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1990–91 NBA season

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1990–91 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
Duration
  • November 2, 1990 – April 21, 1991
  • April 25 – May 30, 1991 (Playoffs)
  • June 2 – 12, 1991 (Finals)
Number of teams27
TV partner(s)NBC, TBS, TNT
Draft
Top draft pickDerrick Coleman
Picked byNew Jersey Nets
Regular season
Top seedPortland Trail Blazers
Season MVPMichael Jordan (Chicago)
Top scorerMichael Jordan (Chicago)
Playoffs
Eastern championsChicago Bulls
  Eastern runners-upDetroit Pistons
Western championsLos Angeles Lakers
  Western runners-upPortland Trail Blazers
Finals
ChampionsChicago Bulls
  Runners-upLos Angeles Lakers
Finals MVPMichael Jordan (Chicago)
NBA seasons

The 1990–91 NBA season was the 45th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their first NBA Championship, eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.

This season would prove to be Magic Johnson's last full season as a player, as he announced he was HIV positive and retired early the following season (Johnson would play part of the 1995-96 NBA season with the Lakers before permanently retiring).

Notable occurrences

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Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1989–90 coach 1990–91 coach
Atlanta Hawks Mike Fratello Bob Weiss
Boston Celtics Jimmy Rodgers Chris Ford
Denver Nuggets Doug Moe Paul Westhead
Los Angeles Clippers Don Casey Mike Schuler
Los Angeles Lakers Pat Riley Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
New York Knicks Stu Jackson John MacLeod
Seattle SuperSonics Bernie Bickerstaff K.C. Jones
In-season

NBA 91 release date: October 22, 1990

Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Indiana Pacers Dick Versace Bob Hill

1990–91 NBA changes

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Teams

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1990-91 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
Charlotte Hornets Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte Coliseum 24,042
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
Western Conference
Midwest 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 Target Center 18,798
Orlando Magic Orlando, Florida Orlando Arena 17,283
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

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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Eastern Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics 56 26 .683 35–6 21–20 20-6
x-Philadelphia 76ers 44 38 .537 12 29-12 15-26 14-12
x-New York Knicks 39 43 .476 17 21-20 18-23 17–9
Washington Bullets 30 52 .366 26 21-20 9-32 10-16
New Jersey Nets 26 56 .317 30 20-21 6–35 8-18
Miami Heat 24 58 .293 32 18-23 6-35 9-17
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Chicago Bulls 61 21 .744 35–6 26–15 25–5
x-Detroit Pistons 50 32 .610 11 32–9 18–23 19-11
x-Milwaukee Bucks 48 34 .585 13 33–8 15–26 16–14
x-Atlanta Hawks 43 39 .524 18 29–12 14–27 11–19
x-Indiana Pacers 41 41 .500 20 29-12 12–29 15-15
Cleveland Cavaliers 33 49 .402 28 23–18 10–31 11-19
Charlotte Hornets 26 56 .317 35 17–24 9–32 8–22
Western Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs 55 27 .671 33–8 22–19 20–8
x-Utah Jazz 54 28 .659 1 36–5 18–23 21-7
x-Houston Rockets 52 30 .634 3 31-10 21–20 20-8
Orlando Magic 31 51 .378 24 24-17 7–34 13–15
Minnesota Timberwolves 29 53 .354 26 21-20 8-33 9-19
Dallas Mavericks 28 54 .341 27 20-21 8–33 7-21
Denver Nuggets 20 62 .244 35 17-24 3-38 8–20
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Portland Trail Blazers 63 19 .768 36–5 27–14 18-10
x-Los Angeles Lakers 58 24 .707 5 33–8 25-16 19-9
x-Phoenix Suns 55 27 .671 8 32–9 23-18 17–11
x-Golden State Warriors 44 38 .537 19 30–11 14–27 13–15
x-Seattle SuperSonics 41 41 .500 22 28-13 13–28 12-16
Los Angeles Clippers 31 51 .378 32 23–18 8-33 10-18
Sacramento Kings 25 57 .305 38 24-17 1–40 9–19

By conference

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#
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Chicago Bulls 61 21 .744
2 y-Boston Celtics 56 26 .683 5
3 x-Detroit Pistons 50 32 .610 11
4 x-Milwaukee Bucks 48 34 .585 13
5 x-Philadelphia 76ers 44 38 .537 17
6 x-Atlanta Hawks 43 39 .524 18
7 x-Indiana Pacers 41 41 .500 20
8 x-New York Knicks 39 43 .476 22
9 Cleveland Cavaliers 33 49 .402 28
10 Washington Bullets 30 52 .366 31
11 New Jersey Nets 26 56 .317 35
12 Charlotte Hornets 26 56 .317 35
13 Miami Heat 24 58 .293 37
#
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Portland Trail Blazers 63 19 .768
2 y-San Antonio Spurs 55 27 .671 8
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers 58 24 .707 5
4 x-Phoenix Suns 55 27 .671 8
5 x-Utah Jazz 54 28 .659 9
6 x-Houston Rockets 52 30 .634 11
7 x-Golden State Warriors 44 38 .537 19
8 x-Seattle SuperSonics 41 41 .500 22
9 Orlando Magic 31 51 .378 32
10 Los Angeles Clippers 31 51 .378 32
11 Minnesota Timberwolves 29 53 .354 34
12 Dallas Mavericks 28 54 .341 35
13 Sacramento Kings 25 57 .305 38
14 Denver Nuggets 20 62 .244 43

