The 1990–91 Phoenix Suns season was the 23rd season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association.
Season summary
Off-season The Suns had the 21st overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft, and selected power forward Jayson Williams out of St. John's University; the team also selected point guard Negele Knight from the University of Dayton with the 31st overall pick, and selected small forward Cedric Ceballos out of California State University, Fullerton with the 48th overall pick. However, Williams did not reach a contract agreement and never played for the Suns; he was later on traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Regular season Early into the regular season, the Suns traveled overseas to Tokyo, Japan to play their first two games against the Utah Jazz at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium; this marked the first time that two teams in U.S. professional sports played a regular season game outside of North America. In the first game on November 2, 1990, the Suns were the road team and defeated the Jazz by a score of 119–96; Tom Chambers and Kevin Johnson both posted double-doubles, as Chambers finished with 38 points and 10 rebounds, while Johnson contributed 29 points and 10 assists. In the second game on November 3, the Suns were the home team and lost to the Jazz by a score of 102–101; Johnson led the Suns with 28 points, while Chambers added 19 points. Both games had an attendance of 10,111 fans at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The Suns got off to an 8–7 start to the regular season in their first 15 games. In December, the team traded sixth man Eddie Johnson to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for All-Star forward Xavier McDaniel. The Suns posted a seven-game winning streak in December, then posted a six-game winning streak in January, and later on held a 30–16 record at the All-Star break. The Suns posted another seven-game winning streak in March, and finished in third place in the Pacific Division with a 55–27 record, earning the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Kevin Johnson averaged 22.2 points, 10.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Chambers averaged 19.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, and Jeff Hornacek provided the team with 16.9 points, 5.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In addition, McDaniel averaged 15.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 66 games after the trade, and sixth man Dan Majerle contributed 13.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game off the bench, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Also off the bench, Ceballos contributed 8.2 points per game, while starting center Mark West averaged 7.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, and also shot .647 in field-goal percentage, Knight contributed 5.3 points and 3.0 assists per game, and Andrew Lang provided with 4.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, Chambers and Kevin Johnson were both selected for the 1991 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was Chambers' fourth and final All-Star appearance. Kevin Johnson also finished in seventh place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Majerle finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, behind Detlef Schrempf of the Indiana Pacers; Majerle finished with 37 first-place votes, while Schrempf had 38.
The Suns finished 18th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 589,591 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum during the regular season.
NBA playoffs In the Western Conference First Round of the 1991 NBA playoffs, and for the second consecutive year, the Suns faced off against the 5th–seeded Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Jeff Malone. The Suns suffered a Game 1 home loss to the Jazz by a 39-point margin, 129–90 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, but managed to win Game 2 at home, 102–92 to even the series. However, the Suns lost the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss to the Jazz at the Salt Palace, 101–93, thus losing the series in four games.
Aftermath Following the season, McDaniel was traded to the New York Knicks after only one season with the Suns.
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 21 Jayson Williams Forward St. John's 2 31 Negele Knight Guard Dayton 2 48 Cedric Ceballos Forward Cal State Fullerton 2 50 Miloš Babić Center Tennessee Tech
First round pick Jayson Williams did not reach an agreement with team president Jerry Colangelo over his rookie contract, and after months of discussion Phoenix sent him to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a conditional first round selection in the 1994 NBA draft.Suns Ship Williams for 1st-Round Pick , Casa Grande Dispatch, October 29, 1990 Rights to Miloš Babić were traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the rights of Stefano Rusconi.
