1989–90 New York Knicks season

The 1989–90 New York Knicks season was the 44th season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association.^[3] Before the season, owners Gulf+Western reorganized and became Paramount Communications, renaming themselves after the Paramount Pictures film studio.^[4][5]

1989–90 New York Knicks season
Head coach	Stu Jackson
General manager	Al Bianchi
Owners	Paramount Communications, Inc.
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Results
Record	45–37 (.549)
Place	Division: 3rd (Atlantic) Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Pistons 1–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	MSG Network (Marv Albert, John Andariese)[1]
Radio	WFAN (Jim Karvellas, Walt Frazier)[2]
< 1988–89 1990–91 >

During the off-season, the Knicks hired Stu Jackson as their new head coach; Jackson previously worked as an assistant coach for the Knicks.^[6][7][8] The team got off to a solid start, winning 20 of their first 27 games of the regular season, while posting a nine-game winning streak,^[9] and holding a 32–16 record at the All-Star break.^[10] At mid-season, the Knicks traded second-year guard Rod Strickland to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for All-Star guard Maurice Cheeks.^{[11][12][13][14]} However, as the team stood at a 39–22 record, they struggled and lost 15 of their final 21 games.^[9] The Knicks finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 45–37 record,^[15] which earned them the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, as they qualified for the NBA playoffs for the third consecutive year.^[3][15]

Patrick Ewing averaged 28.6 points, 10.9 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game,^[16] and was named to the All-NBA First Team, selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game in Miami, Florida,^{[15][17][18][19][20]} and finished in fifth place in Most Valuable Player voting.^[21] In addition, Charles Oakley averaged 14.6 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, while Gerald Wilkins provided the team with 14.5 points and 4.0 assists per game, and Johnny Newman contributed 12.9 points per game.^[16] Meanwhile, Kiki Vandeweghe provided the Knicks with 11.7 points per game in only 22 games, and Mark Jackson averaged 9.9 points, 7.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.^[16] Off the bench, three-point specialist Trent Tucker contributed 8.2 points per game, and Kenny Walker averaged 7.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.^[16]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Knicks trailed 0–2 to Larry Bird and the 4th-seeded Boston Celtics, suffering a 157–128 road loss in Game 2 at the Boston Garden,^{[22][23][24][25]} but managed to win the next three games, thus winning the series in five games.^{[26][27][28][29]} The Knicks were then eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals by the defending champion Detroit Pistons in five games.^{[30][31][32][33][34]} The Pistons would go on to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers in five games in the 1990 NBA Finals, winning their second consecutive NBA championship.^{[35][36][37][38][39]}

The Knicks finished fifth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 730,432 at Madison Square Garden during the regular season.^[15][16] Following the season, Newman signed as a free agent with the Charlotte Hornets.^[40][41][42]

For the season, the Knicks slightly changed their primary logo, changing the color of the basketball under the team name from brown to orange; the logo remained in use until 1992.^[43]

Draft picks

Main article: 1989 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
2	50	Brian Quinnett	SF	United States	Washington State

Roster

1989–90 New York Knicks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 54 Greg Butler 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1966–03–11 Stanford G 1 Maurice Cheeks 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1956–09–08 West Texas A&M C 33 Patrick Ewing 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1962–08–05 Georgetown C 40 Stuart Gray 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1963–05–27 UCLA G 13 Mark Jackson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1965–04–01 St. John's F 4 Johnny Newman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–11–28 Richmond F 34 Charles Oakley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1963–12–18 Virginia Union G 23 Brian Quinnett 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1966–05–30 Washington State G 6 Trent Tucker 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1959–12–20 Minnesota F 55 Kiki Vandeweghe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1958–08–01 UCLA F 7 Kenny Walker 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1964–08–18 Kentucky C 45 Eddie Lee Wilkins 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1962–05–07 Gardner–Webb G 21 Gerald Wilkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963–09–11 Chattanooga

Head coach Stu Jackson Assistant(s) Ernie Grunfeld Paul Silas Jeff Van Gundy Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Philadelphia 76ers	53	29	.646	–	34–7	19–22	19–7
x-Boston Celtics	52	30	.634	1	30–11	22–19	19–7
x-New York Knicks	45	37	.549	8	29–12	16–25	17–9
Washington Bullets	31	51	.378	22	20–21	11–30	10–16
Miami Heat	18	64	.220	35	11–30	7–34	4–22
New Jersey Nets	17	65	.207	36	13–28	4–37	9–17

