1990–91 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1990–91 NBA season was the 21st season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association.^[2] After playing overseas in Italy the previous season, Danny Ferry would make his debut in the NBA, signing a contract with the Cavaliers.^[3][4] However, a year after overcoming injuries to make the playoffs, the Cavaliers were utterly destroyed by injuries again, as Mark Price only played just 16 games due to a torn ACL in his left knee, averaging 16.9 points, 10.4 assists and 2.6 steals per game,^[5][6][7] and sixth man Hot Rod Williams only played just 43 games due to a foot injury.^[8][9] The team re-signed free agent Darnell Valentine in December as their starting point guard in Price's absence.^[10]

1990–91 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coach	Lenny Wilkens
General manager	Wayne Embry
Owners	Gordon Gund George Gund III
Arena	Richfield Coliseum
Results
Record	33–49 (.402)
Place	Division: 6th (Central) Conference: 10th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	SportsChannel Ohio WOIO
Radio	WWWE[1]
< 1989–90 1991–92 >

The Cavaliers played around .500 basketball early into the regular season, but as they stood at a 10–8 start, they struggled and lost 16 of their next 17 games, including an 11-game losing streak, and held a 15–32 record at the All-Star break.^[11] Despite winning eight out of eleven games in April, the Cavaliers were unable to qualify for the NBA playoffs, finishing in sixth place in the Central Division with a disappointing 33–49 record.^[12]

Brad Daugherty led the team with 21.6 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, and was selected for the 1991 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina,^[13][14][15] while Larry Nance averaged 19.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, and Williams provided the team with 11.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. In addition, Craig Ehlo provided with 10.1 points, 4.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while Valentine contributed 9.4 points, 5.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game, Ferry provided with 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game off the bench, and second-year forward Chucky Brown contributed 8.5 points per game.^[16] Following the season, Valentine was released to free agency.

Draft picks

Main article: 1990 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
2	52	Stefano Rusconi	Center	Italy	Ranger Varese

• 1st round pick (#13) traded to Los Angeles Clippers in Danny Ferry deal.^[17] Used to draft Loy Vaught.

Roster

1990–91 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 00 Miloš Babić 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1968–11–23 Tennessee Tech F 20 Winston Bennett 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1965–02–09 Kentucky F 52 Chucky Brown 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1968–02–29 NC State F 33 Derrick Chievous 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1967–07–03 Missouri C 43 Brad Daugherty 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1965–10–19 North Carolina G 3 Craig Ehlo 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–08–11 Washington State F 35 Danny Ferry 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–10–17 Duke F 32 Henry James 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1965–07–29 Saint Mary's G 5 Steve Kerr 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1965–09–27 Arizona F 23 John Morton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1967–05–18 Seton Hall F 22 Larry Nance 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1959–02–12 Clemson F 24 Gerald Paddio 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1965–04–21 UNLV G 25 Mark Price 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1964–02–15 Georgia Tech G 1 Darnell Valentine 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1959–02–03 Kansas C 18 Hot Rod Williams 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962–08–09 Tulane

Head coach Lenny Wilkens Assistant(s) Dick Helms Brian Winters Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: January 21, 1991

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Chicago Bulls	61	21	.744	—	35–6	26–15	25–5
x-Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	11	32–9	18–23	19-11
x-Milwaukee Bucks	48	34	.585	13	33–8	15–26	16–14
x-Atlanta Hawks	43	39	.524	18	29–12	14–27	11–19
x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	20	29-12	12–29	15-15
Cleveland Cavaliers	33	49	.402	28	23–18	10–31	11-19
Charlotte Hornets	26	56	.317	35	17–24	9–32	8–22

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Chicago Bulls	61	21	.744	–
2	y-Boston Celtics	56	26	.683	5
3	x-Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	11
4	x-Milwaukee Bucks	48	34	.585	13
5	x-Philadelphia 76ers	44	38	.537	17
6	x-Atlanta Hawks	43	39	.524	18
7	x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	20
8	x-New York Knicks	39	43	.476	22
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	33	49	.402	28
10	Washington Bullets	30	52	.366	31
11	New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	35
12	Charlotte Hornets	26	56	.317	35
13	Miami Heat	24	58	.293	37

