1989–90 Houston Rockets season

The 1989–90 NBA season was the Rockets' 23rd season in the National Basketball Association, and 19th season in the city of Houston. After a 9–6 start to the season, the Rockets would struggle posting a 12–18 record as they entered the New Year. However, they would manage to win seven of their next nine games, holding a 22–25 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, the team acquired second-year guard Vernon Maxwell from the San Antonio Spurs, as they continued to play .500 basketball for the rest of the season. The Rockets finished fifth in the Midwest Division with a 41–41 record, winning a tie-breaker over the Seattle SuperSonics for the #8 seed in the Western Conference.

Akeem Olajuwon led the Rockets with 24.3 points, 14.0 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and was selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game. In addition, Otis Thorpe averaged 17.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while Mitchell Wiggins averaged 15.5 points per game, Buck Johnson provided the team with 14.8 points and 1.3 steals per game, and Sleepy Floyd contributed 12.2 points and 7.3 assists per game. Olajuwon also finished in seventh place in Most Valuable Player voting, and in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

However, in the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Rockets lost to the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in four games. Following the season, Wiggins was released to free agency, and John Lucas and Tim McCormick were both traded to the Atlanta Hawks.

Draft picks

Main article: 1989 NBA draft

The Rockets had no draft picks in 1989.

Roster

1989–90 Houston Rockets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
G	25	Bowie, Anthony	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1963–11–09	Oklahoma
F	44	Caldwell, Adrian	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	1966–07–04	Lamar
G	9	Dinkins, Byron	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1967–06–15	Charlotte
G	21	Floyd, Sleepy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1960–03–06	Georgetown
F	1	Johnson, Buck	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1964–01–03	Alabama
G	32	Lloyd, Lewis	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1959–02–22	Drake
G	10	Lucas, John	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1953–10–31	Maryland
G	11	Maxwell, Vernon	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1965–09–12	Florida
C	40	McCormick, Tim	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1962–03–10	Michigan
C	34	Olajuwon, Akeem	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	1963–01–21	Houston
F	13	Smith, Larry	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1958–01–18	Alcorn State
F	33	Thorpe, Otis	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1962–08–05	Providence
G	23	Wiggins, Mitchell	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1959–09–28	Florida State
G	42	Woodson, Mike	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1958–03–24	Indiana

Head coach

Don Chaney

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Roster
Last transaction: March 19, 1990

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	–	34–7	22–19	19–9
x-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	1	36–5	19–22	21–7
x-Dallas Mavericks	47	35	.573	9	30–11	17–24	17–11
x-Denver Nuggets	43	39	.524	13	28–13	15–26	15–13
x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	15	31–10	10–31	13–15
Minnesota Timberwolves	22	60	.268	34	17–24	5–36	6–22
Charlotte Hornets	19	63	.232	37	13–28	6–35	7–21

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Los Angeles Lakers	63	19	.768	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	7
3	x-Portland Trail Blazers	59	23	.720	4
4	x-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	8
5	x-Phoenix Suns	54	28	.659	9
6	x-Dallas Mavericks	47	35	.573	16
7	x-Denver Nuggets	43	39	.524	20
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	22

9	Seattle SuperSonics	41	41	.500	22
10	Golden State Warriors	37	45	.451	26
11	Los Angeles Clippers	30	52	.366	33
12	Sacramento Kings	23	59	.280	40
13	Minnesota Timberwolves	22	60	.268	41
14	Charlotte Hornets	19	63	.232	44

