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
(Lost to Bulls 1–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television KCAL
Prime Ticket
Radio KLAC

The 1990–91 NBA season was the Lakers' 43rd season in the National Basketball Association, and 31st in the city of Los Angeles.[1] This season's highlight was Magic Johnson leading the Lakers to the NBA Finals, where they lost in five games to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. The Lakers would not return to the Finals until 2000. The season is generally considered the final season of the team's successful, uptempo Showtime era.[2][3]

During the offseason, the team signed unrestricted free agent Sam Perkins. 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.[4] 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.[5] Mike Dunleavy was the new head coach, the offense used more half-court sets, and the team had a renewed emphasis on defense.[6] Johnson and James Worthy were both selected to play in the 1991 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers swept the Houston Rockets in three straight games, then defeated the 7th-seeded Golden State Warriors in five games in the semifinals. In the Western Conference Finals, they defeated the top-seeded and Pacific Division champion Portland Trail Blazers in six games to advance to the NBA Finals.

Game 5 of the NBA Finals was the last Finals game played at the Forum. It was also Magic's last NBA game before his retirement in November 1991 due to an HIV virus, although he would play in the All-Star Game in 1992 and the Dream Team that summer. 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 for good.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
127Elden CampbellPF/C United StatesClemson
251Tony SmithSG United StatesMarquette

Roster

Los Angeles Lakers roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (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
PF 14 United States Perkins, Sam 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) North Carolina
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 The Bahamas 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

