1989–90 Dallas Mavericks season

The 1989–90 Dallas Mavericks season was the tenth season for the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association.^[1] A year after missing the NBA playoffs, the Mavericks received the eighth overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft, and selected power forward Randy White out of Louisiana Tech University.^[2][3][4] After a 5–6 start to the regular season, head coach John MacLeod was fired and replaced with assistant coach Richie Adubato.^[5] In November, Roy Tarpley was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, and only played just 45 games.^[6][7]

The Mavericks played below .500 in winning percentage with a 17–20 start to the regular season, but then posted a seven-game winning streak in January, and later on held a 26–22 record at the All-Star break.^[8] In January, the team released Adrian Dantley to free agency;^[9][10] Dantley averaged 14.7 points per game in 45 games with the team. The Mavericks posted a six-game winning streak in March, and finished in third place in the Midwest Division with a 47–35 record, earning the sixth seed in the Western Conference, and returning to the NBA playoffs after a one-year absence.^[11]

Rolando Blackman averaged 19.4 points and 3.6 assists per game, while Derek Harper averaged 18.0 points, 7.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Tarpley provided the team with 16.8 points, 13.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. In addition, Sam Perkins contributed 15.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, and James Donaldson provided with 9.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Off the bench, Herb Williams averaged 8.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, while Brad Davis contributed 6.4 points and 3.3 assists per game, Bill Wennington provided with 4.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, and White averaged 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.^[12]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Blackman 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.^[13][14][15] Harper finished tied in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[16] while Tarpley finished tied in sixth place in Most Improved Player voting.^[16]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Mavericks 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 Mavericks lost the first two games to the Trail Blazers on the road at the Memorial Coliseum, before losing Game 3 at home, 106–92 at the Reunion Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep; this would be the Mavericks' final NBA playoff appearance until the 2000–01 season, as what would follow was a ten-year playoff drought.^[17][18][19] 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.^[20][21][22]

The Mavericks finished ninth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 691,490 at the Reunion Arena during the regular season.^[12][23] Following the season, Perkins signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers after six seasons with the Mavericks.^[24][25][26]