1987–88 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1987–88 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 18th season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association. The Cavaliers received the seventh overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft, and selected point guard Kevin Johnson from the University of California, and acquired second-year guard Dell Curry from the Utah Jazz during the off-season.

With the addition of Johnson and Curry, the Cavaliers struggled with a 3–8 start to the regular season, but soon recovered and played above .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the season, holding a 23–22 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Johnson along with Tyrone Corbin, and Mark West to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for All-Star forward Larry Nance, and Mike Sanders. Despite a six-game losing streak between February and March, the Cavaliers won 11 of their final 13 games of the season, finishing in fifth place in the Central Division with a 42–40 record, and earning the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Second-year star Brad Daugherty averaged 18.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, while Nance averaged 16.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in 27 games after the trade, and second-year guard Mark Price showed improvement becoming the team's starting point guard, averaging 16.0 points and 6.0 assists per game. In addition, second-year guard Ron Harper contributed 15.4 points, 4.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game, but only played 57 games due to injury, and second-year forward Hot Rod Williams provided the team with 10.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Off the bench, Curry contributed 10.0 points and 1.2 steals per game, while starting small forward Phil Hubbard averaged 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, and Craig Ehlo provided with 7.1 points and 2.6 assists per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, Daugherty was selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his first ever All-Star appearance. Meanwhile, Price participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout, and Harper was selected to participate in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, but withdrew due to injury. Price also finished in third place in Most Improved Player voting, while head coach Lenny Wilkens finished tied in sixth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1988 NBA playoffs, the Cavaliers faced off against the 3rd–seeded Chicago Bulls, who were led by All-Star guard, Most Valuable Player, and Defensive Player of the Year, Michael Jordan, Charles Oakley and Sam Vincent. The Cavaliers lost the first two games to the Bulls on the road at the Chicago Stadium, but managed to win the next two games at home, which included a Game 4 win over the Bulls at the Coliseum at Richfield, 97–91 to even the series. However, the Cavaliers lost Game 5 to the Bulls at the Chicago Stadium, 107–101, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series.

The Cavaliers finished twelfth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 504,847 at the Coliseum at Richfield during the regular season. Following the season, Curry was left unprotected in the 1988 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Charlotte Hornets expansion team.