1990–91 Phoenix Suns season
The 1990–91 Phoenix Suns season was the 23rd season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. For the season opener, the Suns traveled to Japan to play their first two games against the Utah Jazz at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, making history by being the two first teams in U.S. professional sports to play a regular season game outside of North America. The Suns got off to an 8–7 start early into the season as they traded sixth man Eddie Johnson to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for Xavier McDaniel. The Suns would post a 7-game winning streak as they won 17 of their next 21 games, holding a 30–16 record at the All-Star break, and ending the season finishing third in the Pacific Division with a 55–27 record.
1990–91 Phoenix Suns season | |
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Head coach | Cotton Fitzsimmons |
General manager | Jerry Colangelo |
Owner(s) | Jerry Colangelo |
Arena | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
Results | |
Record | 55–27 (.671) |
Place | Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 4th (Western) |
Playoff finish | First round (lost to Jazz 1–3) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Local media | |
Television |
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Radio | KTAR |
Kevin Johnson and Tom Chambers were both selected for the 1991 NBA All-Star Game. Johnson led the Suns with 22.2 points, 10.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Chambers averaged 19.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. In addition, Jeff Hornacek provided the team with 16.9 points, 5.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game, while McDaniel averaged 15.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game with the Suns after the trade, sixth man Dan Majerle contributed 13.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while being named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Mark West and Andrew Lang both led the team with 2.0 blocks per game each.
In the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Suns faced the Jazz again, and lost in four games to the 5th-seeded team. Following the season, McDaniel was traded to the New York Knicks.