On January 25, he scored the 10,000th point of his career. Named to the East All-Star Team for the fifth straight year, Jordan scored 28 points in 33 minutes of action. His postseason honors included membership on the All-NBA First Team and the NBA All-Defensive First Team and selection as Player of the Year by The Sporting News.
The Bulls slipped a bit in the regular season, posting a 47-35 record, three fewer wins than the season before. But after squeezing by the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games in the opening round of the playoffs, the Bulls ousted the New York Knicks in the conference semifinals and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for only the third time in team history. They fell to the Detroit Pistons in six games. Jordan averaged 34.8 points in 17 postseason games. In the pivotal Game 5 of Chicago's first-round series against Cleveland, Jordan hit a memorable buzzer-beating jumper over Craig Ehlo to bring the Bulls from a 100-99 deficit to a 101-100 victory.
HONORS
All-NBA First Team
NBA All-Defensive First Team
NBA All-Star Starter
REGULAR-SEASON STATS
| YEAR | TEAM | G | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | OFF | DEF | TOT | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 88-89 | Chi | 81 | 81 | 40.2 | .538 | .276 | .850 | 1.8 | 6.2 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 2.89 | 0.80 | 32.5 |
PLAYOFF STATS
| YEAR | TEAM | G | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | OFF | DEF | TOT | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 88-89 | Chi | 17 | 17 | 42.2 | .510 | .286 | .799 | 1.5 | 5.5 | 7.0 | 7.6 | 2.47 | 0.76 | 34.8 |