1989–90 New Jersey Nets season

NBA professional basketball team season August 2023 March 2026 New Jersey Nets 1990 17 65 Atlantic 6 13 Bill Fitch WWOR-TV SportsChannel New York WNEW Brendan Byrne Arena Did not qualify NJN The 1989–90 New Jersey Nets season was the Nets' 23rd season in the National Basketball Association, and 14th season in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Brooklyn Nets Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BRK/ August 8, 2026 Season summary Off-season The Nets received the twelfth overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft, and selected point guard Mookie Blaylock from the University of Oklahoma. Goldaper Sam Kings Take Ellison First in N.B.A. Draft; Clippers Pick Ferry The New York Times June 28, 1989 https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/28/sports/kings-take-ellison-first-in-nba-draft-clippers-pick-ferry.html February 24, 2026 McManis Sam The NBA Draft: The Other Teams: Sacramento's Secret Is Out: It's Ellison Los Angeles Times June 28, 1989 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-28-sp-4358-story.html February 24, 2026 1989 NBA Draft Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1989.html February 24, 2026 During the off-season, the team acquired Sam Bowie from the Portland Trail Blazers on draft day, Brown Clifton Pro Basketball: Nets Get Bowie for Buck Williams The New York Times June 25, 1989 https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/25/sports/pro-basketball-nets-get-bowie-for-buck-williams.html January 13, 2022 Associated Press Trail Blazers Trade Bowie, No. 12 Pick in Draft to Nets for Buck Williams Los Angeles Times June 25, 1989 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-25-sp-6476-story.html December 6, 2022 Associated Press Blazers Trade Bowie, No. 12 Pick for Williams Deseret News June 25, 1989 https://www.deseret.com/1989/6/25/18812967/blazers-trade-bowie-no-6-pick-for-williams December 6, 2022 signed free agent Purvis Short, and hired Bill Fitch as their new head coach. In December, the Nets signed free agent Jack Haley. Regular season Under Fitch and with the addition of Bowie, Short and Blaylock, the Nets got off to a 3–2 start to the regular season, but then posted a nine-game losing streak afterwards. The team continued to struggle posting a 14-game losing streak between January and February, and holding a 12–35 record at the All-Star break. NBA Games Played on February 8, 1990 Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/index.fcgi?month=2&day=8&year=1990 February 24, 2026 At mid-season, the team traded Joe Barry Carroll to the Denver Nuggets, acquired Chris Dudley from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and signed free agent, and undrafted rookie power forward Derrick Gervin. Goldaper Sam Knicks Trade Strickland to Spurs for Cheeks The New York Times February 22, 1990 https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/22/sports/knicks-trade-strickland-to-spurs-for-cheeks.html December 31, 2022 Associated Press NBA Wednesday's Trades: Cheeks Dealt for Strickland; Carroll to Nuggets Los Angeles Times February 22, 1990 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-22-sp-1768-story.html December 31, 2022 The Nets posted an 11-game losing streak in March, and lost their final seven games of the season, finishing in last place in the Atlantic Division with a league-worst 17–65 record. 1989–90 New Jersey Nets Schedule and Results Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NJN/1990_games.html January 13, 2022 Dennis Hopson averaged 15.8 points and 1.3 steals per game, while Roy Hinson averaged 15.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, but only played just 25 games due to injury, and second-year star Chris Morris provided the team with 14.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. In addition, Bowie provided with 14.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, but only shot .416 in field-goal percentage, while Short contributed 13.1 points per game, Gervin averaged 12.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in 21 games, and Blaylock contributed 10.1 points, 4.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game, but only appeared in just 50 games also due to injury. Meanwhile, second-year center Charles Shackleford averaged 8.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, Lester Conner provided with 7.9 points, 4.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game, Dudley contributed 6.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in 27 games after the trade, and Haley averaged 6.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. 