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1989–90 Phoenix Suns season

NBA team season

Field	Value
team	Phoenix Suns
end_year	1990
wins	54
losses	28
division	Pacific
division_place	3
conf_place	5
coach	Cotton Fitzsimmons
gm	Jerry Colangelo
owner	Jerry Colangelo
arena	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
playoffs	[Western Conference finals](1990-nba-playoffs-bracket)
(lost to [Trail Blazers](1989-90-portland-trail-blazers-season) 2–4)
bbr_team	PHO
radio	KTAR

(lost to Trail Blazers 2–4)

KUTP
ASPN The 1989–90 Phoenix Suns season was the 21st season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. Cotton Fitzsimmons was head coach for a team that returned to the Western Conference Finals. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

In December, the team traded Armen Gilliam to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Kurt Rambis, who won four championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns held a 28–17 record at the All-Star break, and finished in third place in the Pacific Division with a 54–28 record, which earned them the fifth seed in the Western Conference.

Tom Chambers averaged 27.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while last season's Most Improved Player, Kevin Johnson averaged 22.5 points, 11.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and Jeff Hornacek provided the team with 17.6 points, 5.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game. In addition, sixth man Eddie Johnson provided with 16.9 points per game off the bench, while second-year guard Dan Majerle contributed 11.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game also off the bench, Mark West averaged 10.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, and second-year center Andrew Lang provided with 3.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Chambers and Kevin Johnson were both selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was Johnson's first ever All-Star appearance. Meanwhile, rookie shooting guard Kenny Battle participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Chambers and Johnson were both named to the All-NBA Second Team at season's end; Chambers also finished in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Eddie Johnson finished tied in third place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and Hornacek finished in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting, with West finishing tied in sixth place.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Suns faced off against the 4th–seeded Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Thurl Bailey. The Suns lost Game 1 to the Jazz on the road, 113–96 at the Salt Palace, but managed to win the next two games to take a 2–1 series lead. The Suns lost Game 4 at home at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 105–94 as the Jazz evened the series. However, the Suns won Game 5 over the Jazz at the Salt Palace, 104–102 to win in a hard-fought five-game series.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the top–seeded, and Pacific Division champion Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by the quartet of All-Star guard, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, Magic Johnson, All-Star forward James Worthy, Byron Scott, and All-Star forward A.C. Green. The Suns managed to win Game 1 over the Lakers on the road, 104–102 at the Great Western Forum, before losing Game 2 on the road, 124–100 as the Lakers evened the series. The Suns won the next two games at home at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and then won Game 5 over the Lakers at the Great Western Forum, 106–103 to win the series in five games, upsetting the top–seeded team.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Suns then 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 Trail Blazers took a 2–0 series lead, but the Suns managed to win the next two games at home, including a Game 4 win over the Trail Blazers at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 119–107 to even the series. However, after losing Game 5 on the road at the Memorial Coliseum, 120–114, the Suns lost Game 6 to the Trail Blazers at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 112–109, thus losing the series in six games. The Trail Blazers would lose to the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons in five games in the 1990 NBA Finals.

The season was also highlighted by Chambers setting a franchise record for points scored in one game, when on February 18, 1990, he scored 56 points in a 131–113 road win over the Golden State Warriors. Just over a month later, he would break his own record when he scored 60 against his former team, the Seattle SuperSonics on March 24, 1990, which the Suns won at home, 121–95. Chambers' record would be broken by Devin Booker on March 24th, 2017 by scoring 70 points against the Boston Celtics, and technically a second time on January 26th, 2024 against the Indiana Pacers with 62 points.

