1989–90 Houston Rockets season

The 1989–90 NBA season was the Rockets' 23rd season in the National Basketball Association, and 19th season in the city of Houston.^[1] After a 9–6 start to the season, the Rockets would struggle posting a 12–18 record as they entered the New Year. However, they would manage to win seven of their next nine games, holding a 22–25 record at the All-Star break.^[2] At midseason, the team acquired second-year guard Vernon Maxwell from the San Antonio Spurs,^[3][4][5] as they continued to play .500 basketball for the rest of the season. The Rockets finished fifth in the Midwest Division with a 41–41 record,^[6] winning a tie-breaker over the Seattle SuperSonics for the #8 seed in the Western Conference.^[7][8]

1989–90 Houston Rockets season
Head coach	Don Chaney
General manager	Steve Patterson
Owner(s)	Charlie Thomas
Arena	The Summit
Results
Record	41–41 (.500)
Place	Division: 5th (Midwest) Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Lakers 1–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KTXH Home Sports Entertainment
Radio	KTRH
< 1988–89 1990–91 >

Akeem Olajuwon led the Rockets with 24.3 points, 14.0 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and was selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game.^{[9][10][11][12]} In addition, Otis Thorpe averaged 17.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while Mitchell Wiggins averaged 15.5 points per game, Buck Johnson provided the team with 14.8 points and 1.3 steals per game, and Sleepy Floyd contributed 12.2 points and 7.3 assists per game.^[13] Olajuwon also finished in seventh place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[14] and in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.^[15][16][17]

However, in the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Rockets lost to the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in four games.^{[18][19][20][21]} Following the season, Wiggins was released to free agency, and John Lucas and Tim McCormick were both traded to the Atlanta Hawks.^[22][23][24]

Draft picks

Main article: 1989 NBA draft

The Rockets had no draft picks in 1989.

Roster

1989–90 Houston Rockets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 25 Bowie, Anthony 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–11–09 Oklahoma F 44 Caldwell, Adrian 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1966–07–04 Lamar G 9 Dinkins, Byron 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1967–06–15 Charlotte G 21 Floyd, Sleepy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1960–03–06 Georgetown F 1 Johnson, Buck 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1964–01–03 Alabama G 32 Lloyd, Lewis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1959–02–22 Drake G 10 Lucas, John 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1953–10–31 Maryland G 11 Maxwell, Vernon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1965–09–12 Florida C 40 McCormick, Tim 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1962–03–10 Michigan C 34 Olajuwon, Akeem 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1963–01–21 Houston F 13 Smith, Larry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1958–01–18 Alcorn State F 33 Thorpe, Otis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1962–08–05 Providence G 23 Wiggins, Mitchell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1959–09–28 Florida State G 42 Woodson, Mike 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1958–03–24 Indiana

Head coach Don Chaney Assistant coach(es) Carroll Dawson John Killilea Rudy Tomjanovich Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: March 19, 1990

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	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

