1990–91 New Jersey Nets season

The 1990–91 New Jersey Nets season was the Nets' 24th season in the National Basketball Association, and 15th season in East Rutherford, New Jersey.^[1] After finishing with the worst record last season, the Nets won the draft lottery, and selected Derrick Coleman out of Syracuse University with the first overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft.^[2][3] In the off-season, the team acquired Reggie Theus from the Orlando Magic. However, the Nets continued to struggle losing eleven consecutive games between December and January. Their movement would continue at mid-season as they acquired Dražen Petrović from the Portland Trail Blazers, and rookie forward Terry Mills from the Denver Nuggets.^[4][5] The Nets finished fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 26–56 record.^[6] Coleman had a stellar rookie season averaging 18.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, as he was named Rookie of the Year.^[7][8] Following the season, Theus retired.

1990–91 New Jersey Nets season
Head coach	Bill Fitch
Arena	Brendan Byrne Arena
Results
Record	26–56 (.317)
Place	Division: 5th (Atlantic) Conference: 12th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WWOR-TV SportsChannel New York (Spencer Ross, Bill Raftery, Jim Spanarkel)
Radio	WNEW (Howard David, Jim Spanarkel, Mike O'Koren)
< 1989–90 1991–92 >

For the season, the Nets changed their primary logo,^[9] and added new uniforms, plus adding light blue road jerseys.^[10][11] The logo and home uniforms lasted until 1997, while the road jerseys only lasted for just one season, where they changed them to a darker blue color next season.

Draft picks

Main article: 1990 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	1	Derrick Coleman	PF	United States	Syracuse
1	22	Tate George	SG	United States	Connecticut

Roster

1990–91 New Jersey Nets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 10 Blaylock, Mookie 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1967-03-20 Oklahoma C 31 Bowie, Sam 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1961-03-17 Kentucky F 35 Buechler, Jud 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968-06-19 Arizona F 44 Coleman, Derrick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1967-06-21 Syracuse C 22 Dudley, Chris 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1965-02-22 Yale G 12 George, Tate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1968-05-29 Connecticut F 30 Gervin, Derrick 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1963-03-28 Texas–San Antonio F/C 54 Haley, Jack 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1964-01-27 UCLA F 6 Hinson, Roy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1961-05-02 Rutgers F 5 Mills, Terry 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1967-12-21 Michigan F 34 Morris, Chris 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1966-01-20 Auburn G 3 Petrović, Dražen 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1964-10-22 SFR Yugoslavia G 24 Theus, Reggie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1957-10-13 UNLV

Head coach Bill Fitch Assistant coach(es) Rick Carlisle Tom Newell Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	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

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	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

