1990–91 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1990–91 NBA season was the 23rd season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. Head coach Bernie Bickerstaff was replaced by his former assistant K.C. Jones, and went on to occupy the desk of vice-president of Basketball Operations for Seattle,[1] resigning months later to accept a job as General Manager of the Denver Nuggets.[2] The Draft Lottery gave the SuperSonics the No. 2 pick, that was used to select future All-Star point guard Gary Payton out of Oregon State.

1990–91 Seattle SuperSonics season
Head coachK.C. Jones
General managerBob Whitsitt
ArenaSeattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record41–41 (.500)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Pacific)
Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finishWest First Round
(Lost to Trail Blazers 2–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKING-TV
KTZZ-TV
Northwest Cable Sports
RadioKJR

Substantial changes were made on the roster, first by trading Sonics referent Xavier McDaniel to the Phoenix Suns for Eddie Johnson during the first months of competition, followed by Dale Ellis, whose off-the-court problems were the focus of much unwanted attention,[3][4] was sent to the Milwaukee Bucks for Ricky Pierce, and center Olden Polynice to the Los Angeles Clippers for Benoit Benjamin, both trades occurring days after the All-Star break.

The Sonics would finish with a 41–41 record like the previous season, this time being able to reach the playoffs as the #8 seed in the Western Conference, where they lost in the first round to the top-seeded Portland Trail Blazers in 5 games. Following the season, Sedale Threatt was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Offseason

Draft picks
Main article: 1990 NBA draft

Of the 3 players Seattle picked in the draft only Gary Payton would stay with the team, since Jud Buechler was traded to the New Jersey Nets and Abdul Shamsid-Deen went to Europe to play for the French team Paris Basket Racing.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
12Gary PaytonPG United StatesOregon State
238Jud BuechlerSF/SG United StatesArizona
253Abdul Shamsid-DeenC United StatesProvidence

Pre-season
1990 Pre-season Game Log: 5–3
#DateOpponentScoreLocationRecordRecap
1October 12Golden State WarriorsL 111–134Spokane Coliseum0–1
2October 15Golden State WarriorsL 97–117Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena0–2
3October 18Chicago BullsW 109–103Florida Suncoast Dome1–2
4October 21Detroit PistonsW 101–82East Lansing, Michigan2–2
5October 23Chicago BullsL 90–102The Kingdome2–3
6October 24Chicago BullsW 109–87Pacific Coliseum3–3
7October 27Sacramento KingsW 98–89ARCO Arena4–3
8October 29Sacramento KingsW 117–116Chico, California5–3

Roster
Roster listing
1990–91 Seattle SuperSonics roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 11 Barros, Dana 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 163 lb (74 kg) Boston College
C 00 Benjamin, Benoit 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Creighton
F/C 44 Cage, Michael 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 224 lb (102 kg) San Diego State
C 42 Corzine, Dave  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) DePaul
G 20 Dailey, Quintin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) San Francisco
G/F 22 Johnson, Eddie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Illinois
F/C 40 Kemp, Shawn 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Trinity Valley CC
F/C 31 McKey, Derrick 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Alabama
G/F 10 McMillan, Nate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) North Carolina State
F 8 Meents, Scott 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Illinois
G 2 Payton, Gary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oregon State
G/F 21 Pierce, Ricky 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Rice
G 4 Threatt, Sedale 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) West Virginia Tech
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
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 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—

Game log
1990–91 game log
Total: 41–41 (Home: 28–13; Road: 13–28)
November: 4–7 (Home: 3–4; Road: 1–3)
December : 8–8 (Home: 4–1; Road: 4–7)
January : 8–7 (Home: 7–1; Road: 1–6)
February : 6–6 (Home: 3–2; Road: 3–4)
March : 8–9 (Home: 5–4; Road: 3–5)
April : 7–4 (Home: 6–1; Road: 1–3)
1990–91 season schedule

Playoffs
1991 playoff game log
First Round: 2–3 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–3)
1991 playoff schedule

