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1989–90 NBA season

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The 1989–90 NBA season was the 44th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Detroit Pistons winning their second consecutive NBA Championship, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. It was also the Pistons' second NBA title overall.

1989–90 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationNovember 3, 1989 – April 22, 1990
April 26 – June 3, 1990 (Playoffs)
June 5 – 14, 1990 (Finals)
Number of teams27
TV partner(s)CBS, TBS, TNT
Draft
Top draft pickPervis Ellison
Picked bySacramento Kings
Regular season
Top seedLos Angeles Lakers
Season MVPMagic Johnson (L.A. Lakers)
Top scorerMichael Jordan (Chicago)
Playoffs
Eastern championsDetroit Pistons
  Eastern runners-upChicago Bulls
Western championsPortland Trail Blazers
  Western runners-upPhoenix Suns
Finals
ChampionsDetroit Pistons
  Runners-upPortland Trail Blazers
Finals MVPIsiah Thomas (Detroit)
NBA seasons

Notable occurrences

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Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1988–89 coach 1989–90 coach
Chicago Bulls Doug Collins Phil Jackson
Minnesota Timberwolves Expansion Bill Musselman
New Jersey Nets Willis Reed Bill Fitch
New York Knicks Rick Pitino Stu Jackson
Orlando Magic Expansion Matt Guokas
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Sacramento Kings Jerry Reynolds Dick Motta
Dallas Mavericks John MacLeod Richie Adubato
Charlotte Hornets Dick Harter Gene Littles
  • The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic entered the NBA as the league's 26th and 27th franchises. The Timberwolves played their preseason schedule at the Met Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington home of the NHL's Minnesota North Stars. They played their regular season schedule at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, former home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and MLB's Minnesota Twins. They would move to smaller-capacity Target Center for the 1990–91 season. The Magic would play at Orlando Arena (later known as TD Waterhouse Centre and Amway Arena) for the next 21 years.
  • The NBA All-Star Weekend was in Miami Arena in Miami. In the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, the East defeated the West 130–113.[1] Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers took home the game's MVP award, becoming the third player in history to win the award in a losing effort.[1] Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks edged out Kenny Smith of the Sacramento Kings to win the Slam Dunk Contest.[2]
  • The Charlotte Hornets were aligned in the Midwest Division in the Western Conference. Charlotte would be aligned in the Central Division for good starting the next year. The league had placed the four new teams in different divisions to spread them out over their first few seasons.
  • After seventeen seasons as the broadcast television home for NBA basketball, CBS Sports aired its final NBA broadcast in Game 5 of the Finals from Portland. NBC Sports would begin a twelve-season run as the league's new broadcast partner beginning the next season.
    • This was also the first season that Turner Sports aired games on its, at the time, new cable outlet Turner Network Television; this began a long relationship between TNT and the NBA that would run until the end of the 2024–25 season.
  • The NBA adopted the FIBA rule that game clocks register tenths of seconds in the final minute of a quarter. This rule turns controversial during the season because of clock calibration problems in many venues; following a January 15, 1990, game at Madison Square Garden between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls where Trent Tucker sank a three-point basket with the ball put in play with one-tenth of a second remaining, the NBA mandated clock calibration and prohibited any shot made when the ball is put in play with less than three-tenths of a second remaining from counting unless it is a dunk or a tip-in. The Trent Tucker Rule would be established the following year as a result of this incident.
  • All three Texas-based teams made the playoffs. This would not happen again until 2004.
  • This was the last of nine consecutive seasons in which the Lakers finished as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. They would not return there until 2000.
  • Long-time Boston Celtics announcer Johnny Most retired after 37 years behind the microphone. Most was best known for his call of "Havlicek stole the ball!!" in the 1965 Eastern Division Finals between the Celtics and the Sixers.
  • The Philadelphia 76ers won their first Atlantic Division title since the 1982–83 championship season, and the first in the post-Julius Erving era. They lost to the Bulls in the second round of the playoffs.
  • Several players from Eastern Bloc countries in Europe made an impact in the NBA. Yugoslavia's Vlade Divac and Dražen Petrović, and the Soviet Union's Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Alexander Volkov were among the pioneering players from Eastern Europe who made the jump to the NBA.
  • On March 28, 1990, near the end of the 1989–90 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers faced their new nemesis Michael Jordan. Needing the victory to clinch a playoff berth, Jordan set his career high with 69 points in an overtime win and putting a dent in the Cavaliers' playoff plans.
  • The Spurs orchestrated the biggest turnaround, with rookie David Robinson at center. After finishing 21–61 in 1988–89, they improved by 35 games and won the Midwest Division.
  • Scottie Pippen becomes the first forward in NBA history to accumulate over 200 steals with over 100 blocks in a season.

