The 1988-89 NBA Champion Chicago Bulls
The Five
The reserves have all been discussed. Here’s a look at the five guys who were charged, primarily, with the goal of returning the Bulls to championship status.
Gayle Cruz, C
How Acquired: Signed 7.31.88 (1 yr, 133k)
One of two things are true: Either the Bulls are full of scouting wizards, or Jack is capable of making anyone who plays with him look good. Gayle Cruz has gotten into games over his eight-year career. The former undrafted big man out of Iowa State broke in with Milwaukee, but failed to play. He hooked on with the Lakers, and became a reserve…then a deep reserve. He was essentially on the scrap heap when Chicago chose him over paying Chris Henderson big money. He started all 82 games, setting career highs in points and rebounds. He didn’t rebound much…but he offered solid defense, and enough of a scoring pop to force defenses to pay attention to someone other than Jack or Josh. He might have played his way into greener pastures, much like Henderson did with San Antonio.
Code:
PLAYER DETAILS
#32 C Gayle Cruz - Chicago
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Height: 6-11
Weight: 285
DOB: 10/21/1957 (31)
College: Iowa State
Hometown: Houston, TX
Exp: 7
Attributes:
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Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
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Current: A- C C- F- D+ C C+ C- A C D+ F+ C- B- C A
Potential: B C D F D C C D A C D F
Health: Good
Status: Active Roster
Salary: $133,200
Length: 1
Stat Averages:
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Season LGE TEAM G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF
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1988 NBA CHI 82 82 29.0 12.2 1.6 4.5 1.9 1.6 1.14 0.4 0.2 3.8
1987 NBA SAS 52 0 6.5 3.3 0.5 1.3 0.5 0.4 1.20 0.2 0.0 1.0
1986 NBA BOS 25 0 2.6 0.7 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.4 0.00 0.0 0.0 0.4
1985 NBA LAL 31 0 5.1 2.4 0.3 0.8 0.5 0.4 1.45 0.1 0.0 0.7
1984 NBA LAL 29 0 5.5 2.4 0.4 1.0 0.3 0.2 1.14 0.1 0.0 0.8
1983 NBA LAL 82 4 19.8 11.3 1.5 3.5 1.4 1.2 1.19 0.3 0.1 3.3
1982 NBA LAL 82 5 11.8 6.2 0.8 2.4 0.5 0.8 0.66 0.1 0.1 1.8
1981 NBA LAL 20 0 2.7 1.7 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.83 0.1 0.1 0.4
Career 403 91 14.2 6.9 0.9 2.4 0.9 0.9 0.83 0.2 0.1 2.1
Shooting Averages:
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Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% InsM InsA In% JsM JsA Js% 3PM 3PA 3P%
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1988 5.5 11.4 .482 1.1 2.4 .482 4.4 7.9 .557 1.1 3.5 .316 0.0 0.0 .000
1987 1.5 3.3 .448 0.3 0.7 .444 0.9 1.8 .505 0.6 1.6 .383 0.0 0.0 .000
1986 0.4 1.0 .375 0.0 0.0 .000 0.2 0.3 .500 0.2 0.6 .313 0.0 0.0 .000
1985 1.1 1.7 .630 0.2 0.3 .600 0.9 1.3 .744 0.2 0.5 .333 0.0 0.0 .000
1984 1.1 2.4 .457 0.2 0.3 .556 0.8 1.4 .524 0.3 1.0 .357 0.0 0.0 .000
1983 5.0 10.3 .485 1.3 2.5 .532 3.7 6.3 .580 1.3 4.0 .332 0.0 0.0 .000
1982 2.7 5.6 .489 0.7 1.3 .532 2.0 3.6 .561 0.7 2.0 .362 0.0 0.0 .000
1981 0.8 1.5 .500 0.2 0.2 1.000 0.6 0.9 .647 0.2 0.7 .308 0.0 0.0 .000
