1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers season

The 1990–91 NBA season was the Clippers' 21st season in the National Basketball Association, and their 7th season in Los Angeles.^[1] Finishing near the bottom of the NBA continued to leave the Clippers with high draft choices, selecting Bo Kimble out of Loyola Marymount with the 8th pick, and Loy Vaught from the University of Michigan with the 13th pick in the 1990 NBA draft.^[2][3][4] Through the first six weeks, the Clippers were sailing around .500. with a 10–10 record. However, they would struggle losing 12 of their next 13 games, as Ron Harper only played just 39 games due to a knee injury.^[5][6] At midseason, Benoit Benjamin was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for Olden Polynice.^[7][8][9] Despite winning five straight games in late March, the Clippers finished sixth in the Pacific Division with a 31–51 record, topping 50 losses for the tenth consecutive season.^[10][11]

1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers season
Head coach	Mike Schuler
General manager	Elgin Baylor
Owner(s)	Donald Sterling
Arena	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Results
Record	31–51 (.378)
Place	Division: 6th (Pacific) Conference: 10th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KTLA (Ralph Lawler, Mike Fratello) Prime Ticket (Tom Kelly, Earl Strom)
Radio	KRLA (Rich Marotta)
< 1989–90 1991–92 >

Charles D. Smith led the team with 20.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, while Harper averaged 19.6 points, 5.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and Ken Norman provided the team with 17.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. In addition, Danny Manning provided with 15.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, while Gary Grant contributed 8.7 points, 8.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and Winston Garland contributed 8.2 points, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.^[12]

Following the season, Garland was traded to the Denver Nuggets.^[13][14]

Draft picks

Main article: 1990 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	8	Bo Kimble	SG	United States	Loyola Marymount
1	13	Loy Vaught	PF	United States	Michigan

Roster

1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From F 51 Bannister, Ken 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1960–04–01 St. Augustine's G 11 Garland, Winston 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1964–12–19 Missouri State G 22 Garrick, Tom 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1966–07–07 Rhode Island G 1 Grant, Gary 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1965–04–21 Michigan G 4 Harper, Ron 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1964–01–20 Miami (OH) G 30 Kimble, Bo 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–04–09 Loyola Marymount F 5 Manning, Danny 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–05–17 Kansas G 15 Martin, Jeff 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1967–01–14 Murray State F 3 Norman, Ken 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1964–09–05 Illinois C 0 Polynice, Olden 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1964–11–21 Virginia F 54 Smith, Charles D. 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1965–07–16 Pittsburgh C 52 Smrek, Mike 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1962–08–31 Canisius F 35 Vaught, Loy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1968–02–27 Michigan

Head coach Mike Schuler Assistant coach(es) Mack Calvin Alvin Gentry John Hammond Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Roster notes

• Center Mike Smrek became the 4th former Laker to play with the crosstown rival Clippers.

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	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

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

#	Western Conference v t e
	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

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1990-91 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	–	3–1	1–4	1–4	3–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–3	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	1–3	–	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	2–0	4–1	5–0	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–1
Charlotte	4–1	1–3	–	0–5	1–4	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	0–5	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2
Chicago	4–1	2–2	5–0	–	5–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	1–1	0–2	4–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–1	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	2–3	1–3	4–1	0–5	–	2–0	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–3	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3
Dallas	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	–	3–1	0–2	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–4	2–0	2–0	1–4	1–1	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–4	2–2	0–5	2–0
Denver	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–3	–	0–2	1–3	0–5	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–4	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	5–0	2–2	4–1	2–3	3–2	2–0	2–0	–	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–3	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1
Golden State	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	–	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–3	2–3	2–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	5–0	0–2	2–2	–	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	5–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	2–3	2–2	2–2	1–1
Indiana	1–4	2–2	5–0	1–4	4–1	0–2	2–0	2–3	1–1	1–1	–	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–3	2–2	1–1	–	0–4	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	2–3	1–3	3–2	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	–	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	4–0	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0
Miami	0–4	1–4	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	–	0–4	0–2	3–3	1–4	1–1	1–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–2
Milwaukee	3–2	2–2	3–2	1–4	3–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–1	0–2	3–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	–	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Minnesota	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–1	2–3	0–2	1–3	0–5	1–1	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	–	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–4	0–4	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–4	1–1
New Jersey	1–3	1–4	2–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	3–3	2–2	1–1	–	0–5	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–3
New York	1–3	0–5	4–0	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	0–4	1–1	5–0	–	0–2	5–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2
Orlando	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–1	3–2	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	–	0–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–4	1–1
Philadelphia	4–0	3–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	0–2	3–2	1–5	2–0	–	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–2
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	–	3–2	3–1	1–3	3–2	2–2	2–0
Portland	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	3–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	2–3	–	3–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–0
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	3–2	1–3	0–2	2–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–3	–	1–3	1–4	1–3	2–0
San Antonio	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	4–1	4–1	2–0	2–2	3–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–1	–	3–1	2–3	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–3	0–4	4–1	1–3	–	1–3	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	5–0	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	0–2	4–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–2	3–1	–	2–0
Washington	2–2	1–5	2–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	2–3	1–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

