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1980–81 NBA season

1980–81 NBA season

The1980–81 NBA seasonwas the 35th season of theNational Basketball Association. The season ended with theBoston Celticswinning the NBA Championship, beating the Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. As of 2019, this was the last time an NBA season (including postseason) had ended beforeMemorial Day.

1980–81 NBA season
League National Basketball Association
Sport Basketball
Duration Oct 10, 1980 – Mar 29, 1981
Mar 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

  • TheDallas Mavericksbecome 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).

  • The 1981 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Richfield Coliseum near Cleveland, Ohio, with the East defeating the West 123–120. Nate Archibald of theBoston Celticswins the game’s MVP award.

  • 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 the likes of Rudy Tomjanovich, Wes Unseld, and Jo Jo White.

Coaching changes
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

Final standings

By division

Atlantic 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
    Central Division

      		 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
      Midwest Division

        		 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
        Pacific Division

          		 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

          		 Eastern 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

            		Western Conference
              Team W L PCT GB
              1 c-Phoenix Suns 57 25 .695 –
              2 y-San Antonio Spurs 50 32 .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

              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
              1 Phoenix 3
              5 Kansas City 4
              4 Portland 1
              5 Kansas City 2
              5 Kansas City 1
              Western Conference
              6 Houston 4
              3 Los Angeles 1
              6 Houston 2
              6 Houston 4
              2 San Antonio 3
              W6 Houston 2
              E1 Boston 4
              1 Boston 4
              5 Chicago 0
              4 New York 0
              5 Chicago 2
              1 Boston 4
              Eastern Conference
              3 Philadelphia 3
              3 Philadelphia 2
              6 Indiana 0
              3 Philadelphia 4
              2 Milwaukee 3

              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

              • All-NBA First Team:Larry Bird,Boston CelticsGeorge Gervin, San Antonio Spurs Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers Dennis Johnson, Phoenix Suns Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,Los Angeles Lakers

              • All-NBA Second Team:Marques Johnson, Milwaukee Bucks Adrian Dantley, Utah Jazz Moses Malone, Houston Rockets Otis Birdsong, Kansas City Kings Nate Archibald, Boston Celtics

              • All-NBA Rookie Team:Kelvin Ransey, Portland Trail Blazers Darrell Griffith, Utah Jazz Larry Smith,Golden State WarriorsKevin McHale,Boston CelticsJoe Barry Carroll,Golden State Warriors

              • NBA All-Defensive First Team:Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers Caldwell Jones, Philadelphia 76ers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,Los Angeles LakersDennis Johnson, Phoenix Suns Micheal Ray Richardson, New York Knicks

              • NBA All-Defensive Second Team:Dan Roundfield, Atlanta Hawks Kermit Washington, Portland Trail Blazers George Johnson, San Antonio Spurs Quinn Buckner, Milwaukee Bucks Dudley Bradley, Indiana Pacers (tie) Michael Cooper,Los Angeles Lakers(tie)

              *Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com[1]*

              Players of the week

              Week Player
              Oct. 10 – Oct. 19 Adrian Dantley (Utah Jazz) (1/1)
              Oct. 20 – Oct. 26 Otis Birdsong (Kansas City Kings) (1/1)
              Oct. 27 – Nov. 02 David Thompson (Denver Nuggets) (1/1)
              Nov. 03 – Nov. 09 Elvin Hayes (Washington Bullets) (1/1)
              Nov. 10 – Nov. 16 Billy Knight (Indiana Pacers) (1/1)
              Nov. 17 – Nov. 23 Artis Gilmore (Chicago Bulls) (1/1)
              Nov. 24 – Nov. 30 Robert Parish (Boston Celtics) (1/1)
              Dec. 01 – Dec. 07 Mike Dunleavy (Houston Rockets) (1/1)
              Dec. 08 – Dec. 14 Dan Roundfield (Atlanta Hawks) (1/1)
              Dec. 15 – Dec. 21 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) (1/1)
              Dec. 22 – Dec. 28 Dennis Johnson (Phoenix Suns) (1/1)
              Dec. 29 – Jan. 04 Bernard King (Golden State Warriors) (1/1)
              Jan. 05 – Jan. 11 Nate Archibald (Boston Celtics) (1/1)
              Jan. 12 – Jan. 18 Julius Erving (Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1)
              Jan. 19 – Jan. 25 Phil Ford (Kansas City Kings) (1/1)
              Jan. 26 – Feb. 01 Kenny Carr (Cleveland Cavaliers) (1/1)
              Feb. 02 – Feb. 08 Caldwell Jones (Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1)
              Feb. 09 – Feb. 15 Mike Newlin (New Jersey Nets) (1/1)
              Feb. 16 – Feb. 22 Mike Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers) (1/1)
              Mar. 02 – Mar. 08 Larry Smith (Golden State Warriors) (1/1)
              Mar. 09 – Mar. 15 Moses Malone (Houston Rockets) (1/1)
              Mar. 16 – Mar. 22 Michael Ray Richardson (New York Knicks) (1/1)
              Mar. 23 – Mar. 29 Robert Reid (Houston Rockets) (1/1)

              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)

              References

              [1]

              Citation Linkwww.nba.comNBA.com

              Sep 19, 2019, 11:26 AM
              [2]

              Citation Linken.wikipedia.orgThe original version of this page is from Wikipedia, you can edit the page right here on Everipedia.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Additional terms may apply.See everipedia.org/everipedia-termsfor further details.Images/media credited individually (click the icon for details).

              Sep 19, 2019, 11:26 AM