1989–90 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1989–90 San Antonio Spurs season was the 14th season for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season as a franchise. This marked the first NBA season for rookie center David Robinson, who was selected by the Spurs as the first overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft; with his two-year tour of duty at the Navy over, Robinson arrived to the Spurs for the 1989–90 season. In the 1989 NBA draft, the Spurs received the third overall pick, and selected small forward Sean Elliott from the University of Arizona. During the off-season, the team acquired All-Star forward Terry Cummings from the Milwaukee Bucks, and acquired All-Star guard Maurice Cheeks, and David Wingate from the Philadelphia 76ers.

With the addition of Robinson, Cummings, Cheeks and Elliott, the Spurs got off to a fast start by winning 19 of their first 25 games of the regular season. The team posted a six-game winning streak between November and December, posted a seven-game winning streak in December, and later on held a 32–14 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, Cheeks, who only spent half a season with the Spurs appearing in 50 games, was traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for second-year guard Rod Strickland. The Spurs won their final seven games of the season, and finished in first place in the Midwest Division with a then franchise-best 56–26 record, earning the second seed in the Western Conference; the team posted a 35-game improvement over the previous season, and surpassed the 53-win season of 1982–83.

Robinson had one of the most successful rookie seasons for a center in NBA history, averaging 24.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 3.9 blocks per game, as he was unanimously voted the NBA Rookie of the Year; he was also named to the All-NBA Third Team, to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, Cummings averaged 22.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals 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. Off the bench, Wingate provided with 6.8 points and 2.7 assists per game, and Frank Brickowski averaged 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Robinson was selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was his first ever All-Star appearance. Robinson also finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while head coach Larry Brown finished in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Spurs faced off against the 7th–seeded Denver Nuggets, a team that featured All-Star guard Fat Lever, All-Star forward Alex English, and Michael Adams. This was also the first ever playoff appearance for Robinson. The Spurs won the first two games over the Nuggets at home at the HemisFair Arena, before winning Game 3 on the road, 131–120 at the McNichols Sports Arena to win the series in a three-game sweep.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 3rd–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who were led by the quartet of All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, All-Star center Kevin Duckworth and Jerome Kersey; the Trail Blazers started the series without Duckworth, who was out due to a right hand injury. The Spurs lost the first two games to the Trail Blazers on the road at the Memorial Coliseum, but then won the next two games at home at the HemisFair Arena. After losing Game 5 to the Trail Blazers at the Memorial Coliseum in double-overtime, 138–132, the Spurs won Game 6 at the HemisFair Arena, 112–97 to even the series. However, with Duckworth returning from his hand injury, the Spurs lost Game 7 to the Trail Blazers at the Memorial Coliseum in overtime, 108–105, thus losing in a hard-fought seven-game series. The Trail Blazers would advance to the NBA Finals, but would lose to the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons in five games in the 1990 NBA Finals.

The Spurs finished 16th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 586,787 at the HemisFair Arena during the regular season. As the 1980s ended, the 1989–90 season proved to be the rebirth of the Spurs franchise; this season would mark a turning point for the franchise, as the Spurs would miss the NBA playoffs only once between 1990 and 2019 (that coming in the 1996–97 season). Following the season, Brickowski was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.

For the season, the Spurs revealed a new primary logo, which featured the fiesta colors of turquoise, fuchsia and orange. The team's uniforms remained silver and black, although starting this season, the team name "Spurs" replaced the city name "San Antonio" on the road jerseys. The team's new primary "fiesta" logo, and the new uniforms would both remain in use until 2002.

Draft picks

Roster

Roster notes

• Small forward Mike Mitchell was signed by the Spurs before the NBA playoffs began; he did not play with the team during the regular season.

Regular season

The Spurs went from 21 to 61 in the 1988–89 NBA season to 56–26 in 1989–90, for a remarkable then record 35-game improvement, breaking the record of the 32 win improvement of the 1979-80 Boston Celtics. The Spurs would later break their own record in 1997-98, with a 36-game improvement, and the Boston Celtics would again regain the record with a 42-game improvement in 2007-08. 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.