#	Western Conference v t e
	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

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1989-90 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	1–3	2–0	0–5	2–3	0–2	1–1	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–3	1–1	0–2	4–0	3–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	5–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	3–1	—	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	5–0	2–2	1–1	5–1	4–1	4–0	3–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3
Charlotte	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	1–3	3–2	0–2	2–2	1–4	1–1	2–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	0–5	0–2
Chicago	5–0	2–2	2–0	—	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–4	2–0	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–1
Cleveland	3–2	1–3	1–1	0–5	—	0–2	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	3–2	1–1	4–0	2–2	4–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Dallas	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	—	2–3	1–1	3–1	4–1	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	3–2	2–2	1–3	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	2–0	3–2	—	0–2	2–2	4–1	0–2	2–2	0–4	2–0	1–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–2	0–4	1–1
Detroit	2–3	2–2	2–0	4–1	4–1	1–1	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	4–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	5–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0
Golden State	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	—	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–4	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	2–2	3–2	1–3	2–3	2–2	1–1
Houston	0–2	0–2	4–1	1–1	2–0	1–4	1–4	1–1	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–2	1–1
Indiana	3–2	3–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	0–2	2–0	1–4	1–1	1–1	—	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–2	1–1	4–0	1–3	4–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
L.A. Clippers	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	—	1–4	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–4	0–5	2–3	0–4	3–2	0–4	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	2–0	4–1	—	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–3	5–0	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–1
Miami	0–4	0–5	1–1	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	—	2–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	3–1	0–5	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–3
Milwaukee	2–3	2–2	2–0	1–4	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	—	2–0	4–0	2–2	5–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–1
Minnesota	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–5	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–4	1–3	0–5	1–1
New Jersey	2–2	1–5	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	4–1	0–4	1–1	—	1–4	1–3	1–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3
New York	3–1	1–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	5–1	2–2	1–1	4–1	—	2–2	2–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–0
Orlando	0–5	0–4	1–1	2–3	1–4	0–2	0–2	0–5	0–2	0–2	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–5	1–1	3–1	2–2	—	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4
Philadelphia	2–2	2–3	2–0	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	5–0	3–1	1–1	4–1	3–2	2–2	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–1
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	0–2	5–0	2–2	1–1	4–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	—	2–3	5–0	0–4	3–2	3–1	2–0
Portland	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–1	5–0	3–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–2	—	4–0	3–1	3–2	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–3	0–4	1–1	3–2	0–5	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–5	0–4	—	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	1–1	5–0	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	—	3–1	3–2	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–2	1–1	2–3	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3	2–3	2–2	1–3	—	1–3	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–3	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–3	3–1	—	2–0
Washington	2–2	3–2	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–3	1–1	3–2	0–5	4–0	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

Playoffs

1990 playoff game log
First Round: 1–3 (home: 1–1; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 27 @ L.A. Lakers L 89–101 Otis Thorpe (21) Akeem Olajuwon (14) Sleepy Floyd (8) Great Western Forum 17,505 0–1 2 April 29 @ L.A. Lakers L 100–104 Sleepy Floyd (27) Akeem Olajuwon (11) Sleepy Floyd (8) Great Western Forum 17,505 0–2 3 May 1 L.A. Lakers W 114–108 Otis Thorpe (27) Otis Thorpe (8) Sleepy Floyd (18) The Summit 16,611 1–2 4 May 3 L.A. Lakers L 88–109 Akeem Olajuwon (28) Akeem Olajuwon (10) Sleepy Floyd (10) The Summit 16,611 1–3
1990 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

NOTE: Please write the players statistics in alphabetical order by last name.

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Anthony Bowie	66	0	13.9	.406	.286	.741	1.8	1.5	.6	.1	4.3
Adrian Caldwell	51	0	6.5	.553		.464	2.1	.1	.2	.4	1.9
Derrick Chievous†	41	0	12.0	.506	.375	.701	1.8	.7	.6	.1	6.0
Byron Dinkins	33	0	11.0	.404	.111	.867	1.2	2.3	.6	.1	3.5
Sleepy Floyd	82	73	32.1	.451	.380	.806	2.4	7.3	1.1	.1	12.2
Buck Johnson	82	82	34.5	.495	.118	.759	4.6	3.1	1.3	.8	14.8
Lewis Lloyd†	19	0	5.9	.569		.563	.9	.6	.2	.0	3.5
John Lucas II	49	18	19.1	.375	.299	.764	1.8	4.9	.9	.0	5.8
Vernon Maxwell†	30	10	29.0	.442	.245	.664	2.9	5.0	1.4	.2	12.5
Tim McCormick	18	0	6.4	.345		.526	1.5	.2	.2	.1	1.7
Chuck Nevitt	3	0	3.0	1.000			1.0	.3	.0	.3	1.3
Akeem Olajuwon	82	82	38.1	.501	.167	.713	14.0	2.9	2.1	4.6	24.3
Larry Smith	74	0	17.6	.474	.000	.364	6.1	.9	.8	.4	3.0
Otis Thorpe	82	82	35.9	.548	.000	.688	9.0	3.2	.8	.3	17.1
Mitchell Wiggins	66	52	28.1	.488	.000	.810	4.3	1.6	1.3	.0	15.5
Mike Woodson	61	11	15.9	.395	.293	.721	1.4	1.1	.7	.2	6.5