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1990-91 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	—	3–1	1–4	1–4	3–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–3	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	2–0	4–1	5–0	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–1
Charlotte	4–1	1–3	—	0–5	1–4	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	0–5	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2
Chicago	4–1	2–2	5–0	—	5–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	1–1	0–2	4–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–1	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	2–3	1–3	4–1	0–5	—	2–0	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–3	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3
Dallas	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	3–1	0–2	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–4	2–0	2–0	1–4	1–1	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–4	2–2	0–5	2–0
Denver	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	0–5	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–4	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	5–0	2–2	4–1	2–3	3–2	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–3	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1
Golden State	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	—	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–3	2–3	2–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	5–0	0–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	5–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	2–3	2–2	2–2	1–1
Indiana	1–4	2–2	5–0	1–4	4–1	0–2	2–0	2–3	1–1	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–3	2–2	1–1	—	0–4	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	2–3	1–3	3–2	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	4–0	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0
Miami	0–4	1–4	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	—	0–4	0–2	3–3	1–4	1–1	1–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–2
Milwaukee	3–2	2–2	3–2	1–4	3–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–1	0–2	3–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Minnesota	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–1	2–3	0–2	1–3	0–5	1–1	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–4	0–4	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–4	1–1
New Jersey	1–3	1–4	2–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	3–3	2–2	1–1	—	0–5	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–3
New York	1–3	0–5	4–0	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	0–4	1–1	5–0	—	0–2	5–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2
Orlando	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–1	3–2	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	—	0–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–4	1–1
Philadelphia	4–0	3–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	0–2	3–2	1–5	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–2
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	—	3–2	3–1	1–3	3–2	2–2	2–0
Portland	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	3–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	2–3	—	3–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–0
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	3–2	1–3	0–2	2–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–3	—	1–3	1–4	1–3	2–0
San Antonio	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	4–1	4–1	2–0	2–2	3–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–1	—	3–1	2–3	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–3	0–4	4–1	1–3	—	1–3	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	5–0	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	0–2	4–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–2	3–1	—	2–0
Washington	2–2	1–5	2–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	2–3	1–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

1990–91 game log Total: 33–49 (Home: 23–18; Road: 10–31)
November: 9–7 (home: 5–2; road: 4–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 7 November 13, 1990 @ Atlanta W 121–104 The Omni 10,645 4–3 16 November 30, 1990 @ Atlanta W 101–93 The Omni 11,996 9–7
December: 2–10 (home: 2–6; road: 0–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 24 December 17, 1990 Atlanta L 98–109 Richfield Coliseum 11,622 10–14
January: 3–11 (home: 2–3; road: 1–8) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
February: 6–7 (home: 5–4; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 46 February 5, 1991 @ Atlanta L 114–118 The Omni 11,354 15–31
March: 5–10 (home: 3–1; road: 2–9) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
April: 8–3 (home: 6–1; road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 76 April 9, 1991 Atlanta L 98–104 Richfield Coliseum 15,235 28–48
1990–91 schedule

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

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Brad Daugherty	76	76	38.8	52.4	0.0	75.1	10.9	3.3	1.0	0.6	21.6
Larry Nance	80	78	36.6	52.4	25.0	80.3	8.6	3.0	0.8	2.5	19.2
Mark Price	16	16	35.7	49.7	34.0	95.2	2.8	10.4	2.6	0.1	16.9
Hot Rod Williams	43	14	30.1	46.3	0.0	65.2	6.7	2.3	0.8	1.6	11.7
Craig Ehlo	82	68	33.7	44.5	32.9	67.9	4.7	4.6	1.5	0.4	10.1
Darnell Valentine	65	60	28.3	46.4	24.0	83.1	2.6	5.4	1.5	0.2	9.4
Danny Ferry	81	2	20.5	42.8	29.9	81.6	3.5	1.8	0.5	0.3	8.6
Chucky Brown	74	51	20.1	52.4	0.0	70.1	2.9	1.1	0.4	0.3	8.5
Henry James	37	4	13.6	44.1	40.0	72.2	2.1	0.9	0.4	0.1	8.1
Gerald Paddio	70	22	16.9	41.9	25.0	79.6	1.7	1.3	0.3	0.1	7.2
John Morton	66	2	18.3	43.8	33.3	81.3	1.6	3.7	0.9	0.3	5.4
Steve Kerr	57	4	15.9	44.4	45.2	84.9	0.6	2.3	0.5	0.1	4.8
Winston Bennett	27	13	12.4	37.4	0.0	74.5	2.4	1.0	0.3	0.1	4.3
Mike Woodson	4	0	11.5	21.7	0.0	100.0	0.5	1.3	0.0	0.3	2.8
Derrick Chievous	18	0	6.1	37.0	0.0	56.3	1.0	0.1	0.2	0.1	2.4
Milos Babic	12	0	4.3	31.6	0.0	58.3	0.8	0.3	0.1	0.1	1.6

Player Statistics Citation:^[16]