Season standings

Game log

Regular season

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | November 4 | L.A. Lakers | W 106–98 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | November 8 | Portland | L 104–108 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | November 10 | @ Utah | L 92–106 | | | | Salt Palace | 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | November 11 | Denver | W 122–108 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 5 | November 14 | @ Milwaukee | L 97–108 | | | | Bradley Center | 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 6 | November 15 | @ Minnesota | W 86–76 | | | | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 3–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 7 | November 17 | @ Philadelphia | L 101–108 | | | | The Spectrum | 3–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 8 | November 18 | @ New Jersey | W 110–95 | | | | Brendan Byrne Arena | 4–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 9 | November 21 | Phoenix | W 107–98 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 5–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 10 | November 24 | @ L.A. Clippers | W 90–89 | | | | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | 6–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 11 | November 26 | @ L.A. Lakers | L 112–132 | | | | Great Western Forum | 6–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 12 | November 28 | Seattle | W 117–104 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 7–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 13 | November 30 | Dallas | W 93–89 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 8–5

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 14 | December 2 | Charlotte | W 118–110 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 9–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 15 | December 6 | Golden State | W 121–119 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 10–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 16 | December 8 | @ Dallas | W 99–93 | | | | Reunion Arena | 11–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 17 | December 9 | New Jersey | W 109–92 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 12–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 18 | December 12 | @ Atlanta | L 94–102 | | | | The Omni | 12–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 19 | December 14 | Houston | W 104–100 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 13–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 20 | December 16 | Orlando | W 125–116 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 14–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 21 | December 20 | Sacramento | W 103–100 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 15–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 22 | December 22 | @ Phoenix | W 119–115 | | | | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 16–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 23 | December 23 | Utah | W 115–98 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 17–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 24 | December 26 | @ Charlotte | W 107–82 | | | | Charlotte Coliseum | 18–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 25 | December 27 | @ Washington | W 107–97 | | | | Capital Centre | 19–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 26 | December 29 | @ Chicago | L 97–101 | | | | Chicago Stadium | 19–7

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 27 | January 3 | Philadelphia | W 103–94 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 20–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 28 | January 6 | Minnesota | W 109–96 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 21–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 29 | January 8 | @ Orlando | L 102–111 | | | | Orlando Arena | 21–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 30 | January 9 | @ Miami | W 107–102 | | | | Miami Arena | 22–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 31 | January 12 | @ Boston | W 97–90 | | | | Boston Garden | 23–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 32 | January 13 | @ New York | L 101–107 | | | | Madison Square Garden | 23–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 33 | January 15 | @ Cleveland | L 89–92 | | | | Richfield Coliseum | 23–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 34 | January 17 | New York | W 101–97 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 24–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 35 | January 19 | Cleveland | W 104–101 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 25–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 36 | January 20 | @ Denver | L 99–126 | | | | McNichols Sports Arena | 25–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 37 | January 22 | Washington | W 124–115 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 26–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 38 | January 24 | L.A. Clippers | W 106–98 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 25–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 39 | January 26 | @ Portland | L 103–109 | | | | Memorial Coliseum | 26–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 40 | January 27 | @ Seattle | L 98–109 | | | | Seattle Center Coliseum | 26–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 41 | January 29 | @ L.A. Lakers | W 86–84 | | | | Great Western Forum | 28–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 42 | January 31 | Charlotte | W 129–95 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 29–13

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 43 | February 2 | @ Charlotte | W 118–107 | | | | Charlotte Coliseum | 30–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 44 | February 3 | Chicago | W 112–111 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 31–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 45 | February 6 | Atlanta | W 105–94 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 32–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 46 | February 8 | Indiana | L 100–105 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 32–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 47 | February 13 | @ Dallas | L 96–103 | | | | Reunion Arena | 32–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 48 | February 14 | Boston | L 95–106 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 32–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 49 | February 16 | Utah | W 100–86 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 33–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 50 | February 17 | @ Houston | W 104–102 | | | | The Summit | 34–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 51 | February 20 | L.A. Lakers | L 114–115 (OT) | | | | HemisFair Arena | 34–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 52 | February 23 | Minnesota | W 105–95 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 35–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 53 | February 25 | @ L.A. Clippers | W 107–106 | | | | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | 36–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 54 | February 26 | @ Sacramento | W 105–96 | | | | ARCO Arena | 37–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 55 | February 28 | @ Golden State | L 135–144 (OT) | | | | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 37–18

