1989–90 Dallas Mavericks season

NBA professional basketball team season March 2026 August 2023 Dallas Mavericks 1990 47 35 Midwest 3 6 John MacLeod (fired) (5–6) Richie Adubato (42–29) Norm Sonju Don Carter Reunion Arena First round(lost to Trail Blazers 0–3) DAL KTVT Home Sports Entertainment WBAP The 1989–90 Dallas Mavericks season was the tenth season for the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association. Dallas Mavericks Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/ August 6, 2026 Season summary Off-season A year after missing the NBA playoffs, the Mavericks received the eighth overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft, and selected power forward Randy White out of Louisiana Tech University. 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 January 13, 2022 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 November 23, 2022 1989 NBA Draft Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1989.html December 31, 2022 Regular season After a 5–6 start to the regular season, head coach John MacLeod was fired and replaced with assistant coach Richie Adubato. Associated Press MacLeod Fired as Mavericks Coach Los Angeles Times November 29, 1989 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-29-sp-322-story.html November 23, 2022 In November, Roy Tarpley was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, and only played just 45 games. Associated Press Tarpley Cleared for Mavericks The New York Times January 23, 1990 https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/23/sports/tarpley-cleared-for-mavericks.html November 23, 2022 Forward Roy Tarpley of the Dallas Mavericks... Los Angeles Times September 7, 1990 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-07-sp-734-story.html November 23, 2022 The Mavericks played below .500 in winning percentage with a 17–20 start to the regular season, but then posted a seven-game winning streak in January, and later on held a 26–22 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 November 23, 2022 In January, the team released Adrian Dantley to free agency; Goldaper Sam Mavericks Bracing for Knicks The New York Times January 19, 1990 https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/19/sports/mavericks-bracing-for-knicks.html January 19, 2022 Adrian Dantley, Rejecting a Guaranteed $1.2 Million... Los Angeles Times January 22, 1990 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-22-sp-457-story.html November 23, 2022 Dantley averaged 14.7 points per game in 45 games with the team. The Mavericks posted a six-game winning streak in March, and finished in third place in the Midwest Division with a 47–35 record, earning the sixth seed in the Western Conference, and returning to the NBA playoffs after a one-year absence. 1989–90 Dallas Mavericks Schedule and Results Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/1990_games.html December 9, 2021 Rolando Blackman averaged 19.4 points and 3.6 assists per game, while Derek Harper averaged 18.0 points, 7.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Tarpley provided the team with 16.8 points, 13.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. In addition, Sam Perkins contributed 15.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, and James Donaldson provided with 9.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Off the bench, Herb Williams averaged 8.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, while Brad Davis contributed 6.4 points and 3.3 assists per game, Bill Wennington provided with 4.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, and White averaged 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. 1989–90 Dallas Mavericks Roster and Stats Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/1990.html December 14, 2021 During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Blackman was selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was his final All-Star appearance. Howard-Cooper Scott NBA All-Star Game: Entire Family Is Back Together...Almost Los Angeles Times February 11, 1990 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-11-sp-1107-story.html November 23, 2022 NBA.com Staff 1990 NBA All-Star Recap NBA.com September 13, 2021 https://www.nba.com/news/history-all-star-recap-1990 November 15, 2023 1990 NBA All-Star Game: East 130, West 113 Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/allstar/NBA_1990.html December 9, 2021 Harper finished tied in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, 1989–90 NBA Awards Voting Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_1990.html December 7, 2025 while Tarpley finished tied in sixth place in Most Improved Player voting. The Mavericks finished ninth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 691,490 at the Reunion Arena during the regular season. 