1990–91 Washington Bullets season
NBA professional basketball team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1990–91 Washington Bullets season was the 30th season for the Washington Bullets in the National Basketball Association, and their 18th season in Washington, D.C..[1]
Baltimore Arena (4 games)
| 1990–91 Washington Bullets season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Wes Unseld |
| General manager | John Nash |
| Owner | Abe Pollin |
| Arena | Capital Centre (37 games) Baltimore Arena (4 games) |
| Results | |
| Record | 30–52 (.366) |
| Place | Division: 4th (Atlantic) Conference: 10th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | |
| Radio | WTOP |
Season summary
Off-season
During the off-season, the Bullets acquired second-year forward Pervis Ellison from the Sacramento Kings in a three-team trade.[2][3][4]
Regular season
With the addition of Ellison, the Bullets struggled with a 4–10 start to the regular season in November, but later on posted a 9–7 record in January, and held a 21–27 record at the All-Star break.[5] However, the team struggled posting a nine-game losing streak between February and March, and losing ten of their twelve games in February. The Bullets finished in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a 30–52 record.[6]
Bernard King averaged 28.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. In addition, Harvey Grant showed improvement averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while Ledell Eackles contributed 13.0 points per game, Hot Plate Williams provided with 12.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, but only played just 33 games due to a knee injury and weight problems, where he weighed up to 302 lbs.[7][8] and Ellison averaged 10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Darrell Walker averaged 7.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game, while rookie shooting guard A.J. English contributed 8.8 points per game off the bench, and defensive center Charles Jones provided with 2.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.[9]
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, King was selected for the 1991 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his fourth and final All-Star appearance.[10][11][12] King finished in 16th place in Most Valuable Player voting,[13] while Grant finished in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting, and with King finishing tied in eighth place.[13] The Bullets finished 26th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 443,683 at the Capital Centre during the regular season, which was the second-lowest in the league.[9][14]
Notable incidents
One notable incident of the regular season occurred on April 4, 1991, during a home game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Capital Centre. Walker, Ellison, head coach Wes Unseld, and the Bullets' mascot "Hoops", were all ejected out of the game by referee Steve Javie, as the Bullets lost to the Trail Blazers, 105–96.[15][16][17]
Aftermath
Following the season, Walker was traded to the Detroit Pistons.[18][19]
NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 35 | Greg Foster | PF/C |  United States | UTEP |
| 2 | 37 | A. J. English | G | United States | Virginia Union |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Boston Celtics | 56 | 26 | .683 | — | 35–6 | 21–20 | 20-6 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 12 | 29-12 | 15-26 | 14-12 |
| x-New York Knicks | 39 | 43 | .476 | 17 | 21-20 | 18-23 | 17–9 |
| Washington Bullets | 30 | 52 | .366 | 26 | 21-20 | 9-32 | 10-16 |
| New Jersey Nets | 26 | 56 | .317 | 30 | 20-21 | 6–35 | 8-18 |
| Miami Heat | 24 | 58 | .293 | 32 | 18-23 | 6-35 | 9-17 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Alarie | 42 | 1 | 14.0 | .440 | .238 | .854 | 2.8 | 1.1 | .4 | .2 | 5.8 |
| Ledell Eackles | 67 | 17 | 24.1 | .453 | .237 | .739 | 1.9 | 2.0 | .7 | .1 | 13.0 |
| Pervis Ellison | 76 | 30 | 25.6 | .513 | .000 | .650 | 7.7 | 1.3 | .6 | 2.1 | 10.4 |
| A. J. English | 70 | 12 | 20.6 | .439 | .097 | .707 | 2.1 | 2.5 | .4 | .2 | 8.8 |
| Greg Foster | 54 | 3 | 11.2 | .460 | .000 | .689 | 2.8 | .7 | .2 | .4 | 4.4 |
| Harvey Grant | 77 | 76 | 36.9 | .498 | .133 | .743 | 7.2 | 2.6 | 1.2 | .8 | 18.2 |
| Tom Hammonds | 70 | 7 | 14.6 | .461 | .000 | .722 | 2.9 | .6 | .2 | .1 | 5.2 |
| Byron Irvin | 33 | 4 | 9.6 | .465 | .200 | .820 | 1.4 | .7 | .5 | .1 | 5.2 |
| Charles Jones | 62 | 54 | 24.2 | .540 | .580 | 5.8 | .8 | .8 | 2.0 | 2.6 | |
| Bernard King | 64 | 64 | 37.5 | .472 | .216 | .790 | 5.0 | 4.6 | .9 | .3 | 28.4 |
| Larry Robinson† | 12 | 10 | 21.3 | .418 | .000 | .583 | 2.3 | 2.0 | .6 | .0 | 6.9 |
| Clinton Smith | 5 | 0 | 9.0 | .500 | .500 | .8 | .8 | .2 | .0 | 1.4 | |
| Darrell Walker | 71 | 65 | 32.5 | .430 | .000 | .604 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 1.1 | .5 | 7.8 |
| John Williams | 33 | 11 | 28.5 | .417 | .244 | .753 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 1.2 | .2 | 12.5 |
| Haywoode Workman | 73 | 56 | 27.9 | .454 | .240 | .759 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 1.2 | .1 | 8.0 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Bullets only.
Player statistics citation:[9]