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 56 | March 2 | Golden State | W 131–115 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 38–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 57 | March 3 | @ Utah | L 98–112 | | | | Salt Palace | 38–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 58 | March 5 | Houston | L 105–109 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 38–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 59 | March 10 | Denver | W 118–111 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 39–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 60 | March 12 | @ Minnesota | W 92–88 | | | | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 40–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 61 | March 13 | @ Indiana | W 103–102 | | | | Market Square Arena | 41–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 62 | March 15 | @ Detroit | L 98–110 | | | | Palace of Auburn Hills | 41–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 63 | March 17 | Miami | W 111–98 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 42–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 64 | March 19 | @ Phoenix | W 113–102 | | | | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 43–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 65 | March 20 | @ Seattle | W 128–106 | | | | Seattle Center Coliseum | 44–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 66 | March 22 | Portland | W 107–106 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 45–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 67 | March 24 | Detroit | W 105–98 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 46–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 68 | March 26 | @ Houston | L 95–113 | | | | The Summit | 46–22 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 69 | March 27 | Seattle | W 115–103 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 47–22 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 70 | March 29 | Dallas | L 105–109 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 47–23 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 71 | March 31 | Milwaukee | W 107–100 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 48–23

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 72 | April 3 | Minnesota | L 90–92 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 48–24 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 73 | April 4 | @ Dallas | L 98–104 | | | | Reunion Arena | 48–25 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 74 | April 7 | @ Sacramento | W 111–93 | | | | ARCO Arena | 49–25 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 75 | April 8 | @ Portland | L 105–112 | | | | Memorial Coliseum | 49–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 76 | April 10 | @ Golden State | W 132–122 | | | | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 50–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 77 | April 12 | L.A. Clippers | W 105–98 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 51–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 78 | April 14 | Sacramento | W 105–94 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 52–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 79 | April 16 | @ Charlotte | W 110–101 | | | | Charlotte Coliseum | 53–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 80 | April 18 | Utah | W 102–93 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 54–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 81 | April 20 | @ Denver | W 112–108 | | | | McNichols Sports Arena | 55–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 82 | April 22 | Phoenix | W 108–93 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 56–26

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | April 26 | Denver | W 119–103 | Willie Anderson (27) | David Robinson (13) | Rod Strickland (9) | HemisFair Arena<br>15,910 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | April 28 | Denver | W 129–120 | David Robinson (31) | Terry Cummings (13) | Rod Strickland (13) | HemisFair Arena<br>15,910 | 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | May 1 | @ Denver | W 131–120 | Terry Cummings (28) | David Robinson (16) | Rod Strickland (9) | McNichols Sports Arena<br>15,604 | 3–0 |-

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | May 5 | @ Portland | L 94–107 | Frank Brickowski (20) | David Robinson (9) | Rod Strickland (9) | Memorial Coliseum<br>12,884 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | May 8 | @ Portland | L 112–122 | Terry Cummings (33) | David Robinson (8) | Rod Strickland (14) | Memorial Coliseum<br>12,884 | 0–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | May 10 | Portland | W 121–98 | David Robinson (28) | Strickland, Cummings (9) | Rod Strickland (17) | HemisFair Arena<br>15,910 | 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | May 12 | Portland | W 115–105 | Terry Cummings (35) | Terry Cummings (11) | Rod Strickland (14) | HemisFair Arena<br>15,910 | 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 5 | May 15 | @ Portland | L 132–138 (2OT) | Terry Cummings (32) | David Robinson (15) | Rod Strickland (7) | Memorial Coliseum<br>12,884 | 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 6 | May 17 | Portland | W 112–97 | Willie Anderson (30) | David Robinson (13) | Rod Strickland (12) | HemisFair Arena<br>15,910 | 3–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 7 | May 19 | @ Portland | L 105–108 (OT) | Terry Cummings (27) | David Robinson (16) | Rod Strickland (8) | Memorial Coliseum<br>12,884 | 3–4 |-

Player statistics

Ragular season

Playoffs

Award winners

• David Robinson, NBA All-Star
• David Robinson, NBA Rookie of the Year
• David Robinson, All-NBA Rookie First Team
• David Robinson, All-NBA Team, Third Team
• David Robinson, All-NBA Defensive Second Team
• Sean Elliott, All-NBA Rookie Second Team
• Bob Bass, NBA Executive of the Year

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

References

External links

• San Antonio Spurs on Basketball Reference