1989–90 NBA Season Summary Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1990.html February 24, 2026 NBA playoffs In the Western Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Mavericks faced off against the 3rd–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who were led by the quartet of All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, All-Star center Kevin Duckworth and Jerome Kersey. The Mavericks lost the first two games to the Trail Blazers on the road at the Memorial Coliseum, before losing Game 3 at home, 106–92 at the Reunion Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep; this would be the Mavericks' final NBA playoff appearance until the 2000–01 season, as what would follow was a ten-year playoff drought. Rabun Mike Trail Blazers 106, Mavericks 92 United Press International May 1, 1990 https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/05/01/Trail-Blazers-106-Mavericks-92/7644641534400/ September 20, 2022 Hafner Dan Portland Victory Could Prove Costly: NBA Playoffs: Trail Blazers Win at Dallas, But Williams and Duckworth Are Injured. The Pistons and Spurs Also Sweep Their Series Los Angeles Times May 2, 1990 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-02-sp-329-story.html December 7, 2021 1990 NBA Western Conference First Round: Mavericks vs. Trail Blazers Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1990-nba-western-conference-first-round-mavericks-vs-trail-blazers.html April 9, 2023 The Trail Blazers would advance to the NBA Finals, but would lose to the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons in five games in the 1990 NBA Finals. Brown Clifton Pistons Rally to Repeat as N.B.A. Champions The New York Times June 15, 1990 https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/15/sports/pistons-rally-to-repeat-as-nba-champions.html September 22, 2022 McManis Sam Vinnie, Vidi, Vici: Pistons Repeat Feat: NBA Finals: Johnson Hits Game-Winner in Last Second as Detroit Rallies from Seven-Point Deficit for a 92-90 Victory. Thomas Is the Unanimous Choice as MVP Los Angeles Times June 15, 1990 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-15-sp-343-story.html September 22, 2022 1990 NBA Finals: Trail Blazers vs. Pistons Basketball-Reference https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1990-nba-finals-trail-blazers-vs-pistons.html April 9, 2023 Aftermath Following the season, Perkins signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers after six seasons with the Mavericks. Associated Press Free-Agent Forward Perkins Leaves Mavs, Signs with Lakers Los Angeles Times August 6, 1990 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-06-sp-334-story.html September 22, 2022 Sports People: Pro Basketball: Lakers Sign Perkins The New York Times August 7, 1990 https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/07/sports/sports-people-pro-basketball-lakers-sign-perkins.html December 15, 2021 Mavericks' Perkins Signs with Lakers The Washington Post August 7, 1990 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1990/08/07/mavericks-perkins-signs-with-lakers/ab76f2fe-cd6e-4390-9c61-4c9339df61f1/ December 31, 2022 Draft picks 1989 NBA draft Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 8 Randy White PF Louisiana Tech 2 35 Pat Durham F Colorado State 2 53 Jeff Hodge South Alabama Roster Dallas Mavericks 1989–90 #191970 #FFFFFF #048234 #FFFFFF 2 Steve Alford G 6 2 183 1964–11–23 Indiana 22 Rolando Blackman G/F 6 6 190 1959–02–26 Kansas State 15 Brad Davis basketball G 6 3 180 1955–12–17 Maryland 40 James Donaldson basketball C 7 2 275 1957–08–16 Washington State 12 Derek Harper G 6 4 185 1961–10–13 Illinois 21 Anthony Jones basketball, born 1962 G 6 6 195 1962–09–13 UNLV 7 Bob McCann F 6 6 244 1964–04–22 Morehead State 44 Sam Perkins F/C 6 9 235 1961–06–14 North Carolina 42 Roy Tarpley F/C 6 11 230 1964–11–28 