The 1989–90 NBA season was the Rockets' 23rd season 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 19th season in the city of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. After a 9–6 start to the season, the Rockets would struggle posting a 12–18 record as they entered the New Year. However, they would manage to win seven of their next nine games, holding a 22–25 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, the team acquired second-year guard Vernon Maxwell from 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 ...

, as they continued to play .500 basketball for the rest of the season. The Rockets finished fifth in the Midwest Division with a 41–41 record, winning a tie-breaker over the Seattle SuperSonics for the #8 seed in the Western Conference. Akeem Olajuwon led the Rockets with 24.3 points, 14.0 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, the NBA All-Defensive First Team, 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 ...

. In addition, Otis Thorpe averaged 17.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while Mitchell Wiggins averaged 15.5 points per game, Buck Johnson provided the team with 14.8 points and 1.3 steals per game, and Sleepy Floyd contributed 12.2 points and 7.3 assists per game. Olajuwon also finished in seventh place in

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

voting, and in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting. However, in the Western Conference First Round 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 ...

, the Rockets lost to the top-seeded

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in four games. Following the season, Wiggins was released to free agency, and John Lucas and Tim McCormick were both traded to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

Draft picks

The Rockets had no draft picks in 1989.

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

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

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , April 27 , @ L.A. Lakers
L 89–101
, Otis Thorpe (21) , Akeem Olajuwon (14) , Sleepy Floyd (8) ,

Great Western Forum The Kia Forum, also known as Los Angeles Forum and formerly Great Western Forum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located on West Manchester Boulevard, with Laffit Pincay Jr., P ...

17,505 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 29 , @ L.A. Lakers
L 100–104
, Sleepy Floyd (27) , Akeem Olajuwon (11) , Sleepy Floyd (8) ,

17,505 , 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , May 1 , L.A. Lakers
W 114–108
, Otis Thorpe (27) , Otis Thorpe (8) , Sleepy Floyd (18) , The Summit
16,611 , 1–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , May 3 , L.A. Lakers
L 88–109
, Akeem Olajuwon (28) , Akeem Olajuwon (10) , Sleepy Floyd (10) , The Summit
16,611 , 1–3 , -

Player statistics

NOTE: Please write the players statistics in alphabetical order by last name.

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

* Akeem Olajuwon,

All-NBA Second Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sel ...

* Akeem Olajuwon,

NBA All-Defensive First Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in tw ...

Transactions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1989-90 Houston Rockets season Houston Rockets seasons 1989 in sports in Texas 1990 in sports in Texas 1989 in Houston 1990 in Houston

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Transactions

See also

References