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1989–90 Minnesota Timberwolves season

NBA professional basketball team season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1989–90 NBA season was the Timberwolves' first season in the National Basketball Association.[1] Nearly 30 years after the Lakers left Minneapolis for Los Angeles, California, the NBA returned to Minnesota with an expansion team known as the "Timberwolves"; the Orlando Magic also joined the NBA in 1989 via expansion.[2][3][4][5][6] The team revealed their inaugural logo of a blue wolf with green eyes in front of a silver basketball,[7] and new uniforms with the color scheme of blue, green, white, and silver.[8][9]

Quick Facts Minnesota Timberwolves season, Head coach ...
1989–90 Minnesota Timberwolves season
Head coachBill Musselman
Owners
ArenaHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record22–60 (.268)
PlaceDivision: 6th (Midwest)
Conference: 13th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKSTP-TV/KITN-TV
(Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, Tom Hanneman)
RadioWDGY
(Kevin Harlan, Dave Shea)
1990–91 >
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In the 1989 NBA Expansion Draft, the Timberwolves selected veteran players like Rick Mahorn, Tyrone Corbin, Steve Johnson, Brad Lohaus and Scott Roth.[10][11][12][13][14] The team also signed free agents Tony Campbell, who won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1988 NBA Finals,[15][16][17] and rookie forward Sam Mitchell out of Mercer University; Mitchell was drafted by the Houston Rockets as a third-round draft pick in the 1985 NBA draft, but was released to free agency during the preseason, and previously played overseas in France and in the Continental Basketball Association.[18][19][20] Other free agents included Tod Murphy, who previously played overseas in Spain, and Sidney Lowe.[21][22]

However, Mahorn never played for the T-Wolves due to a contract dispute, and was later on traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.[23][24][25][26] The Timberwolves received the tenth overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft, and selected point guard Pooh Richardson from the University of California, Los Angeles.[27][28][29][30] The team hired Bill Musselman as their first ever head coach.[31][32]

The Timberwolves made their regular season debut on November 3, 1989, losing to the Seattle SuperSonics on the road, 106–94.[33][34] Five days later, they made their home debut at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, losing to the Chicago Bulls, 96–84.[35] Just two nights later, the T-Wolves would get their first win, defeating the 76ers in overtime, 125–118, on November 10.[36][37][38] At mid-season, the team traded Lohaus to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Randy Breuer.[39][40][41] The Timberwolves struggled in their first season, posting two nine-game losing streaks, and finishing in sixth place in the Midwest Division with a 22–60 record.[42]

Campbell led the team in scoring, averaging 23.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game, and finishing in third place in Most Improved Player voting,[43] while Corbin averaged 14.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game, and Mitchell provided the team with 12.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, reaching 20 or more points on 14 occasions as a 26 year-old rookie.[44] In addition, Richardson contributed 11.4 points, 6.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, while Murphy provided with 8.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, and Lowe contributed 2.3 points and 4.2 assists per game, despite shooting .319 in field-goal percentage.[45]

The team's inaugural logo and uniforms both remained in use until 1996.

Draft picks

Main article: 1989 NBA draft
More information Round, Pick ...
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 10 Pooh Richardson PG  United States UCLA
2 34 Gary Leonard C  United States Missouri
2 38 Doug West SG  United States Villanova
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Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
1989–90 Minnesota Timberwolves roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
C 45 Breuer, Randy 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1960–10–11 Minnesota
G/F 19 Campbell, Tony 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962–05–07 Ohio State
G/F 23 Corbin, Tyrone 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1962–12–31 DePaul
C 52 Leonard, Gary 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1967–02–16 Missouri
G 35 Lowe, Sidney 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1960–01–21 NC State
F 42 Mitchell, Sam 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1963–09–02 Mercer
C 4 Murphy, Tod 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1963–12–24 UC Irvine
G 24 Richardson, Pooh 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1966–05–14 UCLA
F 3 Roth, Scott 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 212 lb (96 kg) 1963–06–03 Wisconsin
F 15 Royal, Donald 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1966–05–22 Notre Dame
F/C 2 Sellers, Brad 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1962–12–17 Ohio State
G/F 5 West, Doug 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1967–05–27 Villanova
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured
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NBA expansion draft

Summarize
Perspective
Main article: 1989 NBA expansion draft

Prior to the 1989 NBA draft, the NBA held a coin toss between the Timberwolves and the other new expansion team, the Orlando Magic, to determine their order for the NBA draft and the expansion draft. The Magic won the coin toss and chose to have the first pick in the expansion draft and pick 11th in the NBA draft, while the Timberwolves picked second in the expansion draft and 10th in the NBA draft.

