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)
NBA seasons

Notable occurrences

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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

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Teams

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1992-93 National Basketball Association
Eastern Conference
Division Team City Arena Capacity
Atlantic Boston Celtics Boston, Massachusetts Boston Garden 14,890
Miami Heat Miami, Florida Miami Arena 15,200
New Jersey Nets East Rutherford, New Jersey Brendan Byrne Arena 20,049
New York Knicks New York, New York Madison Square Garden 19,812
Orlando Magic Orlando, Florida Orlando Arena 17,283
Philadelphia 76ers Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Spectrum 18,176
Washington Bullets Landover, Maryland Capital Centre 18,756
Central Atlanta Hawks Atlanta, Georgia Omni Coliseum 16,378
Charlotte Hornets Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte Coliseum 24,042
Chicago Bulls Chicago, Illinois Chicago Stadium 18,676
Cleveland Cavaliers Richfield, Ohio Richfield Coliseum 20,900
Detroit Pistons Auburn Hills, Michigan The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076
Indiana Pacers Indianapolis, Indiana Market Square Arena 17,171
Milwaukee Bucks Milwaukee, Wisconsin Bradley Center 18,717
Western Conference
Midwest Dallas Mavericks Dallas, Texas Reunion Arena 18,293
Denver Nuggets Denver, Colorado McNichols Sports Arena 17,171
Houston Rockets Houston, Texas The Summit 16,285
Minnesota Timberwolves Minneapolis, Minnesota Target Center 18,798
San Antonio Spurs San Antonio, Texas HemisFair Arena 16,057
Utah Jazz Salt Lake City, Utah Delta Center 18,306
Pacific Golden State Warriors Oakland, California Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,335
Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles, California Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 16,161
Los Angeles Lakers Inglewood, California Great Western Forum 17,505
Phoenix Suns Phoenix, Arizona America West Arena 19,023
Portland Trail Blazers Portland, Oregon Memorial Coliseum 12,888
Sacramento Kings Sacramento, California ARCO Arena 17,317
Seattle SuperSonics Seattle, Washington Seattle Center Coliseum 17,072

Map of teams

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  Atlantic Division   Central Division   Midwest Division   Pacific Division

Standings

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By division

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Eastern Conference
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
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
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
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

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#
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
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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 15
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

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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.

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

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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

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Yearly awards

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Player of the week

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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

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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

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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

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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

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References

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  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.