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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A ticket for Game 4 of the 1991 NBA Finals at the Great Western Forum.

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 Finals
            
E1 Chicago* 3
E8 New York 0
E1 Chicago* 4
E5 Philadelphia 1
E4 Milwaukee 0
E5 Philadelphia 3
E1 Chicago* 4
Eastern Conference
E3 Detroit 0
E3 Detroit 3
E6 Atlanta 2
E3 Detroit 4
E2 Boston* 2
E2 Boston* 3
E7 Indiana 2
E1 Chicago* 4
W3 LA Lakers 1
W1 Portland* 3
W8 Seattle 2
W1 Portland* 4
W5 Utah 1
W4 Phoenix 1
W5 Utah 3
W1 Portland* 2
Western Conference
W3 LA Lakers 4
W3 LA Lakers 3
W6 Houston 0
W3 LA Lakers 4
W7 Golden State 1
W2 San Antonio* 1
W7 Golden State 3
  • * 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 31.5
Rebounds per game David Robinson San Antonio Spurs 13.0
Assists per game John Stockton Utah Jazz 14.2
Steals per game Alvin Robertson Milwaukee Bucks 3.04
Blocks per game Hakeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets 3.95
FG% Buck Williams Portland Trail Blazers .602
FT% Reggie Miller Indiana Pacers .918
3FG% Jim Les Sacramento Kings .461

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. 2 – Nov. 11 Chris Mullin (Golden State Warriors)
Nov. 12 – Nov. 18 Clyde Drexler (Portland Trail Blazers)
Nov. 19 – Nov. 25 Charles Barkley (Philadelphia 76ers)
Nov. 26 – Dec. 2 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Dec. 3 – Dec. 9 John Stockton (Utah Jazz)
Dec. 10 – Dec. 16 Kevin Johnson (Phoenix Suns)
Dec. 17 – Dec. 23 Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Dec. 25 – Dec. 29 Ricky Pierce (Milwaukee Bucks)
Dec. 30 – Jan. 6 Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)
Jan. 7 – Jan. 13 Bernard King (Washington Bullets)
Jan. 14 – Jan. 20 Tim Hardaway (Golden State Warriors)
Jan. 21 – Jan. 27 Michael Adams (Denver Nuggets)
Jan. 28 – Feb. 3 Otis Thorpe (Houston Rockets)
Feb. 4 – Feb. 17 Lionel Simmons (Sacramento Kings)
Feb. 18 – Feb. 24 Reggie Miller (Indiana Pacers)
Feb. 25 – Mar. 3 Gerald Wilkins (New York Knicks)
Mar. 4 – Mar. 10 Dennis Scott (Orlando Magic)
Mar. 11 – Mar. 17 Kenny Smith (Houston Rockets)
Mar. 18 – Mar. 24 Mitch Richmond (Golden State Warriors)
Mar. 25 – Mar. 31 Clyde Drexler (Portland Trail Blazers)
Apr. 1 – Apr. 7 Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Apr. 8 – Apr. 14 Clyde Drexler (Portland Trail Blazers)
Apr. 15 – Apr. 21 Scott Skiles (Orlando Magic)

Player of the month

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The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.

Month Player
November Chris Mullin (Golden State Warriors)
December Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
January David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
February Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)
March Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
April Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)

Rookie of the month

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The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.

Month Rookie
November Derrick Coleman (New Jersey Nets)
December Lionel Simmons (Sacramento Kings)
January Derrick Coleman (New Jersey Nets)
February Lionel Simmons (Sacramento Kings)
March Dennis Scott (Orlando Magic)
April Derrick Coleman (New Jersey Nets)

Coach of the month

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The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.

Month Coach
November Rick Adelman (Portland Trail Blazers)
December Bob Weiss (Atlanta Hawks)
January Mike Dunleavy (Los Angeles Lakers)
February Don Chaney (Houston Rockets)
March Don Chaney (Houston Rockets)
April Rick Adelman (Portland Trail Blazers)

Notes

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  1. ^ Entered the NBA as Chris Jackson before changing his name in 1993.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Denton, John. "Remembering Scott Skiles' 30-Assists Game 25 Years Later". www.nba.com. Retrieved June 29, 2020.