The previous season's expansion teams, the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, were not involved in this year's expansion draft and did not lose any player.

More information Pick, Player ...
Pick Player Position Nationality Previous Team
2 Rick Mahorn F/C  United States Detroit Pistons
4 Tyrone Corbin G/F  United States Phoenix Suns
6 Steve Johnson F/C  United States Portland Trail Blazers
8 Brad Lohaus F/C  United States Sacramento Kings
10 David Rivers G  United States Los Angeles Lakers
12 Mark Davis G/F  United States Milwaukee Bucks
14 Scott Roth F  United States San Antonio Spurs
16 Shelton Jones F  United States Philadelphia 76ers
18 Eric White F  United States Los Angeles Clippers
20 Maurice Martin G/F  United States Denver Nuggets
22 Gunther Behnke C  West Germany Cleveland Cavaliers
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Regular season

Summarize
Perspective

Standings

More information W, L ...
Midwest Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs 5626.683–34–722–1919–9
x-Utah Jazz 5527.671136–519–2221–7
x-Dallas Mavericks 4735.573930–1117–2417–11
x-Denver Nuggets 4339.5241328–1315–2615–13
x-Houston Rockets 4141.5001531–1010–3113–15
Minnesota Timberwolves 2260.2683417–245–366–22
Charlotte Hornets 1963.2323713–286–357–21
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More information #, Team ...
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Los Angeles Lakers6319.768–
2 y-San Antonio Spurs5626.6837
3 x-Portland Trail Blazers5923.7204
4 x-Utah Jazz5527.6718
5 x-Phoenix Suns5428.6599
6 x-Dallas Mavericks4735.57316
7 x-Denver Nuggets4339.52420
8 x-Houston Rockets4141.50022
9 Seattle SuperSonics4141.50022
10 Golden State Warriors3745.45126
11 Los Angeles Clippers3052.36633
12 Sacramento Kings2359.28040
13 Minnesota Timberwolves2260.26841
14 Charlotte Hornets1963.23244
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Record vs. opponents

