1990–91 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1990–91 San Antonio Spurs season was the 15th season for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association, and their 24th season as a franchise. During the off-season, the Spurs acquired Paul Pressey from the Milwaukee Bucks.

With the addition of Pressey, and after a promising rookie season from second-year star David Robinson, the Spurs won 17 of their first 22 games of the regular season, which included an eight-game winning streak in December, and later on held a 32–13 record at the All-Star break. However, with Terry Cummings and Rod Strickland both out for parts of the season due to hand injuries, the team struggled in February with a 4–7 record. At mid-season, the team released Reggie Williams to free agency, and signed free agent Avery Johnson, who was previously released by the Denver Nuggets. The Spurs won 13 of their final 17 games of the season, and won the Midwest Division title with a solid 55–27 record, earning the second seed in the Western Conference.

Robinson averaged 25.6 points, 13.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 3.9 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, Cummings averaged 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while second-year forward Sean Elliott provided the team with 15.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, Willie Anderson contributed 14.4 points and 4.8 assists per game, and Strickland provided with 13.8 points, 8.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Off the bench, Pressey contributed 7.5 points and 3.9 assists per game, while Sidney Green averaged 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, David Wingate provided with 5.4 points per game, and Dave Greenwood averaged 3.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, Robinson was selected for the 1991 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team. Robinson finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting, behind Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls, and Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers; he also finished in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, behind Dennis Rodman of the Detroit Pistons, while Elliott finished tied in sixth place in Most Improved Player voting, and head coach Larry Brown finished tied in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1991 NBA playoffs, the Spurs faced off against the 7th–seeded Golden State Warriors, who were led by the Run TMC trio of All-Star forward Chris Mullin, All-Star guard Tim Hardaway, and Mitch Richmond. The Spurs won Game 1 over the Warriors at home, 130–121 at the HemisFair Arena. However, the Spurs lost the next three games, which included a Game 4 loss to the Warriors on the road, 110–97 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, thus losing the series in four games.

The Spurs finished tenth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 651,965 at the HemisFair Arena during the regular season. Following the season, David Wingate signed as a free agent with the Washington Bullets. On November 3, 1990, the Spurs hosted the Lakers on the premiere broadcast of the NBA on NBC; the Spurs defeated the Lakers at the HemisFair Arena, 110–99.