1990–91 Charlotte Hornets season

1990–91 Charlotte Hornets season
Head coachGene Littles
General managerAllan Bristow
OwnerGeorge Shinn
ArenaCharlotte Coliseum
Results
Record26–56 (.317)
PlaceDivision: 7th (Central)
Conference: 11th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television
RadioWBT
(Matt Pinto, Gil McGregor)

The 1990–91 Charlotte Hornets season was the third season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association.[1] The city of Charlotte, North Carolina hosted the 1991 NBA All-Star Game at the Charlotte Coliseum this season. After playing in the Midwest Division in the Western Conference the previous season, the Hornets returned to the Eastern Conference, and moved into the Central Division this season.

The Hornets received the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Kendall Gill from the University of Illinois.[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team signed free agent Johnny Newman,[5][6][7] and later on traded Armen Gilliam to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Mike Gminski at mid-season.[8][9][10]

The Hornets started to show improvement playing around .500 in winning percentage, with an 8–7 start to the regular season in November. However, the team continued to struggle as they posted an 11-game losing streak in December afterwards, and later on held a 14–33 record at the All-Star break.[11] The franchise improved seven games over the previous season, finishing in last place in the Central Division with a 26–56 record; however, they finished last place in their division for the third consecutive year.[12]

Newman averaged 16.9 points and 1.2 steals per game, while Rex Chapman averaged 15.7 points and 3.6 assists per game, and Gminski provided the team with 11.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in 50 games after the trade. In addition, second-year forward J.R. Reid provided with 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, while Gill contributed 11.0 points, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and Muggsy Bogues provided with 7.0 points, 8.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Off the bench, Dell Curry contributed 10.6 points per game, while Kenny Gattison averaged 9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, and Kelly Tripucka provided with 7.0 points per game.[13]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, Chapman and Gill both participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest; it was the second consecutive appearance for Chapman in the Slam Dunk Contest.[14][15] Chapman also finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting.[16]

The Hornets led the NBA in home-game attendance for the second time in three seasons, with an attendance of 978,141 at the Charlotte Coliseum during the regular season.[13] Following the season, Tripucka retired, and Gene Littles resigned as head coach.

Offseason

NBA draft

Main article: 1990 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 5 Kendall Gill SG/SF  United States Illinois
2 39 Steve Scheffler C/PF  United States Purdue

Roster

1990–91 Charlotte Hornets roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G 1 Muggsy Bogues 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) 136 lb (62 kg) 1965–01–09 Wake Forest
G 3 Rex Chapman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1967–10–05 Kentucky
G 30 Dell Curry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1964–06–25 Virginia Tech
F 33 Kenny Gattison 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1964–05–23 Old Dominion
G 13 Kendall Gill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1968–05–25 Illinois
C 42 Mike Gminski 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1959–08–03 Duke
G 4 Scott Haffner 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1966–02–02 Evansville
F 31 Randolph Keys 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1966–04–19 Southern Miss
C 45 Eric Leckner 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1966–05–27 Wyoming
F 22 Johnny Newman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–11–28 Richmond
C 34 J. R. Reid 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 247 lb (112 kg) 1968–03–31 North Carolina
C 55 Steve Scheffler 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1967–09–03 Purdue
F 7 Kelly Tripucka 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1959–02–16 Notre Dame
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Updated: April 17, 1991

