1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers season

1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers season
Head coachMike Schuler
General managerElgin Baylor
OwnerDonald Sterling
ArenaLos Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Results
Record31–51 (.378)
PlaceDivision: 6th (Pacific)
Conference: 10th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionKTLA
(Ralph Lawler, Mike Fratello)
Prime Ticket
(Tom Kelly, Earl Strom)
RadioKRLA
(Rich Marotta)

The 1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers season was the 21st season for the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association, and their seventh season in Los Angeles, California.[1] The Clippers received the eighth overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Bo Kimble out of Loyola Marymount, and also selected power forward Loy Vaught from the University of Michigan with the 13th overall pick.[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team hired Mike Schuler as their new head coach.[5][6]

Under Schuler, and with the addition of Kimble and Vaught, the Clippers played around .500 in winning percentage with a 10–10 start to the regular season. However, the team continued to struggle losing 12 of their next 13 games, which included a seven-game losing streak between December and January, and later on held a 15–32 record at the All-Star break.[7] Ron Harper only played just 39 games due to a knee injury.[8][9] At mid-season, the team traded Benoit Benjamin to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for Olden Polynice.[10][11][12] The Clippers posted a six-game losing streak between January and February, but posted a five-game winning streak in late March, and then lost six of their final seven games of the season. The Clippers finished in sixth place in the Pacific Division with a 31–51 record, and reached 50 losses for the tenth consecutive season.[13][14]

Charles D. Smith averaged 20.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, while Harper averaged 19.6 points, 5.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and Ken Norman provided the team with 17.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. In addition, Danny Manning provided with 15.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, while Gary Grant contributed 8.7 points, 8.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and Winston Garland contributed 8.2 points, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Meanwhile, second-year guard Jeff Martin averaged 7.1 points per game, Kimble contributed 6.9 points per game, Vaught averaged 5.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and Tom Garrick contributed 3.9 points and 3.3 assists per game.[15]

The Clippers finished 21st in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 522,111 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena during the regular season.[15][16] Following the season, Garland was traded to the Denver Nuggets.[17][18]

Draft picks

Main article: 1990 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 8 Bo Kimble SG  United States Loyola Marymount
1 13 Loy Vaught PF  United States Michigan

Roster

1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
F 51 Ken Bannister 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1960–04–01 St. Augustine's
G 11 Winston Garland 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1964–12–19 Missouri State
G 22 Tom Garrick 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1966–07–07 Rhode Island
G 1 Gary Grant 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1965–04–21 Michigan
G 4 Ron Harper 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1964–01–20 Miami (OH)
G 30 Bo Kimble 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–04–09 Loyola Marymount
F 5 Danny Manning 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–05–17 Kansas
G 15 Jeff Martin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1967–01–14 Murray State
F 3 Ken Norman 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1964–09–05 Illinois
C 0 Olden Polynice 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1964–11–21 Virginia
F 54 Charles D. Smith 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1965–07–16 Pittsburgh
C 52 Mike Smrek 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1962–08–31 Canisius
F 35 Loy Vaught 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1968–02–27 Michigan
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster notes

  • Center Mike Smrek became the 4th former Laker to play with the crosstown rival Clippers.

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Portland Trail Blazers 63 19 .768 — 36–5 27–14 18-10
x-Los Angeles Lakers 58 24 .707 5 33–8 25-16 19-9
x-Phoenix Suns 55 27 .671 8 32–9 23-18 17–11
x-Golden State Warriors 44 38 .537 19 30–11 14–27 13–15
x-Seattle SuperSonics 41 41 .500 22 28-13 13–28 12-16
Los Angeles Clippers 31 51 .378 32 23–18 8-33 10-18
Sacramento Kings 25 57 .305 38 24-17 1–40 9–19
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Portland Trail Blazers 63 19 .768 –
2 y-San Antonio Spurs 55 27 .671 8
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers 58 24 .707 5
4 x-Phoenix Suns 55 27 .671 8
5 x-Utah Jazz 54 28 .659 9
6 x-Houston Rockets 52 30 .634 11
7 x-Golden State Warriors 44 38 .537 19
8 x-Seattle SuperSonics 41 41 .500 22
9 Orlando Magic 31 51 .378 32
10 Los Angeles Clippers 31 51 .378 32
11 Minnesota Timberwolves 29 53 .354 34
12 Dallas Mavericks 28 54 .341 35
13 Sacramento Kings 25 57 .305 38
14 Denver Nuggets 20 62 .244 43
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