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1989-90 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	—	1–3	2–0	0–5	2–3	0–2	1–1	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–3	1–1	0–2	4–0	3–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	5–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	3–1	—	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	5–0	2–2	1–1	5–1	4–1	4–0	3–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3
Charlotte	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	1–3	3–2	0–2	2–2	1–4	1–1	2–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	0–5	0–2
Chicago	5–0	2–2	2–0	—	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–4	2–0	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–1
Cleveland	3–2	1–3	1–1	0–5	—	0–2	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	3–2	1–1	4–0	2–2	4–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Dallas	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	—	2–3	1–1	3–1	4–1	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	3–2	2–2	1–3	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	2–0	3–2	—	0–2	2–2	4–1	0–2	2–2	0–4	2–0	1–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–2	0–4	1–1
Detroit	2–3	2–2	2–0	4–1	4–1	1–1	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	4–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	5–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0
Golden State	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	—	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–4	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	2–2	3–2	1–3	2–3	2–2	1–1
Houston	0–2	0–2	4–1	1–1	2–0	1–4	1–4	1–1	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–2	1–1
Indiana	3–2	3–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	0–2	2–0	1–4	1–1	1–1	—	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–2	1–1	4–0	1–3	4–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
L.A. Clippers	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	—	1–4	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–4	0–5	2–3	0–4	3–2	0–4	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	2–0	4–1	—	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–3	5–0	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–1
Miami	0–4	0–5	1–1	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	—	2–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	3–1	0–5	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–3
Milwaukee	2–3	2–2	2–0	1–4	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	—	2–0	4–0	2–2	5–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–1
Minnesota	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–5	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–4	1–3	0–5	1–1
New Jersey	2–2	1–5	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	4–1	0–4	1–1	—	1–4	1–3	1–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3
New York	3–1	1–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	5–1	2–2	1–1	4–1	—	2–2	2–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–0
Orlando	0–5	0–4	1–1	2–3	1–4	0–2	0–2	0–5	0–2	0–2	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–5	1–1	3–1	2–2	—	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4
Philadelphia	2–2	2–3	2–0	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	5–0	3–1	1–1	4–1	3–2	2–2	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–1
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	0–2	5–0	2–2	1–1	4–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	—	2–3	5–0	0–4	3–2	3–1	2–0
Portland	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–1	5–0	3–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–2	—	4–0	3–1	3–2	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–3	0–4	1–1	3–2	0–5	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–5	0–4	—	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	1–1	5–0	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	—	3–1	3–2	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–2	1–1	2–3	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3	2–3	2–2	1–3	—	1–3	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–3	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–3	3–1	—	2–0
Washington	2–2	3–2	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–3	1–1	3–2	0–5	4–0	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

Playoffs

1990 playoff game log

First Round: 1–3 (home: 1–1; road: 0–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 27	@ L.A. Lakers	L 89–101	Otis Thorpe (21)	Akeem Olajuwon (14)	Sleepy Floyd (8)	Great Western Forum 17,505	0–1
2	April 29	@ L.A. Lakers	L 100–104	Sleepy Floyd (27)	Akeem Olajuwon (11)	Sleepy Floyd (8)	Great Western Forum 17,505	0–2
3	May 1	L.A. Lakers	W 114–108	Otis Thorpe (27)	Otis Thorpe (8)	Sleepy Floyd (18)	The Summit 16,611	1–2
4	May 3	L.A. Lakers	L 88–109	Akeem Olajuwon (28)	Akeem Olajuwon (10)	Sleepy Floyd (10)	The Summit 16,611	1–3

1990 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

NOTE: Please write the players statistics in alphabetical order by last name.

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Anthony Bowie	66	0	13.9	.406	.286	.741	1.8	1.5	.6	.1	4.3
Adrian Caldwell	51	0	6.5	.553		.464	2.1	.1	.2	.4	1.9
Derrick Chievous	41	0	12.0	.506	.375	.701	1.8	.7	.6	.1	6.0
Byron Dinkins	33	0	11.0	.404	.111	.867	1.2	2.3	.6	.1	3.5
Sleepy Floyd	82	73	32.1	.451	.380	.806	2.4	7.3	1.1	.1	12.2
Buck Johnson	82	82	34.5	.495	.118	.759	4.6	3.1	1.3	.8	14.8
Lewis Lloyd	19	0	5.9	.569		.563	.9	.6	.2	.0	3.5
John Lucas II	49	18	19.1	.375	.299	.764	1.8	4.9	.9	.0	5.8
Vernon Maxwell	30	10	29.0	.442	.245	.664	2.9	5.0	1.4	.2	12.5
Tim McCormick	18	0	6.4	.345		.526	1.5	.2	.2	.1	1.7
Chuck Nevitt	3	0	3.0	1.000			1.0	.3	.0	.3	1.3
Akeem Olajuwon	82	82	38.1	.501	.167	.713	14.0	2.9	2.1	4.6	24.3
Larry Smith	74	0	17.6	.474	.000	.364	6.1	.9	.8	.4	3.0
Otis Thorpe	82	82	35.9	.548	.000	.688	9.0	3.2	.8	.3	17.1
Mitchell Wiggins	66	52	28.1	.488	.000	.810	4.3	1.6	1.3	.0	15.5
Mike Woodson	61	11	15.9	.395	.293	.721	1.4	1.1	.7	.2	6.5