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Chicago Bulls 61 21 .744 — 35–6 26–15 25–5
x-Detroit Pistons 50 32 .610 11 32–9 18–23 19-11
x-Milwaukee Bucks 48 34 .585 13 33–8 15–26 16–14
x-Atlanta Hawks 43 39 .524 18 29–12 14–27 11–19
x-Indiana Pacers 41 41 .500 20 29-12 12–29 15-15
Cleveland Cavaliers 33 49 .402 28 23–18 10–31 11-19
Charlotte Hornets 26 56 .317 35 17–24 9–32 8–22
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Chicago Bulls 61 21 .744 –
2 y-Boston Celtics 56 26 .683 5
3 x-Detroit Pistons 50 32 .610 11
4 x-Milwaukee Bucks 48 34 .585 13
5 x-Philadelphia 76ers 44 38 .537 17
6 x-Atlanta Hawks 43 39 .524 18
7 x-Indiana Pacers 41 41 .500 20
8 x-New York Knicks 39 43 .476 22
9 Cleveland Cavaliers 33 49 .402 28
10 Washington Bullets 30 52 .366 31
11 New Jersey Nets 26 56 .317 35
12 Charlotte Hornets 26 56 .317 35
13 Miami Heat 24 58 .293 37
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player POS GP GS MP REB AST STL BLK PTS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Kendall Gill SG 82 36 1,944 263 303 104 39 906 23.7 3.2 3.7 1.3 .5 11.0
Johnny Newman SF 81 81 2,477 254 188 100 17 1,371 30.6 3.1 2.3 1.2 .2 16.9
Muggsy Bogues PG 81 46 2,299 216 669 137 3 568 28.4 2.7 8.3 1.7 .0 7.0
J. R. Reid C 80 80 2,467 502 89 87 47 902 30.8 6.3 1.1 1.1 .6 11.3
Kelly Tripucka SF 77 1 1,289 176 159 33 13 541 16.7 2.3 2.1 .4 .2 7.0
Dell Curry SG 76 14 1,515 199 166 75 25 802 19.9 2.6 2.2 1.0 .3 10.6
Kenny Gattison PF 72 6 1,552 379 44 48 67 650 21.6 5.3 .6 .7 .9 9.0
Rex Chapman PG 70 68 2,100 191 250 73 16 1,102 30.0 2.7 3.6 1.0 .2 15.7
Mike Gminski† C 50 50 1,405 381 60 24 22 572 28.1 7.6 1.2 .5 .4 11.4
Randolph Keys SF 44 0 473 100 18 22 15 140 10.8 2.3 .4 .5 .3 3.2
Eric Leckner† C 40 2 744 208 21 10 11 230 18.6 5.2 .5 .3 .3 5.8
Steve Scheffler C 39 0 227 45 9 6 2 59 5.8 1.2 .2 .2 .1 1.5
Armen Gilliam† PF 25 25 949 234 27 34 21 494 38.0 9.4 1.1 1.4 .8 19.8
Dave Hoppen† C 19 0 112 30 3 2 1 44 5.9 1.6 .2 .1 .1 2.3
Earl Cureton PF 9 1 159 36 3 0 3 17 17.7 4.0 .3 .0 .3 1.9
Scott Haffner PG 7 0 50 4 9 3 1 17 7.1 .6 1.3 .4 .1 2.4
Jeff Sanders PF 3 0 43 9 1 1 1 13 14.3 3.0 .3 .3 .3 4.3
  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Hornets only.

Awards and records

Transactions

  • July 28, 1990

Signed Johnny Newman as an unrestricted free agent.

  • August 29, 1990

Signed Jim Les as a free agent.

  • September 5, 1990

Waived Brian Rowsom.

  • October 23, 1990

Waived Jim Les.

  • October 24, 1990

Waived Andre Turner.

  • October 30, 1990

Waived Richard Anderson.

Waived Mike Holton.

  • January 4, 1991

Traded Armen Gilliam and Dave Hoppen to the Philadelphia 76ers for Mike Gminski.

  • January 22, 1991

Signed Scott Haffner to the first of two 10-day contracts.

Signed Jeff Sanders to a 10-day contract.

  • January 29, 1991

Traded a 1993 2nd round draft pick (Alex Holcombe was later selected) and a 1995 2nd round draft pick (Dejan Bodiroga was later selected) to the Sacramento Kings for Eric Leckner.

  • January 31, 1991

Waived Jeff Sanders.

  • February 11, 1991

Signed Scott Haffner to a contract for the rest of the season.

  • April 17, 1991

Robert Reid signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers.

  • May 31, 1991

Waived Steve Scheffler.

Player Transactions Citation:[17]

References

  1. ^ "1990-91 Charlotte Hornets Roster and Stats".
  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. ^ Preston, June (July 13, 1990). "Hornets Woo Knicks forward". United Press International. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  6. ^ "Newman Signs Hornet Offer Sheet, Leaving Next Move to Knicks". The New York Times. July 14, 1990. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  7. ^ "PRO BASKETBALL; Knicks Won't Match Newman's Hornet Deal". The New York Times. July 29, 1990. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  8. ^ "BASKETBALL; 76ers Trade Gminski to Hornets". The New York Times. Associated Press. January 5, 1991. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  9. ^ "76ers Get Gilliam, Hoppen for Gminski". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. January 5, 1991. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  10. ^ "Around the NBA". The Washington Post. January 5, 1991. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  11. ^ "NBA Games Played on February 7, 1991". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  12. ^ "1990–91 Charlotte Hornets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  13. ^ a b "1990–91 Charlotte Hornets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  14. ^ "All-Star Saturday Participants". The Hour. Associated Press. February 9, 1991. p. 22. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  15. ^ "NBA & ABA All-Star Game Contest Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  16. ^ "1990–91 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  17. ^ "1990–91 Charlotte Hornets Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
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