1991–92 New Jersey Nets season explained

The 1991–92 NBA season was the Nets' 25th season in the National Basketball Association, and 16th season in East Rutherford, New Jersey.^[1] The Nets selected point guard Kenny Anderson out of Georgia Tech with the second overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft.^{[2] [3]} However, Anderson held out early due to a contract dispute,^{[4] [5]} and Roy Hinson would miss the entire season with a knee injury,^{[6] [7]} as the Nets struggled losing 11 of their first 13 games. After a 7–18 start, the team managed to win nine of their next twelve games, and held a 19–28 record at the All-Star break.^[8] The Nets finished third in the Atlantic Division with a 40–42 record.^[9]

Dražen Petrović led the team in scoring averaging 20.6 points per game, and finished in second place in Most Improved Player voting,^[10] while second-year star Derrick Coleman averaged 19.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and Sam Bowie provided the team with 15.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. In addition, Mookie Blaylock contributed 13.8 points, 6.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game, while Chris Morris provided with 11.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, second-year forward Terry Mills averaged 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game off the bench, and Chris Dudley led the team with 9.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. Anderson averaged 7.0 points and 3.2 assists per game off the bench as backup point guard for Blaylock.^[11]

The club qualified for the playoffs, but were eliminated in the Eastern Conference First Round by the Cleveland Cavaliers in four games.^{[12] [13] [14]} Following the season, Blaylock and Hinson were both traded to the Atlanta Hawks,^{[15] [16] [17]} while Mills signed as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons,^{[18] [19]} and head coach Bill Fitch resigned after clashing with his young stars.^{[20] [21]}

For the season, the team added new darker blue road uniforms, replacing the light blue road jerseys from the previous season.^[22] These uniforms would remain in use until 1997.

Draft picks

See main article: article and 1991 NBA draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	2		PG		Georgia Tech
2	53		SG		Milwaukee

Roster

Roster notes

• Power forward Roy Hinson missed the entire season due to a knee injury.

