1990–91 Dallas Mavericks season

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.