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.
The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic enter the NBA as the league's 26th and 27th franchises. The Timberwolves began the season playing at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and former home of the American League 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 1990 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, with the East defeating the West 130–113. Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers takes home the game's MVP award.
The Charlotte Hornets are aligned in the Midwest Division in the Western Conference. Charlotte would be aligned in the Central Division for good starting next year. The league had placed the four new teams in different divisions to spread them out over their first few seasons.
The NBA on CBS concludes its 17 year run (dating back to 1973). The program is succeeded by The NBA on NBC.
The NBA adopts the FIBA rule and a mandating clocks register tenths of seconds in the final minute of a period. This rule turns controversial during the season because of clock calibration problems in many venues; following a January 15, 1990 game 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 mandates clock calibration and prohibits 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 tip-in.
All Texas teams make the playoffs. This would not happen again until 2004.
This was the last of nine consecutive seasons in which the Lakers finished at 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 mic. Most was best known for his call of "Havlicek stole the ball!!" in the 1965 Eastern Division Finals between the Celtics and the Sixers.
Final standings[]
Eastern Conference[]
Atlantic Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Philadelphia 76ers
53
29
.646
-
Boston Celtics
52
30
.634
1
New York Knicks
45
37
.549
8
Washington Bullets
31
51
.378
22
Miami Heat
18
64
.220
35
Orlando Magic
18
64
.220
41
New Jersey Nets
17
65
.207
36
Central Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Detroit Pistons C
59
23
.720
-
Chicago Bulls
55
27
.671
4
Milwaukee Bucks
44
38
.537
15
Cleveland Cavaliers
42
40
.512
17
Indiana Pacers
42
40
.512
17
Atlanta Hawks
41
41
.500
18
Western Conference[]
Midwest Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
San Antonio Spurs
56
26
.683
-
Utah Jazz
55
27
.671
1
Dallas Mavericks
47
35
.573
9
Denver Nuggets
43
39
.524
13
Houston Rockets
41
41
.500
15
Minnesota Timberwolves
22
60
.268
34
Charlotte Hornets
19
63
.232
37
Pacific Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Los Angeles Lakers
63
19
.768
-
Portland Trail Blazers
59
23
.720
4
Phoenix Suns
54
28
.659
9
Seattle SuperSonics
41
41
.500
22
Golden State Warriors
37
45
.451
26
Los Angeles Clippers
30
52
.366
33
Sacramento Kings
23
59
.280
40
C - NBA Champions
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[]
Most Valuable Player: Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
Rookie of the Year: David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs
Defensive Player of the Year: Dennis Rodman, Detroit Pistons
Sixth Man of the Year: Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee Bucks
