1989 Overview
From Hoopedia
1988-89 NBA Season
Joe Dumars’ father was a trucker, a man who labored long hours delivering groceries to stores across southern Louisiana. As a youth, Dumars rode along with his father, so that the elder could teach the son what real work meant.
It was a lesson that never left him, even after he became an NBA star. So, while Dumars contributed solid defense and pinpoint shooting for the Detroit Pistons, the work ethic and character instilled by his father are what made him a favorite of coaches, teammates, opponents and Pistons’ fans. And those attributes were a key factor in the Pistons’ 1989 NBA title.
When it was pointed out that fans expect flashy play from big-time pro guards, Dumars replied, “I can understand that people want to see the fancy stuff. But believe me, we’ve got enough fancy stuff on the Detroit Pistons. I don’t have to be fancy.”
His work ethic would be rewarded with the MVP Award from the 1989 Finals, which gave the season something of a theme because the 1988-89 season marked a transition for another work-ethic giant: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played the last of his 20 NBA seasons.
The 42-year-old center and the Los Angeles Lakers’ team captain retired after winning league MVP honors six times, becoming the NBA’s all-time scoring leader and playing on six NBA title teams. There was also a strong element of the new in the NBA in 1989. Franchises began play in Charlotte and Miami, part of a four-team expansion that would next include Orlando and Minnesota.
In the business as usual category, Michael Jordan won his third straight NBA scoring crown and Magic Johnson won his second Most Valuable Player Award.
With Dumars in the lineup, the Pistons played the second-best defense in the NBA. But management sensed that the elusive team chemistry wasn’t quite what it should be, so three days after the All-Star Game, the Pistons traded Adrian Dantley and a draft pick for forward Mark Aguirre of the Dallas Mavericks. The trade seemed a gamble, but the Pistons responded to the trade and finished the regular season with a league-best 63-19 record.
Meanwhile, the Lakers swept through the first three rounds of the playoffs without a loss in 11 games, and it seemed Kareem’s career might close with a fairy-tale ending. But Byron Scott tore his hamstring prior to Game 1 of the Finals, and Magic Johnson also suffered a hamstring injury, during Game 2.
“It’s like you have a real nice sports car and a great driver,” Abdul-Jabbar said of the circumstances, “and then all of a sudden you have to find somebody who has been driving a bus to be a driver. That’s a learning experience.”
The Pistons, who had nearly captured a championship the previous year, outplayed what was left of the Lakers and swept four straight games, including the clincher at the Forum.
Dumars got the hot hand in the series, and Pistons backcourt mate Isiah Thomas stayed busy feeding him the ball. “I just happened to get into one of those zones where a couple of shots went down and I wanted to touch the ball every time it came down the floor,” Dumars explained.
“Was it a case where you would talk to Isiah and say, ‘I’m hot’?” a writer asked. “Or does he just know that?”
“He knows it,” Dumars said. “At one point he asked me, ‘What do you want?’ meaning what play do I want. I said, ‘Just the ball.’ That’s about how it was. ‘Just give me the ball.’”
