1990–91 Philadelphia 76ers season
| Industry | Professional basketball team |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1946 (franchise inception) |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia , United States |
| Products | Basketball team |
| Website | www |
The 1990–91 Philadelphia 76ers season represented the franchise's 42nd year competing in the NBA and its 28th campaign based in Philadelphia. During the offseason, the 76ers strengthened their roster by acquiring the towering 7'7" center Manute Bol from the Golden State Warriors and bringing in free agent guard Rickey Green.
Philadelphia began the season impressively with a 19–8 record but then encountered difficulties, dropping 10 of their subsequent 16 contests. After just four games, Johnny Dawkins sustained a significant knee injury, which resulted in Green stepping up as the starting point guard. Midway through the season, the team traded Mike Gminski to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for forward Armen Gilliam. Despite setbacks, the Sixers managed a seven-game winning streak spanning February and March and held a 25–21 record at the All-Star break. They concluded the regular season second in the Atlantic Division with a 44–38 mark—nine fewer victories than the previous year—clinching the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Leading the squad was Charles Barkley, who averaged 27.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, earning him a spot on the All-NBA First Team. Hersey Hawkins added a strong offensive presence with 22.1 points and 2.2 steals per game, while sixth man Ron Anderson contributed 14.6 points coming off the bench. Other notable contributors included Dawkins (15.8 points and 7.0 assists in his limited four games), Green (averaging 10.0 points and 5.2 assists), Rick Mahorn (8.9 points and 7.8 rebounds), Andre Turner (5.9 points and 4.4 assists), and Bol, who posted 1.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and led the team with 3.0 blocks per game.
At the 1991 NBA All-Star Game, both Barkley and Hawkins represented the Eastern Conference; this event marked Hawkins' only All-Star selection during his career. Barkley earned MVP honors by contributing 17 points and grabbing 22 rebounds as the East defeated the West, while Hawkins also took part in the Three-Point Shootout competition. For his overall performance throughout the season, Barkley placed fourth in MVP voting.
In postseason play, Philadelphia swept their first-round opponent, the fourth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, with a clean 3–0 series win but were subsequently ousted by Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls, losing 4–1 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals for a second straight year. The Bulls proceeded to reach their first NBA Finals appearance and captured their inaugural championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers.
This campaign marked Philadelphia's final playoff berth until 1999, initiating a seven-year absence from postseason competition—the longest drought in franchise history since its establishment in 1950. Following the conclusion of this season, Mahorn left to continue his career professionally in Italy, while Green signed with the Boston Celtics.
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 32 | Brian Oliver | SG | Template:USA | Georgia Tech |
| 2 | 47 | Derek Strong | PF | Template:USA | Xavier |
Season standings
- y - secured division championship
- x - secured playoff berth
- z - secured division championship
- y - secured division championship
- x - secured playoff berth
Playoffs
|-
| 1
| April 25
| @ Milwaukee
| W 99–90
| Hersey Hawkins (25)
| Charles Barkley, Rick Mahorn (8)
| Charles Barkley (5)
| Bradley Center
13,587
| 1–0
|-
| 2
| April 27
| @ Milwaukee
| W 116–112 (OT)
| Ron Anderson (24)
| Charles Barkley (13)
| Charles Barkley (10)
| Bradley Center
15,623
| 2–0
|-
| 3
| April 30
| Milwaukee
| W 121–100
| Charles Barkley (30)
| Charles Barkley (12)
| Hersey Hawkins, Charles Barkley (6)
| Spectrum
16,239
| 3–0
|}
|-
| 1
| May 4
| @ Chicago
| L 92–105
| Charles Barkley (34)
| Charles Barkley (11)
| Hersey Hawkins, Anderson (3)
| Chicago Stadium
18,676
| 0–1
|-
| 2
| May 6
| @ Chicago
| L 100–112
| Hersey Hawkins (30)
| Charles Barkley (9)
| Hersey Hawkins (7)
| Chicago Stadium
18,676
| 0–2
|-
| 3
| May 10
| Chicago
| W 99–97
| Hersey Hawkins (29)
| Armen Gilliam (11)
| Charles Barkley, Andre Turner (7)
| Spectrum
18,168
| 1–2
|-
|4 |May 12 |Chicago |L 85–101 |Charles Barkley (25) |Charles Barkley (14) |Charles Barkley (6) |Spectrum
17,514 |1–3
|-
|5 |May 14 |@ Chicago |L 95–100 |Charles Barkley (30) |Charles Barkley (8) |Charles Barkley (7) |Chicago Stadium
18,676 |1–4
|}
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Sortname | 82 | 13 | 28.5 | .485 | .209 | .833 | 4.5 | 1.4 | .8 | .2 | 14.6 |
| Template:Sortname | 67 | 67 | 37.3 | .570 | .284 | .722 | 10.1 | 4.2 | 1.6 | .5 | 27.6 |
| Template:Sortname | 82 | 6 | 18.6 | .396 | .071 | .585 | 4.3 | .2 | .2 | 3.0 | 1.9 |
| Template:Sortname | 4 | 4 | 31.0 | .634 | .250 | .909 | 4.0 | 7.0 | .8 | .0 | 15.8 |
| Template:Sortname† | 3 | 0 | 6.7 | .286 | .500 | .500 | .3 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Template:Sortname† | 2 | 0 | 6.5 | .286 | .000 | 1.000 | 2.5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 3.0 |
| Template:Sortname† | "50" | "50" | "33.
