1989–90 Phoenix Suns season
The 1989–90 NBA season was the 21st season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association.record. Cotton Fitzsimmons was head coach for a club that returned to the Western Conference Finals. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. In December, the team traded Armen Gilliam to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Kurt Rambis, who won four championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns held a 28–17 record at the All-Star break, and finished third in the Pacific Division with a 54–28 record.
| 1989–90 Phoenix Suns season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Cotton Fitzsimmons |
| General manager | Jerry Colangelo |
| Owner(s) | Jerry Colangelo |
| Arena | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| Results | |
| Record | 54–28 (.659) |
| Place | Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 5th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Western Conference finals (lost to Trail Blazers 2–4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television |
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| Radio | KTAR |
Tom Chambers averaged 27.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while last season's Most Improved Player, Kevin Johnson averaged 22.5 points and 11.4 assists per game. Chambers and Johnson were both selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, which was Johnson's first All-Star selection, and were both named to the All-NBA Second Team at season's end. In addition, Jeff Hornacek provided the team with 17.6 points, 5.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game, while sixth man Eddie Johnson provided with 16.9 points per game off the bench, second-year guard Dan Majerle contributed 11.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game also off the bench, and Mark West averaged 10.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
In the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Suns lost Game 1 to the 4th-seeded Utah Jazz, but managed to defeat them in five games. In the Western Conference Semi-finals, they upset Magic Johnson and the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in five games, but lost to the Portland Trail Blazers four games to two in the Western Conference finals. The Blazers would lose to the defending champion Detroit Pistons in five games in the NBA Finals.
The season was also highlighted by Chambers setting a franchise record for points scored in one game, when on February 18, 1990, he scored 56 points in a 131–113 road win over the Golden State Warriors. Just over a month later, he would break his own record when he scored 60 against his former team, the Seattle SuperSonics on March 24, 1990, which the Suns won at home, 121–95. Chamber's record would be broken by Devin Booker on March 24th 2017 by scoring 70 points against the Boston Celtics.