The 1980–81 NBA season was the 35th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. As of 2023, this was the last time an NBA season (including postseason) had ended before Memorial Day.
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| 1980–81 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | October 10, 1980 – March 29, 1981 March 31 – May 3, 1981 (Playoffs) May 5–14, 1981 (Finals) |
| Number of teams | 23 |
| TV partner(s) | CBS, USA |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Joe Barry Carroll |
| Picked by | Golden State Warriors |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Boston Celtics |
| Season MVP | Julius Erving (Philadelphia) |
| Top scorer | Adrian Dantley (Utah) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Boston Celtics |
| Eastern runners-up | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Western champions | Houston Rockets |
| Western runners-up | Kansas City Kings |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics |
| Runners-up | Houston Rockets |
| Finals MVP | Cedric Maxwell (Boston) |
Notable occurrences
- The Dallas Mavericks become the league's 23rd franchise. As a result, the NBA realigns four of its teams to better reflect their geographical locations (the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls move to the Eastern Conference and the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets to the Western Conference), finishing a process of geographic realignment that began in the 1978–79 season.
- The 1981 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Richfield Coliseum near Cleveland, Ohio, with the East defeating the West 123–120.[1] Nate Archibald of the Boston Celtics wins the game's MVP award.[1]
- To date, this was the final time that a regular-season had ended during the month of March.
- The Houston Rockets (40–42) become just the second team in NBA history (to date) to make the finals without posting a winning record during the regular season. The Kansas City Kings, their opponents in the Western Conference finals, also posted a 40–42 record.
- It was the final season for Hall of Famers Rudy Tomjanovich,[a] Wes Unseld, and Jo Jo White.
| Offseason | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 1979–80 coach | 1980–81 coach |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Stan Albeck | Bill Musselman |
| Dallas Mavericks | Expansion | Dick Motta |
| Detroit Pistons | Richie Adubato | Scotty Robertson |
| Golden State Warriors | Johnny Bach | Al Attles |
| Indiana Pacers | Bobby Leonard | Jack McKinney |
| San Antonio Spurs | Bob Bass | Stan Albeck |
| San Diego Clippers | Gene Shue | Paul Silas |
| Washington Bullets | Dick Motta | Gene Shue |
| In-season | ||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| Atlanta Hawks | Hubie Brown | Mike Fratello |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Bill Musselman | Don Delaney |
| Denver Nuggets | Donnie Walsh | Doug Moe |
| New Jersey Nets | Kevin Loughery | Bob MacKinnon |
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Teams
| Expansion team * |
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Map of teams
Atlantic Division 
Central Division 
Midwest Division 
Pacific Division
Final standings
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By division
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | – | 35–6 | 27–14 | 19–5 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 62 | 20 | .756 | – | 37–4 | 25–16 | 15–9 |
| x-New York Knicks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 12.0 | 28–13 | 22–19 | 14–10 |
| Washington Bullets | 39 | 43 | .476 | 23.0 | 26–15 | 13–28 | 8–16 |
| New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 38.0 | 16–25 | 8–33 | 8–16 |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Milwaukee Bucks | 60 | 22 | .732 | – | 34–7 | 26–15 | 23–7 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 45 | 37 | .549 | 15.0 | 26–15 | 19–22 | 20–9 |
| x-Indiana Pacers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 16.0 | 27–14 | 17–24 | 17–12 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 51 | .378 | 29.0 | 20–21 | 11–30 | 9–21 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 28 | 54 | .341 | 32.0 | 20–21 | 8–33 | 9–21 |
| Detroit Pistons | 21 | 61 | .256 | 39.0 | 14–27 | 7–34 | 9–21 |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 52 | 30 | .634 | – | 34–7 | 18–23 | 21–9 |
| x-Kansas City Kings | 40 | 42 | .488 | 12.0 | 24–17 | 16–25 | 19–11 |
| x-Houston Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 12.0 | 25–16 | 15–26 | 19–11 |
| Denver Nuggets | 37 | 45 | .451 | 15.0 | 23–18 | 14–27 | 13–17 |
