The 1989–90 NBA season was the Hawks' 41st season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

, and 22nd season in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Injuries would hamper the Hawks again, as

Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing for Marquette Universit ...

only played just 48 games due to a herniated disk in his back. Despite the injuries, they went on a 7-game winning streak in December with a 13–6 record. However, in January they lost six consecutive games falling below .500, holding a 22–24 record at the All-Star break, and endangering their playoff chances. At midseason, the team traded

Antoine Carr Antoine Labotte Carr (born July 23, 1961) is an American retired basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Dawg", he played power forward (and sometimes center) for six different teams in the National Basketball Association across 16 seasons. Early life ...

to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

in exchange for

Kenny Smith Kenneth Smith (born March 8, 1965), nicknamed "the Jet", is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacrame ...

. The Hawks would close out the season on a strong note winning ten of their final 15 games finishing sixth in the Central Division with a 41–41 record. However, they ended up one game short of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...

averaged 26.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, and was selected for the

1990 NBA All-Star Game The 40th National Basketball Association All-Star Game was played on February 11, 1990, at Miami Arena in Miami. Magic Johnson was named the game's MVP as well as the leading scorer with 22 points. The Eastern Conference All-Star Starters as sel ...

, but was not selected to an All-NBA Team at season's end, while

Moses Malone Moses Eugene Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A cent ...

averaged 18.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, and Rivers provided the team with 12.5 points, 5.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game. In addition,

Kevin Willis Kevin Alvin Willis (born September 6, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player mostly known for playing with the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 7-foot power forward/center. Excluding players ...

provided with 12.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while John Battle contributed 10.9 points per game, and

Spud Webb Anthony Jerome "Spud" Webb (born July 13, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Webb, who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA), is known for winning a Slam Dunk Contest despite being one of the shortest players ...

averaged 9.2 points, 5.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game off the bench. Wilkins also won the Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star Weekend in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, with Smith (then with the Kings), finishing second behind Wilkins. Following the season, Smith was traded to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

, while

Cliff Levingston Clifford Eugene Levingston (born January 4, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. Professional playing career A former power forward, Levingston played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Levingston st ...

signed as a free agent with the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

, and head coach

Mike Fratello Michael Robert Fratello (born February 24, 1947) is an American sports broadcaster and a professional basketball coach. Fratello is currently an analyst for Fox Sports Ohio for the Cavaliers and a part-time color commentator for Fox Sports West f ...

resigned after coaching the Hawks for seven seasons.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

:z - clinched division title :y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also