1990–91 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1990–91 NBA season was the 21st season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Trail Blazers acquired Danny Ainge from the Sacramento Kings,^[2][3][4] and later on traded second-year guard Dražen Petrović to the New Jersey Nets, and acquired former All-Star guard Walter Davis from the Denver Nuggets in a three-team mid-season trade.^[5][6]

1990–91 Portland Trail Blazers season
Division champions
Head coach	Rick Adelman
President	Bucky Buckwalter (vice)
General manager	Bucky Buckwalter
Arena	Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	63–19 (.768)
Place	Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference finals (lost to Lakers 2–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KOIN Prime Sports Northwest
Radio	KEX
< 1989–90 1991–92 >

The Trail Blazers won their first eleven games of the regular season,^[7] on their way to a franchise best start at a record of 27–3,^[8] and holding a 39–9 record at the All-Star break.^[9] The Trail Blazers posted a 16-game winning streak near the end of the season, and finished in first place in the Pacific Division with a league best 63–19 record, setting a franchise-high win total that still stands today, earning the first seed in the Western Conference, and made their ninth consecutive trip to the NBA playoffs.^[10] It was their first Division title since the 1977–78 season,^[11] and ended the Los Angeles Lakers' streak of nine consecutive years as Pacific Division champions, and number-one seed in the Western Conference.

Clyde Drexler averaged 21.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Terry Porter averaged 17.0 points, 8.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game, and Kevin Duckworth provided the team with 15.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. In addition, Jerome Kersey contributed 14.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, while Buck Williams provided with 11.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Off the bench, second-year forward Clifford Robinson averaged 11.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while Ainge contributed 11.1 points and 3.6 assists per game, Mark Bryant averaged 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, and Danny Young contributed 3.8 points per game.^[12]

Drexler, Porter and Duckworth were all selected for the 1991 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina, with head coach Rick Adelman coaching the Western Conference;^[13][14][15] Drexler also finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[16][17][18] and Adelman finished in second place in Coach of the Year voting.^[19][20][18]

In the 1991 NBA playoffs, the Trail Blazers defeated the Seattle SuperSonics, 3–2 in the Western Conference First Round,^[21][22][23] then defeated the Utah Jazz, 4–1 in the Western Conference Semi-finals.^[24][25][26] However, the Trail Blazers were denied a second straight trip to the NBA Finals, falling to the 3rd-seeded Lakers in six games in the Western Conference Finals.^[27][28][29] The Lakers would lose in five games to the Chicago Bulls in the 1991 NBA Finals.^[30][31][32]

Following the season, Davis was released to free agency, and re-signed with his former team, the Denver Nuggets.^[33][34]

Draft picks

Main article: 1990 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	25	Alaa Abdelnaby	PF	Egypt	Duke

Roster

1990–91 Portland Trail Blazers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 31 Alaa Abdelnaby 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1968–06–24 Duke G 9 Danny Ainge 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1959–03–17 BYU F 2 Mark Bryant 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1965–04–25 Seton Hall C 42 Wayne Cooper 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1956–11–16 New Orleans G 6 Walter Davis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1954–09–09 North Carolina G 22 Clyde Drexler 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1962–06–22 Houston C 00 Kevin Duckworth 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1964–04–01 Eastern Illinois F 25 Jerome Kersey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962–06–26 Longwood G 30 Terry Porter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1963–04–08 UW–Stevens Point F 3 Clifford R. Robinson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1966–12–16 Connecticut F 52 Buck Williams 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1960–03–08 Maryland G 21 Danny Young 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1962–07–26 Wake Forest

Head coach Rick Adelman Assistant(s) Jack Schalow John Wetzel Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Portland Trail Blazers	63	19	.768	—	36–5	27–14	18-10
x-Los Angeles Lakers	58	24	.707	5	33–8	25-16	19-9
x-Phoenix Suns	55	27	.671	8	32–9	23-18	17–11
x-Golden State Warriors	44	38	.537	19	30–11	14–27	13–15
x-Seattle SuperSonics	41	41	.500	22	28-13	13–28	12-16
Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	.378	32	23–18	8-33	10-18
Sacramento Kings	25	57	.305	38	24-17	1–40	9–19

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Portland Trail Blazers	63	19	.768	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	55	27	.671	8
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	58	24	.707	5
4	x-Phoenix Suns	55	27	.671	8
5	x-Utah Jazz	54	28	.659	9
6	x-Houston Rockets	52	30	.634	11
7	x-Golden State Warriors	44	38	.537	19
8	x-Seattle SuperSonics	41	41	.500	22
9	Orlando Magic	31	51	.378	32
10	Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	.378	32
11	Minnesota Timberwolves	29	53	.354	34
12	Dallas Mavericks	28	54	.341	35
13	Sacramento Kings	25	57	.305	38
14	Denver Nuggets	20	62	.244	43

