JONES ON THE NBA- The 1990-1991 Season

JONES ON THE NBA
Longing for 1990-1991

Maybe I’m just being a bit nostalgic, but I have to say that today’s NBA has nothing on the NBA of the late 80s and early 90s. That’s when I started watching the NBA and became a serious fan. The 90-91 season is the year I really got into basketball. It was the first year the NBA was on NBC, the first year Michael Jordan and the Bulls won the championship, the first year the Lakers played sans Pat Riley, and the last full season Magic Johnson would play. In my opinion, the NBA was approaching its peak. I think the league reached its peak during the 92-93 season. But that's debatable. This was also the first year that I watched every nationally televised game as well as every Laker game. Well not exactly. You see, my family was one of the last to get cable, and being that Laker home games were only shown on Prime Ticket, the only way that I could catch games was on AM 570. This wasn’t much of a problem, because the Lakers had the best play by play man in the late Chick Hearn. Hearn’s words eye view made the game just as vivid as watching the game on television would have been.

Back then the NBA still had great play by play men, great arenas (like Boston Garden, The Forum, and Chicago Stadium), and players with solid fundamentals.

Here are some of my favorite moments of the 90-91 Season:

The Emergence of Kemp and Payton
Before Jason Kidd entered the league, the king of the lob pass was none other than the Glove, Gary Payton. It’s easy to see why, considering he had a pre-cracked out Shawn Kemp on his team. Shawn could catch anything back then. All Gary had to do was throw the ball in the air and watch Shawn go get it. Shawn Kemp definitely wins the Tyronne Biggums Drugs and Alcohol Have Ruined My Life award. That guy could jump out of the gym and he let it all slip away, just because he was pissed that the Sonics paid Jim Mclvaine more money than him. But this was the year that the Payton/Kemp combo would start to emerge. Highlights galore!

The Chucksters Best Year
Despite winning the MVP in 92-93, everyone knows that Charles Barkley’s best year was the 90-91 season. During that season he averaged 28 points, 10 boards, and 4 assists. He was an absolute beast back then. The Sixers had no one on their team, yet they were one of the better teams, all because of the Chucksters talents. Charles did put on a show at the All-Star Game in Charlotte that year, winning the MVP. My one vivid memory of him from that year was the absolute but kicking he put on the Lakers when they came played them in Philly that year. If I remember correctly, the Sixers ended the Lakers 15 game winning streak that year.

And Now the Starting Lineups
The Bulls emerged in the hearts and minds of many not only because of the play of Michael Jordan and his cohorts but also because of their starting line up introductions. Yes you heard right, starting line up introductions. The Bulls were the first in the league to introduce their starters with the lights dim and the music blaring. The Bulls would be introduced over the Allan Parsons Project’s “Sirius”, with Bulls PA announcer belting: “Aaaaaannnnndddd nooooooowww, the starting lineups for your Chicago Bulls!!!!” Soon after many NBA teams would follow suit, trying to emulate the Bulls introductions. Pretty much everyone in the league has the same type of intros now, but nothing will ever top the Bulls intros.

Magic Johnson’s Last Season
From the time I first started watching basketball Magic Johnson has always been my favorite player. The 90-91 season was a culmination of many things for Johnson. It would be his last full season playing in the league. It was the year he broke Oscar Robinsons assist record. It was the first year since his rookie season that he would play without Pat Riley. Talent wise, this was probably the worst Laker team had been a part of. Worthy and Scott were past their primes, Kareem was retired, and Vlade Divac hadn’t quite learned how to flop and talk trash yet. Yet Magic in all his glory got an underdog Laker team to the Finals. If not for Worthy and Scott getting injured, the finals might have been a different story. If you can recall, the Lakers were in every game of that finals except for game 2. In fact a couple of games went to overtime. But not even Magic could get a team that had to play rookies Elden Campbell and Tony Smith past the mighty Bulls.

Magic was the kind of player that we need more of today. When Magic performed poorly at the free throw line, he was out two hours before the game working on his free throws. He was a true professional, and the best team basketball player the game has ever seen.

Bye, Bye Bad Boys
Like most NBA fans of the time, I absolutely hated the Pistons. As a young naïve kid, I looked at the world in terms of good and bad, and it was obvious to me that the Pistons were just bad men. It’s not like today’s Pistons where I can at least respect their team for their talents. The Pistons back then (except for Joe Dumars) were a bunch of thugs. Talented thugs mind you, but still thugs. They had gotten past the Bulls in years past by beating up on the likes of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. But the Bulls hit the weights over the summer and gained a tougher skin. They weren’t going to get bullied by the Pistons anymore. The Bulls absolutely embarrassed the Bad Boys, sweeping them in 4 games. The Pistons were so embarrassed that their starters walked off the floor before the end of the contest. Those Pistons sure did have a lot of class.

Side Note: I know I’m going to get emails from everyone in Detroit, so bring it on baby!