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Anthony Bowie	2	0	2.0	.000			.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Adrian Caldwell	1	0	1.0				.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Sleepy Floyd	4	4	43.0	.469	.250	.647	3.8	10.3	1.3	.3	18.5
Buck Johnson	4	4	37.0	.417	.000	.846	4.0	2.3	1.5	.5	12.8
Vernon Maxwell	4	4	39.8	.370	.308	.524	3.0	4.3	1.3	.0	19.8
Tim McCormick	3	0	7.0	.333		.500	2.7	.0	.0	.0	1.0
Akeem Olajuwon	4	4	40.3	.443		.706	11.5	2.0	2.5	5.8	18.5
Larry Smith	4	0	18.3	.750			3.3	1.3	1.0	.0	3.0
Otis Thorpe	4	4	41.0	.600		.684	8.3	1.8	1.3	.0	20.0
Mitchell Wiggins	4	0	12.8	.467		.667	3.3	.5	.3	.0	4.0
Mike Woodson	1	0	6.0	.333	.000		.0	2.0	.0	.0	2.0

Awards and records

Transactions

Main article: List of 1989–90 NBA season transactions

References

1989-90 Houston Rockets
"NBA Games Played on February 8, 1990". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
"NBA WEDNESDAY'S TRADES: Cheeks Dealt for Strickland; Carroll to Nuggets". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 22, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
Goldaper, Sam (March 27, 1990). "NOTEBOOK; Spurs on Brink of Record Turnabout". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
Luna, Richard (May 2, 1990). "Maxwell Proves Key Acquisition for Rockets". United Press International. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
"1989–90 Houston Rockets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
"Rockets Land a Berth". The New York Times. April 23, 1990. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
Hafner, Dan (April 23, 1990). "NBA ROUNDUP: Rockets Get Last Spot, Lakers in 1st Round". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
Howard-Cooper, Scott (February 11, 1990). "NBA ALL-STAR GAME: Entire Family Is Back Together--Almost". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
"Bird, Johnson Return Magic to All-Star Game". Sun Sentinel. February 11, 1990. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
"1990 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
"1990 NBA All-Star Game: East 130, West 113". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
"1989–90 Houston Rockets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
McManis, Sam (May 22, 1990). "Magic Repeats in MVP Vote; Barkley Is 2nd: Pro Basketball: Johnson Is the First Back-to-Back Winner Since Larry Bird. Michael Jordan Finishes a Close Third". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
"Dennis Rodman NBA Defensive Player of Year". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 7, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
Shook, Richard L. (May 7, 1990). "Pistons' Rodman Voted Defensive Player of Year". United Press International. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
"1989–90 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
Luna, Richard (May 3, 1990). "Lakers 109, Rockets 88". United Press International. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
"Worthy Helps Lakers Eliminate Rockets". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 4, 1990. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
McManis, Sam (May 4, 1990). "Now Lakers Don't Have to Run for Cover, 109-88: NBA Playoffs: Pep Talk by Riley, Move to Straight-Up Defense Bear Fruit as Los Angeles Wins Playoff Series". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
"1990 NBA Western Conference First Round: Rockets vs. Lakers". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
"SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Rockets Obtain Smith". The New York Times. September 28, 1990. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
"Rockets Trade Lucas, Get 2 Hawks". Los Angeles Times. September 28, 1990. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
"Rockets, Hawks Work Deal". Deseret News. September 28, 1990. Retrieved December 31, 2022.

1989–90 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Miami New Jersey New York Philadelphia Washington
Central	Atlanta Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee Orlando

Western

Midwest	Charlotte Dallas Denver Houston Minnesota San Antonio Utah
Pacific	Golden State L.A. Clippers L.A. Lakers Phoenix Portland Sacramento Seattle

v t e Houston Rockets
Founded in 1967 Played in San Diego (1967–1971) Based in Houston, Texas
Franchise	History All-time roster Draft history 1967 Records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Pechanga Arena Hofheinz Pavilion Astrodome HemisFair Arena The Summit/Compaq Center Toyota Center
Personnel	Owner(s) Tilman Fertitta President Gretchen Sheirr General manager Rafael Stone Head coach Ime Udoka
G League affiliate	Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Retired numbers	11 22 23 24 34 44 45
NBA championships	1994 1995
Rivalries	Dallas Mavericks San Antonio Spurs Utah Jazz
Culture and lore	Red Rowdies ClutchFans Clutch City Clutch the Rockets Bear Dancing Barry The Kiss of Death The Dream Shake 13 points in 35 seconds 22 wins in a row The Year of the Yao June 17th, 1994 27 consecutive 3-pointers missed