1989–90 Denver Nuggets season

1989–90   Denver Nuggets season
Head coach	Doug Moe
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record	43–39 (.524)
Place	Division: 4th (Midwest) Conference: 7th (Western)
Playoff finish	West First Round (lost to Spurs 0–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KTVD KMGH-TV Prime Sports Rocky Mountain
Radio	KOA
< 1988–89 1990–91 >

The 1989–90 Denver Nuggets season was the 14th season for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season as a franchise. ^[1] The Nuggets had the 15th overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Todd Lichti out of Stanford University. ^[2]

The Nuggets got off to a fast start by winning 11 of their first 15 games, on their way to a solid 19–9 start to the regular season, and holding a 26–20 record at the All-Star break. ^[3] At mid-season, the team acquired Joe Barry Carroll from the New Jersey Nets. ^{[4] [5]} However, the team began to show their age as they finished in fourth place in the Midwest Division with a 43–39 record, and earned the seventh seed in the Western Conference. ^[6]

Fat Lever averaged 18.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game, while Alex English averaged 17.9 points per game, and sixth man Walter Davis provided the team with 17.5 points per game off the bench. In addition, Michael Adams contributed 15.5 points, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while Blair Rasmussen provided with 12.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, and Danny Schayes averaged 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Lichti contributed 8.0 points per game, Bill Hanzlik averaged 6.2 points per game, Tim Kempton provided with 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, and second-year forward Jerome Lane averaged 5.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. ^[7]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Lever 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. ^{[8] [9] [10]} In the Western Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Nuggets were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in three straight games. ^{[11] [12] [13]}

Following the season, an era would come to an end in Denver as head coach Doug Moe was fired, ^{[14] [15]} while English signed as a free agent with the Dallas Mavericks, ^{[16] [17] [18]} Lever was traded to the Mavericks, ^{[19] [20] [21]} Schayes signed with the Milwaukee Bucks, ^{[22] [23]} and Barry Carroll was released to free agency.

Draft picks

Main article: 1989 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club team
1	15	Todd Lichti	SG	United States	Stanford
2	42	Michael Cutright	SG	United States	McNeese State
2	47	Reginald Turner	SF	United States	Alabama-Birmingham

Roster

1989–90 Denver Nuggets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 14 Michael Adams 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 162 lb (73 kg) 1963–01–19 Boston College C 11 Joe Barry Carroll 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1958–07–24 Purdue G/F 6 Walter Davis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1954–09–09 North Carolina G 23 T.R. Dunn 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1955–02–01 Alabama F 2 Alex English 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954–01–05 South Carolina F 24 Bill Hanzlik 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1957–12–06 Notre Dame F 45 Tim Kempton 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1964–01–25 Notre Dame F 35 Jerome Lane 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–12–04 Pittsburgh G 12 Fat Lever 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1960–08–18 Arizona State G 21 Todd Lichti 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1967–01–08 Stanford C 41 Blair Rasmussen 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1962–11–13 Oregon C 34 Danny Schayes 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1959–05–10 Syracuse

Head coach Doug Moe Assistant(s) Allan Bristow Doug Moe Jr. Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Roster notes

• Point guard Eddie Hughes was waived on March 22, 1990.

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	–	34–7	22–19	19–9
x-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	1	36–5	19–22	21–7
x-Dallas Mavericks	47	35	.573	9	30–11	17–24	17–11
x-Denver Nuggets	43	39	.524	13	28–13	15–26	15–13
x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	15	31–10	10–31	13–15
Minnesota Timberwolves	22	60	.268	34	17–24	5–36	6–22
Charlotte Hornets	19	63	.232	37	13–28	6–35	7–21

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Los Angeles Lakers	63	19	.768	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	7
3	x-Portland Trail Blazers	59	23	.720	4
4	x-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	8
5	x-Phoenix Suns	54	28	.659	9
6	x-Dallas Mavericks	47	35	.573	16
7	x-Denver Nuggets	43	39	.524	20
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	22
9	Seattle SuperSonics	41	41	.500	22
10	Golden State Warriors	37	45	.451	26
11	Los Angeles Clippers	30	52	.366	33
12	Sacramento Kings	23	59	.280	40
13	Minnesota Timberwolves	22	60	.268	41
14	Charlotte Hornets	19	63	.232	44

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

1990 playoff game log
First round: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 26 @ San Antonio L 103–119 Todd Lichti (22) Todd Lichti (13) Lichti, Adams (8) HemisFair Arena 15,910 0–1 2 April 28 @ San Antonio L 120–129 Fat Lever (26) Fat Lever (16) Fat Lever (9) HemisFair Arena 15,910 0–2 3 May 1 San Antonio L 120–131 Alex English (24) Lever, Rasmussen (10) Fat Lever (8) McNichols Sports Arena 15,604 0–3
1990 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