NBA draft

Main article: 1989 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	24	Anthony Cook	Forward	United States	Arizona
2	46	Ricky Blanton	Forward	United States	Louisiana State
2	51	Mike Morrison	Guard	United States	Loyola (MD)
2	52	Greg Grant	Guard	United States	Trenton State

The Suns traded first-round pick Anthony Cook on draft night to the Detroit Pistons for 27th pick Kenny Battle and Micheal Williams. Battle played for a season and a half before being waived in January 1991. Micheal Williams would play six games for the Suns before being waived. The Suns received the 46th pick (Ricky Blanton) from the Chicago Bulls when they traded Craig Hodges for Ed Nealy. Blanton, after knee surgery, sat on the bench for the 89–90 season, and was waived shortly after the start of the 90–91 season. Mike Morrison played sparingly in the 89–90 season, and was traded before the start of the 90–91 season. Greg Grant played the season as a backup to Kevin Johnson, before being released in the 1990 offseason.

Roster

Cotton Fitzsimmons
Lionel Hollins
Scotty Robertson
Paul Westphal

Regular season

Standings

Playoffs

The Suns entered the postseason as the fifth seed in the Western Conference, opening the playoffs against the fourth-seeded Utah Jazz. With stomach flu limiting All-Star point guard Kevin Johnson to only 9 minutes, the Jazz took game one with a 17-point victory in Salt Lake City. Johnson returned for game two, leading the Suns to an 18-point victory. After splitting two games in Phoenix, the Suns headed back to Salt Lake for the decisive fifth game. Kevin Johnson sealed the game with a last-second jump shot to give the Suns a 104–102 victory.

The Suns would next face-off against the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, who finished the season with a league-best 63–19 record. Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons came into game one with an 0–37 record coaching against the Lakers at the Great Western Forum. The Suns had lost 21 consecutive games at the Forum dating back to 1984. They ended the streak with a 104–102 upset, stealing homecourt advantage. Center Mark West led the Suns with 24 points, 16 rebounds and 7 blocks. The Lakers would recover in game two, blowing out the Suns 100–124 to even the series. After winning games three and four in Phoenix, the Suns returned to the Forum with a 3–1 series lead. Despite an early 15-point lead and a 43-point performance from MVP Magic Johnson, the Suns rallied to a 106–103 victory, behind 37 points from Kevin Johnson.

The Suns headed to the Western Conference finals to face the Portland Trail Blazers. Looking to steal homecourt advantage for the third straight series, the Suns fell 98–100 in a closely contested game one. A last second shot from reserve shooting guard Mike McGee was blocked by Blazers guard Danny Young. Game two saw the Suns run to a 22-point lead in the second quarter, finishing the first half leading 59–41. The Blazers launched a furious second-half comeback, tying the game 106–106 after a Terry Porter three-pointer with 28 seconds left. Kevin Johnson was immediately fouled, missing the first free throw and making the second to give the Suns a one-point lead. Porter would give the Blazers the lead after a 14-foot jump shot with 12 seconds left. Suns forward Eddie Johnson missed a 20-foot jumper with 4 seconds left, giving the Blazers a 108–107 victory. The Suns would beat the Blazers by 34 and 12 in games three and four in Phoenix, before the Blazers retook the series lead with a 6-point victory in game five. Fortune turned against the Suns in game six, when Kevin Johnson went down with a hamstring injury at the end of the second quarter. Shooting guard Jeff Hornacek led the team in Johnson's absence, scoring a career playoff high 36 points. The Suns led 109–108 with 55 seconds left in the game. Blazers forward Jerome Kersey blocked a shot by Hornacek and scored a fast-break layup, giving the Blazers a 110–109 lead with 27 seconds left. Looking to regain the lead, Suns forward Tom Chambers had the ball stripped by Buck Williams. Star Clyde Drexler would make two free-throws to put the Blazers up 112–109. Hornacek missed a last-second three-pointer, ending the Suns unlikely playoff run.

