1981–82 NBA season

• The regular-season ran until mid to late-April for the first time.
• The 1982 NBA All-Star Game was played at the new Brendan Byrne Arena (later the Meadowlands Arena) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with the East defeating the West 120–118. Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics wins the game's MVP award. This season also marked the New Jersey Nets first season in the new arena.
• On March 6, 1982, San Antonio beat Milwaukee 171–166 in three overtime periods to set the record for most points by two teams in a game. The record was broken two seasons later.
• Magic Johnson secures his second NBA Finals MVP award several months before his 23rd birthday.
• The Los Angeles Lakers begin a string of nine consecutive seasons as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
• The Denver Nuggets scored at least 100 points in every single game of the season, while also allowing 100 points in every game. It remains the only time this has occurred in NBA history.
• After a few years of success in NCAA basketball, the breakaway rim became standardized equipment in the NBA.
• This season marked Isiah Thomas' rookie season.
• The three-to-make-two free throw rule, along with the two-to-make one rule (both used when a team exceeded five team fouls in a quarter), were both eliminated.
• This season marked Bob Dandridge's final season.

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.

• Most Valuable Player: Moses Malone, Houston Rockets
• Rookie of the Year: Buck Williams, New Jersey Nets
• Coach of the Year: Gene Shue, Washington Bullets