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Michael Adams	79	74	34.1	.402	.366	.850	2.8	6.3	1.5	.0	15.5
Joe Barry Carroll †	30	27	24.0	.432		.743	6.4	1.8	.9	2.0	11.9
Walter Davis	69	0	23.7	.481	.130	.912	2.6	2.2	.9	.1	17.5
T. R. Dunn	65	2	10.1	.454	.000	.667	2.1	.7	.6	.1	1.8
Alex English	80	80	27.6	.491	.400	.880	3.6	2.8	.6	.3	17.9
Bill Hanzlik	81	0	19.8	.452	.194	.743	2.6	2.3	1.0	.4	6.2
Mike Higgins †	5	0	6.4	.375		.875	.6	.4	.2	.0	2.6
Eddie Hughes	60	7	14.9	.411	.408	.676	1.2	1.9	.8	.0	3.5
Tim Kempton	71	14	14.9	.490	.000	.675	3.1	1.7	.4	.1	5.4
Jerome Lane	67	46	14.3	.469	.000	.367	5.4	1.6	.8	.3	5.0
Fat Lever	79	79	35.8	.443	.414	.804	9.3	6.5	2.1	.2	18.3
Todd Lichti	79	4	16.8	.486	.000	.747	1.9	1.5	.7	.2	8.0
Blair Rasmussen	81	55	24.6	.497	.000	.828	7.3	1.0	.5	1.3	12.4
Danny Schayes	53	22	22.5	.494	.000	.852	6.5	1.2	.8	.8	10.4

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Michael Adams	3	3	35.0	.382	.300	.875	2.0	6.0	1.3	.0	13.0
Joe Barry Carroll	3	3	15.3	.563		1.000	3.0	1.0	.3	1.7	6.7
Walter Davis	3	0	23.3	.400	.000	1.000	3.0	2.0	.3	.0	14.0
T. R. Dunn	3	0	10.3				2.3	.7	1.3	.3	.0
Alex English	3	3	25.3	.568		.818	3.0	3.0	.7	.3	19.7
Bill Hanzlik	3	0	26.3	.294	.333	1.000	3.3	3.7	1.7	.7	7.0
Tim Kempton	3	1	10.7	.778		1.000	1.7	1.3	.0	.0	6.0
Jerome Lane	2	2	7.0	.000		.500	.5	1.0	.0	.0	.5
Fat Lever	3	3	37.7	.373	.143	.929	10.7	7.0	2.7	.3	17.3
Todd Lichti	3	0	23.3	.517	.000	.737	6.0	3.0	.3	.0	14.7
Blair Rasmussen	3	0	28.0	.396		.900	8.7	.3	.7	1.3	15.7

Player statistics citation: ^[7]

Awards and records

• The Nuggets would win the 1990 McDonald's Open after winning games against Italy's Philips Milano and Yugoslavia's Jugoplastika.

References

1. "1989-90 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
2. "1989 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
3. "NBA Games Played on February 8, 1990". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
4. Goldaper, Sam (February 22, 1990). "Knicks Trade Strickland to Spurs for Cheeks". The New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
5. "NBA WEDNESDAY'S TRADES: Cheeks Dealt for Strickland; Carroll to Nuggets". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 22, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
6. "1989–90 Denver Nuggets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
7. "1989–90 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
8. Howard-Cooper, Scott (February 11, 1990). "NBA ALL-STAR GAME: Entire Family Is Back Together--Almost". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
9. "1990 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
10. "1990 NBA All-Star Game: East 130, West 113". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
11. Hafner, Dan (May 2, 1990). "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. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
12. "Spurs 131, Nuggets 120". United Press International. May 2, 1990. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
13. "1990 NBA Western Conference First Round: Nuggets vs. Spurs". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
14. "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Doug Moe Dismissed as Coach of Nuggets". The New York Times. September 7, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
15. "Moe Fired as Nuggets Coach". United Press International. September 6, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
16. "Mavericks Will Sign Alex English to Make Up for the Loss of Perkins". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. August 15, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
17. "Mavericks Sign English to One-Year Deal". United Press International. August 15, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
18. "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Mavericks Sign English". The New York Times. August 16, 1990. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
19. "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Nuggets Trade Lever to Dallas for 2 Picks". The New York Times. June 22, 1990. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
20. "Mavericks Get Lever for a Pair of No. 1 Picks: NBA: Nuggets Receive the Ninth Selection in Next Wednesday's Draft, and a First-Round Choice in 1991". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 22, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
21. "Mavericks Trade Two First-Round Draft Choices to Nuggets for Lever". United Press International. June 21, 1990. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
22. "A Trading Flurry Uncapped in NBA: Basketball: Ainge Goes to Portland, Schayes to Milwaukee, Pressey to San Antonio, Bol to Philadelphia After Salary Cap Raised by Nearly $2 Million". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. August 2, 1990. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
23. Hente, Karl (August 2, 1990). "As Salary Cap Rises, Players Fly Around NBA". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 23, 2022.

See also

• 1989-90 NBA season