1990–91 Dallas Mavericks season

1990–91 Dallas Mavericks season
Head coachRichie Adubato
General managerNorm Sonju
OwnerDon Carter
ArenaReunion Arena
Results
Record28–54 (.341)
PlaceDivision: 6th (Midwest)
Conference: 12th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television
RadioWBAP

The 1990–91 Dallas Mavericks season was the 11th season for the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association.[1] During the off-season, the Mavericks signed free agent All-Star forward Alex English,[2][3][4] acquired his teammate, All-Star guard Fat Lever from the Denver Nuggets,[5][6][7] and acquired Rodney McCray from the Sacramento Kings.[8][9][10]

With the addition of English, Lever and McCray, the Mavericks won four of their first five games of the regular season. However, early into the season, the team lost both Lever, and Roy Tarpley to season-ending knee injuries, as Lever only played just four games, while Tarpley only appeared in just five games.[11] While on the injured reserve list, Tarpley was again suspended by the NBA for substance abuse.[12] Without Lever and Tarpley, the Mavericks struggled losing ten of their next twelve games, and later on held a 17–27 record at the All-Star break.[13] The team posted an eight-game losing streak in April, and finished in sixth place in the Midwest Division with a disappointing 28–54 record.[14]

Tarpley averaged 20.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game during his short five-game stint, while Rolando Blackman averaged 19.9 points per game, and Derek Harper provided the team with 19.7 points, 7.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game. In addition, Herb Williams contributed 12.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, while McCray provided with 11.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, and James Donaldson averaged 10.0 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, English contributed 9.7 points per game, second-year forward Randy White averaged 8.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, Lever provided with 7.3 points, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game during his short four-game stint, and Brad Davis contributed 5.4 points and 2.9 assists per game.[15]

Harper finished tied in seventh place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,[16] and also finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting.[16] The Mavericks finished sixth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 683,927 at the Reunion Arena during the regular season.[15][17] Following the season, English retired.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
249Phil HendersonSG United StatesDuke

Roster

1990–91 Dallas Mavericks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G 4 Steve Alford 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1964–11–23 Indiana
G 22 Rolando Blackman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1959–02–26 Kansas State
G 15 Brad Davis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1955–12–17 Maryland
C 40 James Donaldson 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1957–08–16 Washington State
F 2 Alex English 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954–01–05 South Carolina
F 50 Jim Grandholm 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1960–10–04 South Florida
G 12 Derek Harper 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1961–10–13 Illinois
G 21 Fat Lever Injured 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1960–08–18 Arizona State
F 1 Rodney McCray 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1961–08–29 Louisville
C 55 John Shasky 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1964–07–31 Minnesota
C 42 Roy Tarpley Injured (S) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1964–11–28 Michigan
G 5 Kelvin Upshaw 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1963–01–24 Utah
F 33 Randy White 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1967–11–04 Louisiana Tech
C 32 Herb Williams 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 242 lb (110 kg) 1958–02–16 Ohio State
F 34 Howard Wright 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1967–12–20 Stanford
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (L) On leave from the team
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Updated: January 5, 1991

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs5527.671—33–822–1920–8
x-Utah Jazz5428.659136–518–2321-7
x-Houston Rockets5230.634331-1021–2020-8
Orlando Magic3151.3782424-177–3413–15
Minnesota Timberwolves2953.3542621-208-339-19
Dallas Mavericks2854.3412720-218–337-21
Denver Nuggets2062.2443517-243-388–20
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Portland Trail Blazers6319.768–
2 y-San Antonio Spurs5527.6718
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers5824.7075
4 x-Phoenix Suns5527.6718
5 x-Utah Jazz5428.6599
6 x-Houston Rockets5230.63411
7 x-Golden State Warriors4438.53719
8 x-Seattle SuperSonics4141.50022
9 Orlando Magic3151.37832
10 Los Angeles Clippers3151.37832
11 Minnesota Timberwolves2953.35434
12 Dallas Mavericks2854.34135
13 Sacramento Kings2557.30538
14 Denver Nuggets2062.24443
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

1990–91 game log
Total: 28–54 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
November: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
December: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
January: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
February: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
March: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
April: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1990–91 schedule

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player POS GP GS MP REB AST STL BLK PTS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
James DonaldsonC 82822,80072769349381934.18.9.8.41.110.0
Rolando BlackmanSG 80802,96525630169191,59037.13.23.8.9.219.9
Brad DavisPG 8061,426118230451743117.81.52.9.6.25.4
Randy WhitePF 79291,90150463814469524.16.4.81.0.68.8
Alex EnglishSF 79261,748254105402576322.13.21.3.5.39.7
Derek HarperPG 77772,879233548147141,51937.43.07.11.9.219.7
Rodney McCrayPF 74682,561560259705184434.67.63.5.9.711.4
Herb WilliamsC 60361,83235795308874730.56.01.6.51.512.5
John ShaskyC 5705101341114201508.92.4.2.2.42.6
Kelvin UpshawSG 481514558628527010.71.11.8.6.15.6
Steve AlfordPG 3402362422811516.9.7.6.2.04.4
Jim GrandholmPF 26016850828796.51.9.3.1.33.0
Roy TarpleyC 5517155126910234.211.02.41.21.820.4
Fat LeverSG 40861512632921.53.83.01.5.87.3
Howard Wright†PF 308201062.7.7.0.3.02.0
  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Mavericks only.

Transactions

Trades

June 21, 1990 To Dallas Mavericks---- To Denver Nuggets----
  • 1990 1st round draft pick
  • 1991 1st round draft pick
June 26, 1990 To Dallas Mavericks----
  • Rodney McCray
  • 1990 2nd round draft pick
  • 1991 2nd round draft pick
 To Sacramento Kings----

References

  1. ↑ "Dallas Mavericks". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Mavericks Will Sign Alex English to Make Up for the Loss of Perkins". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. August 15, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Mavericks Sign English to One-Year Deal". United Press International. August 15, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  4. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Mavericks Sign English". The New York Times. August 16, 1990. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  5. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Nuggets Trade Lever to Dallas for 2 Picks". The New York Times. June 22, 1990. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Mavericks Get Lever for a Pair of No. 1 Picks: NBA: Nuggets Receive the Ninth Selection in Next Wednesday's Draft, and a First-Round Choice in 1991". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 22, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Mavericks Trade Two First-Round Draft Choices to Nuggets for Lever". United Press International. June 21, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  8. ↑ Wilbon, Michael (June 27, 1990). "This Could Be a Veteran's Moving Day". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  9. ↑ Love, Ian (June 28, 1990). "Kings Believe in 1990 Draft Class". United Press International. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Kings Knew What They Were Doing". Deseret News. Associated Press. July 1, 1990. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  11. ↑ Barnard, Bill (November 20, 1990). "Injuries Send Several NBA Teams Limping Out of the Starting Gate". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  12. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Tarpley Suspended". The New York Times. April 6, 1990. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  13. ↑ "NBA Games Played on February 7, 1991". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  14. ↑ "1990–91 Dallas Mavericks Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  15. 1 2 "1990–91 Dallas Mavericks Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  16. 1 2 "1990–91 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  17. ↑ "1990–91 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 24, 2026.

See also

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