The 1988–89 season was the 19th season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was racked with dissension and posted a 25–22 record before head coach Mike Schuler was fired in mid-February. Then-assistant coach Rick Adelman was promoted to replace him on an interim basis. After the Blazers reached the 1989 NBA Playoffs, Adelman was made the head coach on a full-time basis. At midseason, the team traded Kiki Vandeweghe to the New York Knicks. After holding a 25–21 record at the All-Star break, the Blazers played below .500 for the remainder of the season, and finished fifth in the Pacific Division with a 39–43 record, eighth in the Western Conference, qualifying for the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.