Regular season

Season standings

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1991–92 NBA records
width=100	Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	2–2	0–5	0–5	2–0	2–0	1–4	1–1	2–0	1–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	1–3	—	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	5–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1
Charlotte	2–2	1–3	—	0–4	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–4	1–1	0–2	3–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–3	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–2
Chicago	5–0	3–1	4–0	—	3–2	2–0	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	3–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0
Cleveland	5–0	1–3	3–2	2–3	—	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	5–0	1–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0
Dallas	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	—	3–2	0–2	0–4	4–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	1–4	0–2
Denver	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–3	—	0–2	0–4	2–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–4	1–3	1–5	1–1
Detroit	4–1	0–4	4–1	1–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–2	3–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Golden State	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	—	2–2	2–0	3–2	3–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	5–0	2–2	3–2	1–3	2–0
Houston	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–4	3–2	0–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	3–2	1–3	1–4	2–0
Indiana	4–1	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–5	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	—	0–2	2–0	3–1	4–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–2
L.A. Clippers	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–3	2–2	2–0	—	2–3	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–3	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–3	2–2	0–2	3–2	—	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–3	1–4	4–1	1–3	1–4	1–3	1–1
Miami	2–2	2–3	3–1	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	—	4–0	2–0	2–2	1–4	3–1	1–4	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–0
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	3–2	2–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	—	2–0	0–4	1–3	3–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Minnesota	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	1–1	0–4	2–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	0–6	0–4	2–3	0–2
New Jersey	1–3	3–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	4–0	2–0	—	2–3	3–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–3
New York	2–2	2–3	4–0	0–4	0–4	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	4–1	3–1	2–0	3–2	—	4–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–0
Orlando	2–2	0–5	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–3	1–4	—	3–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–3
Philadelphia	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	4–1	1–3	2–0	2–3	1–3	2–3	—	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	5–0
Phoenix	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–3	3–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	—	3–2	4–1	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0
Portland	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	3–2	1–3	2–0	3–2	4–1	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3	—	5–0	2–2	4–1	2–2	2–0
Sacramento	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	0–5	1–3	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–4	0–5	—	1–3	1–4	1–3	2–0
San Antonio	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	5–0	4–1	1–1	2–2	2–3	0–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	6–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	—	3–1	1–4	0–2
Seattle	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–3	3–1	2–0	3–2	4–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–3	1–4	4–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	5–1	1–1	3–1	4–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–1	1–3	—	2–0
Washington	2–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–4	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	1–3	2–0	3–2	0–4	3–2	0–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Nets points	Opponents	Record	Streak	Notes
1	November 2		Win	116	118	1-0	Won 1
2	November 6		Loss	105	107	1-1	Lost 1
3	November 7		Loss	89	111	1-2	Lost 2
4	November 9		Loss	100	110	1-3	Lost 3
5	November 12		Loss	96	98	1-4	Lost 4
6	November 13		Loss	92	98	1-5	Lost 5
7	November 15		Loss	111	116	1-6	Lost 6	OT
8	November 16		Loss	100	102	1-7	Lost 7
9	November 19		Win	122	118	2-7	Won 1
10	November 21		Loss	112	116	2-8	Lost 1
11	November 23		Loss	107	125	2-9	Lost 2
12	November 26		Loss	109	118	2-10	Lost 3
13	November 27		Loss	100	106	2-11	Lost 4
14	November 29		Win	97	91	3-11	Won 1
15	November 30		Loss	97	107	3-12	Lost 1
16	December 3		Win	88	86	4-12	Won 1
17	December 5		Win	109	101	5-12	Won 2
18	December 6		Loss	89	98	5-13	Lost 1
19	December 10		Loss	88	114	5-14	Lost 2
20	December 12		Win	121	81	6-14	Won 1
21	December 14		Loss	102	109	6-15	Lost 1
22	December 17		Loss	94	102	6-16	Lost 2
23	December 18		Win	102	93	7-16	Won 1
24	December 20		Loss	98	115	7-17	Lost 1
25	December 21		Loss	109	118	7-18	Lost 2	OT
26	December 23		Win	105	93	8-18	Won 1
27	December 26		Win	99	93	9-18	Won 2
28	December 27		Win	136	120	10-18	Won 3
29	December 30		Win	122	112	11-18	Won 4
30	January 3		Loss	108	112	11-19	Lost 1
31	January 4		Loss	96	140	11-20	Lost 2
32	January 6		Win	105	90	12-20	Won 1
33	January 8		Win	103	97	13-20	Won 2
34	January 10		Win	104	97	14-20	Won 3
35	January 11		Loss	88	90	14-21	Lost 1
36	January 14		Win	97	88	15-21	Won 1
37	January 15		Win	130	120	16-21	Won 2
38	January 18		Win	112	100	17-21	Won 3
39	January 22		Win	106	104	18-21	Won 4
40	January 24		Win	123	117	19-21	Won 5
41	January 25		Loss	94	115	19-22	Lost 1
42	January 28		Loss	118	124	19-23	Lost 2
43	January 29		Loss	95	128	19-24	Lost 3
44	January 31		Loss	108	113	19-25	Lost 4
45	February 1		Loss	88	99	19-26	Lost 5
46	February 5		Loss	85	95	19-27	Lost 6
47	February 6		Loss	108	124	19-28	Lost 7
48	February 11		Loss	113	133	19-29	Lost 8
49	February 12		Win	102	87	20-29	Won 1
50	February 14		Win	107	99	21-29	Won 2
51	February 15		Loss	92	128	21-30	Lost 1
52	February 19		Win	106	102	22-30	Won 1
53	February 21		Win	105	101	23-30	Won 2
54	February 22		Loss	107	119	23-31	Lost 1
55	February 25		Win	109	95	24-31	Won 1
56	February 27		Win	98	96	25-31	Won 2
57	February 29		Win	99	90	26-31	Won 3
58	March 1		Win	90	75	27-31	Won 4
59	March 4		Loss	92	101	27-32	Lost 1
60	March 6		Loss	96	117	27-33	Lost 2
61	March 7		Loss	98	109	27-34	Lost 3
62	March 10		Loss	122	129	27-35	Lost 4
63	March 13		Win	110	108	28-35	Won 1
64	March 14		Win	96	94	29-35	Won 2	OT
65	March 17		Loss	79	90	29-36	Lost 1
66	March 20		Win	99	96	30-36	Won 1
67	March 22		Loss	100	107	30-37	Lost 1
68	March 23		Win	123	120	31-37	Won 1
69	March 25		Loss	110	118	31-38	Lost 1
70	March 28		Loss	148	153	31-39	Lost 2	OT
71	March 30		Win	117	109	32-39	Won 1
72	April 1		Win	121	117	33-39	Won 2
73	April 3		Win	122	103	34-39	Won 3
74	April 5		Win	128	120	35-39	Won 4
75	April 7		Loss	97	104	35-40	Lost 1
76	April 8		Win	109	103	36-40	Won 1
77	April 10		Win	110	86	37-40	Won 2
78	April 11		Loss	98	118	37-41	Lost 1
79	April 13		Win	110	104	38-41	Won 1
80	April 14		Win	105	100	39-41	Won 2
81	April 16		Loss	113	119	39-42	Lost 1
82	April 18		Win	127	111	40-42	Won 1
1	April 23		Loss	113	120	0-1	Lost 1
2	April 25		Loss	96	118	0-2	Lost 2
3	April 28		Win	109	104	1-2	Won 1
4	April 30		Loss	89	98	1-3	Lost 1