Roster
Pre-season 1990 Pre-season game log: 7–1 # Date Opponent Score Location Record 1 October 11 Denver Nuggets W 186-123 Arizona State University Activity Center 1-0Ceballos Sparkles, Suns Scorch Nuggets , Casa Grande Dispatch, October 12, 1990 2 October 16 Utah Jazz W 98-92 Salt Palace 2-0Ceballos Fuels Suns Comeback , Casa Grande Dispatch, October 17, 1990 3 October 18 Cleveland Cavaliers W 111-103 Arizona State University Activity Center 3-0Battle, Suns Sink Cavaliers , Casa Grande Dispatch, October 19, 1990 4 October 20 Golden State Warriors W 128-124 El Paso, Texas 4-0Suns Subdue Warriors, Improve Record to 4-0 , Casa Grande Dispatch, October 22, 1990 5 October 23 Cleveland Cavaliers W 119-114 Richfield Coliseum 5-0Suns Overhaul Cavs, Stretch Record to 5-0 , Casa Grande Dispatch, October 24, 1990 6 October 24 Milwaukee Bucks L 112-116 Arizona State University Activity Center 5-1Scoreboard -- Basketball , Casa Grande Dispatch, October 25, 1990 7 October 26 Indiana Pacers W 109-107 Market Square Arena 6-1Chambers' Jumper Sinks Pacers , Casa Grande Dispatch, October 27, 1990 8 October 27 Chicago Bulls W 117-110 Chicago Stadium 7-1
Regular season
Season standings
y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot
z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot
Game log
Playoffs
Game log
| 1 | April 25 | Utah | L 90–129 | Negele Knight (18) | Jeff Hornacek (5) | Kevin Johnson (6) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum14,487 | 0–1 |- | 2 | April 27 | Utah | W 102–92 | Jeff Hornacek (25) | Andrew Lang (8) | Kevin Johnson (12) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum14,487 | 1–1 |- | 3 | April 30 | @ Utah | L 98–107 | Tom Chambers (26) | Jeff Hornacek (10) | Kevin Johnson (10) | Salt Palace12,616 | 1–2 |- | 4 | May 2 | @ Utah | L 93–101 | Jeff Hornacek (30) | Tom Chambers (7) | Kevin Johnson (11) | Salt Palace12,616 | 1–3
Awards and records
All-Star Game Tom Chambers and Kevin Johnson were selected to play in the 1991 NBA All-Star Game, their fourth and second appearances respectively.
Awards Kevin Johnson was selected to the All-NBA Second Team, and finished seventh in Most Valuable Player voting. Dan Majerle was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Records In a game against the Denver Nuggets on November 10, 1990, the Suns broke the NBA scoring record for a team in a half, by finishing the first two quarters ahead 107–67.PRO BASKETBALL; Suns Score 107 in First Half, The New York Times, November 10, 1990 In Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round against the Utah Jazz, Phoenix suffered their worst playoff loss in franchise history up to that point, by losing 129–90.Suns go down big in playoff opener, The Daily Courier, April 26, 1991
Injuries/Missed games 10/30/90: Ricky Blanton: Viral infection; placed on injured list until waived on November 14 10/30/90: Negele Knight: Pulled hamstring; placed on injured list until November 21 10/30/90: Andrew Lang: Leg stress fracture; placed on injured list until November 16 11/03/90: Jeff Hornacek: Sore neck; did not play 11/07/90: Jeff Hornacek: Sore neck; did not play 11/16/90: Ian Lockhart: Knee, ankle injuries: placed on injured list for rest of season 11/21/90: Tim Perry: Sprained ankle; placed on injured list until December 5 12/05/90: Andrew Lang: Bruised arm; placed on injured list until December 26 12/26/90: Kenny Battle: Sprained ankle; placed on injured list until waived on January 23 01/02/91: