1980–81 NBA season

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 2022, this was the last time an NBA season (including postseason) had ended before Memorial Day.

1980–81 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationOctober 10, 1980 – March 29, 1981
March 31 – May 3, 1981 (Playoffs)
May 5–14, 1981 (Finals)
Number of teams23
TV partner(s)CBS, USA
Draft
Top draft pickJoe Barry Carroll
Picked byGolden State Warriors
Regular season
Top seedBoston Celtics
Season MVPJulius Erving (Philadelphia)
Top scorerAdrian Dantley (Utah)
Playoffs
Eastern championsBoston Celtics
  Eastern runners-upPhiladelphia 76ers
Western championsHouston Rockets
  Western runners-upKansas City Kings
Finals
ChampionsBoston Celtics
  Runners-upHouston Rockets
Finals MVPCedric Maxwell (Boston)

Notable occurrences

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

A ticket for a March 1981 game between the Dallas Mavericks and the season's eventual champions Boston Celtics.

By division

W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics6220.75635–627–1419–5
x-Philadelphia 76ers6220.75637–425–1615–9
x-New York Knicks5032.61012.028–1322–1914–10
Washington Bullets3943.47623.026–1513–288–16
New Jersey Nets2458.29338.016–258–338–16
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks6022.73234–726–1523–7
x-Chicago Bulls4537.54915.026–1519–2220–9
x-Indiana Pacers4438.53716.027–1417–2417–12
Atlanta Hawks3151.37829.020–2111–309–21
Cleveland Cavaliers2854.34132.020–218–339–21
Detroit Pistons2161.25639.014–277–349–21
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs5230.63434–718–2321–9
x-Kansas City Kings4042.48812.024–1716–2519–11
x-Houston Rockets4042.48812.025–1615–2619–11
Denver Nuggets3745.45115.023–1814–2713–17
Utah Jazz2854.34124.020–218–3313–17
Dallas Mavericks1567.18337.011–304–375–25
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Phoenix Suns5725.69536–521–2022–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers5428.6593.030–1124–1719–11
x-Portland Trail Blazers4537.54912.030–1115–2618–12
Golden State Warriors3943.47618.026–1513–2810–20
San Diego Clippers3646.43921.022–1914–2714–16
Seattle SuperSonics3448.41523.022–1912–297–23

By conference

#
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Boston Celtics6220.756 
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks6022.7322
3 x-Philadelphia 76ers6220.756
4 x-New York Knicks5032.61012
5 x-Chicago Bulls4537.54917
6 x-Indiana Pacers4438.53718
7 Washington Bullets3943.47623
8 Atlanta Hawks3151.37831
9 Cleveland Cavaliers2854.34134
10 New Jersey Nets2458.29338
11 Detroit Pistons2161.25641
#
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Phoenix Suns5725.695
2 y-San Antonio Spurs5230.6345
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers5428.6593
4 x-Portland Trail Blazers4537.54912
5 x-Kansas City Kings4042.48817
6 x-Houston Rockets4042.48817
7 Golden State Warriors3943.47618
8 Denver Nuggets3745.45120
9 San Diego Clippers3646.43921
10 Seattle SuperSonics3448.41523
11 Utah Jazz2854.34129
12 Dallas Mavericks1567.18342

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
E1 Boston* 4
E4 New York 0 E5 Chicago 0
E5 Chicago 2 Eastern ConferenceE1 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 ConferenceW5 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

Statistics leaders

CategoryPlayerTeamStat
Points per gameAdrian DantleyUtah Jazz30.7
Rebounds per gameMoses MaloneHouston Rockets14.8
Assists per gameKevin PorterWashington Bullets9.1
Steals per gameMagic JohnsonLos Angeles Lakers3.43
Blocks per gameGeorge JohnsonSan Antonio Spurs3.39
FG%Artis GilmoreChicago Bulls.670
FT%Calvin MurphyHouston Rockets.958
3FG%Brian TaylorSan Diego Clippers.383

NBA awards

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)

Notes

  1. Inducted into the Hall of Fame as a coach.

References

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