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Anthony Bowie	2	0	2.0	.000			.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Adrian Caldwell	1	0	1.0				.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Sleepy Floyd	4	4	43.0	.469	.250	.647	3.8	10.3	1.3	.3	18.5
Buck Johnson	4	4	37.0	.417	.000	.846	4.0	2.3	1.5	.5	12.8
Vernon Maxwell	4	4	39.8	.370	.308	.524	3.0	4.3	1.3	.0	19.8
Tim McCormick	3	0	7.0	.333		.500	2.7	.0	.0	.0	1.0
Akeem Olajuwon	4	4	40.3	.443		.706	11.5	2.0	2.5	5.8	18.5
Larry Smith	4	0	18.3	.750			3.3	1.3	1.0	.0	3.0
Otis Thorpe	4	4	41.0	.600		.684	8.3	1.8	1.3	.0	20.0
Mitchell Wiggins	4	0	12.8	.467		.667	3.3	.5	.3	.0	4.0
Mike Woodson	1	0	6.0	.333	.000		.0	2.0	.0	.0	2.0

Awards and records

• Akeem Olajuwon, All-NBA Second Team
• Akeem Olajuwon, NBA All-Defensive First Team

Transactions

Main article: List of 1989–90 NBA season transactions

See also

• 1989–90 NBA season

References

1. 1989-90 Houston Rockets
2. "NBA Games Played on February 8, 1990". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
3. "NBA WEDNESDAY'S TRADES: Cheeks Dealt for Strickland; Carroll to Nuggets". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 22, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
4. Goldaper, Sam (March 27, 1990). "NOTEBOOK; Spurs on Brink of Record Turnabout". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
5. Luna, Richard (May 2, 1990). "Maxwell Proves Key Acquisition for Rockets". United Press International. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
6. "1989–90 Houston Rockets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
7. "Rockets Land a Berth". The New York Times. April 23, 1990. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
8. Hafner, Dan (April 23, 1990). "NBA ROUNDUP: Rockets Get Last Spot, Lakers in 1st Round". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
9. Howard-Cooper, Scott (February 11, 1990). "NBA ALL-STAR GAME: Entire Family Is Back Together--Almost". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
10. "Bird, Johnson Return Magic to All-Star Game". Sun Sentinel. February 11, 1990. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
11. "1990 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
12. "1990 NBA All-Star Game: East 130, West 113". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
13. "1989–90 Houston Rockets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
14. McManis, Sam (May 22, 1990). "Magic Repeats in MVP Vote; Barkley Is 2nd: Pro Basketball: Johnson Is the First Back-to-Back Winner Since Larry Bird. Michael Jordan Finishes a Close Third". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
15. "Dennis Rodman NBA Defensive Player of Year". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 7, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
16. Shook, Richard L. (May 7, 1990). "Pistons' Rodman Voted Defensive Player of Year". United Press International. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
17. "1989–90 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
18. Luna, Richard (May 3, 1990). "Lakers 109, Rockets 88". United Press International. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
19. "Worthy Helps Lakers Eliminate Rockets". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 4, 1990. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
20. McManis, Sam (May 4, 1990). "Now Lakers Don't Have to Run for Cover, 109-88: NBA Playoffs: Pep Talk by Riley, Move to Straight-Up Defense Bear Fruit as Los Angeles Wins Playoff Series". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
21. "1990 NBA Western Conference First Round: Rockets vs. Lakers". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
22. "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Rockets Obtain Smith". The New York Times. September 28, 1990. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
23. "Rockets Trade Lucas, Get 2 Hawks". Los Angeles Times. September 28, 1990. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
24. "Rockets, Hawks Work Deal". Deseret News. September 28, 1990. Retrieved December 31, 2022.