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 1| April 23| @ Cleveland| L 113–120| Dražen Petrović (40)| Derrick Coleman (11)| Derrick Coleman (9)| Richfield Coliseum
16,512| 0–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 2| April 25| @ Cleveland| L 96–118| Derrick Coleman (24)| Derrick Coleman (9)| Mookie Blaylock (6)| Richfield Coliseum
20,273| 0–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 3| April 28| Cleveland| W 109–104| Chris Morris (28)| Derrick Coleman (11)| Mookie Blaylock (12)| Brendan Byrne Arena
15,258| 1–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 4| April 30| Cleveland| L 89–98| Coleman, Morris (22)| Derrick Coleman (14)| Derrick Coleman (6)| Brendan Byrne Arena
13,071| 1–3

Player statistics

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Dražen Petrović	82	82	36.9	.508	.444	.808	3.1	3.1	1.3	0.1	20.6
Derrick Coleman	65	58	34.0	.504	.303	.763	9.5	3.2	0.8	1.5	19.8
Sam Bowie	71	61	30.7	.445	.320	.757	8.1	2.6	0.6	1.7	15.0
Mookie Blaylock	72	67	35.4	.432	.222	.712	3.7	6.8	2.4	0.6	13.8
Chris Morris	77	74	31.1	.477	.200	.714	6.4	2.6	1.7	1.1	11.4
Terry Mills	82	24	20.9	.463	.348	.750	5.5	1.0	0.6	0.5	9.0
Kenny Anderson	64	13	17.0	.390	.231	.745	2.0	3.2	1.0	0.1	7.0
Tate George	70	2	14.8	.427	.167	.821	1.5	2.3	0.6	0.0	6.0
Rafael Addison	76	8	15.5	.433	.286	.737	2.2	0.9	0.4	0.4	5.8
Chris Dudley	82	21	23.2	.403		.468	9.0	0.7	0.5	2.2	5.6
Jud Buechler	2	0	14.5	.500			1.0	1.0	1.0	0.5	4.0
Doug Lee	46	0	6.7	.431	.270	.526	0.8	0.5	0.2	0.0	2.6
Dave Feitl	34	0	5.1	.429		.842	1.8	0.2	0.1	0.1	2.4

