1990–91 Los Angeles Lakers season

1990–91 Los Angeles Lakers season
Conference Champions
Head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
Owner(s) Jerry Buss
Arena Great Western Forum
Results
Record 5824 (.707)
Place Division: 2nd (Pacific)
Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish NBA Finals
(eliminated 1–4)

Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

Local media
Television Prime Ticket, KCAL
Radio AM 570 KLAC

The highlight of the Los Angeles Lakers was Magic Johnson leading the Lakers to the NBA Finals, where they lost 1–4 to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. The Lakers would not return to the Finals until 2000.

The Lakers finished the regular season with a 58–24 record, but for the first time since the 1980–81 season, did not win their division. Johnson finished second behind Jordan in the voting for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award.[1] Johnson was the league's third-oldest point guard, and had grown more powerful and stronger than in his earlier years, but was also slower and less nimble.[2] Mike Dunleavy was the new head coach, the offense used more half-court sets, and the team had a renewed emphasis on defense.[3]

Game 5 of the NBA Finals was the last Finals game played at the Forum. It was also Magic's last NBA game as he would retire later in November due to an HIV Virus. Magic would make a brief return to the Lakers midway through the 1995-96 NBA season. After losing to the Houston Rockets in that year's playoffs, Magic retired again.

Draft picks

Main article: 1990 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 27 Elden Campbell PF/C  United States Clemson
2 51 Tony Smith SG  United States Marquette

Roster

Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From
PF 41 United States Campbell, Elden 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Clemson
C 12 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Divac, Vlade 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 243 lb (110 kg)
PG 10 United States Drew, Larry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Missouri
PF 45 United States Green, A. C. 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oregon State
PG 32 United States Johnson, Magic 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Michigan State
SG 4 United States Scott, Byron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Arizona State
SG 34 United States Smith, Tony 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Marquette
SG 20 United States Teagle, Terry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Baylor
PF 30 United States Thomas, Irving 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Florida State
C 43 United States Thompson, Mychal 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 226 lb (103 kg) Minnesota
SF 42 United States Worthy, James 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) North Carolina
Head coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division 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
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

Playoffs

West First Round

(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Houston Rockets: Lakers win series 3–0

Last Playoff Meeting: 1990 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3–1)

West Conference Semifinals

(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (7) Golden State Warriors: Lakers win series 4–1

Last Playoff Meeting: 1987 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4–1)

West Conference Finals

(1) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers: Lakers win series 4–2

Last Playoff Meeting: 1989 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3–0)

NBA Finals

Game 1

Sunday, June 2, at the Chicago Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 Tot.
Los Angeles 292224 1893
Chicago 302315 2391

Game 2

Wednesday, June 5, at the Chicago Stadium The Bulls shot a Finals record 61.7% from the floor—since broken by the Orlando Magic in Game 3 of the 2009 NBA Finals—with a Jordan layup over Sam Perkins a highlight.[5]

Team 1 2 3 4 Tot.
Los Angeles 232026 1786
Chicago 282038 21107

Game 3

Friday, June 7, at the Great Western Forum

Team 1 2 3 4 OT Tot.
Chicago 252318 2612104
Los Angeles 252225 20496

Game 4

Sunday, June 9, at the Great Western Forum

Team 1 2 3 4 Tot.
Chicago 272522 2397
Los Angeles 281614 2482

Game 5

Wednesday, June 12, at the Great Western Forum

The Lakers were facing elimination, and the lack of Worthy and Scott was not any help to the Lakers. This would not stop Magic Johnson as Johnson had 20 assists in the game, but it was not enough. Elden Campbell outscored Michael Jordan with 13 points in the first half, but it was not enough. The Lakers still fought and even led 93-90 in the fourth quarter, but a Bulls 9-0 run, and Paxson's 10 points in the final half of the fourth quarter helped secure the Chicago Bulls, and Michael Jordan's, first NBA title.

Team 1 2 3 4 Tot.
Chicago 272132 28108
Los Angeles 252431 21101

Player stats

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

Season

Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG
Elden Campbell
Vlade Divac
A. C. Green 82 516 71 59 23 750 9.1
Terry Teagle
James Worthy

Awards and Records

References

  1. "Amid Pressing Matters, Jordan Accepts M.V.P.". New York Times. May 21, 1991.
  2. Perlman, Jeff (2014). Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s. Gotham Books. p. 397. ISBN 978-1-59240-755-2.
  3. Aldridge, Dave (June 2, 1991). "Johnson Not Ready To Pass Mantle; For 9th Time, Lakers Show Magic Touch". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 7, 2012 via HighBeam Research. (subscription required (help)). But after a slow start under new coach Mike Dunleavy, Los Angeles found out that new weapons and new emphasis on defense could take it to the same place as Showtime did during the 1980s.
  4. "Magic Breaks Record for Assists". New York Times. April 16, 1991.
  5. "Legendary Dunk Change Lay Up" from all Angles on YouTube

External links

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