9" || ".470" || ".000" || ".816" || "7. 3" || "1. 6" || ".7" || ".6" || "15. 0" | ||||||||
| "30" | "29" | "26.
4" || ".384" || ".125" || ".841" || "6. 7" || "1. 1" || ".5" || "1. 1" || "9. 1" | |||||||||
| "79" | "75" | "28.
5" || ".463" || ".222" || ".830" || "1. 7" || "5. 2" || ".7" || ".1" || "10. 0" | |||||||||
| "6" | "0" | "6.
8" || ".250" || ".000" || ".500" || ".2" || ".0" || ".2" || ".0" || "1. 7" | |||||||||
| "80" | "80" | "38.
9" || ".472" || ".400" || ".871" || "3. 9" || "3. 7" || "2. 2" || ".5" || "22. 1" | |||||||||
| "11" | "0" | "3.
9" || ".500" || ".000" || ".667" || ".8" || ".0" || ".1" || ".0"| "1. 8" | |||||||||
| "74"| "30.
5"|".467"| –|" .788"| "7. 8"| "1. 5"| "1"| "0"| "8. 9" | |||||||||||
| "4"| "11"|".408"|".278"|".732"| "1.
1"| "1. 2"| "0"| "0"| "3. 8" | |||||||||||
| "6"| "9.
4"|".360"|".222"|".897"| "1. 4"|".3"|".2"|".1"|".35" | |||||||||||
| "0"| "12.
3"|".143"| –|" – "|".30"| "1. 30"|".30"|10|"13" | |||||||||||
| "1"| "20.
1"|".439"|".364"|".736"| "2. 2"| "4. 4"|".9 "| –|"5. 9" | |||||||||||
| "1 "| "9 .
8 "|".447 "|".500 "|".661 "|". 21 "| – "|" – "|" – "| – " |
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Sortname | 8 | 0 | 27.9 | .398 | .200 | .895 | 2.6 | 2.4 | .8 | .0 | 11.0 |
| Template:Sortname | 8 | 8 | 40.8 | .592 | .100 | .653 | 10.5 | 6.0 | 1.9 | .4 | 24.9 |
| Template:Sortname | 8 | 0 | 13.6 | .500 | — | .667 | 2.4 | .1 | .1 | 1.5 | 3.0 |
| Template:Sortname | 8 | 8 | 35.9 | .462 | — | .848 | 6.5 | 1.3 | .6 | .8 | 16.9 |
| Template:Sortname | 8 | 8 | 24.9 | .436 | .750 | .889 | 1.1 | 2.8 | .9 | .0 | 7.4 |
| Template:Sortname | 8 | 8 | 41.1 | .465 | .538 | .937 | 5.8 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 20.9 |
| Template:Sortname | 3 | 0 | 3.0 | 1.000 | — | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Template:Sortname | 8 | 8 | 26.0 | .556 | — | .786 | 5.3 | 1.8 | .3 | .5 | 6.4 |
| Template:Sortname | 4 | 0 | 3.8 | .333 | — | 1.000 | 0 | .3 | .3 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Template:Sortname | 7 | 0 | 5.9 | .333 | .000 | — | 1.1 | .3 | .1 | 0 | 0.9 |
| Template:Sortname | 8 | 0 | 23.6 | .438 | .333 | .813 | 1.6 | 4.4 | 1.4 | 0 | 7.3 |
| Template:Sortname | 4 | 0 | 2.5 | .800 | — | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 |
Awards and records
- Charles Barkley named to the All-NBA First Team