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

Playoffs

1991 playoff game log
First round Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 26 Seattle W 110–102 Clyde Drexler (39) Kevin Duckworth (13) Clyde Drexler (9) Memorial Coliseum 12,884 1–0 2 April 28 Seattle W 115–106 Clyde Drexler (22) Kevin Duckworth (10) Clyde Drexler (10) Memorial Coliseum 12,884 2–0 3 April 30 @ Seattle L 99–102 Clyde Drexler (23) Buck Williams (11) Clyde Drexler (11) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,476 2–1 4 May 2 @ Seattle L 89–101 Jerome Kersey (20) Williams, Robinson (9) Jerome Kersey (5) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,367 2–2 5 May 4 Seattle W 119–107 Terry Porter (23) Buck Williams (12) Terry Porter (11) Memorial Coliseum 12,884 3–2
Conference Semi-finals Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 7 Utah W 117–97 Clyde Drexler (20) Clyde Drexler (15) Terry Porter (9) Memorial Coliseum 12,884 1–0 2 May 9 Utah W 118–116 Jerome Kersey (34) Jerome Kersey (6) Clyde Drexler (15) Memorial Coliseum 12,884 2–0 3 May 11 @ Utah L 101–107 Terry Porter (28) Drexler, Kersey (10) Clyde Drexler (7) Delta Center 12,616 2–1 4 May 12 @ Utah W 104–101 Kevin Duckworth (30) Duckworth, Drexler (11) Clyde Drexler (10) Delta Center 12,616 3–1 5 May 14 Utah W 103–96 Drexler, Porter (22) Buck Williams (12) Clyde Drexler (8) Memorial Coliseum 12,884 4–1
Conference finals Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 18 L.A. Lakers L 106–111 Clyde Drexler (28) Buck Williams (10) Clyde Drexler (12) Memorial Coliseum 12,884 0–1 2 May 21 L.A. Lakers W 109–98 Terry Porter (26) Buck Williams (11) Terry Porter (8) Memorial Coliseum 12,884 1–1 3 May 24 @ L.A. Lakers L 92–106 Jerome Kersey (19) Buck Williams (11) Terry Porter (7) Great Western Forum 17,505 1–2 4 May 26 @ L.A. Lakers L 95–116 Jerome Kersey (25) Drexler, Williams (8) Terry Porter (10) Great Western Forum 17,505 1–3 5 May 28 L.A. Lakers W 95–84 Jerome Kersey (20) Buck Williams (16) Clyde Drexler (7) Memorial Coliseum 12,884 2–3 6 May 30 @ L.A. Lakers L 90–91 Terry Porter (24) Clyde Drexler (8) Clyde Drexler (6) Great Western Forum 17,505 2–4
1991 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
Clyde Drexler	82	82	34.8	.482	.319	.794	6.7	6.0	1.8	.7	21.5
Clifford Robinson	82	11	23.7	.463	.316	.653	4.3	1.8	1.0	.9	11.7
Terry Porter	81	81	32.9	.515	.415	.823	3.5	8.0	2.0	.1	17.0
Kevin Duckworth	81	81	31.0	.481	.000	.772	6.6	1.1	.4	.4	15.8
Buck Williams	80	80	32.3	.602		.705	9.4	1.2	.6	.6	11.7
Danny Ainge	80	0	21.4	.472	.406	.826	2.6	3.6	.8	.2	11.1
Danny Young	75	1	12.0	.380	.346	.911	1.0	1.9	.7	.1	3.8
Jerome Kersey	73	72	32.3	.478	.308	.709	6.6	3.1	1.4	1.0	14.8
Wayne Cooper	67	1	11.1	.393	.000	.786	2.8	.3	.1	.9	2.2
Mark Bryant	53	0	14.7	.488	.000	.733	3.6	.5	.3	.2	5.1
Alaa Abdelnaby	43	0	6.7	.474		.568	2.1	.3	.1	.3	3.1
Walter Davis†	32	1	13.7	.446	.333	.913	1.8	1.3	.6	.0	6.1
Dražen Petrović†	18	0	7.4	.451	.167	.682	1.0	1.1	.3	.0	4.4

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Clyde Drexler	16	16	39.6	.476	.268	.776	8.1	8.1	2.1	1.0	21.7
Terry Porter	16	16	37.2	.500	.362	.861	2.8	6.6	1.5	.1	18.1
Jerome Kersey	16	16	36.8	.465		.752	6.9	3.1	1.8	.4	17.9
Buck Williams	16	16	35.8	.500		.603	8.9	.9	.6	.3	10.3
Kevin Duckworth	16	16	31.9	.401		.732	6.7	.9	.5	.5	11.7
Clifford Robinson	16	0	22.1	.538	.333	.551	3.9	1.1	.4	1.0	10.3
Danny Ainge	16	0	17.3	.448	.306	.821	1.8	1.9	.8	.3	8.0
Mark Bryant	14	0	9.8	.455		.875	2.3	.1	.1	.1	2.4
Walter Davis	13	0	8.5	.396	.000	.833	1.2	.5	.3	.0	3.3
Danny Young	7	0	5.1	.545	.000		.0	1.0	.0	.0	1.7
Alaa Abdelnaby	5	0	2.6	.333			.6	.0	.0	.0	.8
Wayne Cooper	3	0	4.3	.500			1.7	.3	.0	.0	.7

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

Player Statistics Citation:^[12]

Awards and honors

• Clyde Drexler, NBA All-Star, All-NBA Second Team
• Buck Williams, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Kevin Duckworth, NBA All-Star
• Terry Porter, NBA All-Star

Transactions