| Utah Jazz | 28 | 54 | .341 | 24.0 | 20–21 | 8–33 | 13–17 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 15 | 67 | .183 | 37.0 | 11–30 | 4–37 | 5–25 |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Phoenix Suns | 57 | 25 | .695 | – | 36–5 | 21–20 | 22–8 |
| x-Los Angeles Lakers | 54 | 28 | .659 | 3.0 | 30–11 | 24–17 | 19–11 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12.0 | 30–11 | 15–26 | 18–12 |
| Golden State Warriors | 39 | 43 | .476 | 18.0 | 26–15 | 13–28 | 10–20 |
| San Diego Clippers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 21.0 | 22–19 | 14–27 | 14–16 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 34 | 48 | .415 | 23.0 | 22–19 | 12–29 | 7–23 |
By conference
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
| 2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 60 | 22 | .732 | 2 |
| 3 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
| 4 | x-New York Knicks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 12 |
| 5 | x-Chicago Bulls | 45 | 37 | .549 | 17 |
| 6 | x-Indiana Pacers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 18 |
| 7 | Washington Bullets | 39 | 43 | .476 | 23 |
| 8 | Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31 |
| 9 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 28 | 54 | .341 | 34 |
| 10 | New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 38 |
| 11 | Detroit Pistons | 21 | 61 | .256 | 41 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | c-Phoenix Suns | 57 | 25 | .695 | – |
| 2 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 52 | 30 | .634 | 5 |
| 3 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 54 | 28 | .659 | 3 |
| 4 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12 |
| 5 | x-Kansas City Kings | 40 | 42 | .488 | 17 |
| 6 | x-Houston Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 17 |
| 7 | Golden State Warriors | 39 | 43 | .476 | 18 |
| 8 | Denver Nuggets | 37 | 45 | .451 | 20 |
| 9 | San Diego Clippers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 21 |
| 10 | Seattle SuperSonics | 34 | 48 | .415 | 23 |
| 11 | Utah Jazz | 28 | 54 | .341 | 29 |
| 12 | Dallas Mavericks | 15 | 67 | .183 | 42 |
Notes
- z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs and first round bye
- c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs and first round bye
- y – Clinched division title and first round bye
- x – Clinched playoff spot
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Playoffs
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics. Note that in the Western Conference, the lower seeded team won every series.
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | New York | 0 | E5 | Chicago | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| E5 | Chicago | 2 | Eastern Conference | E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 2 | E2 | Milwaukee* | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| E6 | Indiana | 0 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Phoenix* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Portland | 1 | W5 | Kansas City | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| W5 | Kansas City | 2 | Western Conference | W5 | Kansas City | 1 | |||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Los Angeles | 1 | W2 | San Antonio* | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
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Statistics leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Adrian Dantley | Utah Jazz | 30.7 |
| Rebounds per game | Moses Malone | Houston Rockets | 14.8 |
| Assists per game | Kevin Porter | Washington Bullets | 9.1 |
| Steals per game | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers | 3.43 |
| Blocks per game | George Johnson | San Antonio Spurs | 3.39 |
| FG% | Artis Gilmore | Chicago Bulls | .670 |
| FT% | Calvin Murphy | Houston Rockets | .958 |
| 3FG% | Brian Taylor | San Diego Clippers | .383 |
NBA awards
- Most Valuable Player: Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers
- Rookie of the Year: Darrell Griffith, Utah Jazz
- Coach of the Year: Jack McKinney, Indiana Pacers
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Players of the week
Players of the month
| Month | Player |
|---|---|
| October | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) (1/1) |
| November | Julius Erving (Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1) |
| December | Freeman Williams (San Diego Clippers) (1/1) |
| January | Bernard King (Golden State Warriors) (1/1) |
| February | Calvin Murphy (Houston Rockets) (1/1) |
| March | Kelvin Ransey (Portland Trail Blazers) (1/1) |
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See also
Notes
References
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