More information Team, ATL ...
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 –1–32–00–52–30–21–13–22–02–02–31–10–24–03–21–12–21–35–02–20–21–11–11–11–11–12–2
Boston 3–1–2–02–23–11–11–12–21–12–01–31–10–25–02–21–15–14–14–03–21–10–22–01–12–01–12–3
Charlotte 0–20–2–0–21–11–33–20–22–21–41–12–20–41–10–22–21–11–11–10–21–30–41–30–50–40–50–2
Chicago 5–02–22–0–5–02–01–11–42–01–12–31–11–14–04–12–03–13–13–22–22–01–11–11–11–10–23–1
Cleveland 3–21–31–10–5–0–20–21–41–10–23–21–11–14–03–21–14–02–24–12–21–11–12–01–11–11–13–1
Dallas 2–01–13–10–22–0–2–31–13–14–12–03–10–42–01–14–12–01–12–01–11–30–43–13–22–21–31–1
Denver 1–11–12–31–12–03–2–0–22–24–10–22–20–42–01–15–02–01–12–01–11–32–24–01–32–20–41–1
Detroit 2–32–22–04–14–11–12–0–1–11–14–11–11–13–13–22–04–04–05–01–32–01–12–01–11–11–14–0
Golden State 0–21–12–20–21–11–32–21–1–2–21–13–11–42–01–13–12–00–22–01–10–52–23–21–32–32–21–1
Houston 0–20–24–11–12–01–41–41–12–2–1–12–22–21–11–12–21–11–12–01–12–21–34–02–22–23–21–1
Indiana 3–23–11–13–22–30–22–01–41–11–1–0–20–23–13–21–14–01–34–10–41–11–11–11–11–11–13–1
L.A. Clippers 1–11–12–21–11–11–32–21–11–32–22–0–1–40–21–13–12–00–22–00–20–40–52–30–43–20–41–1
L.A. Lakers 2–02–04–01–11–14–04–01–14–12–22–04–1–2–01–14–02–02–01–11–13–12–35–02–24–02–21–1
Miami 0–40–51–10–40–40–20–21–30–21–11–32–00–2–2–21–11–41–53–10–50–20–21–10–20–21–12–3
Milwaukee 2–32–22–01–42–31–11–12–31–11–12–31–11–12–2–2–04–02–25–01–31–11–11–11–12–00–23–1
Minnesota 1–11–12–20–21–11–40–50–21–32–21–11–30–41–10–2–1–11–11–11–10–41–32–21–41–30–51–1
New Jersey 2–21–51–11–30–40–20–20–40–21–10–40–20–24–10–41–1–1–41–31–40–20–21–10–20–20–22–3
New York 3–11–41–11–32–21–11–10–42–01–13–12–00–25–12–21–14–1–2–22–31–10–22–01–11–11–15–0
Orlando 0–50–41–12–31–40–20–20–50–20–21–40–21–11–30–51–13–12–2–2–20–20–21–11–10–21–10–4
Philadelphia 2–22–32–02–22–21–11–13–11–11–14–02–01–15–03–11–14–13–22–2–1–11–11–11–11–11–15–1
Phoenix 2–01–13–10–21–13–13–10–25–02–21–14–01–32–01–14–02–01–12–01–1–2–35–00–43–23–12–0
Portland 1–12–04–01–11–14–02–21–12–23–11–15–03–22–01–13–12–02–02–01–13–2–4–03–13–22–21–1
Sacramento 1–10–23–11–10–21–30–40–22–30–41–13–20–51–11–12–21–10–21–11–10–50–4–0–42–21–31–1
San Antonio 1–11–15–01–11–12–33–11–13–12–21–14–02–22–01–14–12–01–11–11–14–01–34–0–3–13–22–0
Seattle 1–10–24–01–11–12–22–21–13–22–21–12–30–42–00–23–12–01–12–01–12–32–32–21–3–1–32–0
Utah 1–11–15–02–01–13–14–01–12–22–31–14–02–21–12–05–02–01–11–11–11–32–23–12–33–1–2–0
Washington 2–23–22–01–31–31–11–10–41–11–11–31–11–13–21–31–13–20–54–01–50–21–11–10–20–20–2—
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Game log

Player statistics

Ragular season

More information Player, POS ...
Player POS GP GS MP REB AST STL BLK PTS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Tony CampbellSG 82813,164451213111311,90338.65.52.61.4.423.2
Tyrone CorbinSF 82803,011604216175411,20336.77.42.62.1.514.7
Tod MurphyC 82592,493564106766068030.46.91.3.9.78.3
Pooh RichardsonPG 82482,5812175541332593831.52.66.81.6.311.4
Sidney LowePG 80381,74416333773418721.82.04.2.9.12.3
Sam MitchellPF 80302,4144628966541,01230.25.81.1.8.712.7
Scott RothSF 7131,06111211551648614.91.61.6.7.16.8
Donald RoyalSF 6607461374332838711.32.1.7.5.15.9
Doug WestSG 52037870181061357.31.3.3.2.12.6
Randy Breuer†C 51471,32529084337551826.05.71.6.61.510.2
Brad Lohaus†PF 282459011062142221021.13.92.2.5.87.5
Gary LeonardC 22012727139325.81.2.0.1.41.5
Brad Sellers†PF 14011319163478.11.4.1.4.23.4
Adrian BranchSF 1109120460658.31.8.4.5.05.9
Steve Johnson†C 4017310004.3.8.3.0.0.0
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  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Timberwolves only.

Awards and honors

Transactions

References

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