1989-90 NBA Season Standings
The league grew to 27 teams with the addition of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic. In a one-season realignment quirk, the Charlotte Hornets were shifted into the Western Conference's Midwest Division (they returned to the Central/East the following year). Detroit (59-23) and Philadelphia (53-29) won the East's divisions, while the Lakers (63-19) and San Antonio (56-26) won the West's. Detroit beat Portland 4-1 in the Finals to repeat as champions.
Sourcing caveat: The Charlotte Hornets were placed in the Western Conference's Midwest Division for this single season only (confirmed by Basketball-Reference, Wikipedia, and a contemporaneous 1989 UPI wire report headlined 'Hornets moving to Western Conference'); they moved to the Central Division/Eastern Conference starting in 1990-91. Rank order reflects the division-winner-gets-top-two-seeds rule (Detroit/Philadelphia in the East, Lakers/San Antonio in the West) rather than pure win total — e.g., Chicago (55-27) and Portland (59-23) had better records than the division winners ranked ahead of them.
Eastern Conference
| Seed | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DPDetroit Pistons | 59 | 23 | .720 | - |
| 2 | P7Philadelphia 76ers | 53 | 29 | .646 | 6 |
| 3 | CBChicago Bulls | 55 | 27 | .671 | 4 |
| 4 | BCBoston Celtics | 52 | 30 | .634 | 7 |
| 5 | NYKNew York Knicks | 45 | 37 | .549 | 14 |
| 6 | MBMilwaukee Bucks | 44 | 38 | .537 | 15 |
| 7 | CCCleveland Cavaliers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 17 |
| 8 | IPIndiana Pacers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 17 |
| 9 | AHAtlanta Hawks | 41 | 41 | .500 | 18 |
| 10 | WBWashington Bullets | 31 | 51 | .378 | 28 |
| 11 | MHMiami Heat | 18 | 64 | .220 | 41 |
| 12 | OMOrlando Magic | 18 | 64 | .220 | 41 |
| 13 | NJNNew Jersey Nets | 17 | 65 | .207 | 42 |
Western Conference
| Seed | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LALLos Angeles Lakers | 63 | 19 | .768 | - |
| 2 | SASSan Antonio Spurs | 56 | 26 | .683 | 7 |
| 3 | PTBPortland Trail Blazers | 59 | 23 | .720 | 4 |
| 4 | UJUtah Jazz | 55 | 27 | .671 | 8 |
| 5 | PSPhoenix Suns | 54 | 28 | .659 | 9 |
| 6 | DMDallas Mavericks | 47 | 35 | .573 | 16 |
| 7 | DNDenver Nuggets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 20 |
| 8 | HRHouston Rockets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 |
| 9 | SSSeattle SuperSonics | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 |
| 10 | GSWGolden State Warriors | 37 | 45 | .451 | 26 |
| 11 | LACLos Angeles Clippers | 30 | 52 | .366 | 33 |
| 12 | SKSacramento Kings | 23 | 59 | .280 | 40 |
| 13 | MTMinnesota Timberwolves | 22 | 60 | .268 | 41 |
| 14 | CHCharlotte Hornets | 19 | 63 | .232 | 44 |
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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