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	58–24 (.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)
4.5 !PF	41	USA !	Campbell, Elden	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Clemson
6.0 !C	12	YUG !	Divac, Vlade	7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	243 lb (110 kg)
1.0 !PG	10	USA !	Drew, Larry	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Missouri
4.5 !PF	45	USA !	Green, A. C.	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Oregon State
1.0 !PG	32	USA !	Johnson, Magic	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Michigan State
2.0 !SG	4	USA !	Scott, Byron	7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Arizona State
2.0 !SG	34	USA !	Smith, Tony	7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Marquette
2.0 !SG	20	USA !	Teagle, Terry	7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Baylor
4.5 !PF	30	USA !	Thomas, Irving	7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Florida State
6.0 !C	43	USA !	Thompson, Mychal	7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	226 lb (103 kg)	Minnesota
3.0 !SF	42	USA !	Worthy, James	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	North Carolina

Head coach

Mike Dunleavy, Sr. (South Carolina)

Legend

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

Regular season

April 15, 1991 - Magic Johnson established the standard for most assists in a career with 9,888.^[4] The previous record holder was Oscar Robertson. For the season, Magic would establish a team record with 989 assists for the season. Magic would finish the season with a career total of 9,921.

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

Game 1 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (April 25): Los Angeles 94, Houston 92
Game 2 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (April 27): Los Angeles 109, Houston 98
Game 3 @ The Summit, Houston (April 30): Los Angeles 94, Houston 90

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

Game 1 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 5): Los Angeles 126, Golden State 116
Game 2 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 8): Golden State 125 , Los Angeles 124
Game 3 @ Oakland Coliseum, Oakland (May 10): Los Angeles 115, Golden State 112
Game 4 @ Oakland Coliseum, Oakland (May 12): Los Angeles 123, Golden State 107
Game 5 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 14): Los Angeles 124, Golden State 119 (0T)

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

Game 1 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 18): Los Angeles 111, Portland 106
Game 2 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 21): Portland 109, Los Angeles 98
Game 3 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 24): Los Angeles 106, Portland 92
Game 4 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 26): Los Angeles 116, Portland 95
Game 5 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 28): Portland 95, Los Angeles 84
Game 6 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 30): Los Angeles 91, Portland 90

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	29	22	24	18	93
Chicago	30	23	15	23	91

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	23	20	26	17	86
Chicago	28	20	38	21	107

Game 3

Friday, June 7, at the Great Western Forum

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	Tot.
Chicago	25	23	18	26	12	104
Los Angeles	25	22	25	20	4	96

Game 4

Sunday, June 9, at the Great Western Forum

Team	1	2	3	4	Tot.
Chicago	27	25	22	23	97
Los Angeles	28	16	14	24	82

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	27	21	32	28	108
Los Angeles	25	24	31	21	101

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

↑ "Amid Pressing Matters, Jordan Accepts M.V.P.". New York Times. May 21, 1991.
↑ 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.
↑ 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.
↑ "Magic Breaks Record for Assists". New York Times. April 16, 1991.
↑ "Legendary Dunk Change Lay Up" from all Angles on YouTube

External links

Lakers on Database Basketball

1990–91 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Miami New Jersey New York Philadelphia Washington

Central	Atlanta Charlotte Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee

Western

Midwest	Dallas Denver Houston Minnesota Orlando San Antonio Utah

Pacific	Golden State L.A. Clippers L.A. Lakers Phoenix Portland Sacramento Seattle

Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers seasons

1940s

1947–48

1948–49

1950s

1949–50

1950–51

1951–52

1952–53

1953–54

1960s

1970s

1971–72

1980s

1979–80

1981–82

1984–85

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1987–88

1990s

2000s

1999–00

2000–01

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2008–09

2010s

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Bold indicates NBA Finals victory

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