The 1989–90 Denver Nuggets season was the 14th season for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season as a franchise.
Season summary
Off-season The Nuggets had the 15th overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Todd Lichti out of Stanford University.
Regular season The Nuggets got off to a fast start by winning 11 of their first 15 games of the regular season, which included a seven-game winning streak between November and December. The team got off to a solid 19–9 start to the season, but then lost 10 of their next 14 games, and held a 26–20 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team acquired former All-Star center Joe Barry Carroll from the New Jersey Nets. The Nuggets played below .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the season, and finished in fourth place in the Midwest Division with a 43–39 record, earning the seventh seed in the Western Conference; the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the ninth consecutive year.
Fat Lever averaged 18.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game, while Alex English averaged 17.9 points per game, and sixth man Walter Davis provided the team with 17.5 points per game off the bench. In addition, Michael Adams contributed 15.5 points, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and led the league with 158 three-point field goals, while Blair Rasmussen provided with 12.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, and Danny Schayes averaged 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Lichti contributed 8.0 points per game, Bill Hanzlik averaged 6.2 points per game, Tim Kempton provided with 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, and second-year forward Jerome Lane averaged 5.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Lever was selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was his final All-Star appearance. English was not selected for the NBA All-Star Game this season, as his statistics had decreased compared to the previous season; he also clashed with head coach Doug Moe over his reduced role during the regular season.
The Nuggets finished 24th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 484,288 at the McNichols Sports Arena during the regular season, which was the fourth-lowest in the league.
NBA playoffs In the Western Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Nuggets faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Midwest Division champion San Antonio Spurs, who were led by All-Star center, and Rookie of the Year, David Robinson, All-Star forward Terry Cummings, and second-year star Willie Anderson. The Nuggets lost the first two games to the Spurs on the road at the HemisFair Arena, before losing Game 3 at home, 131–120 at the McNichols Sports Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.
Aftermath Following the season, an era came to an end as Moe was fired as head coach, while English signed as a free agent with the Dallas Mavericks, Lever was traded to the Mavericks, Schayes was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, and Barry Carroll was released to free agency.
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 1 15 Todd Lichti SG Stanford 2 42 Michael Cutright SG McNeese State 2 47 Reginald Turner SF Alabama-Birmingham
Roster
Roster notes Point guard Eddie Hughes was waived on March 22, 1990.
Regular season
Season standings
z - clinched division title y - clinched division title x - clinched playoff spot
Game log
Playoffs
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | April 26 | @ San Antonio | L 103–119 | Todd Lichti (22) | Todd Lichti (13) | Lichti, Adams (8) | HemisFair Arena15,910 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | April 28 | @ San Antonio | L 120–129 | Fat Lever (26) | Fat Lever (16) | Fat Lever (9) | HemisFair Arena15,910 | 0–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | May 1 | San Antonio | L 120–131 | Alex English (24) | Lever, Rasmussen (10) | Fat Lever (8) | McNichols Sports Arena15,604 | 0–3
Player statistics
Season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 79 74 34.1 .402 .366 .850 2.8 6.3 1.5 .0 15.5† 30 27 24.0 .432 .743 6.4 1.8 .9 2.0 11.9 69 0 23.7 .481 .130 .912 2.6 2.2 .9 .1 17.5 65 2 10.1 .454 .000 .667 2.1 .7 .6 .1 1.8 80 80 27.6 .491 .400 .880 3.6 2.8 .6 .3 17.9 81 0 19.8 .452 .194 .743 2.6 2.3 1.0 .4 6.2† 5 0 6.4 .375 .875 .6 .4 .2 .0 2.6 60 7 14.9 .411 .408 .676 1.2 1.9 .8 .0 3.5 71 14 14.9 .490 .000 .675 3.1 1.7 .4 .1 5.4 67 46 14.3 .469 .000 .367 5.4 1.6 .8 .3 5.0 79 79 35.8 .443 .414 .804 9.3 6.5 2.1 .2 18.3 79 4 16.8 .486 .000 .747 1.9 1.5 .7 .2 8.0 81 55 24.6 .497 .000 .828 7.3 1.0 .5 1.3 12.4 53 22 22.5 .494 .000 .852 6.5 1.2 .8 .8 10.4
Playoffs Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 3 3 35.0 .382 .300 .875 2.0 6.0 1.3 .0 13.0 3 3 15.3 .563 1.000 3.0 1.0 .3 1.7 6.7 3 0 23.3 .400 .000 1.000 3.0 2.0 .3 .0 14.0 3 0 10.3 2.3 .7 1.3 .3 .0 3 3 25.3 .568 .818 3.0 3.0 .7 .3 19.7 3 0 26.3 .294 .333 1.000 3.3 3.7 1.7 .7 7.0 3 1 10.7 .778 1.000 1.7 1.3 .0 .0 6.0 2 2 7.0 .000 .500 .5 1.0 .0 .0 .5 3 3 37.7 .373 .143 .929 10.7 7.0 2.7 .3 17.3 3 0 23.3 .517 .000 .737 6.0 3.0 .3 .0 14.7 3 0 28.0 .396 .900 8.7 .3 .7 1.3 15.7
Player statistics citation:
Awards and records The Nuggets would win the 1990 McDonald's Open after winning games against Italy's Philips Milano and Yugoslavia's Jugoplastika.
Transactions
References
See also 1989-90 NBA season