1990–91 Charlotte Hornets season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 1990–91 Charlotte Hornets season was the third season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association.[1] The city of Charlotte, North Carolina hosted the NBA All-Star weekend at the Charlotte Coliseum this season, which featured the 1991 NBA All-Star Game. After playing in the Midwest Division in the Western Conference the previous season, the Hornets returned to the Eastern Conference, and moved into the Central Division this season. The Hornets received the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Kendall Gill from the University of Illinois.[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team signed free agent Johnny Newman,[5][6][7] and later on traded Armen Gilliam to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Mike Gminski at mid-season.[8][9][10]
| 1990–91 Charlotte Hornets season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Gene Littles |
| General manager | Allan Bristow |
| Owner | George Shinn |
| Arena | Charlotte Coliseum |
| Results | |
| Record | 26–56 (.317) |
| Place | Division: 7th (Central) Conference: 11th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television |
|
| Radio | WBT (Matt Pinto, Gil McGregor) |
With the addition of Newman and Gill, the Hornets started to show improvement playing around .500 in winning percentage, with an 8–7 start to the regular season in November. However, the team continued to struggle as they posted an 11-game losing streak in December afterwards, and later on held a 14–33 record at the All-Star break.[11] The franchise improved seven games over the previous season, finishing in last place in the Central Division with a 26–56 record; however, the team finished last place in their division for the third consecutive year.[12]
Newman averaged 16.9 points and 1.2 steals per game, while Rex Chapman averaged 15.7 points and 3.6 assists per game, and Gminski provided the team with 11.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in 50 games after the trade. In addition, second-year forward J.R. Reid provided with 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, while Gill contributed 11.0 points, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and Muggsy Bogues provided with 7.0 points, 8.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Off the bench, Dell Curry contributed 10.6 points per game, while Kenny Gattison averaged 9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, and Kelly Tripucka provided with 7.0 points per game.[13]
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, Chapman and Gill both participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest; it was the second consecutive appearance for Chapman in the Slam Dunk Contest.[14][15] Chapman also finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting.[16] The Hornets led the NBA in home-game attendance for the second time in three seasons, with an attendance of 978,141 at the Charlotte Coliseum during the regular season.[13][17]
Following the season, Tripucka retired, and Gene Littles resigned as head coach.[18]
Offseason
NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Kendall Gill | SG/SF |  United States | Illinois |
| 2 | 39 | Steve Scheffler | C/PF | United States | Purdue |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Chicago Bulls | 61 | 21 | .744 | — | 35–6 | 26–15 | 25–5 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 50 | 32 | .610 | 11 | 32–9 | 18–23 | 19–11 |
| x-Milwaukee Bucks | 48 | 34 | .585 | 13 | 33–8 | 15–26 | 16–14 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 18 | 29–12 | 14–27 | 11–19 |
| x-Indiana Pacers | 41 | 41 | .500 | 20 | 29–12 | 12–29 | 15–15 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 33 | 49 | .402 | 28 | 23–18 | 10–31 | 11–19 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 26 | 56 | .317 | 35 | 17–24 | 9–32 | 8–22 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | c-Chicago Bulls | 61 | 21 | .744 | – |