1989–90 New Jersey Nets Roster and Stats Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NJN/1990.html February 24, 2026 The Nets finished 25th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 473,760 at the Brendan Byrne Arena during the regular season, which was the third-lowest in the league. 1989–90 NBA Season Summary Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1990.html February 24, 2026 Aftermath Following the season, Hopson was traded to the Chicago Bulls, Brown Clifton Nets Continue to Deal, Trading Hopson to Bulls The New York Times June 27, 1990 https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/27/sports/nets-continue-to-deal-trading-hopson-to-bulls.html December 6, 2022 2. Dennis Hopson Chicago Tribune November 2, 1990 https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-11-02-9004010715-story.html December 6, 2022 and Short retired. Draft picks 1989 NBA draft Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 12 Mookie Blaylock PG United States Oklahoma 2 32 Stanley Brundy F United States DePaul Roster New Jersey Nets 1989–90 #003DA6 #FFFFFF #EC0044 #FFFFFF 10 Mookie Blaylock G 6 0 180 1967-03-20 Oklahoma 31 Sam Bowie C 7 1 235 1961-03-17 Kentucky 21 Stanley Brundy F 6 6 210 1967-11-13 DePaul 15 Lester Conner G 6 4 180 1959-09-17 Oregon State 22 Chris Dudley C 6 11 235 1965-02-22 Yale 24 Derrick Gervin F 6 8 200 1963-03-28 UTSA 44 Jack Haley basketball F/C 6 10 240 1964-01-27 UCLA 23 Roy Hinson F 6 9 210 1961-05-02 Rutgers yes 2 Dennis Hopson G/F 6 5 200 1965-04-22 Ohio State 42 Anthony Mason basketball F/C 6 7 250 1966-12-14 Tennessee State 34 Chris Morris basketball F/G 6 8 210 1966-01-20 Auburn 7 Pete Myers G 6 6 180 1963-09-15 Arkansas-Little Rock 33 Charles Shackleford C/F 6 10 225 1966-04-22 North Carolina State 45 Purvis Short F/G 6 7 210 1957-07-02 Jackson State 5 Leon Wood G 6 3 185 1962-03-25 Cal State Fullerton Bill Fitch Butch Beard Rick Carlisle https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NJN/1990.html Regular season Season standings NJN NJN Game log Regular season New Jersey Nets 1990 #DC143C #0000CD Total: 17–65 (Home: 13–28; Road: 4–37) New Jersey Nets November yes #0000CD #DC143C 1 4 2 7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | November 3, 1989 | @ Miami | W 110–90 | Hopson (19) | Shackleford (16) | Blaylock,Conner (5) | Miami Arena15,008 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | November 4, 1989 | @ Orlando | W 111–106 | Hopson (24) | Shackleford (12) | Blaylock (5) | Orlando Arena15,077 | 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | November 7, 1989 | Miami | L 77–83 | Hopson (17) | Shackleford (14) | Conner (3) | Brendan Byrne Arena11,999 | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | November 9, 1989 | @ New York | L 105–107 | Morris (21) | Hopson (9) | Blaylock,Morris (6) | Madison Square Garden13,482 | 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 11 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 12 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 14 New Jersey Nets December #0000CD #DC143C 3 5 2 4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 15 | December 1, 1989 | Miami | W 101–77 | Shackleford (19) | Bowie (16) | Blaylock (3) | Brendan Byrne Arena10,240 | 4–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 21 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 22 | December 19, 1989 | @ Miami | W 100–98 | Hopson (20) | Bowie (6) | Conner,Morris (5) | Miami Arena15,008 | 7–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 23 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 24 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 25 | December 23, 1989 | @ New York | L 85–94 | Hinson,Morris (22) | Carroll (10) | Conner (6) | Madison Square Garden17,047 | 7–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 27 | December 28, 1989 | New York | L 104–106 | Hopson (21) | Hinson (12) | Blaylock (6) | Brendan Byrne Arena20,049 | 8–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 28 New Jersey Nets January #0000CD #DC143C 4 3 0 8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 29 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 30 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 31 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 32 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 33 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 34 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 35 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 36 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 37 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 38 | January 19, 1990 | @ Orlando | L 105–120 | Carroll (22) | Carroll (11) | Conner (6) | Orlando Arena15,077 | 12–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 