Career 3.1 6.4 .483 0.7 1.4 .514 2.3 4.1 .566 0.8 2.3 .337 0.0 0.0 .000
Stat Totals:
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Season LGE TEAM G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF +/-
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1988 NBA CHI 82 82 2374 997 130 367 152 133 31 13 312 721
1987 NBA SAS 52 0 337 172 27 67 24 20 9 2 52 -74
1986 NBA BOS 25 0 64 18 2 8 0 9 0 1 10 -42
1985 NBA LAL 31 0 158 74 8 25 16 11 2 0 23 -33
1984 NBA LAL 29 0 159 69 11 28 8 7 2 0 24 -63
1983 NBA LAL 82 4 1627 924 124 286 117 98 25 11 268 -221
1982 NBA LAL 82 5 965 508 69 193 42 64 9 7 144 -169
1981 NBA LAL 20 0 54 34 6 10 5 6 1 1 7 -16
Career 403 91 5738 2796 377 984 364 348 79 35 840 103
Shooting Totals
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Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA
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1988 452 938 93 193 0 1
1987 78 174 16 36 0 0
1986 9 24 0 0 0 0
1985 34 54 6 10 0 0
1984 32 70 5 9 0 0
1983 408 842 108 203 0 0
1982 225 460 58 109 0 1
1981 15 30 4 4 0 0
Career 1253 2592 290 564 0 2
Efficiency:
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Season LGE TEAM G TS% PPS AST TO USG ORR DRR RR PER VA EWA +/- OEFF DEFF
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1988 NBA CHI 82 .487 1.06 11.6 10.2 20.3 6.9 10.9 9.0 10.3 -9.8 -0.3 8.8 114.9 98.9
1987 NBA SAS 52 .453 0.99 10.3 8.5 25.7 7.7 13.5 10.4 14.0 16.9 0.6 -1.4 97.4 111.8
1986 NBA BOS 25 .375 0.75 0.0 27.3 21.2 3.3 14.0 7.8 -3.3 -14.2 -0.5 -1.7 68.8 108.3
1985 NBA LAL 31 .638 1.37 18.8 12.9 19.0 6.0 13.2 9.5 16.0 12.8 0.4 -1.1 100.6 114.5
1984 NBA LAL 29 .459 0.99 9.0 7.9 21.0 7.2 13.1 9.9 11.1 1.2 0.0 -2.2 94.1 118.4
1983 NBA LAL 82 .496 1.10 10.2 8.6 25.8 8.4 12.5 10.3 15.1 109.4 3.6 -2.7 98.9 105.6
1982 NBA LAL 82 .500 1.10 6.8 10.4 23.8 7.7 14.1 10.9 14.3 52.9 1.8 -2.1 91.2 100.3
1981 NBA LAL 20 .531 1.13 11.6 14.0 28.8 13.0 8.3 10.6 18.0 5.3 0.2 -0.8 93.6 108.3
Career 403 .492 1.08 10.2 9.8 22.8 7.5 12.1 9.8 12.8 174.4 5.8 0.3 103.7 102.9
Playoff Averages:
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Season LGE TEAM G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF
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1988 NBA CHI 20 20 28.7 12.7 1.3 4.1 1.9 1.6 1.16 0.5 0.1 3.8
1986 NBA BOS 3 0 4.0 1.7 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.7 0.00 0.0 0.0 0.7
1982 NBA LAL 2 0 9.5 5.5 0.5 1.5 0.0 0.5 0.00 0.0 0.5 0.5
1981 NBA LAL 5 0 3.4 0.8 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.0 0.0 0.8
Career 30 20 20.7 9.1 1.0 2.9 1.2 1.2 0.00 0.3 0.1 2.7
Playoff Shooting Averages:
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Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% InsM InsA In% JsM JsA Js% 3PM 3PA 3P%
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1988 5.8 12.0 .485 1.1 1.8 .611 4.2 8.3 .509 1.6 3.7 .432 0.0 0.0 .000
1986 0.7 2.3 .286 0.3 0.7 .500 0.3 1.0 .333 0.3 1.3 .250 0.0 0.0 .000
1982 2.5 5.5 .455 0.5 2.0 .250 2.0 4.0 .500 0.5 1.5 .333 0.0 0.0 .000
1981 0.4 1.4 .286 0.0 0.4 .000 0.4 0.8 .500 0.0 0.6 .000 0.0 0.0 .000
Career 4.2 8.8 .473 0.8 1.5 .545 3.0 6.0 .506 1.1 2.8 .405 0.0 0.0 .000