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Detroit Pistons	59	23	.720	–
2	y-Philadelphia 76ers	53	29	.646	6
3	x-Chicago Bulls	55	27	.671	4
4	x-Boston Celtics	52	30	.634	7
5	x-New York Knicks	45	37	.549	14
6	x-Milwaukee Bucks	44	38	.537	15
7	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	42	40	.512	17
8	x-Indiana Pacers	42	40	.512	17
9	Atlanta Hawks	41	41	.500	18
10	Washington Bullets	31	51	.378	28
11	Miami Heat	18	64	.220	41
12	Orlando Magic	18	64	.220	41
13	New Jersey Nets	17	65	.207	42

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1989–90 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	1–3	2–0	0–5	2–3	0–2	1–1	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–3	1–1	0–2	4–0	3–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	5–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	3–1	—	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	5–0	2–2	1–1	5–1	4–1	4–0	3–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3
Charlotte	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	1–3	3–2	0–2	2–2	1–4	1–1	2–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	0–5	0–2
Chicago	5–0	2–2	2–0	—	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–4	2–0	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–1
Cleveland	3–2	1–3	1–1	0–5	—	0–2	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	3–2	1–1	4–0	2–2	4–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Dallas	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	—	2–3	1–1	3–1	4–1	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	3–2	2–2	1–3	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	2–0	3–2	—	0–2	2–2	4–1	0–2	2–2	0–4	2–0	1–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–2	0–4	1–1
Detroit	2–3	2–2	2–0	4–1	4–1	1–1	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	4–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	5–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0
Golden State	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	—	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–4	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	2–2	3–2	1–3	2–3	2–2	1–1
Houston	0–2	0–2	4–1	1–1	2–0	1–4	1–4	1–1	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–2	1–1
Indiana	3–2	3–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	0–2	2–0	1–4	1–1	1–1	—	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–2	1–1	4–0	1–3	4–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
L.A. Clippers	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	—	1–4	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–4	0–5	2–3	0–4	3–2	0–4	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	2–0	4–1	—	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–3	5–0	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–1
Miami	0–4	0–5	1–1	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	—	2–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	3–1	0–5	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–3
Milwaukee	2–3	2–2	2–0	1–4	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	—	2–0	4–0	2–2	5–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–1
Minnesota	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–5	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–4	1–3	0–5	1–1
New Jersey	2–2	1–5	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	4–1	0–4	1–1	—	1–4	1–3	1–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3
New York	3–1	1–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	5–1	2–2	1–1	4–1	—	2–2	2–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–0
Orlando	0–5	0–4	1–1	2–3	1–4	0–2	0–2	0–5	0–2	0–2	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–5	1–1	3–1	2–2	—	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4
Philadelphia	2–2	2–3	2–0	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	5–0	3–1	1–1	4–1	3–2	2–2	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–1
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	0–2	5–0	2–2	1–1	4–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	—	2–3	5–0	0–4	3–2	3–1	2–0
Portland	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–1	5–0	3–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–2	—	4–0	3–1	3–2	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–3	0–4	1–1	3–2	0–5	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–5	0–4	—	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	1–1	5–0	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	—	3–1	3–2	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–2	1–1	2–3	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3	2–3	2–2	1–3	—	1–3	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–3	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–3	3–1	—	2–0
Washington	2–2	3–2	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–3	1–1	3–2	0–5	4–0	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

1989–90 game log Total: 45–37 (home: 29–12; road: 16–25)
November: 9–5 (home: 6–0; road: 3–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 November 3 8:00 p.m. EST @ Detroit L 103–106 Ewing (23) Oakley (11) Jackson (9) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 0–1 6 November 14 10:30 p.m. EST @ Portland L 117–118 Ewing (43) Oakley (12) Jackson (7) Memorial Coliseum 12,848 3–3
December: 11–2 (home: 6–0; road: 5–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
January: 7–9 (home: 5–2; road: 2–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 30 January 6 7:30 p.m. EST @ Detroit L 106–117 Ewing (29) Oakley (12) Jackson (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 21–9
February: 9–3 (home: 6–1; road: 3–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 54 February 25 12 Noon EST Detroit L 87–98 Ewing (37) Oakley (14) Jackson (8) Madison Square Garden 18,212 35–19
March: 4–12 (home: 2–7; road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 58 March 6 7:30 p.m. EST Portland L 100–112 Ewing (40) Oakley (14) Ewing, Oakley (5) Madison Square Garden 18,212 37–21
April: 5–7 (home: 4–2; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 76 April 10 8:00 p.m. EDT Detroit L 98–108 Ewing (26) Ewing (9) Cheeks (6) Madison Square Garden 18,032 43–33
1989–90 schedule

