1990–91 Los Angeles Lakers season

1990–91 Los Angeles Lakers season
Western Conference Champions
Head coach	Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
Owner(s)	Jerry Buss
Arena	Great Western Forum
Results
Record	58–24 (.707)
Place	Division: 2nd (Pacific) Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (eliminated 1-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Prime Ticket, KCAL
Radio	AM 570 KLAC
< 1989–90	1991–92 >

The highlight of the Los Angeles Lakers was Magic Johnson leading the Lakers to the NBA Finals. It would be the last time that the Showtime Lakers would make it to the NBA Finals. For the first time since the 1980-81 season, the Lakers did not win their division.

Draft picks

Main article: 1990 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	27	Elden Campbell	F	United States	Clemson
2	51	Tony Smith	C	United States	Marquette

Roster

Los Angeles Lakers 1990-91 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From 2.5 !G/F 35 USA ! Brown, Tony (waived) 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Arkansas 6.0 !C 41 USA ! Campbell, Elden 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Clemson 6.0 !C 12 YUG ! Divac, Vlade 85 !7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 243 lb (110 kg) 1.5 !G 10 USA ! Drew, Larry 73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Missouri 5.5 !F/C 45 USA ! Green, A. C. 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oregon State 2.5 !G/F 32 USA ! Johnson, Magic 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Michigan State 5.5 !F/C 14 USA ! Perkins, Sam 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) North Carolina 1.5 !G 4 USA ! Scott, Byron 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Arizona State 1.5 !G 34 USA ! Smith, Tony 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Marquette 2.5 !G/F 20 USA ! Teagle, Terry 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Baylor 4.0 !F 30 USA ! Thomas, Irving 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Florida State 5.5 !F/C 43 USA ! Thompson, Mychal 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 226 lb (103 kg) Minnesota 4.0 !F 42 USA ! Worthy, James 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) North Carolina	Head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. (South Carolina) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Vlade Divac	Elden Campbell	Mychal Thompson
PF	Sam Perkins	A. C. Green
SF	James Worthy	Terry Teagle	Irving Thomas
SG	Byron Scott		Tony Smith
PG	Magic Johnson	Larry Drew

Regular season

• April 15, 1991 - Magic Johnson established the standard for most assists in a career with 9888. The previous record holder was Oscar Robertson. For the season, Magic would establish a team record with 989 assists for the season. Magic would finish the season with a career total of 9,921.

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Portland Trail Blazers	63	19	.768	—	36–5	27–14	18-10
x-Los Angeles Lakers	58	24	.707	5	33–8	25-16	19-9
x-Phoenix Suns	55	27	.671	8	32–9	23-18	17–11
x-Golden State Warriors	44	38	.537	19	30–11	14–27	13–15
x-Seattle SuperSonics	41	41	.500	22	28-13	13–28	12-16
Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	.378	32	23–18	8-33	10-18
Sacramento Kings	25	57	.305	38	24-17	1–40	9–19

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Portland Trail Blazers	63	19	.768	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	55	27	.671	8
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	58	24	.707	5
4	x-Phoenix Suns	55	27	.671	8
5	x-Utah Jazz	54	28	.659	9
6	x-Houston Rockets	52	30	.634	11
7	x-Golden State Warriors	44	38	.537	19
8	x-Seattle SuperSonics	41	41	.500	22
9	Orlando Magic	31	51	.378	32
10	Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	.378	32
11	Minnesota Timberwolves	29	53	.354	34
12	Dallas Mavericks	28	54	.341	35
13	Sacramento Kings	25	57	.305	38
14	Denver Nuggets	20	62	.244	43

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

Playoffs

West First Round

(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Houston Rockets: Lakers win series 3-0

• Game 1 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (April 25): Los Angeles 94, Houston 92
• Game 2 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (April 27): Los Angeles 109, Houston 98
• Game 3 @ The Summit, Houston (April 30): Los Angeles 94, Houston 90

Last Playoff Meeting: 1990 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3-1)

West Conference Semifinals

(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (7) Golden State Warriors: Lakers win series 4-1

• Game 1 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 5): Los Angeles 126, Golden State 116
• Game 2 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 8): Golden State 125 , Los Angeles 124
• Game 3 @ Oakland Coliseum, Oakland (May 10): Los Angeles 115, Golden State 112
• Game 4 @ Oakland Coliseum, Oakland (May 12): Los Angeles 123, Golden State 107
• Game 5 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 14): Los Angeles 124, Golden State 119 (0T)

Last Playoff Meeting: 1987 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4-1)

West Conference Finals

(1) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers: Lakers win series 4-2

• Game 1 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 18): Los Angeles 111, Portland 106
• Game 2 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 21): Portland 109, Los Angeles 98
• Game 3 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 24): Los Angeles 106, Portland 92
• Game 4 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 26): Los Angeles 116, Portland 95
• Game 5 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 28): Portland 95, Los Angeles 84
• Game 6 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 30): Los Angeles 91, Portland 90

Last Playoff Meeting: 1989 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3-0)

NBA Finals

Game 1

Sunday, June 2, at the Chicago Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	Tot.
Los Angeles	29	22	24	18	93
Chicago	30	23	15	23	91

Game 2

Wednesday, June 5, at the Chicago Stadium The Bulls shot a Finals record 61.7% from the floor, (since broken by the Orlando Magic) with a Jordan layup over Sam Perkins a highlight.

Team	1	2	3	4	Tot.
Los Angeles	23	20	26	17	86
Chicago	28	20	38	21	107

Game 3

Friday, June 7, at the Great Western Forum

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	Tot.
Chicago	25	23	18	26	12	104
Los Angeles	25	22	25	20	4	96

Game 4

Sunday, June 9, at the Great Western Forum

Team	1	2	3	4	Tot.
Chicago	27	25	22	23	97
Los Angeles	28	16	14	24	82

Game 5

Wednesday, June 12, at the Great Western Forum

The Lakers were facing elimination, and the lack of Worthy and Scott was not any help to the Lakers. This would not stop Magic Johnson as Johnson had 20 assists in the game, but it was not enough. Elden Campbell outscored Michael Jordan with 13 points in the first half, but it was not enough. The Lakers still fought and even led 93-90 in the fourth quarter, but a Bulls 9-0 run, and Paxson's 10 points in the final half of the fourth quarter helped secure the Chicago Bulls, and Michael Jordan's, first NBA title.

Team	1	2	3	4	Tot.
Chicago	27	21	32	28	108
Los Angeles	25	24	31	21	101

Player stats

Legend
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

Season

Player	GP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG
Elden Campbell
Vlade Divac
A. C. Green	82	516	71	59	23	750	9.1
Terry Teagle
James Worthy

Playoffs

Awards and Records

• Magic Johnson, All-NBA First Team
• James Worthy, All-NBA Third Team

References

• Lakers on Database Basketball