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	—

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Nets points	Opponents	Record	Streak	Notes
1	November 2	@ Indiana	Loss	81	100	0-1	Lost 1
2	November 3	@ Philadelphia	Loss	110	112	0-2	Lost 2
3	November 6	@ Charlotte	Loss	105	113	0-3	Lost 3
4	November 8	Miami	Win	114	103	1-3	Won 1
5	November 10	Boston	Loss	91	105	1-4	Lost 1
6	November 12	Washington	Loss	92	97	1-5	Lost 2
7	November 14	Milwaukee	Win	112	95	2-5	Won 1
8	November 16	Detroit	Loss	96	105	2-6	Lost 1
9	November 17	@ Milwaukee	Loss	99	111	2-7	Lost 2
10	November 20	@ Seattle	Loss	88	105	2-8	Lost 3
11	November 21	@ LA Clippers	Loss	90	99	2-9	Lost 4
12	November 23	@ Phoenix	Win	116	114	3-9	Won 1
13	November 24	@ Golden State	Win	117	113	4-9	Won 2
14	November 27	Philadelphia	Win	98	92	5-9	Won 3
15	November 28	@ Miami	Loss	79	97	5-10	Lost 1
16	December 1	Orlando	Win	111	92	6-10	Won 1
17	December 4	Seattle	Win	106	102	7-10	Won 2
18	December 7	Phoenix	Loss	110	129	7-11	Lost 1
19	December 10	Charlotte	Win	121	115	8-11	Won 1
20	December 13	@ Atlanta	Loss	97	106	8-12	Lost 1
21	December 15	New York	Loss	104	125	8-13	Lost 2
22	December 17	Utah	Loss	98	100	8-14	Lost 3
23	December 19	LA Clippers	Win	118	105	9-14	Won 1
24	December 21	Cleveland	Win	111	103	10-14	Won 2
25	December 22	@ New York	Loss	93	106	10-15	Lost 1
26	December 26	Atlanta	Loss	111	113	10-16	Lost 2
27	December 28	Houston	Loss	99	101	10-17	Lost 3
28	December 29	@ Indiana	Loss	105	114	10-18	Lost 4
29	January 4	San Antonio	Loss	89	93	10-19	Lost 5
30	January 5	@ Detroit	Loss	83	99	10-20	Lost 6
31	January 7	Dallas	Loss	87	88	10-21	Lost 7	OT
32	January 8	@ Chicago	Loss	102	111	10-22	Lost 8
33	January 12	@ Philadelphia	Loss	99	109	10-23	Lost 9
34	January 13	Portland	Loss	103	116	10-24	Lost 10
35	January 15	Golden State	Loss	111	112	10-25	Lost 11	OT
36	January 18	@ Boston	Win	111	106	11-25	Won 1
37	January 19	@ Atlanta	Loss	84	114	11-26	Lost 1
38	January 22	@ Charlotte	Win	92	90	12-26	Won 1
39	January 23	Chicago	Win	99	95	13-26	Won 2
40	January 25	LA Lakers	Loss	103	108	13-27	Lost 1	OT
41	January 26	@ Miami	Win	127	105	14-27	Won 1
42	January 28	@ Sacramento	Loss	83	101	14-28	Lost 1
43	January 29	@ LA Lakers	Loss	89	110	14-29	Lost 2
44	January 31	@ Denver	Loss	119	123	14-30	Lost 3
45	February 2	@ Utah	Loss	103	111	14-31	Lost 4
46	February 4	@ Portland	Loss	102	117	14-32	Lost 5
47	February 6	Miami	Loss	119	134	14-33	Lost 6
48	February 7	@ Washington	Loss	117	124	14-34	Lost 7
49	February 13	Atlanta	Win	140	106	15-34	Won 1
50	February 15	Denver	Win	138	110	16-34	Won 2
51	February 16	@ Chicago	Loss	87	99	16-35	Lost 1
52	February 19	Sacramento	Win	97	83	17-35	Won 1
53	February 22	@ Boston	Loss	99	111	17-36	Lost 1
54	February 23	Philadelphia	Loss	90	103	17-37	Lost 2
55	February 26	Indiana	Win	129	104	18-37	Won 1
56	February 28	Milwaukee	Win	98	93	19-37	Won 2
57	March 2	New York	Loss	105	115	19-38	Lost 1
58	March 4	@ Dallas	Loss	100	102	19-39	Lost 2
59	March 5	@ Houston	Loss	100	112	19-40	Lost 3
60	March 7	@ San Antonio	Loss	99	111	19-41	Lost 4
61	March 10	@ Miami	Loss	88	101	19-42	Lost 5
62	March 11	@ New York	Loss	85	90	19-43	Lost 6
63	March 14	Detroit	Win	118	110	20-43	Won 1
64	March 16	Washington	Win	110	86	21-43	Won 2
65	March 17	Charlotte	Loss	108	121	21-44	Lost 1
66	March 20	Minnesota	Win	118	111	22-44	Won 1	OT
67	March 22	@ Detroit	Loss	93	109	22-45	Lost 1
68	March 23	@ Cleveland	Loss	82	108	22-46	Lost 2
69	March 25	@ Washington	Loss	106	113	22-47	Lost 3
70	March 26	Philadelphia	Win	98	95	23-47	Won 1	OT
71	March 28	Chicago	Loss	94	128	23-48	Lost 1
72	March 30	New York	Loss	117	130	23-49	Lost 2
73	April 2	Boston	Loss	77	94	23-50	Lost 3
74	April 4	@ Boston	Loss	104	123	23-51	Lost 4
75	April 6	@ Milwaukee	Loss	114	133	23-52	Lost 5
76	April 9	@ Minnesota	Loss	89	109	23-53	Lost 6
77	April 12	Cleveland	Win	104	103	24-53	Won 1
78	April 13	@ Cleveland	Loss	98	102	24-54	Lost 1
79	April 16	Indiana	Loss	126	132	24-55	Lost 2
80	April 18	@ Washington	Win	108	103	25-55	Won 1
81	April 20	Miami	Win	118	103	26-55	Won 2
82	April 21	@ Orlando	Loss	110	120	26-56	Lost 1

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

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Reggie Theus	81	81	36.5	.468	.361	.851	2.8	4.7	1.0	0.4	18.6
Derrick Coleman	74	68	35.2	.467	.342	.731	10.3	2.2	1.0	1.3	18.4
Mookie Blaylock	72	70	35.9	.416	.154	.790	3.5	6.1	2.3	0.6	14.1
Chris Morris	79	68	32.3	.425	.251	.734	6.6	2.8	1.7	1.2	13.2
Sam Bowie	62	51	30.9	.434	.182	.732	7.7	2.4	0.7	1.5	12.9
Dražen Petrović	43	0	20.5	.500	.373	.861	2.1	1.5	0.9	0.0	12.6
Greg Anderson	1	0	18.0	1.000			6.0	1.0	2.0	0.0	8.0
Derrick Gervin	56	4	13.3	.416	.250	.789	2.0	0.5	0.3	0.3	7.6
Chris Dudley	61	25	25.6	.408		.534	8.4	0.6	0.6	2.5	7.1
Jack Haley	78	18	15.1	.469		.619	4.6	0.4	0.3	0.3	5.6
Terry Mills	38	2	14.2	.464	.000	.705	3.7	0.4	0.5	0.5	4.9
Roy Hinson	9	0	10.1	.513		.333	2.1	0.4	0.0	0.3	4.6
Lester Conner	35	2	14.0	.523	.000	.690	1.6	1.7	1.1	0.0	4.1
Tate George	56	11	10.6	.415	.000	.800	0.8	1.9	0.4	0.1	3.4
Jud Buechler	74	10	11.6	.416	.250	.652	1.9	0.7	0.4	0.2	3.1
Kurk Lee	48	0	5.5	.268	.200	.893	0.6	0.7	0.2	0.0	1.4

Player Statistics Citation:^[8]

Awards, Records and Honors

• Derrick Coleman, NBA Rookie of the Year Award
• Derrick Coleman, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team

Transactions

References

1. 1990–91 New Jersey Nets
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. Curry, Jack (January 24, 1991). "BASKETBALL; Nets Obtain Petrovic and Look Out for No. 1". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
5. "Trail Blazers Use 3-Team Trade to Get Walter Davis". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. January 24, 1991. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
6. "1990–91 New Jersey Nets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
7. "NBA & ABA Rookie of the Year Award Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
8. "1990–91 New Jersey Nets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
9. "New Jersey Nets Logo". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
10. "New Jersey Nets Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
11. "New Jersey Nets Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.

• New Jersey Nets on Database Basketball
• New Jersey Nets on Basketball Reference