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
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Charles Smith 74 74 36.5 46.9 0.0 79.3 8.2 1.8 1.1 2.0 20.0
Ron Harper 39 34 35.5 39.1 32.4 66.8 4.8 5.4 1.7 0.9 19.6
Ken Norman 70 45 33.0 50.1 18.8 62.9 7.1 2.3 0.9 0.9 17.4
Danny Manning 73 47 30.1 51.9 0.0 71.6 5.8 2.7 1.6 0.8 15.9
Benoit Benjamin 39 38 34.3 49.2 0.0 72.8 12.0 1.9 0.7 2.3 14.9
Olden Polynice 31 30 36.5 57.9 0.0 57.2 9.1 0.8 0.5 0.4 12.3
Gary Grant 68 65 31.0 45.1 23.1 68.9 3.1 8.6 1.5 0.2 8.7
Winston Garland 69 26 24.7 42.6 15.4 75.2 2.9 4.6 1.4 0.1 8.2
Jeff Martin 74 26 18.0 42.2 30.7 68.0 1.8 0.9 0.5 0.4 7.1
Bo Kimble 62 22 16.2 38.0 29.2 77.3 1.9 1.2 0.5 0.1 6.9
Loy Vaught 73 0 16.1 48.7 0.0 66.2 4.8 0.5 0.3 0.3 5.5
Tom Garrick 67 0 14.2 42.4 0.0 75.9 1.9 3.3 0.9 0.0 3.9
Ken Bannister 47 3 7.2 53.1 0.0 38.5 2.0 0.2 0.1 0.1 2.4
Greg Butler 9 0 4.1 26.3 0.0 66.7 1.8 0.1 0.0 0.0 1.6
Cedric Ball 7 0 3.7 37.5 0.0 100.0 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.1
Mike Smrek 10 0 7.0 18.8 0.0 50.0 1.9 0.3 0.1 0.3 1.0

Player statistics citation:[15]

Transactions

The Clippers were involved in the following transactions during the 1990–91 season.

Trades

February 20, 1991 To Los Angeles Clippers
 To Seattle SuperSonics

Player Transactions Citation:[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ 1990-91 Los Angeles Clippers
  2. ^ Goldaper, Sam (June 28, 1990). "Nets Make Coleman No. 1 Pick in N.B.A. Draft". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  3. ^ "Clippers Go With Kimble: NBA Draft: Derrick Coleman, as Expected, Is No. 1 Overall With Nets. Clippers Also Grab Michigan's Vaught With 13th Pick". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 28, 1990. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  4. ^ "1990 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  5. ^ "Schuler "Thrilled" to Join the Clippers: NBA: L.A. Introduces Its New Coach. He Calls the Club "One of the Better Teams in the '90s"". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 25, 1990. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  6. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Schuler to Clippers as Head Coach". The New York Times. May 26, 1990. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  7. ^ "NBA Games Played on February 7, 1991". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  8. ^ Howard-Cooper, Scott (October 13, 1990). "Clippers Give Harper Guaranteed 4-Year Deal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  9. ^ Howard-Cooper, Scott (January 26, 1991). "Clippers' Harper to Play Tonight: Pro Basketball: For Now, the Team Plans to Limit Him to 15 Minutes a Game". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  10. ^ Barnes, Mike (February 20, 1991). "Clippers Swap Benjamin for Polynice, Picks". United Press International. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  11. ^ Goldaper, Sam (February 21, 1991). "PRO BASKETBALL; Sonics Trade Polynice to Acquire Benjamin". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  12. ^ Howard-Cooper, Scott (February 21, 1991). "Clippers Give Up on Benjamin: Pro Basketball: A day After He Says He Will Become an Unrestricted Free Agent at Season's End, They Trade Him to Seattle for Polynice and Two Draft Choices". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  13. ^ "Clippers Finish This Season Thinking About Next One". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. April 22, 1991. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  14. ^ "1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c "1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  16. ^ "1990–91 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  17. ^ Howard-Cooper, Scott (June 27, 1991). "Clippers Make Point in Deal with Hawks: NBA Draft: Team Trades No. 9 Pick and Second-Round Selections in 1993 and 1994 for Guard Doc Rivers. Club Then Takes LeRon Ellis of Syracuse with 22nd Pick". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  18. ^ "Clippers Pull Off Two Trades". Tampa Bay Times. June 27, 1991. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  19. ^ "1990–91 Los Angeles Clippers Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
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