Game log

2–4

Player statistics

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
	59	8	12.4	.547	.250	.671	2.1	0.6	.6	.2	4.1
	81	81	37.6	.501	.279	.861	7.0	2.3	1.1	.6	27.2
*	16	7	16.7	.430	.	.696	4.4	0.5	.4	.3	8.9
	67	3	10.1	.384	.188	.661	0.9	2.5	.5	.0	3.1
	67	60	34.0	.536	.408†	.856	4.7	5.0	1.7	.2	17.6
	64	4	28.3	.453	.380	.917^	3.8	1.7	.5	.2	16.9
	74	74	37.6	.499	.195	.838	3.6	11.4	1.3	.2	22.5
	74	0	13.7	.557	.	.653	3.7	0.3	.3	1.8	3.5
	11	0	7.5	.379	.000	1.000^	0.7	0.5	.2	.0	2.5
	73	23	30.7	.424	.238	.762	5.9	2.6	1.4	.4	11.1
	14	7	20.0	.483	.348	.476	2.6	1.1	.6	.1	7.3
	36	1	4.3	.338	.286	.800	0.6	0.3	.1	.0	2.0
	60	18	10.2	.513	1.000†	.589	2.5	0.3	.4	.4	4.2
*	58	45	25.1	.514	.000	.722	7.0	1.8	1.2	.5	5.4
	82	79	29.3	.625	.	.691	8.9	0.5	.4	2.2	10.5
*	6	0	4.3	.200	.	.500	0.2	0.7	.0	.0	0.8

– Stats with the Suns.

† – Minimum 25 three-pointers made.

^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.

Playoffs

GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
8	4.3	.308	.	1.000	0.6	0.0	.0	.0	1.1
16	38.3	.425	.263	.879	6.7	1.9	.4	.4	22.2
7	6.7	.450	.333	.	0.9	1.4	.3	.0	1.4
16	36.4	.511	.250	.932	3.9	4.6	1.5	.0	18.6
16	21.1	.450	.395	.787	3.6	1.1	.6	.2	12.3
16	36.4	.479	.182	.821	3.3	10.6	1.6	.0	21.3
12	7.8	.667	.	.571	1.7	0.2	.2	.8	1.3
16	29.9	.487	.333	.785	5.1	2.1	1.2	.1	12.6
10	4.4	.350	.429	.250	0.4	0.2	.1	.1	1.8
11	9.1	.520	.	.444	1.9	0.2	.3	.5	3.1
16	24.1	.444	.000	.679	7.7	1.4	.5	.5	4.2
16	34.0	.577	.	.540	10.3	0.3	.2	2.6	11.1

Player statistics citation:

Awards and honors

Week/Month

Tom Chambers was named Player of the Week for games played February 5 through February 18.
Kevin Johnson was named Player of the Week for games played March 12 through March 18.

All-Star

Tom Chambers was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. Chambers finished 9th in voting among Western Conference forwards with 64,028 votes.
Kevin Johnson was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. Johnson finished 6th in voting among Western Conference guards with 78,812 votes.

Season

Tom Chambers was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Chambers finished 8th in MVP voting.
Kevin Johnson was named to the All-NBA Second Team.
Eddie Johnson finished 3rd in Sixth Man of the Year voting. He won the award the previous year in the 1988–89 season.
Mark West led the league in field goal percentage, making .625% of his shots.

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Date	Player	Contract	Former Team
August 24, 1989	Steve Kerr	Undisclosed	Phoenix Suns
March 21, 1990	Tim Legler	Signed two ten-day contracts	Omaha Racers
March 26, 1990	Mike McGee	Signed for rest of season	New Jersey Nets

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason left	New team
June 15, 1989	Tyrone Corbin	[Expansion draft](1989-nba-expansion-draft)	Minnesota Timberwolves
September 21, 1989	Kenny Gattison	Waived	Charlotte Hornets
November 6, 1989	T. R. Dunn	Free agent	Denver Nuggets
December 12, 1989	Micheal Williams	Waived	Charlotte Hornets
April 10, 1990	Tim Legler	Ten-day contract expired	Denver Nuggets

Player Transactions Citation:

References

Standings on Basketball Reference

References

"1989–90 Phoenix Suns".
(December 12, 1989). "Hornets Trade Rambis for Gilliam". Go Upstate.
(December 14, 1989). "Suns Get Rambis from Hornets". Los Angeles Times.
Smith, Sam. (December 17, 1989). "Pro Basketball". Chicago Tribune.
"NBA Games Played on February 8, 1990". Basketball-Reference.
"1989–90 Phoenix Suns Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.
"1989–90 Phoenix Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
Howard-Cooper, Scott. (February 11, 1990). "NBA ALL-STAR GAME: Entire Family Is Back Together--Almost". Los Angeles Times.
(September 13, 2021). "1990 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com.
"1990 NBA All-Star Game: East 130, West 113". Basketball-Reference.
(February 9, 1990). "NBA All-Star Weekend". The Hour.
"NBA & ABA All-Star Game Contest Winners". Basketball-Reference.
"1989–90 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference.
(May 9, 1990). "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Miami's Seikaly Voted Most Improved Player". The New York Times.
Howard-Cooper, Scott. (April 28, 1990). "Jazz Loses Big Lead, But Still Wins, 113-96". Los Angeles Times.
Wakley, Ralph. (April 28, 1990). "Jazz 113, Suns 96". United Press International.
(May 7, 1990). "Last-Gasp Jump Shot Sends Suns to Round 2". The New York Times.
Howard-Cooper, Scott. (May 7, 1990). "Suns' Truth Hurts Jazz in Game 5: NBA Playoffs: Kevin Johnson's Last-Second Basket Sets Up a Date with the Lakers for Phoenix, 104-102". Los Angeles Times.
"1990 NBA Western Conference First Round: Suns vs. Jazz". Basketball-Reference.
Brady, Frank. (May 16, 1990). "Suns Rally to Beat Lakers, Earning Trip to West Final". The New York Times.
McManis, Sam. (May 16, 1990). "Lakers Let Season Trickle Away: Game 5: Magic Johnson Scores 43, But the Suns Come Back from 15-Point Deficit to Clinch Series, 106-103". Los Angeles Times.
"1990 NBA Western Conference Semifinals: Suns vs. Lakers". Basketball-Reference.
Brown, Clifton. (June 1, 1990). "Blazers, Overcoming Road Jinx, Reach Final". The New York Times.
McManis, Sam. (June 1, 1990). "Trail Blazers Take One Away on Road, 112-109: NBA Playoffs: Williams Makes Key Steal. Johnson Misses Second Half as Suns Are Ousted". Los Angeles Times.
"1990 NBA Western Conference Finals: Suns vs. Trail Blazers". Basketball-Reference.
Brown, Clifton. (June 15, 1990). "Pistons Rally to Repeat as N.B.A. Champions". The New York Times.
McManis, Sam. (June 15, 1990). "Vinnie, Vidi, Vici: Pistons Repeat Feat: NBA Finals: Johnson Hits Game-Winner in Last Second as Detroit Rallies from Seven-Point Deficit for a 92-90 Victory. Thomas Is the Unanimous Choice as MVP". Los Angeles Times.
"1990 NBA Finals: Trail Blazers vs. Pistons". Basketball-Reference.
(February 19, 1990). "Chambers Has 56 as Suns Top Warriors". The New York Times.
(February 19, 1990). "NBA ROUNDUP: Chambers Scores 56 Points, 40 in Half". Los Angeles Times.
(March 25, 1990). "Chambers Joins 60-Point Club in Suns' Win Over SuperSonics". Los Angeles Times.
(March 25, 1990). "Phoenix 121, Seattle 95". United Press International.
"Suns Media Guide 2009–10". Phoenix Suns.
"Celtics 130-120 Suns (Mar 24, 2017)". ESPN.
"Pacers 133-131 Suns (Jan 26, 2024)". ESPN.
Brown, Clifton. (May 30, 1990). "Blazers Grab Lead In Series". The New York Times.
(April 30, 1990). "Pierce Wins NBA Sixth Man Award". Los Angeles Times.
"1989–90 Phoenix Suns Transactions". Basketball-Reference.

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