  • April 15, 1991 – Magic Johnson established the standard for most assists in a career with 9,888.[7] 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 Blazers6319.768—36–527–1418-10
x-Los Angeles Lakers5824.707533–825-1619-9
x-Phoenix Suns5527.671832–923-1817–11
x-Golden State Warriors4438.5371930–1114–2713–15
x-Seattle SuperSonics4141.5002228-1313–2812-16
Los Angeles Clippers3151.3783223–188-3310-18
Sacramento Kings2557.3053824-171–409–19
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Portland Trail Blazers6319.768–
2 y-San Antonio Spurs5527.6718
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers5824.7075
4 x-Phoenix Suns5527.6718
5 x-Utah Jazz5428.6599
6 x-Houston Rockets5230.63411
7 x-Golden State Warriors4438.53719
8 x-Seattle SuperSonics4141.50022
9 Orlando Magic3151.37832
10 Los Angeles Clippers3151.37832
11 Minnesota Timberwolves2953.35434
12 Dallas Mavericks2854.34135
13 Sacramento Kings2557.30538
14 Denver Nuggets2062.24443
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 —3–11–41–43–22–01–10–51–11–14–12–01–14–02–31–13–13–11–10–40–21–12–02–01–11–12–2
Boston 1–3—3–12–23–12–02–02–21–12–02–22–01–14–12–22–04–15–01–12–31–11–12–01–12–01–15–1
Charlotte 4–11–3—0–51–41–10–21–41–10–20–51–10–22–22–31–12–20–42–02–20–20–22–01–10–20–22–2
Chicago 4–12–25–0—5–02–02–03–21–10–24–12–01–14–04–12–03–14–02–01–31–10–22–00–22–02–03–1
Cleveland 2–31–34–10–5—2–01–12–30–20–21–41–11–13–12–31–12–23–12–02–20–20–21–10–21–10–21–3
Dallas 0–20–21–10–20–2—3–10–22–21–32–01–32–20–21–11–42–02–01–41–10–41–32–21–42–20–52–0
Denver 1–10–22–00–21–11–3—0–21–30–50–20–40–40–21–13–21–11–12–30–20–40–43–11–40–41–31–1
Detroit 5–02–24–12–33–22–02–0—1–12–03–22–00–23–12–32–03–11–32–02–20–21–12–00–21–10–23–1
Golden State 1–11–11–11–12–02–23–11–1—2–21–13–22–32–01–13–11–12–02–22–01–32–32–32–23–11–30–2
Houston 1–10–22–02–02–03–15–00–22–2—1–12–21–32–02–05–02–02–03–22–03–10–43–12–32–22–21–1
Indiana 1–42–25–01–44–10–22–02–31–11–1—1–10–22–22–31–13–12–21–11–31–10–22–01–11–12–02–2
L.A. Clippers 0–20–21–10–21–13–14–00–22–32–21–1—0–40–21–13–11–10–21–30–22–31–33–22–22–31–30–2
L.A. Lakers 1–11–12–01–11–12–24–02–03–23–12–04–0—2–00–23–12–01–14–01–13–22–34–03–13–22–22–0
Miami 0–41–42–20–41–32–02–01–30–20–22–22–00–2—0–40–23–31–41–11–40–20–21–10–20–21–13–2
Milwaukee 3–22–23–21–43–21–11–13–21–10–23–21–12–04–0—1–12–24–02–02–21–11–11–11–11–11–13–1
Minnesota 1–10–21–10–21–14–12–30–21–30–51–11–31–32–01–1—1–11–12–22–00–40–43–10–42–21–41–1
New Jersey 1–31–42–21–32–20–21–11–31–10–21–31–10–23–32–21–1—0–51–12–31–10–21–10–21–10–22–3
New York 1–30–54–00–41–30–21–13–10–20–22–22–01–14–10–41–15–0—0–25–10–20–22–01–11–12–03–2
Orlando 1–11–10–20–20–24–13–20–22–22–31–13–10–41–10–22–21–12–0—0–22–20–42–21–31–31–41–1
Philadelphia 4–03–22–23–12–21–12–02–20–20–23–12–01–14–12–20–23–21–52–0—1–11–11–10–21–10–23–2
Phoenix 2–01–12–01–12–04–04–02–03–11–31–13–22–32–01–14–01–12–02–21–1—3–23–11–33–22–22–0
Portland 1–11–12–02–02–03–14–01–13–24–02–03–13–22–01–14–02–02–04–01–12–3—3–22–24–03–12–0
Sacramento 0–20–20–20–21–12–21–30–23–21–30–22–30–41–11–11–31–10–22–21–11–32–3—1–31–41–32–0
San Antonio 0–21–11–12–02–04–14–12–02–23–21–12–21–32–01–14–02–01–13–12–03–12–23–1—3–12–32–0
Seattle 1–10–22–00–21–12–24–01–11–32–21–13–22–32–01–12–21–11–13–11–12–30–44–11–3—1–32–0
Utah 1–11–12–00–22–05–03–12–03–12–20–23–12–21–11–14–12–00–24–12–02–21–33–13–23–1—2–0
Washington 2–21–52–21–33–10–21–11–32–01–12–22–00–22–31–31–13–22–31–12–30–20–20–20–20–20–2—

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.[8]

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 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

Season

Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG
Elden Campbell
Vlade Divac
A. C. Green825167159237509.1
Terry Teagle
James Worthy

Awards and Records

References

  1. ↑ 1990-91 Los Angeles Lakers
  2. ↑ Price, Victoria (2000). "The Los Angeles Lakers". St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Farmington Hills, Michigan: The Gale Group Inc. Retrieved December 7, 2012 – via HighBeam Research. (Subscription required (help)). Some see the big man's retirement as the end of Showtime, others cite Pat Riley's departure the following year, but most Lakers' fans feel that Showtime came to an end when Magic Johnson announced that he was HIV-positive.
  3. ↑ "'Magic'al Mystery Tour Over". Times-Union. Warsaw, Indiana. January 30, 1996. p. 7A. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Amid Pressing Matters, Jordan Accepts M.V.P." The New York Times. May 21, 1991.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ "Magic Breaks Record for Assists". The New York Times. April 16, 1991.
  8. ↑ "Legendary Dunk Change Lay Up" from all Angles on YouTube
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