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

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Charles Smith	74	74	36.5	46.9	0.0	79.3	8.2	1.8	1.1	2.0	20.0
Ron Harper	39	34	35.5	39.1	32.4	66.8	4.8	5.4	1.7	0.9	19.6
Ken Norman	70	45	33.0	50.1	18.8	62.9	7.1	2.3	0.9	0.9	17.4
Danny Manning	73	47	30.1	51.9	0.0	71.6	5.8	2.7	1.6	0.8	15.9
Benoit Benjamin	39	38	34.3	49.2	0.0	72.8	12.0	1.9	0.7	2.3	14.9
Olden Polynice	31	30	36.5	57.9	0.0	57.2	9.1	0.8	0.5	0.4	12.3
Gary Grant	68	65	31.0	45.1	23.1	68.9	3.1	8.6	1.5	0.2	8.7
Winston Garland	69	26	24.7	42.6	15.4	75.2	2.9	4.6	1.4	0.1	8.2
Jeff Martin	74	26	18.0	42.2	30.7	68.0	1.8	0.9	0.5	0.4	7.1
Bo Kimble	62	22	16.2	38.0	29.2	77.3	1.9	1.2	0.5	0.1	6.9
Loy Vaught	73	0	16.1	48.7	0.0	66.2	4.8	0.5	0.3	0.3	5.5
Tom Garrick	67	0	14.2	42.4	0.0	75.9	1.9	3.3	0.9	0.0	3.9
Ken Bannister	47	3	7.2	53.1	0.0	38.5	2.0	0.2	0.1	0.1	2.4
Greg Butler	9	0	4.1	26.3	0.0	66.7	1.8	0.1	0.0	0.0	1.6
Cedric Ball	7	0	3.7	37.5	0.0	100.0	1.6	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.1
Mike Smrek	10	0	7.0	18.8	0.0	50.0	1.9	0.3	0.1	0.3	1.0

Awards and records

Transactions

The Clippers were involved in the following transactions during the 1990–91 season.

Trades

February 20, 1991	To Los Angeles Clippers Olden Polynice & 1993 and 1994 first-round draft picks	To Seattle SuperSonics Benoit Benjamin

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team

Subtractions Player Left New team

Player Transactions Citation:^[15]

See also

• 1990-91 NBA season

References

1. 1990-91 Los Angeles Clippers
2. Cotton, Anthony (June 28, 1990). "Coleman No. 1 to Nets, Then the Guards Go Forward". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
3. "Clippers Go with Kimble: NBA Draft: Derrick Coleman, as Expected, Is No. 1 Overall with Nets. Clippers Also Grab Michigan's Vaught with 13th Pick". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 28, 1990. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
4. Baker, Chris (June 28, 1990). "Clippers Get Bo, Not Boos: NBA Draft: The Selection of Kimble Makes Fans Happy at the Sports Arena, Unlike Last Season's First-Round Choice of Danny Ferry". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
5. Howard-Cooper, Scott (October 13, 1990). "Clippers Give Harper Guaranteed 4-Year Deal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
6. Howard-Cooper, Scott (January 26, 1991). "Clippers' Harper to Play Tonight: Pro Basketball: For Now, the Team Plans to Limit Him to 15 Minutes a Game". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
7. Barnes, Mike (February 20, 1991). "Clippers Swap Benjamin for Polynice, Picks". United Press International. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
8. Goldaper, Sam (February 21, 1991). "PRO BASKETBALL; Sonics Trade Polynice to Acquire Benjamin". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
9. Howard-Cooper, Scott (February 21, 1991). "Clippers Give Up on Benjamin: Pro Basketball: A day After He Says He Will Become an Unrestricted Free Agent at Season's End, They Trade Him to Seattle for Polynice and Two Draft Choices". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
10. "Clippers Finish This Season Thinking About Next One". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. April 22, 1991. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
11. "1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
12. "1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
13. Howard-Cooper, Scott (June 27, 1991). "Clippers Make Point in Deal with Hawks: NBA Draft: Team Trades No. 9 Pick and Second-Round Selections in 1993 and 1994 for Guard Doc Rivers. Club Then Takes LeRon Ellis of Syracuse with 22nd Pick". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
14. "Clippers Pull Off Two Trades". Tampa Bay Times. June 27, 1991. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
15. "1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2022.