Playoff Totals:
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Season LGE TEAM G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF +/-
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1988 NBA CHI 20 20 573 254 25 82 37 32 9 2 75 140
1986 NBA BOS 3 0 12 5 2 2 0 2 0 0 2 -10
1982 NBA LAL 2 0 19 11 1 3 0 1 0 1 1 6
1981 NBA LAL 5 0 17 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 -15
Career 30 20 621 274 29 88 37 35 9 3 82 121
Playoff Shooting Totals
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Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA
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1988 116 239 22 36 0 0
1986 2 7 1 2 0 0
1982 5 11 1 4 0 0
1981 2 7 0 2 0 0
Career 125 264 24 44 0 0
Playoff Efficiency:
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Season LGE TEAM G TS% PPS AST TO USG ORR DRR RR PER VA EWA +/- OEFF DEFF
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1988 NBA CHI 20 .498 1.06 11.4 9.9 20.6 5.1 10.0 7.8 9.6 -9.2 -0.3 7.0 111.5 99.0
1986 NBA BOS 3 .250 0.71 0.0 20.0 33.7 13.3 0.0 8.3 -3.4 -2.7 -0.1 -3.3 75.0 133.3
1982 NBA LAL 2 .462 1.00 0.0 7.1 30.2 7.1 10.0 8.8 9.6 -0.3 0.0 3.0 97.0 72.2
1981 NBA LAL 5 .250 0.57 0.0 0.0 18.7 6.3 0.0 3.0 -3.5 -3.8 -0.1 -3.0 82.4 143.3
Career 30 .484 1.04 10.4 9.9 2.1 5.4 9.6 7.7 9.0 -16.0 -0.5 4.0 109.7 99.8
Career Highs:
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Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA
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Season 27 5 12 5 3 3 6 13 21 6 8 0 1
Playoff 24 3 6 4 3 1 4 12 18 6 8 0 0
Career 32 8 12 5 3 3 6 14 27 6 8 0 1
Awards & Achievements:
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Season Award
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Total Player of the Game: 1
Total Championships: 1
1988 National Basketball Association Champion
1978 2nd Team All-Conference (Big Eight Conference)
1976 Freshman All-Conference (Big Eight Conference)
1974 High School: Rated **** and #84 overall by the FBCB scouting service.
Josh Whitman, PG
How Acquired: Signed 7.26.88 (1 yr, 123k)
Whitman, another undrafted free agent, was a NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team selection in 1981; it would appear the main qualification for such a distinction was to play. He averaged 9.2 minutes a game. Rough year for the first-years. He did play in all 82 games with Dallas, but failed to appear in a game the following year. He went to Atlanta after that, where he played in every game for three years. In 1985, he was a regular starter, averaging 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 7.0 assists a game. His shooting numbers were abysmal, though, and he fell out of the rotation the following season. He latched on with the Knicks, and was a reserve, before joining Chicago this year. He had very much the same line he had in his year as a starter with the Hawks; the only difference here is, he shot much more efficiently. He might have played his way into more money elsewhere…but if he, and the Bulls, were smart…they’d re-sign him. He’s a good fit for what they do.
