The

1989–90 NBA season The 1989–90 NBA season was the 44th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Detroit Pistons winning their second consecutive NBA Championship, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. ...

was the 14th season for the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

in the

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

, and their 23rd season as a franchise. The Nuggets got off to a fast start by winning 11 of their first 15 games, on their way to a solid 19–9 start to the regular season, and holding a 26–20 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team acquired

Joe Barry Carroll Joe Barry Carroll (born July 24, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player and author who spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After retiring from basketball, he became a wealth advisor, philanthropist ...

from the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. However, the team began to show their age as they finished in fourth place in the Midwest Division with a 43–39 record, and earned the #7 seed in the Western Conference.

Fat Lever Lafayette "Fat" Lever (; born August 18, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. He later served as the director of player development for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA as we ...

averaged 18.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.1 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 ...

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, while

Alex English Alexander English (born January 5, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and businessman. A South Carolina native, English played college basketball for the South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball, South Carolina ...

averaged 17.9 points per game, and sixth man Walter Davis provided the team with 17.5 points per game off the bench. In addition, Michael Adams contributed 15.5 points, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while Blair Rasmussen provided with 12.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, and

Danny Schayes Daniel Leslie Schayes (born May 10, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played for Syracuse University and played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 1981 until 1999. At 6' 11" and 235 pounds ...

averaged 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. In the Western Conference First Round of the

1990 NBA playoffs The 1990 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1989–90 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons defeating the Western Conference champion Portland Tr ...

, the Nuggets were swept by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in three straight games. Following the season, an era would come to an end in Denver as head coach

Doug Moe Douglas Edwin Moe (born September 21, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. As a head coach with the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 1988. Ea ...

was fired, while English signed as a free agent with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

, Lever was traded to the Mavericks, Schayes signed with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, and Barry Carroll was released to free agency.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

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Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

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San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

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Todd Lichti Todd Samuel Lichti (born January 8, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. At and he played at guard (basketball), guard. He was selected with 15th pick in the 1989 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets where he stayed for 4 yea ...

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HemisFair Arena HemisFair Arena (also known as the San Antonio Convention Center Arena) was an indoor arena located in San Antonio, Texas. It was home to the ABA/NBA's San Antonio Spurs from 1973 to 1993 and the San Antonio Force of the AFL during the 1992 sea ...

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Rasmussen The surname Rasmussen () is a Danish and Norwegian surname, meaning ''Rasmus' son''. It is the ninth-most-common surname in Denmark, shared by about 1.9% of the population.Fat Lever Lafayette "Fat" Lever (; born August 18, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. He later served as the director of player development for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA as we ...

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McNichols Sports Arena McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado, United States. Located adjacent to Mile High Stadium and completed in 1975, at a cost of $16 million, it seated 16,061 for hockey games and 17,171 for basketball games. Sp ...

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Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Player Statistics Citation:

Awards and records

* The Nuggets would win the 1990 McDonald's Open after winning games against Italy's Philips Milano and

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's Jugoplastika.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also