39 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 40 | January 25, 1990 | Orlando | L 112–117 | Shackleford (22) | Bowie (11) | Conner (6) | Brendan Byrne Arena8,356 | 12–28 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 41 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 42 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 43 New Jersey Nets February #0000CD #DC143C 1 5 0 6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 44 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 45 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 46 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 47 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 48 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 49 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 50 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 51 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 52 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 53 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 54 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 55 New Jersey Nets March #0000CD #DC143C 3 5 0 8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 56 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 57 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 58 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 59 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 60 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 61 | March 10, 1990 | @ New York | L 91–110 | Gervin (24) | Haley (11) | Myers,Shackleford (5) | Madison Square Garden18,212 | 15–46 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 62 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 63 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 64 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 65 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 66 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 67 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 68 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 69 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 70 | March 28, 1990 | New York | W 106–101 | Morris (24) | Morris (15) | Conner,Myers (6) | Brendan Byrne Arena18,438 | 16–54 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 71 New Jersey Nets April #0000CD #DC143C 1 6 0 4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 72 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 73 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 74 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 75 | April 8, 1990 | Miami | W 102–101 | Morris (23) | Bowie,Morris (11) | Wood (3) | Brendan Byrne Arena7,821 | 17–58 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 76 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 77 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 78 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 79 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 80 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 81 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 82 | April 22, 1990 | Orlando | L 102–110 | Short (23) | Dudley (20) | Conner (5) | Brendan Byrne Arena12,248 | 17–65 NJN 1990 Player statistics Regular season PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPGMookie Blaylock 50 17 25.3 .371 .225 .778 2.8 4.2 1.6 .3 10.1Sam Bowie 68 54 32.5 .416 .323 .776 10.1 1.3 .6 1.8 14.7Stanley Brundy 16 0 8.0 .500 .389 1.6 .2 .4 .3 2.3Rick Carlisle 5 0 4.2 .143 .000 .0 1.0 .2 .2 .4Joe Barry Carroll† 46 20 21.8 .393 .000 .794 5.4 .9 .4 1.2 8.8Lester Conner 82 61 28.7 .414 .154 .804 3.2 4.7 2.1 .1 7.9Chris Dudley† 27 8 24.9 .441 .305 8.1 .7 .8 1.1 6.1Derrick Gervin 21 0 16.1 .472 .000 .730 3.1 .4 1.0 .3 12.0Jack Haley basketball† 56 26 18.3 .394 .000 .661 5.0 .4 .3 .2 6.0Roy Hinson 25 19 31.7 .507 .869 6.9 .9 .6 1.1 15.0Dennis Hopson 79 64 32.3 .434 .317 .792 3.5 1.9 1.3 .6 15.8Jaren Jackson 28 0 5.7 .362 .000 .810 .9 .5 .5 .0 2.4Anthony Mason basketball 21 0 5.1 .350 .600 1.6 .3 .1 .1 1.8Chris Morris basketball 80 76 30.6 .422 .316 .722 5.3 1.8 1.6 1.0 14.8Pete Myers† 28 2 19.4 .411 .000 .725 2.4 3.6 .7 .3 7.1Charles Shackleford 70 37 22.2 .462 .000 .687 6.8 .8 .6 .5 8.2Purvis Short 82 24 27.0 .455 .286 .835 3.0 1.8 .8 .2 13.1Jay Taylor basketball 17 0 6.7 .404 .231 .667 .6 .3 .3 .2 3.0Leon Wood 28 2 7.1 .327 .190 .875 .4 1.7 .2 .0 1.8 † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Nets only. Player statistics citation: References New Jersey Nets on Database Basketball New Jersey Nets on Basketball Reference New Jersey Nets season Category:New Jersey Nets seasons New Jersey Nets New Jersey Nets Category:20th century in East Rutherford, New Jersey Category:Meadowlands Sports Complex