Code:
PLAYER DETAILS
#2 PG Josh Whitman - Chicago
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Height: 6-2
Weight: 190
DOB: 7/22/1958 (30)
College: Dartmouth
Hometown: Groveton, NH
Exp: 6
Attributes:
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Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
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Current: C- B- A- C+ C B C C- D+ C C D+ A C C+ A+
Potential: D B A B C B C D D C C D
Health: Good
Status: Active Roster
Salary: $123,120
Length: 1
Stat Averages:
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Season LGE TEAM G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF
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1988 NBA CHI 80 80 34.1 8.0 1.3 3.9 7.0 2.1 3.28 0.6 0.2 2.1
1987 NBA NYK 81 0 11.3 2.6 0.7 1.7 2.1 0.8 2.70 0.3 0.0 0.7
1986 NBA ATL 38 0 8.4 2.6 0.4 1.2 1.4 0.5 2.60 0.2 0.0 0.6
1985 NBA ATL 82 82 34.2 8.5 1.5 4.5 7.0 2.4 2.92 0.7 0.2 2.6
1984 NBA ATL 82 1 12.4 2.8 0.6 1.6 2.8 0.9 2.94 0.4 0.0 1.1
1983 NBA ATL 82 16 13.5 3.2 0.8 1.9 2.8 1.2 2.26 0.4 0.0 0.7
1981 NBA DAL 82 0 9.2 2.3 0.2 0.8 2.0 0.8 2.68 0.2 0.0 0.8
Career 527 179 18.3 4.4 0.8 2.3 3.7 1.3 2.68 0.4 0.1 1.3
Shooting Averages:
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Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% InsM InsA In% JsM JsA Js% 3PM 3PA 3P%
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1988 3.1 6.1 .505 1.6 1.9 .847 2.1 3.2 .648 0.8 2.0 .375 0.3 0.9 .288
1987 1.0 2.8 .372 0.4 0.4 .912 0.3 0.5 .632 0.6 1.7 .346 0.1 0.6 .245
1986 1.0 2.4 .422 0.3 0.4 .929 0.3 0.3 .846 0.4 1.3 .333 0.3 0.8 .379
1985 3.5 8.7 .404 1.0 1.3 .783 1.0 1.4 .739 2.0 6.0 .335 0.5 1.3 .364
1984 1.1 2.8 .385 0.5 0.6 .854 0.2 0.4 .613 0.7 2.0 .359 0.1 0.4 .303
1983 1.2 3.1 .401 0.5 0.6 .865 0.4 0.4 .833 0.7 2.1 .343 0.1 0.5 .273
1981 0.8 1.8 .473 0.5 0.6 .846 0.3 0.4 .767 0.5 1.1 .435 0.1 0.3 .250
Career 1.7 4.1 .427 0.7 0.9 .842 0.7 1.0 .690 0.8 2.4 .353 0.2 0.7 .309
Stat Totals:
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Season LGE TEAM G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF +/-
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1988 NBA CHI 80 80 2726 642 104 308 558 170 51 12 166 786
1987 NBA NYK 81 0 915 209 54 138 170 63 23 0 56 -68
1986 NBA ATL 38 0 321 100 15 47 52 20 8 0 22 -76
1985 NBA ATL 82 82 2807 698 121 369 573 196 56 18 214 -172
1984 NBA ATL 82 1 1015 229 52 129 226 77 32 3 94 -77
1983 NBA ATL 82 16 1105 259 66 157 226 100 33 4 60 -113
1981 NBA DAL 82 0 754 188 18 65 166 62 19 2 66 9
Career 527 179 9643 2325 430 1213 1971 688 222 39 678 289
Shooting Totals
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Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA
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1988 247 489 127 150 21 73
1987 83 223 31 34 12 49
1986 38 90 13 14 11 29
1985 288 712 83 106 39 107
1984 89 231 41 48 10 33
1983 101 252 45 52 12 44
1981 69 146 44 52 6 24
Career 915 2143 384 456 111 359
Efficiency:
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Season LGE TEAM G TS% PPS AST TO USG ORR DRR RR PER VA EWA +/- OEFF DEFF
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1988 NBA CHI 80 .578 1.31 43.5 13.3 13.3 4.9 8.2 6.7 12.6 64.5 2.1 9.8 114.9 101.1
1987 NBA NYK 81 .437 0.94 36.1 13.4 16.1 6.6 10.7 8.6 11.5 6.6 0.2 -0.8 96.3 99.6
1986 NBA ATL 38 .521 1.11 31.0 11.9 17.4 4.8 10.9 7.7 13.8 15.8 0.5 -2.0 93.9 106.8
1985 NBA ATL 82 .460 0.98 37.5 12.8 17.3 4.9 10.5 7.7 11.8 31.6 1.1 -2.1 100.0 103.1
