34 7–21 Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-Chicago Bulls 57 25 .695 — 31–10 26–15 19–9 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 54 28 .659 3 35–6 19–22 22–6 x-Charlotte Hornets 44 38 .537 13 22–19 22–19 12–16 x-Atlanta Hawks 43 39 .524 14 25–16 18–23 12–16 x-Indiana Pacers 41 41 .500 16 27–14 14–27 11–17 Detroit Pistons 40 42 .488 17 28–13 12–29 12–16 Milwaukee Bucks 28 54 .341 29 18–23 10–31 10–18 Western Conference Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-Houston Rockets 55 27 .671 — 31–10 24–17 19–7 x-San Antonio Spurs 49 33 .598 6 31–10 18–23 17–9 x-Utah Jazz 47 35 .573 8 28–13 19–22 16–10 Denver Nuggets 36 46 .439 19 28–13 8–33 13–13 Minnesota Timberwolves 19 63 .232 36 11–30 8–33 10–16 Dallas Mavericks 11 71 .134 44 7–34 4–37 3–23 Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-Phoenix Suns 62 20 .756 — 35–6 27–14 21–9 x-Seattle SuperSonics 55 27 .671 7 33–8 22–19 22–8 x-Portland Trail Blazers 51 31 .622 11 30–11 21–20 19–11 x-Los Angeles Clippers 41 41 .500 21 27–14 14–27 15–15 x-Los Angeles Lakers 39 43 .476 23 20–21 19–22 13–17 Golden State Warriors 34 48 .415 28 19–22 15–26 9–21 Sacramento Kings 25 57 .305 37 16–25 9–32 6–24 By conference # Eastern Conference Team W L PCT GB 1 c-New York Knicks 60 22 .732 – 2 y-Chicago Bulls 57 25 .695 3 3 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 54 28 .659 6 4 x-Boston Celtics 48 34 .585 12 5 x-Charlotte Hornets 44 38 .537 16 6 x-New Jersey Nets 43 39 .524 17 7 x-Atlanta Hawks 43 39 .524 17 8 x-Indiana Pacers 41 41 .500 19 9 Orlando Magic 41 41 .500 19 10 Detroit Pistons 40 42 .488 20 11 Miami Heat 36 46 .439 24 12 Milwaukee Bucks 28 54 .341 32 13 Philadelphia 76ers 26 56 .317 36 14 Washington Bullets 22 60 .268 38 # Western Conference Team W L PCT GB 1 z-Phoenix Suns 62 20 .756 – 2 y-Houston Rockets 55 27 .671 7 3 x-Seattle SuperSonics 55 27 .671 7 4 x-Portland Trail Blazers 51 31 .622 11 5 x-San Antonio Spurs 49 33 .598 13 6 x-Utah Jazz 47 35 .573 18 7 x-Los Angeles Clippers 41 41 .500 21 8 x-Los Angeles Lakers 39 43 .476 23 9 Denver Nuggets 36 46 .439 26 10 Golden State Warriors 34 48 .415 28 11 Sacramento Kings 25 57 .305 37 12 Minnesota Timberwolves 19 63 .232 43 13 Dallas Mavericks 11 71 .134 51 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 A ticket for Game 4 of the 1993 Western Conference Finals between the Seattle SuperSonics and the Phoenix Suns. 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. Main article: 1993 NBA Playoffs First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals                         1 Phoenix 3 8 L.A. Lakers 2 1 Phoenix 4 5 San Antonio 2 4 Portland 1 5 San Antonio 3 1 Phoenix 4 Western Conference 3 Seattle 3 3 Seattle 3 6 Utah 2 3 Seattle 4 2 Houston 3 2 Houston 3 7 L.A. Clippers 2 W1 Phoenix 2 E2 Chicago 4 1 New York 3 8 Indiana 1 1 New York 4 5 Charlotte 1 4 Boston 1 5 Charlotte 3 1 New York 2 Eastern Conference 2 Chicago 4 3 Cleveland 3 6 New Jersey 2 3 Cleveland 0 2 Chicago 4 2 Chicago 3 7 Atlanta 0 Statistics leaders Category Player Team Stat Points per game Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 32.6 Rebounds per game Dennis Rodman Detroit Pistons 18.3 Assists per game John Stockton Utah Jazz 12.0 Steals per game Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 2.83 Blocks per game Hakeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets 4.17 FG% Cedric Ceballos Phoenix Suns .576 FT% Mark Price Cleveland Cavaliers .948 3FG% B. J. Armstrong Chicago Bulls .453 NBA awards Yearly awards Most Valuable Player: Charles Barkley, Phoenix Suns Rookie of the Year: Shaquille O'Neal, Orlando Magic Defensive Player of the Year: Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets Sixth Man of the Year: Clifford Robinson, Portland Trail Blazers Most Improved Player: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Denver Nuggets Coach of the Year: Pat Riley, New York Knicks All-NBA First Team: F – Karl Malone, Utah Jazz F – Charles Barkley, Phoenix Suns C – Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets G – Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls G – Mark Price, Cleveland Cavaliers All-NBA Second Team: F – Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta Hawks F – Larry Johnson, Charlotte Hornets C – Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks G – John Stockton, Utah Jazz G – Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons All-NBA Third Team: F – Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls F – Derrick Coleman, New Jersey Nets C – David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs G – Tim Hardaway, Golden State Warriors G – Dražen Petrović, New Jersey Nets NBA All-Defensive First Team: F – Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls F – Dennis Rodman, Detroit Pistons C – Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets G – Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls G – Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons NBA All-Defensive Second Team: F – Horace Grant, Chicago Bulls F – Larry Nance, Cleveland Cavaliers C – David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs G – Dan Majerle, Phoenix Suns G – John Starks, New York Knicks All-NBA Rookie First Team: Shaquille O'Neal, Orlando Magic Christian Laettner, Minnesota Timberwolves LaPhonso Ellis, Denver Nuggets Alonzo Mourning, Charlotte Hornets Tom Gugliotta, Washington Bullets All-NBA Rookie Second Team: Walt Williams, Sacramento Kings Clarence Weatherspoon, Philadelphia 76ers Latrell Sprewell, Golden State Warriors Robert Horry, Houston Rockets Richard Dumas, Phoenix Suns Note: All information on this page was obtained from the History section at NBA.com 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) References ↑ "Morris Shatters Backboard". Articles.orlandosentinel.com. 1993-03-03. Retrieved 2017-03-05.