| 2 | y-Boston Celtics | 56 | 26 | .683 | 5 |
| 3 | x-Detroit Pistons | 50 | 32 | .610 | 11 |
| 4 | x-Milwaukee Bucks | 48 | 34 | .585 | 13 |
| 5 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 17 |
| 6 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 18 |
| 7 | x-Indiana Pacers | 41 | 41 | .500 | 20 |
| 8 | x-New York Knicks | 39 | 43 | .476 | 22 |
| 9 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 33 | 49 | .402 | 28 |
| 10 | Washington Bullets | 30 | 52 | .366 | 31 |
| 11 | New Jersey Nets | 26 | 56 | .317 | 35 |
| 12 | Charlotte Hornets | 26 | 56 | .317 | 35 |
| 13 | Miami Heat | 24 | 58 | .293 | 37 |
- z – clinched division title
- y – clinched division title
- x – clinched playoff spot
Game log
Player statistics
Ragular season
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kendall Gill | SG | 82 | 36 | 1,944 | 263 | 303 | 104 | 39 | 906 | 23.7 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 1.3 | .5 | 11.0 |
| Johnny Newman | SF | 81 | 81 | 2,477 | 254 | 188 | 100 | 17 | 1,371 | 30.6 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 1.2 | .2 | 16.9 |
| Muggsy Bogues | PG | 81 | 46 | 2,299 | 216 | 669 | 137 | 3 | 568 | 28.4 | 2.7 | 8.3 | 1.7 | .0 | 7.0 |
| J. R. Reid | C | 80 | 80 | 2,467 | 502 | 89 | 87 | 47 | 902 | 30.8 | 6.3 | 1.1 | 1.1 | .6 | 11.3 |
| Kelly Tripucka | SF | 77 | 1 | 1,289 | 176 | 159 | 33 | 13 | 541 | 16.7 | 2.3 | 2.1 | .4 | .2 | 7.0 |
| Dell Curry | SG | 76 | 14 | 1,515 | 199 | 166 | 75 | 25 | 802 | 19.9 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 1.0 | .3 | 10.6 |
| Kenny Gattison | PF | 72 | 6 | 1,552 | 379 | 44 | 48 | 67 | 650 | 21.6 | 5.3 | .6 | .7 | .9 | 9.0 |
| Rex Chapman | PG | 70 | 68 | 2,100 | 191 | 250 | 73 | 16 | 1,102 | 30.0 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 1.0 | .2 | 15.7 |
| Mike Gminski† | C | 50 | 50 | 1,405 | 381 | 60 | 24 | 22 | 572 | 28.1 | 7.6 | 1.2 | .5 | .4 | 11.4 |
| Randolph Keys | SF | 44 | 0 | 473 | 100 | 18 | 22 | 15 | 140 | 10.8 | 2.3 | .4 | .5 | .3 | 3.2 |
| Eric Leckner† | C | 40 | 2 | 744 | 208 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 230 | 18.6 | 5.2 | .5 | .3 | .3 | 5.8 |
| Steve Scheffler | C | 39 | 0 | 227 | 45 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 59 | 5.8 | 1.2 | .2 | .2 | .1 | 1.5 |
| Armen Gilliam† | PF | 25 | 25 | 949 | 234 | 27 | 34 | 21 | 494 | 38.0 | 9.4 | 1.1 | 1.4 | .8 | 19.8 |
| Dave Hoppen† | C | 19 | 0 | 112 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 44 | 5.9 | 1.6 | .2 | .1 | .1 | 2.3 |
| Earl Cureton | PF | 9 | 1 | 159 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 17.7 | 4.0 | .3 | .0 | .3 | 1.9 |
| Scott Haffner | PG | 7 | 0 | 50 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 7.1 | .6 | 1.3 | .4 | .1 | 2.4 |
| Jeff Sanders | PF | 3 | 0 | 43 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 14.3 | 3.0 | .3 | .3 | .3 | 4.3 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Hornets only.
Awards and records
- Kendall Gill, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
Transactions
- July 28, 1990
Signed Johnny Newman as an unrestricted free agent.
- August 29, 1990
Signed Jim Les as a free agent.
- September 5, 1990
Waived Brian Rowsom.
- October 23, 1990
Waived Jim Les.
- October 24, 1990
Waived Andre Turner.
- October 30, 1990
Waived Richard Anderson.
Waived Mike Holton.
- January 4, 1991
Traded Armen Gilliam and Dave Hoppen to the Philadelphia 76ers for Mike Gminski.
- January 22, 1991
Signed Scott Haffner to the first of two 10-day contracts.
Signed Jeff Sanders to a 10-day contract.
- January 29, 1991
Traded a 1993 2nd round draft pick (Alex Holcombe was later selected) and a 1995 2nd round draft pick (Dejan Bodiroga was later selected) to the Sacramento Kings for Eric Leckner.
- January 31, 1991
Waived Jeff Sanders.
- February 11, 1991
Signed Scott Haffner to a contract for the rest of the season.
- April 17, 1991
Robert Reid signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers.
- May 31, 1991
Waived Steve Scheffler.
Player Transactions Citation:[19]