1984 NBA ATL 82 .452 0.99 40.7 13.9 16.4 6.3 8.9 7.6 11.7 11.1 0.4 -0.9 98.5 102.2
1983 NBA ATL 82 .473 1.03 37.6 16.6 17.2 7.0 10.2 8.5 12.3 21.7 0.7 -1.4 98.7 104.1
1981 NBA DAL 82 .556 1.29 41.8 15.6 15.3 2.9 7.2 5.1 12.2 13.7 0.5 0.1 103.8 104.4
Career 527 .496 1.08 39.4 13.8 15.8 5.3 9.4 7.4 12.1 165.0 5.5 0.5 103.8 102.4
Playoff Averages:
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Season LGE TEAM G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF
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1988 NBA CHI 20 20 34.6 8.2 1.2 4.3 6.4 2.8 2.31 0.7 0.2 1.9
1987 NBA NYK 4 1 16.5 6.5 1.0 1.0 1.3 0.5 2.50 0.5 0.0 0.8
1985 NBA ATL 4 4 36.5 10.5 2.0 3.3 5.8 2.5 2.30 1.0 0.3 1.5
1984 NBA ATL 5 0 13.6 1.8 0.8 2.6 2.4 0.8 3.00 0.4 0.0 0.6
Career 33 25 29.5 7.3 1.2 3.5 5.1 2.2 3.00 0.6 0.2 1.5
Playoff Shooting Averages:
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Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% InsM InsA In% JsM JsA Js% 3PM 3PA 3P%
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1988 3.2 6.9 .460 1.6 1.9 .816 2.2 3.4 .657 0.6 2.4 .255 0.4 1.2 .304
1987 3.0 5.5 .545 0.3 0.5 .500 1.3 1.3 1.000 1.5 3.3 .462 0.3 1.0 .250
1985 4.0 10.3 .390 1.5 2.0 .750 0.3 1.0 .250 2.8 7.0 .393 1.0 2.3 .444
1984 0.6 3.4 .176 0.6 0.6 1.000 0.0 0.2 .000 0.6 3.2 .188 0.0 0.0 .000
Career 2.8 6.6 .433 1.2 1.5 .804 1.5 2.3 .649 1.0 3.2 .308 0.4 1.1 .333
Playoff Totals:
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Season LGE TEAM G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF +/-
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1988 NBA CHI 20 20 692 164 23 85 127 55 13 4 37 84
1987 NBA NYK 4 1 66 26 4 4 5 2 2 0 3 -9
1985 NBA ATL 4 4 146 42 8 13 23 10 4 1 6 -8
1984 NBA ATL 5 0 68 9 4 13 12 4 2 0 3 10
Career 33 25 972 241 39 115 167 71 21 5 49 77
Playoff Shooting Totals
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Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA
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1988 63 137 31 38 7 23
1987 12 22 1 2 1 4
1985 16 41 6 8 4 9
1984 3 17 3 3 0 0
Career 94 217 41 51 12 36
Playoff Efficiency:
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Season LGE TEAM G TS% PPS AST TO USG ORR DRR RR PER VA EWA +/- OEFF DEFF
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1988 NBA CHI 20 .532 1.20 37.8 16.4 14.3 3.8 9.2 6.6 9.3 -17.9 -0.6 4.2 107.0 102.1
1987 NBA NYK 4 .565 1.18 16.7 6.7 16.8 7.3 0.0 4.1 11.7 0.7 0.0 -2.3 106.9 109.6
1985 NBA ATL 4 .467 1.02 29.5 12.8 17.6 6.1 5.2 5.7 9.0 -4.3 -0.1 -2.0 96.8 98.3
1984 NBA ATL 5 .222 0.53 35.3 11.8 16.5 6.6 15.5 10.9 4.7 -6.4 -0.2 2.0 92.2 85.0
Career 33 .502 1.11 35.0 14.9 4.9 4.5 8.7 6.7 9.1 -27.8 -0.9 2.3 104.6 101.0
Career Highs:
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Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA
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Season 26 5 9 13 3 1 7 8 13 9 10 2 4
Playoff 22 4 8 10 4 1 8 9 12 9 10 3 3
Career 26 6 12 14 4 1 8 10 17 9 10 4 6
Awards & Achievements:
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Season Award
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Total Championships: 1
1988 National Basketball Association Champion
1983 NBA Rookie Game Participant
1981 NBA All-Rookie Second Team
1979 2nd Team All-Conference (Ivy League)
1975 High School: Mr. Basketball (New Hampshire)
1975 High School: All-State (New Hampshire)
1975 High School: Rated **** and #49 overall by the FBCB scouting service.