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 GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Dana Barros 66011.4.495.395.9181.11.70.30.06.3
Benoit Benjamin* 312729.0.502.000.6908.21.50.91.712.9
Michael Cage 825526.1.508.000.6256.81.11.00.76.4
Dave Corzine 2805.3.447.000.5911.20.10.20.21.7
Quintin Dailey 30010.0.471.000.6131.10.50.20.06.1
Dale Ellis* 302426.7.463.303.7383.12.11.10.115.0
Eddie Johnson* 662726.9.486.333.9123.41.40.70.117.4
Shawn Kemp 816630.1.508.167.6618.41.81.01.515.0
Xavier McDaniel* 151535.3.479.000.7105.42.51.70.321.8
Derrick McKey 735534.3.517.211.8455.82.31.20.815.3
Nate McMillan 78018.4.433.354.6133.24.81.30.34.3
Scott Meents 1304.1.2501.000.5000.80.60.50.31.3
Gary Payton 828227.4.450.077.7113.06.42.00.27.2
Ricky Pierce* 32226.3.463.391.9252.32.30.70.117.5
Olden Polynice* 48020.0.545.000.5885.60.30.50.48.3
Sedale Threatt 805725.8.519.286.7921.23.41.40.112.7

*Statistics with the Seattle SuperSonics.

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Dana Barros 308.3.692.400.7501.31.71.00.07.7
Benoit Benjamin 5532.6.488.000.9066.60.20.60.213.8
Michael Cage 5016.0.429.000.76516.04.20.60.45.0
Dave Corzine 206.0.667.0001.0000.50.00.00.02.5
Eddie Johnson 5534.2.517.267.8284.21.41.40.224.0
Shawn Kemp 5529.8.386.000.8157.21.20.60.813.2
Derrick McKey 4028.5.571.000.5455.82.00.60.09.5
Nate McMillan 5019.0.261.000.5003.64.41.20.22.8
Scott Meents 204.0.500.000.0000.50.00.50.02.0
Gary Payton 5527.0.407.0001.0002.66.41.60.24.8
Ricky Pierce 5022.4.333.300.9412.80.80.80.211.4
Sedale Threatt 5527.2.536.364.9001.63.41.00.014.6

Awards and records

Awards
  • Gary Payton was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

Records
  • Ricky Pierce finished the season with a franchise record .925 in free throw percentage.[5]

Transactions

Overview
Players Added

Via draft

Via free agency

Via trade

 Players Lost

Via free agency

Via trade

Trades
June 27, 1990[6]
 To Seattle SuperSonics
Nets' agreement not to draft Dennis Scott or Gary Payton with their No. 1 pick.
Conditional 2nd round picks for 1993 and 1995		 To New Jersey Nets
Jud Buechler
To Orlando Magic
Sonics' agreement not to draft Dennis Scott with their No. 2 pick.
October 24, 1990
 To Seattle SuperSonics
Conditional 1997 second round pick		 To Denver Nuggets
Avery Johnson
December 7, 1990
 To Seattle SuperSonics
Eddie Johnson
Conditional 1991 and 1994 first round picks		 To Phoenix Suns
Xavier McDaniel
February 15, 1991
 To Seattle SuperSonics
Ricky Pierce		 To Milwaukee Bucks
Dale Ellis
February 20, 1991
 To Seattle SuperSonics
Benoit Benjamin		 To Los Angeles Clippers
Olden Polynice
Conditional 1991 and 1994 first round picks

Free agents

References
  1. Sonics Make Move to K.C. -- Coaching Switch Moves Bickerstaff to Front Office, The Seattle Times, March 15, 1990.
  2. Bickerstaff to Accept Denver Job -- Ex-Sonic Coach to Become GM, The Seattle Times, July 11, 1990.
  3. Ellis Drinking, Speeding Before Crash, Jurors Told, The Seattle Times, September 25, 1990.
  4. Ellis and Mcdaniel in Fight, The Seattle Times, November 22, 1990.
  5. https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/OKC/leaders_season.html
  6. Sonics Face Tall Order Next -- With Payton At Point, Attention Turns To Center Spot, The Seattle Times, June 28, 1990.

See also
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