1989–90 NBA changes

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Teams

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1989-90 National Basketball Association
Eastern Conference
Division Team City Arena Capacity
Atlantic Boston Celtics Boston, Massachusetts Boston Garden 14,890
Miami Heat Miami, Florida Miami Arena 15,200
New Jersey Nets East Rutherford, New Jersey Brendan Byrne Arena 20,049
New York Knicks New York, New York Madison Square Garden 19,812
Philadelphia 76ers Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Spectrum 18,176
Washington Bullets Landover, Maryland Capital Centre 18,756
Central Atlanta Hawks Atlanta, Georgia Omni Coliseum 16,378
Chicago Bulls Chicago, Illinois Chicago Stadium 18,676
Cleveland Cavaliers Richfield, Ohio Richfield Coliseum 20,900
Detroit Pistons Auburn Hills, Michigan The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076
Indiana Pacers Indianapolis, Indiana Market Square Arena 17,171
Milwaukee Bucks Milwaukee, Wisconsin Bradley Center 18,717
Orlando Magic * Orlando, Florida Orlando Arena 17,283
Western Conference
Midwest Charlotte Hornets Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte Coliseum 24,042
Dallas Mavericks Dallas, Texas Reunion Arena 18,293
Denver Nuggets Denver, Colorado McNichols Sports Arena 17,171
Houston Rockets Houston, Texas The Summit 16,285
Minnesota Timberwolves * Minneapolis, Minnesota Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 50,000
San Antonio Spurs San Antonio, Texas HemisFair Arena 16,057
Utah Jazz Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Palace 12,686
Pacific Golden State Warriors Oakland, California Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,335
Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles, California Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 16,161
Los Angeles Lakers Inglewood, California Great Western Forum 17,505
Phoenix Suns Phoenix, Arizona Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,870
Portland Trail Blazers Portland, Oregon Memorial Coliseum 12,888
Sacramento Kings Sacramento, California ARCO Arena 17,317
Seattle SuperSonics Seattle, Washington Seattle Center Coliseum 17,072
Expansion team *

Map of teams

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  Atlantic Division   Central Division   Midwest Division   Pacific Division

Final standings

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By division

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Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Philadelphia 76ers 53 29 .646 – 34–7 19–22 19–7
x-Boston Celtics 52 30 .634 1 30–11 22–19 19–7
x-New York Knicks 45 37 .549 8 29–12 16–25 17–9
Washington Bullets 31 51 .378 22 20–21 11–30 10–16
Miami Heat 18 64 .220 35 11–30 7–34 4–22
New Jersey Nets 17 65 .207 36 13–28 4–37 9–17
Central Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Detroit Pistons 59 23 .720 – 35–6 24–17 22–8
x-Chicago Bulls 55 27 .671 4 36–5 19–22 20–10
x-Milwaukee Bucks 44 38 .537 15 27–14 17–24 14–16
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 42 40 .512 17 27–14 15–26 14–16
x-Indiana Pacers 42 40 .512 17 28–13 14–27 16–14
Atlanta Hawks 41 41 .500 18 25–16 16–25 15–15
Orlando Magic 18 64 .220 41 12–29 6–35 4–26
Midwest Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs 56 26 .683 – 34–7 22–19 19–9
x-Utah Jazz 55 27 .671 1 36–5 19–22 21–7
x-Dallas Mavericks 47 35 .573 9 30–11 17–24 17–11
x-Denver Nuggets 43 39 .524 13 28–13 15–26 15–13
x-Houston Rockets 41 41 .500 15 31–10 10–31 13–15
Minnesota Timberwolves 22 60 .268 34 17–24 5–36 6–22
Charlotte Hornets 19 63 .232 37 13–28 6–35 7–21
Pacific Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 63 19 .768 – 37–4 26–15 22–6
x-Portland Trail Blazers 59 23 .720 4 35–6 24–17 20–8
x-Phoenix Suns 54 28 .659 9 32–9 22–19 20–8
Seattle SuperSonics 41 41 .500 22 30–11 11–30 11–17
Golden State Warriors 37 45 .451 26 27–14 10–31 11–17
Los Angeles Clippers 30 52 .366 33 20–21 10–31 7–21
Sacramento Kings 23 59 .280 40 16–25 7–34 7–21

