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1980–81 NBA season

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 2019, this was the last time an NBA season (including postseason) had ended before Memorial Day.

1980–81 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationOct 10, 1980 – Mar 29, 1981
Mar 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

  • 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).

  • 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 the Boston Celtics wins 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
Team1979–80 coach1980–81 coach
Cleveland CavaliersStan AlbeckBill Musselman
Dallas MavericksExpansionDick Motta
Detroit PistonsRichie AdubatoScotty Robertson
Golden State WarriorsJohnny BachAl Attles
Indiana PacersBobby LeonardJack McKinney
San Antonio SpursBob BassStan Albeck
San Diego ClippersGene ShuePaul Silas
Washington BulletsDick MottaGene Shue
In-season
TeamOutgoing coachIncoming coach
Atlanta HawksHubie BrownMike Fratello
Cleveland CavaliersBill MusselmanDon Delaney
Denver NuggetsDonnie WalshDoug Moe
New Jersey NetsKevin LougheryBob MacKinnon

Final standings

By division

Atlantic Division
    		WLPCTGBHomeRoadDiv
    y-Boston Celtics6220.756–35–627–1419–5
    x-Philadelphia 76ers6220.756–37–425–1615–9
    x-New York Knicks5032.61012.028–1322–1914–10
    Washington Bullets3943.47623.026–1513–288–16
    New Jersey Nets2458.29338.016–258–338–16
    Central Division
      		WLPCTGBHomeRoadDiv
      y-Milwaukee Bucks6022.732–34–726–1523–7
      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
      Midwest Division
        		WLPCTGBHomeRoadDiv
        y-San Antonio Spurs5230.634–34–718–2321–9
        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
        Pacific Division
          		WLPCTGBHomeRoadDiv
          y-Phoenix Suns5725.695–36–521–2022–8
          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

          		Eastern Conference
            TeamWLPCTGB
            1z-Boston Celtics6220.756 –
            2y-Milwaukee Bucks6022.7322
            3x-Philadelphia 76ers6220.756–
            4x-New York Knicks5032.61012
            5x-Chicago Bulls4537.54917
            6x-Indiana Pacers4438.53718
            7Washington Bullets3943.47623
            8Atlanta Hawks3151.37831
            9Cleveland Cavaliers2854.34134
            10New Jersey Nets2458.29338
            11Detroit Pistons2161.25641

            		Western Conference
              TeamWLPCTGB
              1c-Phoenix Suns5725.695–
              2y-San Antonio Spurs5032.6345
              3x-Los Angeles Lakers5428.6593
              4x-Portland Trail Blazers4537.54912
              5x-Kansas City Kings4042.48817
              6x-Houston Rockets4042.48817
              7Golden State Warriors3943.47618
              8Denver Nuggets3745.45120
              9San Diego Clippers3646.43921
              10Seattle SuperSonics3448.41523
              11Utah Jazz2854.34129
              12Dallas 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 RoundConference SemifinalsConference FinalsNBA Finals
              1Phoenix3
              5Kansas City4
              4Portland1
              5Kansas City2
              5Kansas City1
              Western Conference
              6Houston4
              3Los Angeles1
              6Houston2
              6Houston4
              2San Antonio3
              W6Houston2
              E1Boston4
              1Boston4
              5Chicago0
              4New York0
              5Chicago2
              1Boston4
              Eastern Conference
              3Philadelphia3
              3Philadelphia2
              6Indiana0
              3Philadelphia4
              2Milwaukee3

              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

              • 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 Celtics George 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 Warriors Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics Joe Barry Carroll, Golden State Warriors

              • NBA All-Defensive First Team: Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers Caldwell Jones, Philadelphia 76ers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers Dennis 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

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

              Players of the month

              MonthPlayer
              OctoberMagic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) (1/1)
              NovemberJulius Erving (Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1)
              DecemberFreeman Williams (San Diego Clippers) (1/1)
              JanuaryBernard King (Golden State Warriors) (1/1)
              FebruaryCalvin Murphy (Houston Rockets) (1/1)
              MarchKelvin Ransey (Portland Trail Blazers) (1/1)

              References

              [1]
              Citation Linkwww.nba.comNBA.com
              Sep 19, 2019, 5:56 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, 5:56 AM