Michigan 23 Bill Wennington C 7 0 245 1963–04–26 St. John's 33 Randy White basketball F 6 8 240 1967–11–04 Louisiana Tech 32 Herb Williams C 6 10 242 1958–02–16 Ohio State Richie Adubato Garfield Heard Clifford Ray Roster notes Small forward Adrian Dantley was waived on April 2, 1990. Center James Donaldson holds both American and British citizenship. Regular season Season standings DAL DAL z - clinched division title y - clinched division title x - clinched playoff spot Game log Dallas Mavericks 1990 #042F8C white Total: 47–35 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Dallas Mavericks November #048234 white yes 0 0 0 0 Dallas Mavericks December #048234 white 0 0 0 0 Dallas Mavericks January #048234 white 0 0 0 0 Dallas Mavericks February #048234 white 0 0 0 0 Dallas Mavericks March #048234 white 0 0 0 0 Dallas Mavericks April #048234 white 0 0 0 0 DAL 1990 Playoffs Dallas Mavericks 1990 yes #042F8C white Dallas Mavericks First round no yes yes #048234 white 0 1 0 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | April 26 | @ Portland | L 102–109 | Derek Harper (24) | Roy Tarpley (14) | Derek Harper (7) | Memorial Coliseum12,884 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | April 28 | @ Portland | L 107–114 | Derek Harper (23) | Roy Tarpley (17) | Derek Harper (5) | Memorial Coliseum12,884 | 0–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | May 1 | Portland | L 92–106 | Rolando Blackman (23) | Roy Tarpley (15) | Derek Harper (12) | Reunion Arena17,007 | 0–3 |- DAL 1990 yes Player statistics Ragular season Player POS Position GP Games played GS Games starter MP Minutes played REB Rebounds AST Assists STL Steals BLK Blocks PTS Points MPG Minutes per game RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per gameDerek HarperPG82 82 3,007 244 609 187 26 1,473 36.7 3.0 7.4 2.3 .3 18.0Herb WilliamsC 81 19 2,199 391 119 51 106 700 27.1 4.8 1.5 .6 1.3 8.6Rolando BlackmanSG 80 80 2,934 280 289 77 21 1,552 36.7 3.5 3.6 1.0 .3 19.4Sam PerkinsSF 76 70 2,668 572 175 88 64 1,206 35.1 7.5 2.3 1.2 .8 15.9James Donaldson basketballC 73 73 2,265 630 57 22 47 665 31.0 8.6 .8 .3 .6 9.1Brad Davis basketballPG 73 2 1,292 93 242 47 9 470 17.7 1.3 3.3 .6 .1 6.4Anthony Jones basketball, born 1962SG 66 0 650 82 29 32 16 195 9.8 1.2 .4 .5 .2 3.0Bill WenningtonC 60 2 814 198 41 20 21 270 13.6 3.3 .7 .3 .4 4.5Randy White basketballPF 55 2 707 173 21 24 6 237 12.9 3.1 .4 .4 .1 4.3Adrian DantleySF 45 45 1,300 172 80 20 7 662 28.9 3.8 1.8 .4 .2 14.7Roy TarpleyPF 45 35 1,648 589 67 79 70 758 36.6 13.1 1.5 1.8 1.6 16.8Steve AlfordPG 41 0 302 25 39 15 3 168 7.4 .6 1.0 .4 .1 4.1Bob McCannSF 10 0 62 12 6 2 2 26 6.2 1.2 .6 .2 .2 2.6Kelvin Upshaw†SG 3 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 1.3 .0 .0 .0 .0 .7Mark WadePG 1 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 3.0 .0 2.0 .0 .0 .0 † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Mavericks only. Playoffs Player POS Position GP Games played GS Games starter MP Minutes played REB Rebounds AST Assists STL Steals BLK Blocks PTS Points MPG Minutes per game RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per gameRoy TarpleyPF3 3 129 46 1 7 10 50 43.0 15.3 .3 2.3 3.3 16.7Rolando BlackmanSG3 3 127 9 13 6 2 60 42.3 3.0 4.3 2.0 .7 20.0Derek HarperPG3 3 119 8 23 4 0 58 39.7 2.7 7.7 1.3 .0 19.3Sam PerkinsSF3 3 118 22 8 3 2 45 39.3 7.3 2.7 1.0 .7 15.0James Donaldson basketballC3 3 74 16 2 2 0 22 24.7 5.3 .7 .7 .0 7.3Herb WilliamsC3 0 81 13 5 1 2 41 27.0 4.3 1.7 .3 .7 13.7Steve AlfordPG3 0 42 3 8 1 0 23 14.0 1.0 2.7 .3 .0 7.7Bill WenningtonC3 0 25 3 1 0 1 2 8.3 1.0 .3 .0 .3 .7Anthony Jones basketball, born 1962SG 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3.0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0Randy White basketballPF 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 Awards and records Derek Harper, NBA All-Defensive Second Team Rolando Blackman, NBA All-Star Game Transactions Trades October 26, 1989 To Dallas Mavericks---- 1993 2nd round draft pick (Eric Riley) To Milwaukee Bucks---- Pat Durham Free agents Player Signed Former teamJohn LongOctober 3, 1989Detroit PistonsSteve AlfordOctober 5, 1989Golden State Warriors SubtractionsPlayerDate signedNew teamMorlon WileyExpansion Draft June 15, 1989Orlando Magic References See also 1989-90 NBA season Category:Dallas Mavericks seasons Dallas Dallas Dallas