Run TMC
90-91 was the season Run TMC really started to emerge on the NBA scene. For those of you that don’t know, Run TMC was the trio of Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin, and Mich Richmond. This team ran like the Phoenix Suns do today. Tim Hardaway was the team’s catalyst with his killer cross over and his sick no look passes. "I got skills, yo…I got skills, yo." Chris Mullin was money from all over the court. Same goes for Rock Richmond. Tim Hardaway averaged 23 points per game, Mitch averaged 24, while Chris Mullin averaged 26. They were on the way to big time winning for years to come until the brilliant Don Nelson decided to trade Mitch Richmond to the Kings that summer for the draft rights to Billy Owens. In my opinion, that is the move that destroyed the Warriors franchise. It didn’t help Mitch Richmond much either. I mean he had a great career, but he had to play for the Kings for the majority of it. They made the playoff once his entire career there. Damn you, Billy Owens…DAMN YOU!

The Bulls
You can’t have a conversation about the 90-91 season without talking about the Chicago Bulls. This of course was their inaugural year of championship winning that would last throughout the rest of the decade. They had the best scorer in the league in Michael Jordan, and the best lock down defender in the league in Scottie Pippen. They were also finally able to overcome the Thugs in Harmony over in Detroit. This was also the year that Jordan put on that the “spectacular” change hands in mid air lay up on the Lakers in the finals. Michael Jordan won the regular season and Finals MVP. The Bulls beat the Lakers in five games, officially closing the door on the showtime dynasty and opening the door on a dynasty of their own.

Some of my favorite players from 90-91:

Mark Price
Everyone always talks about Stockton, but I think my favorite white boy point guard of all times was Mark Price. My man was ill. In 1991 he average 19 points, 9 assists, and 2 steals. He was Steve Nash, before Steve Nash. Cleveland had a really good team built, but Brad Daugherty’s career ending injury a few years later along with Michael Jordan being partial to torturing the Cavs made it impossible for them to reach their potential.

David Robinson
David Robinson was a freak of nature. He was one of the first seven footers to play on the perimeter instead of on the block. He was ripped from head to toe, and he could run the floor like a guard. His Spurs won the Midwest division that year, and looked to be headed in the right direction until their coach Larry Brown walked out on them after the season. Hmmmmm….Doesn’t that scenario seem familiar?

Bernard King
If you don’t know about Bernard King, listen and learn. Behind Larry Bird, Bernard was the best small forward of the 80s. Yes, even better than James Worthy. But he’ll never get the recognition he deserves because the later part of his career was riddled by injury. After missing the majority of the previous two seasons, Bernard was able to come back and get his game back to All-Star form. He made the east All Star squad and captured Comeback Player of the Year that season.

Kevin Johnson
Point guards in the early 90s were just ill. You had Tim Hardaway, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Marc Jackson, Mark Price, and Kevin Johnson. KJ was only 6’1”, but didn’t hesitate to dunk on a seven-footer. Just ask Hakeem Olawjuwon about that one. Phoenix was an emerging team because of Johnson. In fact, many people picked them to make the finals that year because of the way they dismantled the Lakers in the playoffs the previous season. However, they would not make the finals until the 92-93 season when they added Charles Barkley. Like Hardaway, KJ also had a great cross over. Just not as killer as Tim’s.

McHale, Bird, and Parish
By 90-91, the Celtics players were starting to look very geriatric. But yet they were still better than everyone else. I liken them to the one team of old guys that are always bound to be in whatever adult league I play in. They look like they are ready to roll over and die and can barely run up and down the court, yet when game starts, they usually open up a can on everyone on the court. Robert Parish looked like he was 50, McHale looked like Frankenstein, and Bird’s back was so bad that it was hard for him to fly on the team plane. Yet when the game started, teams knew they were going to have their hands full. If not for Birds back, the Celtics might have been good enough to make the finals that year.

Dominique Wilkins
Dominique Wilkins not only was one of the best Dunkers in the NBA, but also the leagues resident pretty boy. I recall flipping through Ebony magazine and seeing ‘Nique in ads for S-Curl. I know everyone in the league was clowning him for that. My favorite Dominique moment from that year came when he attempted a windmill dunk in the All-Star Game that year and got hung like the dude in the “Grant Hill drinks sprite” commercials. Everyone was up on their feet waiting for something spectacular to happen and then he got hung. I don’t ever think ‘Nique ever got hung in his life before that moment. It was all downhill from there for the Human Highlight Film. Three seasons later he would end up on the Clippers. Enough said…

Big Game James Worthy
By this time his career was on a downturn, however, he still was one of the better small forwards in the league. He was the king of the statue of liberty slam dunk, and the junk in the trunk back down post move. If he didn’t get hurt in the finals, the Lakers would have had a much better chance against the Bulls.

Bill Cartwright
Bill gets mentioned just because of his free throw form. Next to Marty Conlon, his free throw form had to be the ugliest in the history of the game.

Clyde the Glide
Clyde was one of the top 5 players in the league in 90-91. The Blazers had the best record in the league that year, and were picked by many to at least advance to the finals. It just so happens that they ran into the greatest point guard of all times in the conference finals. Clyde really was the Glide back then. His jumpshot was kind of funny looking because he would kick both feet behind him as he would gravitate toward the sky. When went in for a dunk he really did glide, much in the way that the Ice Man, George Gervin did on his finger rolls.

JONES ON THE NBA can be reached via email at jonesonthenba@yahoo.com