1989–90 Chicago Bulls season


The 1989–90 NBA season was the Bulls' 24th season in the National Basketball Association. Despite their solid playoff run last year, the Bulls fired head coach Doug Collins and replaced him with Phil Jackson. Under Jackson, the Bulls finished the regular season with a 55–27 record, averaging 109.5 points per game and being led by Michael Jordan's league-leading 33.6 ppg. Clinching second place in the Central Division and a third seed in the playoffs, the Bulls defeated the Milwaukee Bucks three games to one in the first round, then defeated the Philadelphia 76ers four games to one in the semifinals. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing a seven-game series to the eventual back-to-back champion Detroit Pistons, who they faced and lost against in last season's Eastern Conference Finals.
On March 28, 1990, Jordan scored a career-high 69 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the highest scoring output by an NBA player since David Thompson's 73 points on April 9, 1978, against the Detroit Pistons. Scottie Pippen made his first All-Star appearance as he was selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game along with Jordan.

Draft picks

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalitySchool/Club Team
16Stacey KingCUnited StatesOklahoma
118B.J. ArmstrongPGUnited StatesIowa
120Jeff SandersFUnited StatesGeorgia Southern

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule

#DateOpponentW/LScoreRecordStreak
1November 3, 1989Cleveland CavaliersW124–119 1–0Won 1
2November 4, 1989Boston CelticsL100–1021–1Lost 1
3November 7, 1989Detroit PistonsW117–1142–1Won 1
4November 8, 1989@ Minnesota TimberwolvesW96–843–1Won 2
5November 10, 1989@ New Jersey NetsL107–1173–2Lost 1
6November 11, 1989Seattle SuperSonicsW109–1024–2Won 1
7November 14, 1989@ Sacramento KingsW96–945–2Won 2
8November 15, 1989@ Utah JazzL107–1085–3Lost 1
9November 18, 1989@ Seattle SuperSonicsL110–1195–4Lost 2
10November 21, 1989@ Portland Trail BlazersL110–1215–5Lost 3
11November 22, 1989@ Phoenix SunsW95–906–5Won 1
12November 25, 1989@ Golden State WarriorsW104–917–5Won 2
13November 26, 1989@ Los Angeles ClippersL96–1207–6Lost 1
14November 28, 1989Atlanta HawksW113–988–6Won 1
15December 2, 1989@ Miami HeatW114–1079–6Won 2
16December 5, 1989Denver NuggetsW119–9910–6Won 3
17December 8, 1989@ Indiana PacersL104–10610–7Lost 1
18December 9, 1989Philadelphia 76ersW125–10511–7Won 1
19December 12, 1989Dallas MavericksW105–9712–7Won 2
20December 14, 1989Orlando MagicW124–11313–7Won 3
21December 16, 1989Charlotte HornetsW115–10414–7Won 4
22December 19, 1989Los Angeles LakersW93–8315–7Won 5
23December 20, 1989@ Orlando MagicL109–11015–8Lost 1
24December 22, 1989@ Atlanta HawksW125–11316–8Won 1
25December 23, 1989@ Philadelphia 76ersL104–13116–9Lost 1
26December 26, 1989Minnesota TimberwolvesW112–9917–9Won 1
27December 29, 1989San Antonio SpursW101–9718–9Won 2
28December 30, 1989@ Washington BulletsW117–112 19–9Won 3
29January 3, 1990@ Cleveland CavaliersW93–8720–9Won 4
30January 5, 1990Orlando MagicW127–11621–9Won 5
31January 6, 1990@ Milwaukee BucksL111–11821–10Lost 1
32January 9, 1990@ Detroit PistonsL90–10021–11Lost 2
33January 10, 1990@ Indiana PacersL113–12021–12Lost 3
34January 12, 1990@ Charlotte HornetsW107–9522–12Won 1
35January 13, 1990Los Angeles ClippersW117–11123–12Won 2
36January 15, 1990@ New York KnicksL106–10923–13Lost 1
37January 18, 1990Golden State WarriorsW132–10724–13Won 1
38January 19, 1990@ Atlanta HawksW92–8425–13Won 2
39January 21, 1990New York KnicksW117–10926–13Won 3
40January 23, 1990Detroit PistonsL95–10726–14Lost 1
41January 26, 1990@ Philadelphia 76ersL109–12026–15Lost 2
42January 27, 1990New Jersey NetsW110–10727–15Won 1
43January 29, 1990Atlanta HawksW121–11128–15Won 2
44February 1, 1990@ Houston RocketsL112–13928–16Lost 1
45February 3, 1990@ San Antonio SpursL111–11228–17Lost 2
46February 7, 1990@ Los Angeles LakersL103–12128–18Lost 3
47February 8, 1990@ Denver NuggetsL98–12328–19Lost 4
48February 13, 1990@ Miami HeatW107–9529–19Won 1
49February 14, 1990@ Orlando MagicL129–135 29–20Lost 1
50February 16, 1990Miami HeatW119–10530–20Won 1
51February 18, 1990@ Milwaukee BucksW111–8831–20Won 2
52February 19, 1990Houston RocketsW107–10232–20Won 3
53February 23, 1990Portland Trail BlazersW113–10233–20Won 4
54February 25, 1990@ New Jersey NetsW107–106 34–20Won 5
55February 27, 1990Milwaukee BucksW106–9635–20Won 6
56March 2, 1990New Jersey NetsW112–9136–20Won 7
57March 4, 1990@ Boston CelticsW118–11437–20Won 8
58March 6, 1990@ Milwaukee BucksW114–10538–20Won 9
59March 8, 1990Utah JazzL94–9838–21Lost 1
60March 10, 1990Indiana PacersW117–10539–21Won 1
61March 13, 1990@ New York KnicksW111–10840–21Won 2
62March 16, 1990Detroit PistonsL81–10640–22Lost 1
63March 17, 1990Philadelphia 76ersW114–10941–22Won 1
64March 20, 1990Washington BulletsW122–9742–22Won 2
65March 21, 1990@ Atlanta HawksW99–8943–22Won 3
66March 23, 1990Cleveland CavaliersW102–9544–22Won 4
67March 24, 1990Sacramento KingsL113–11644–23Lost 1
68March 26, 1990Phoenix SunsW121–9245–23Won 1
69March 28, 1990@ Cleveland CavaliersW117–113 46–23Won 2
70March 30, 1990New York KnicksW107–106 47–23Won 3
71April 1, 1990Miami HeatW111–10348–23Won 4
72April 3, 1990Indiana PacersW109–10249–23Won 5
73April 5, 1990Orlando MagicW111–10450–23Won 6
74April 7, 1990@ Dallas MavericksW109–10851–23Won 7
75April 11, 1990Cleveland CavaliersW107–8652–23Won 8
76April 13, 1990Milwaukee BucksW116–10653–23Won 9
77April 14, 1990@ Washington BulletsL103–11353–24Lost 1
78April 16, 1990@ Indiana PacersL102–11153–25Lost 2
79April 17, 1990Boston CelticsW111–10554–25Won 1
80April 19, 1990Washington BulletsW120–11755–25Won 2
81April 20, 1990@ Boston CelticsL116–12055–26Lost 1
82April 22, 1990@ Detroit PistonsL106–11155–27Lost 2

Playoffs

East First Round

Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Bulls win series 3-1
Last Playoff Meeting: 1985 Eastern Conference First Round

East Conference Semifinals

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Chicago Bulls: Bulls win series 4-1
Last Playoff Meeting: Not available

East Conference Finals

Detroit Pistons vs. Chicago Bulls: Pistons win series 4-3
Last Playoff Meeting: 1989 Eastern Conference Finals

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records