1992–93 NBA season

1992–93 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 6, 1992 – April 25, 1993 April 29 – June 5, 1993 (Playoffs) June 9 – 20, 1993 (Finals)
Number of teams	27
TV partner(s)	NBC, TBS, TNT
Draft
Top draft pick	Shaquille O'Neal
Picked by	Orlando Magic
Regular season
Top seed	Phoenix Suns
Season MVP	Charles Barkley (Phoenix)
Top scorer	Michael Jordan (Chicago)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Chicago Bulls
Eastern runners-up	New York Knicks
Western champions	Phoenix Suns
Western runners-up	Seattle SuperSonics
Finals
Champions	Chicago Bulls
Runners-up	Phoenix Suns
Finals MVP	Michael Jordan (Chicago)

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 1
Standings 2
- By division 2.1
- By conference 2.2
Playoffs 3
Statistics leaders 4
NBA awards 5
- Yearly awards 5.1
- Player of the week 5.2
- Player of the month 5.3
- Rookie of the month 5.4
- Coach of the month 5.5
References 6

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
San Antonio Spurs	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 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 and the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets.
During the regular season, three backboards were broken (two by Shaquille O'Neal and one by Chris Morris). This led the league to provide stronger shatter-proof backboards. However, every team is still required to have a spare backboard in their home arenas.

Standings

By division

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

By conference

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.

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:
All-NBA Rookie Second Team:

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

NBA seasons

1940s

1946–47

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1948–49

1950s

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1992–93

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2000s

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2010s

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2015–16

1992–93 NBA season