By conference

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#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Detroit Pistons 59 23 .720 –
2 y-Philadelphia 76ers 53 29 .646 6
3 x-Chicago Bulls 55 27 .671 4
4 x-Boston Celtics 52 30 .634 7
5 x-New York Knicks 45 37 .549 14
6 x-Milwaukee Bucks 44 38 .537 15
7 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 42 40 .512 17
8 x-Indiana Pacers 42 40 .512 17
9 Atlanta Hawks 41 41 .500 18
10 Washington Bullets 31 51 .378 28
11 Miami Heat 18 64 .220 41
12 Orlando Magic 18 64 .220 41
13 New Jersey Nets 17 65 .207 42
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Los Angeles Lakers 63 19 .768 –
2 y-San Antonio Spurs 56 26 .683 7
3 x-Portland Trail Blazers 59 23 .720 4
4 x-Utah Jazz 55 27 .671 8
5 x-Phoenix Suns 54 28 .659 9
6 x-Dallas Mavericks 47 35 .573 16
7 x-Denver Nuggets 43 39 .524 20
8 x-Houston Rockets 41 41 .500 22
9 Seattle SuperSonics 41 41 .500 22
10 Golden State Warriors 37 45 .451 26
11 Los Angeles Clippers 30 52 .366 33
12 Sacramento Kings 23 59 .280 40
13 Minnesota Timberwolves 22 60 .268 41
14 Charlotte Hornets 19 63 .232 44

Notes

  • z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
  • c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
  • y – Clinched division title
  • x – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

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Main article: 1990 NBA playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.

First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
            
E1 Detroit* 3
E8 Indiana 0
E1 Detroit* 4
E5 New York 1
E4 Boston 2
E5 New York 3
E1 Detroit* 4
Eastern Conference
E3 Chicago 3
E3 Chicago 3
E6 Milwaukee 1
E3 Chicago 4
E2 Philadelphia* 1
E2 Philadelphia* 3
E7 Cleveland 2
E1 Detroit* 4
W3 Portland 1
W1 LA Lakers* 3
W8 Houston 1
W1 LA Lakers* 1
W5 Phoenix 4
W4 Utah 2
W5 Phoenix 3
W5 Phoenix 2
Western Conference
W3 Portland 4
W3 Portland 3
W6 Dallas 0
W3 Portland 4
W2 San Antonio* 3
W2 San Antonio* 3
W7 Denver 0
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage

Statistics leaders

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Category Player Team Stat
Points per game Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 33.6
Rebounds per game Akeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets 14.0
Assists per game John Stockton Utah Jazz 14.5
Steals per game Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 2.77
Blocks per game Akeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets 4.59
FG% Mark West Phoenix Suns .625
FT% Larry Bird Boston Celtics .930
3FG% Steve Kerr Cleveland Cavaliers .507

NBA awards

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Player of the week

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The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.

Week Player
Nov. 3 – Nov. 12 Vern Fleming (Indiana Pacers)
Nov. 13 – Nov. 19 John Stockton (Utah Jazz)
Nov. 20 – Nov. 26 Clyde Drexler (Portland Trail Blazers)
Nov. 27 – Dec. 3 Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
Dec. 4 – Dec. 10 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Dec. 11 – Dec. 17 Chris Mullin (Golden State Warriors)
Dec. 18 – Dec. 23 Terry Cummings (San Antonio Spurs)
Dec. 25 – Dec. 30 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Jan. 2 – Jan. 7 Terry Teagle (Golden State Warriors)
Jan. 8 – Jan. 14 Ron Harper (Los Angeles Clippers)
Jan. 15 – Jan. 21 Alvin Robertson (Milwaukee Bucks)
Jan. 22 – Jan. 28 Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Jan. 29 – Feb. 4 Tim Hardaway (Golden State Warriors)
Feb. 5 – Feb. 18 Tom Chambers (Phoenix Suns)
Feb. 19 – Feb. 25 David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
Feb. 26 – Mar. 4 Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
Mar. 5 – Mar. 11 Rony Seikaly (Miami Heat)
Mar. 12 – Mar. 18 Kevin Johnson (Phoenix Suns)
Mar. 19 – Mar. 25 David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
Mar. 26 – Apr. 1 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Apr. 2 – Apr. 8 Charles Barkley (Philadelphia 76ers)
Apr. 9 – Apr. 15 Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Apr. 16 – Apr. 22 David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)

Player of the month

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The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.

Month Player
November Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
December Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
January Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
February Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
March Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
April Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)

Rookie of the month

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The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.

Month Rookie
November David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
December David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
January David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
February David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
March David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
April David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)

Coach of the month

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The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.

Month Coach
November Dick Versace (Indiana Pacers)
December Stu Jackson (New York Knicks)
January Jim Lynam (Philadelphia 76ers)
February Cotton Fitzsimmons (Phoenix Suns)
March Rick Adelman (Portland Trail Blazers)
April Jimmy Rodgers (Boston Celtics)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Howard-Cooper, Scott (February 12, 1990). "East Stars Put It Together, but Magic Has Hardware : Pro basketball: Laker guard earns MVP in losing effort as rest of his West teammates are shut down, 130-113". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Heisler, Mark (February 11, 1990). "Wilkins Wins It With the Same Old Stuff : Slam-dunk contest: Dominique beats Kenny Smith, but no one seems to care anymore. Hodges wins three-point shootout". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
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