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Dražen Petrović	4	4	40.8	.539	.333	.846	2.5	3.3	1.0	0.3	24.3
Derrick Coleman	4	4	40.5	.486	.167	.762	11.3	5.3	1.8	1.0	22.3
Chris Morris	4	4	33.8	.552	.400	.778	5.0	1.3	1.8	1.8	18.8
Mookie Blaylock	4	4	37.0	.309	.167	.750	4.0	7.8	3.8	0.5	9.5
Sam Bowie	4	4	28.0	.424	.500	.667	4.8	2.3	0.8	0.8	9.3
Terry Mills	4	0	19.3	.370	.000	.636	6.0	2.0	0.3	0.5	6.8
Rafael Addison	1	0	9.0	.286	.500		0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	5.0
Tate George	4	0	11.0	.304		.333	0.0	2.0	0.8	0.3	3.8
Chris Dudley	4	0	19.3	.357		.500	6.3	0.8	0.5	2.5	3.5
Kenny Anderson	3	0	8.0	.333		1.000	1.0	1.0	0.3	0.0	2.7
Dave Feitl	1	0	3.0	.500			1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0
Doug Lee	2	0	3.0	.000	.000		0.0	0.5	0.0	0.5	0.0

Player Statistics Citation:^[11]

References

• New Jersey Nets on Database Basketball
• New Jersey Nets on Basketball Reference

Notes and References

1. https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NJN/1992.html 1991–92 New Jersey Nets
2. News: Goldaper . Sam . BASKETBALL; Hornets Make Johnson No. 1 Pick in the Draft . The New York Times . June 27, 1991 . October 14, 2021.
3. News: Associated Press . UNLV's Johnson Is No. 1: NBA Draft: Coaches' Attempts in Charlotte and New Jersey to Select Billy Owens Are Overruled. Three UNLV Players Are Taken in the First Round . Los Angeles Times . June 27, 1991 . November 21, 2022.
4. News: Curry . Jack . BASKETBALL; Nets Finally Sign Anderson . The New York Times . November 8, 1991 . January 19, 2022.
5. News: Voisin . Ailene . Nets, Kenny Anderson Floundering in Jersey . Greensboro . January 5, 1992 . January 19, 2022.
6. News: Goldaper . Sam . BASKETBALL; Nets Want Anderson's Autograph . The New York Times . August 2, 1991 . November 21, 2022.
7. News: Lifer . Evan st. . NEW JERSEY Q & A: ROY HINSON; An Injured Star Hopes to Shine Again . The New York Times . April 12, 1992 . November 21, 2022.
8. News: NBA Games Played on February 6, 1992 . Basketball-Reference . November 21, 2022.
9. Web site: 1991–92 New Jersey Nets Schedule and Results. Basketball-Reference. October 14, 2021.
10. News: 1991–92 NBA Awards Voting . Basketball-Reference . January 3, 2022.
11. Web site: 1991–92 New Jersey Nets Roster and Stats. Basketball-Reference. October 14, 2021.
12. News: Harvin . Al . PRO BASKETBALL; Nets a House Afire, but the Wrong Kind . The New York Times . May 1, 1992 . October 14, 2021.
13. News: Associated Press . Cavaliers Defeat Nets, 98-89, to Earn a Shot at the Celtics . Deseret News . May 1, 1992 . April 18, 2023.
14. Web site: 1992 NBA Eastern Conference First Round: Nets vs. Cavaliers . Basketball-Reference . April 18, 2023.
15. News: Berger . Phil . BASKETBALL; Nets Reduce Logjam by Trading Blaylock to Hawks . The New York Times . November 4, 1992 . December 31, 2021.
16. News: Staff and Wire Reports . New Jersey Trades Blaylock to Atlanta . Los Angeles Times . November 4, 1992 . July 26, 2022.
17. News: Associated Press . Nets Ship Blaylock to Hawks . Deseret News . November 4, 1992 . December 4, 2022.
18. News: SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; A Summit Conference Between Nets and Mills . The New York Times . September 26, 1992 . November 21, 2022.
19. News: Miscellany . Los Angeles Times . September 16, 1992 . November 21, 2022.
20. News: Araton . Harvey . BASKETBALL; Nets Ready to Replace Fitch as Coach . The New York Times . May 7, 1992 . November 21, 2022.
21. News: Thomas Jr. . Robert Mcg. . BASKETBALL; Fitch Says He Made the Decision to Step Down as Coach of the Nets . The New York Times . May 13, 1992 . November 21, 2022.
22. News: New Jersey Nets Uniform . Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. . January 22, 2022.