Tom Chambers: Pulled hamstring; did not play 01/04/91: Tom Chambers: Pulled hamstring; did not play 01/05/91: Tom Chambers: Pulled hamstring; did not play 01/27/91: Joe Barry Carroll: Placed on suspended list until February 19 01/27/91: Kurt Rambis: Sprained ankle; placed on injured list until February 5 02/19/91: Tim Perry: Knee tendinitis; placed on injured list until March 17 03/17/91: Joe Barry Carroll: Sore hamstring; placed on injured list until April 21 04/05/91: Kevin Johnson: Strained hamstring; did not play 04/05/91: Dan Majerle: Injured hip; did not play 04/07/91: Kevin Johnson: Strained hamstring; did not play 04/07/91: Dan Majerle: Injured hip: did not play 04/09/91: Tom Chambers: Back spasms; did not play 04/09/91: Kevin Johnson: Strained hamstring; did not play 04/09/91: Dan Majerle: Spinal nerve irritation; did not play 04/12/91: Tom Chambers: Back spasms; did not play 04/12/91: Kevin Johnson: Strained hamstring; did not play 04/12/91: Dan Majerle: Spinal nerve irritation; did not play 04/14/91: Tom Chambers: Back spasms; did not play 04/14/91: Kevin Johnson: Strained hamstring; did not play 04/14/91: Dan Majerle: Spinal nerve irritation; did not play 04/21/91: Tim Perry: Knee tendinitis; placed on injured list for rest of season
Player statistics
Season PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG * 16 4 16.4 .442 .000 .690 3.3 0.9 1.2 .4 6.0 11 0 8.7 .361 . .917^ 2.2 1.0 .1 .7 3.4 63 0 11.6 .487 .167 .663 2.4 0.6 .3 .1 8.2 76 75 32.6 .437 .274 .826 6.4 2.6 .9 .7 19.9 80 77 34.2 .518 .418 .897^ 4.0 5.1 1.4 .2 16.9 * 15 0 20.8 .473 .286 .724 3.1 1.1 .6 .1 13.5 77 76 36.0 .516 .205 .843 3.5 10.1 2.1 .1 22.2 64 6 12.4 .425 .240 .602 1.1 3.0 .3 .1 5.3 63 18 18.3 .577 .000 .715 4.8 0.4 .3 2.0 4.9 1 0 2.0 1.000+ . 1.000^ 0.0 0.0 .0 .0 4.0 77 7 29.6 .484 .349 .762 5.4 2.8 1.4 .5 13.6 * 66 64 31.9 .503 .000 .727 7.2 2.3 .8 .6 15.8 55 0 10.4 .464 .313 .737 2.7 0.7 .4 .1 2.2 46 2 12.8 .521 .000 .614 2.7 0.6 .5 .9 4.2 62 17 14.5 .497 .000 .706 4.3 1.0 .4 .2 3.6 82 64 23.9 .647+ . .655 6.9 0.5 .4 2.0 7.7
* – Stats with the Suns. + – Minimum 50 games played. ^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.
Playoffs PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG 2 0 7.5 .500 . .000 0.5 1.0 .0 .5 4.0 3 0 8.0 .583 . .333 1.7 0.7 .7 .0 5.3 4 4 35.5 .409 .000 .737 5.8 2.5 1.8 1.3 17.0 4 4 36.3 .431 .500 .929 6.3 2.0 .8 .5 18.3 4 4 36.5 .302 .143 .600 3.3 9.8 .5 .3 12.8 4 0 14.0 .500 .333 .714 1.0 2.3 .3 .0 8.0 4 0 13.8 .545 . .824 4.5 0.3 .3 .8 6.5 4 0 27.5 .375 .364 .737 3.8 1.8 1.3 .3 10.5 4 4 25.3 .415 .000 .667 3.8 1.3 .0 .5 9.5 2 0 10.0 .200 .000 . 2.5 0.0 .0 .0 1.0 4 0 13.3 .400 . . 3.5 1.0 1.3 .3 1.0 4 4 23.3 .600 . .714 4.5 0.5 .5 2.5 5.8
Player statistics citation:
Transactions Players Added
DraftKnight, Ceballos sign with Suns, Mohave Daily Miner, September 5, 1990 Negele Knight Cedric Ceballos Free agency Ed Nealy (July 23, 1990)Bulls lose Nealy to Suns, can't get Davis, Chicago Tribune, July 21, 1990 Ian Lockhart (August 28, 1990) Joe Barry Carroll (January 26, 1991)Players Lost
Released Mike McGee (July 1, 1990) Waived Ricky Blanton (November 14, 1990) Kenny Battle (January 23, 1991) Free agency Tim Legler (July 20, 1990) (to Minnesota) Greg Grant (October 1, 1990) (to New York)
Trades September 28, 1990 To Phoenix Suns Conditional second round pick for 1993 To Washington Bullets Mike Morrison October 28, 1990 To Phoenix Suns Conditional first round pick for 1994 To Philadelphia 76ers