1989–90 NBA season

1989–90 NBA season
League National Basketball Association
Sport Basketball
Duration November 3, 1989 – April 22, 1990
April 26 – June 3, 1990 (Playoffs)
June 5 – 14, 1990 (Finals)
TV partner/s CBS, TBS, TNT
Draft
Top draft pick Pervis Ellison
Picked by Sacramento Kings
Regular season
Top seed Los Angeles Lakers
Season MVP Magic Johnson (L.A. Lakers)
Top scorer Michael Jordan (Chicago)
Playoffs
Eastern champions Detroit Pistons
  Eastern runners-up Chicago Bulls
Western champions Portland Trail Blazers
  Western runners-up Phoenix Suns
Finals
Finals champions Detroit Pistons
  Runners-up Portland Trail Blazers
Finals MVP Isiah Thomas (Detroit)
NBA seasons
← 1988–89

1990–91 →

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

Contents

Notable occurrences

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

Final standings

By division

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

# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-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
11 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

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
                                     
1  Detroit 3  
8  Indiana 0  
  1  Detroit 4  
 
  5  New York 1  
4  Boston 2
5  New York 3  
  1  Detroit 4  
Eastern Conference
  3  Chicago 3  
3  Chicago 3  
6  Milwaukee 1  
  3  Chicago 4
 
  2  Philadelphia 1  
2  Philadelphia 3
7  Cleveland 2  
  E1  Detroit 4
  W3  Portland 1
1  L.A. Lakers 3  
8  Houston 1  
  1  L.A. Lakers 1
 
  5  Phoenix 4  
4  Utah 2
5  Phoenix 3  
  5  Phoenix 2
Western Conference
  3  Portland 4  
3  Portland 3  
6  Dallas 0  
  3  Portland 4
 
  2  San Antonio 3  
2  San Antonio 3
7  Denver 0  

Statistics leaders

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 2.8
Blocks per game Akeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets 4.6
FG% Mark West Phoenix Suns 62.5
FT% Larry Bird Boston Celtics 93.0
3FG% Steve Kerr Cleveland Cavaliers 50.7

NBA awards

Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com

Player of the week

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

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

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

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