1989–90_San_Antonio_Spurs_season

1989–90 San Antonio Spurs season

1989–90 San Antonio Spurs season

NBA professional basketball team season

The 1989–90 NBA season was the Spurs' 14th season in the National Basketball Association, and 23rd season as a franchise.[1] This marked the first NBA season for David Robinson, who was selected by the Spurs as the first overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft.[2][3][4][5][6] In the 1989 NBA draft, the team had the third overall pick, and selected Sean Elliott from the University of Arizona,[7][8][9][10] and acquired All-Star forward Terry Cummings from the Milwaukee Bucks,[11][12][13][14][15] and acquired All-Star guard Maurice Cheeks and David Wingate from the Philadelphia 76ers during the off-season.[16][17][18][19][20] The Spurs held a 32–14 record at the All-Star break,[21] finished with a franchise-best 56–26 regular season record,[22] first place in the Midwest Division, and surpassing the 53-win season of 1982–83.

Quick Facts San Antonio Spurs season, Head coach ...

As the 1980s ended, the 1989–90 season proved to be the rebirth of the Spurs franchise. With his tour of duty at the Navy over, Robinson arrived to the Spurs along with Elliott, Cummings and Cheeks, who only spent half the season in San Antonio, and was traded at midseason to the New York Knicks in exchange for second-year guard Rod Strickland.[23][24][25][26] This season would mark a turning point for the franchise, the Spurs would miss the playoffs only once between 1990 and 2019 (that coming in 1996–97).

Although there was speculation that Robinson might choose not to sign with the Spurs and to become a free agent once his Navy commitment ended,[27][28] Robinson decided to play in San Antonio. Robinson joined the Spurs for the 1989-90 season, and he helped the team produce the second greatest single season turnaround in NBA history.[29] Robinson had one of the most successful rookie seasons for a center in NBA history, finishing the season as the Rookie of the Year,[30][31][32] averaging 24.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game, earning All-NBA Third Team, NBA All-Rookie First Team, and NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors, while being selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, which was his first ever All-Star appearance.[33][34][35][36] He also finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting.[37][38] In addition, Cummings averaged 22.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, while second-year guard Willie Anderson provided the team with 15.7 points, 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and Elliott contributed 10.0 points per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.[39]

In the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Spurs swept the Denver Nuggets in three straight games.[40][41][42][43] However, they would lose in a full seven game series to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Semi-finals.[44][45][46][47] The Blazers would lose to the defending champion Detroit Pistons in five games in the NBA Finals.[48][49][50][51][52] Following the season, Frank Brickowski was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.[53][54][55]

For the season, the Spurs introduced a new primary logo, which featured the fiesta colors of turquoise, fuchsia and orange.[56] The uniforms remained silver and black, although starting this season, the team name "Spurs" replaced the city name "San Antonio" on the road jerseys.[57][58] The "fiesta" logo and the new uniforms both remained in use until 2002.

Draft picks

More information Round, Pick ...

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...

Roster Notes

  • Small forward Mike Mitchell was signed by the Spurs before the playoffs began. He did not play during the regular season.

Regular season

The Spurs went from 21–61[59] in the 1988–89 NBA season to 56–26 in 1989–90, for a remarkable 35-game improvement. They advanced to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs where they lost in seven games to the eventual western conference champions, the Portland Trail Blazers. Following the 1989–90 season, David Robinson was unanimously named the NBA Rookie of the Year, and subsequently SEGA produced a game featuring him entitled David Robinson's Supreme Court.[citation needed]

Season standings

More information W, L ...
More information #, Team ...

Record vs. opponents

More information Team, ATL ...

Game log

Regular season

More information 1989–90 game log Total: 56–26 (home: 34–7; road: 22–19), Game ...

Playoffs

More information 1990 playoff game log, Game ...

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

Regular season

More information Player, GP ...

Playoffs

More information Player, GP ...

Award winners

References

  1. [1]
    1989–90 San Antonio Spurs
  2. [2]
    Le Batard, Dan (August 27, 1989). "THE LAST DETAIL: End of Navy Hitch Is on the Horizon for San Antonio Spurs' David Robinson". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  3. [3]
    Brown, Clifton (October 16, 1989). "Robinson, Starting at Zero, Begins Trek with Spurs". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  4. [4]
    Aldridge, David (October 26, 1989). "In Shipshape and Ready to Sail". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
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    Aldridge, David (November 5, 1989). "Robinson Shipshape and Ready to Sail". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  6. [6]
    Kragthorpe, Kurt (November 10, 1989). "Robinson Leads New-Look Spurs". Deseret News. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  7. [7]
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  12. [12]
    "Cummings Is Traded for 2 Spurs Starters". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 29, 1989. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
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  28. [28]
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  29. [29]
    NBA.com: David Robinson Bio
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  38. [38]
    "1989–90 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  39. [39]
    "1989–90 San Antonio Spurs Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  40. [40]
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  41. [41]
    "Spurs 131, Nuggets 120". United Press International. May 2, 1990. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
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    "1990 NBA Western Conference First Round: Nuggets vs. Spurs". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
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  45. [45]
    McManis, Sam (May 20, 1990). "Trail Blazers Cut Spurs Off at Pass in Overtime: NBA Playoffs: Strickland's No-Look Lob Finds No Teammate. Instead, It Helps Send Portland to the Western Conference finals". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
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  48. [48]
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