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1991 in basketball
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1991
Winners of major team competitions 1990–1991
Men
NBA Regular Season
Portland Trail Blazers finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA with 63 wins and 19 losses and also led the Western Conference. The Chicago Bulls finished with the best record from the Eastern Conference with 61 wins and 21 losses.https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1991_standings.html 1990-91 NBA Standings There were only 4 divisions in the NBA; Atlantic, Midwest, Central and Pacific. The Bulls and Trail Blazers won the Central and Pacific divisions respectively while the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs won the Atlantic and Midwest divisions respectively. The Denver Nuggets had the worst record with 20 wins and 62 losses. However, they scored the most points; averaging 119.9 points per game. The Phoenix Suns set an NBA team record for most points in a regular season regulation game with 173 points against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets had the worst defense in the NBA, as they were allowing teams to score 130.9 points per game. Another record that was broken for this season was total assists for the whole season by John Stockton at 1164.
NBA Awards
Michael Jordan won the MVP award, earning 891 of 960 points possible.https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_1991.html 1990-91 NBA Awards Voting Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers finished 2nd in voting. Derrick Coleman won Rookie of the Year. Dennis Rodman won Defensive Player of the Year, Detlef Schrempf won Sixth Man of the Year and Scott Skiles won Most Improved Player.
NBA Playoffs
The first round of the 1991 Playoffs was still a best 3 out of 5 series. Portland Trail Blazers were tested and pushed to Game 5 before eventually beating the Seattle SuperSonics. The Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Philadelphia 76ers were the only teams to sweep in the first round of the playoffs.
After the first round, rest of the series were 7 games and the first team to win 4 games would move on to the next round. The 2nd round provided no game 7's as the Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Lakers and Trail Blazers moved on. Bulls would go on to sweep the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Lakers battled out 6 games to overcome the Trail Blazers.
The Finals was a match up between Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. This was Michael Jordan's first appearance in the Finals and Magic Johnson's last trip. Johnson and the Lakers were no match for the Chicago Bulls as they lost 4 games to 1, giving Michael Jordan his first NBA Championship and his first finals MVP. After losing the first game of seven to the Los Angeles Lakers, Michael took his game to the next level. Over that five game span he averaged 31.2 points, 11.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals, and 1.4 blocks. This exceeded his average in the regular season where he averaged 31.5 pts, 5.5 assists, 6.0 rebounds, 2.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks. Magic Johnson also took his game to the next level where he averaged 18.6 pts, 12.4 assists, 8.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 0 blocks, but in the end Michael reigned superior.1991 NBA Finals Lakers vs. Bulls https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1991-nba-finals-lakers-vs-bulls.html Basketball Reference1991 NBA Finals Lakers vs. Bulls https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1991-nba-finals-lakers-vs-bulls.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20150623003710/http://www.basketball-reference.com:80/playoffs/1991-nba-finals-lakers-vs-bulls.html 2015-06-23 1991 NBA Finals - Lakers vs. Bulls https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1991-nba-finals-lakers-vs-bulls.html 2020-06-29 Basketball-Reference.com en
As for the whole playoffs, Michael Jordan also led the way with most points scored with 529. Dennis Rodman had the most rebounds at 177 while Magic Johnson finished with 1st in assists with 240.
Europe Champions
Germany : Bayer Giants Leverkusen
British BL : Kingston
Belgium : RC Malines
Bulgaria : PBC CSKA Sofia
Spain : Joventut Badalona
Saporta Cup : P.A.O.K. B.C.
Euroleague Basketball : KK Split
France : Olympique Antibes
Greece : Aris B.C.
Iceland : Njarðvík
Israel : Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C.
Italy : Juvecaserta Basket
Korać Cup : Pallacanestro Cantù
Netherlands : BC Den Helder
Poland : Śląsk Wrocław
Portugal : Benfica
Sweden : Södertälje Kings
Switzerland : Vevey Basket
Czechoslovakia : USK Praha
Turkey : Fenerbahçe Men's Basketball
Soviet Union Basketball Championship : Kalev Tallinn
Yugoslavia : KK SplitAmericas Champions
Argentina : GEPU San Luis
Brazil : Franca
CBA : Wichita Falls Texans
NBA : Chicago Bulls
NCAA : Duke Blue Devils
Uruguay : Atlético Cordón
USBL : Philadelphia Spirit
Venezuela : Marinos de OrienteAfrica, Asia, Oceania Champions
FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup : 20px Joan of Arc
Angola : CD 1° de Agosto
Australia : Perth Wildcats
Morocco : BMCI Basket Club
New Zealand : Hutt Valley Lakers
Women
Europe Champions
Germany : DJK Agon 08 Düsseldorf
Belgium : BCSS Namur
Spain : CB Godella
EuroLeague Women : Unicar Cesena
France : Challes-Les-Eaux
Italy : SFT Côme
Netherlands : BV Den Helder
Poland : PZU Polfa Pabianice
Ronchetti Cup : Gemeaz-Cusin Milan
Sweden : Arvika Basket
Czechoslovakia : MBK Ružomberok
USSR : Dynamo KievAmericas Champions
NCAA : Tennessee VolunteersAfrica, Asia, Oceania Champions
Australia : Hobart Islanders
Awards and honors
Professional
Regular Season MVP
Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
NBA Finals MVP
Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
Slam Dunk Contest
Dee Brown, Boston Celtics
Three-point Shootout
Craig Hodges, Chicago Bulls
Collegiate
Men
John R. Wooden Award: Larry Johnson, UNLV
Naismith College Coach of the Year: Randy Ayers, Ohio State
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award: Keith Jennings, East Tennessee State
Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year: Shaquille O'Neal, LSU
NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player: Bobby Hurley, Duke
USBWA National Freshman of the Year: Rodney Rogers, Wake Forest
Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year: Randy Ayers, Ohio State
Naismith Outstanding Contribution to Basketball: Clarence "Big House" Gaines
Women
Naismith College Player of the Year: Dawn Staley, Virginia
Naismith College Coach of the Year: Debbie Ryan, Virginia
Wade Trophy: Daedra Charles, Tennessee
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award: Shanya Evans, Providence
NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player: Dawn Staley, Virginia
Basketball Academic All-America Team: Jan Jensen, Drake
Carol Eckman Award: Marian Washington, Kansas
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Class of 1991:Hall of Famers http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers-index/ Basketball Hall of Fame 12 Oct 2014 25 March 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130325102924/http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers-index/ dead
Nate Archibald
Dave Cowens
Harry Gallatin
Bob Knight
Deaths
June 9 — Howard Hobson, Hall of Fame college coach (Oregon, Yale) (born 1903)
July 18 — Joel Eaves, American college coach (Auburn) (born 1914)
November 2 — Jimmy Hull, College All-American (Ohio State) and 1939 NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player (born 1917)
December 17 — Carl Shy, American Olympic gold medalist (1936) (born 1908)
See also
1991 in sports
References
Sports