Playoffs

1990 playoff game log
First Round: 3–2 (home: 2–0; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 26 @ Boston L 105–116 Patrick Ewing (22) Patrick Ewing (9) Maurice Cheeks (9) Boston Garden 14,890 0–1 2 April 28 @ Boston L 128–157 Patrick Ewing (28) Charles Oakley (9) Gerald Wilkins (7) Boston Garden 14,890 0–2 3 May 2 Boston W 102–99 Patrick Ewing (33) Patrick Ewing (19) Maurice Cheeks (11) Madison Square Garden 18,212 1–2 4 May 4 Boston W 135–108 Patrick Ewing (44) Patrick Ewing (13) Maurice Cheeks (12) Madison Square Garden 18,212 2–2 5 May 6 @ Boston W 121–114 Patrick Ewing (31) Charles Oakley (17) Patrick Ewing (10) Boston Garden 14,890 3–2
Conference semifinals: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 8 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Detroit L 77–112 Ewing (19) E Wilkins (8) Cheeks (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 0–1 2 May 10 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Detroit L 97–104 G Wilkins (24) Oakley (15) Cheeks (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 0–2 3 May 12 1:00 p.m. EDT Detroit W 111–103 Ewing (45) Oakley (20) Cheeks (12) Madison Square Garden 18,212 1–2 4 May 13 3:30 p.m. EDT Detroit L 90–102 Ewing (30) Oakley (14) Cheeks, Jackson (6) Madison Square Garden 18,212 1–3 5 May 15 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Detroit L 84–95 Ewing (22) Ewing (14) Cheeks (9) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 1–4
1990 schedule

Player statistics

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

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Greg Butler	13	0	2.5	.250		.000	.7	.1	.0	.0	.5
Maurice Cheeks†	31	13	24.3	.579	.429	.877	2.4	4.9	1.4	.2	7.9
Patrick Ewing	82	82	38.6	.551	.250	.775	10.9	2.2	1.0	4.0	28.6
Stuart Gray†	19	0	4.9	.235	.000	.875	.7	.1	.2	.1	.8
Mark Jackson	82	69	29.6	.437	.267	.727	3.9	7.4	1.3	.0	9.9
Pete Myers†	24	0	8.7	.333	.000	.516	1.2	1.5	.6	.1	1.9
Johnny Newman	80	69	28.5	.476	.317	.799	2.4	2.3	1.2	.3	12.9
Charles Oakley	61	61	36.0	.524	.000	.761	11.9	2.4	1.0	.3	14.6
Brian Quinnett	31	0	6.2	.328	.000	.667	.9	.4	.1	.1	1.3
Rod Strickland†	51	0	20.0	.440	.286	.638	2.5	4.3	1.4	.2	8.4
Trent Tucker	81	2	21.3	.417	.388	.767	2.1	2.1	.9	.1	8.2
Kiki VanDeWeghe	22	13	25.6	.442	.526	.917	2.4	1.9	.7	.1	11.7
Kenny Walker	68	21	23.5	.531	.400	.723	5.0	.7	.5	.8	7.9
Eddie Lee Wilkins	79	0	12.3	.455	.000	.605	3.4	.2	.2	.2	4.7
Gerald Wilkins	82	80	31.8	.457	.312	.803	4.5	4.0	1.2	.3	14.5

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Maurice Cheeks	10	10	38.8	.481	.000	.903	3.9	8.5	1.7	.2	12.8
Patrick Ewing	10	10	39.5	.521	.500	.823	10.5	3.1	1.3	2.0	29.4
Stuart Gray	4	0	3.0	.400			2.0	.0	.3	.0	1.0
Mark Jackson	9	0	9.0	.419	.000	.727	.6	2.3	.2	.0	3.8
Johnny Newman	10	0	23.1	.447	.400	.755	2.1	1.0	.9	.3	11.7
Charles Oakley	10	8	33.6	.512	1.000	.654	11.0	2.7	1.1	.2	12.1
Brian Quinnett	3	0	5.3	.500	1.000		2.7	.7	.0	.0	1.7
Trent Tucker	10	0	17.8	.400	.370	1.000	1.4	2.0	1.0	.0	6.0
Kiki VanDeWeghe	10	10	23.6	.419	.462	.800	1.2	1.4	.5	.2	7.6
Kenny Walker	10	2	15.4	.552	.000	.643	2.5	.6	.0	.4	4.1
Eddie Lee Wilkins	7	0	7.7	.500		.545	1.6	.0	.3	.0	3.4
Gerald Wilkins	10	10	31.9	.460	.250	.818	3.6	5.2	1.4	.1	14.6

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Knicks only.

Source:^[16]

Awards and records

• Patrick Ewing, All-NBA First Team^[44]

Transactions