This article needs additional citations for
verification. (January 2024) |
1980β81 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 10, 1980 β March 29, 1981 March 31 β May 3, 1981 (Playoffs) May 5β14, 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) |
The 1980β81 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.
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1979β80 coach | 1980β81 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 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | β | 35β6 | 27β14 | 19β5 |
x- Philadelphia 76ers | 62 | 20 | .756 | β | 37β4 | 25β16 | 15β9 |
x- New York Knicks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 12.0 | 28β13 | 22β19 | 14β10 |
Washington Bullets | 39 | 43 | .476 | 23.0 | 26β15 | 13β28 | 8β16 |
New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 38.0 | 16β25 | 8β33 | 8β16 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Milwaukee Bucks | 60 | 22 | .732 | β | 34β7 | 26β15 | 23β7 |
x- Chicago Bulls | 45 | 37 | .549 | 15.0 | 26β15 | 19β22 | 20β9 |
x- Indiana Pacers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 16.0 | 27β14 | 17β24 | 17β12 |
Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 51 | .378 | 29.0 | 20β21 | 11β30 | 9β21 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | 28 | 54 | .341 | 32.0 | 20β21 | 8β33 | 9β21 |
Detroit Pistons | 21 | 61 | .256 | 39.0 | 14β27 | 7β34 | 9β21 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- San Antonio Spurs | 52 | 30 | .634 | β | 34β7 | 18β23 | 21β9 |
x- Kansas City Kings | 40 | 42 | .488 | 12.0 | 24β17 | 16β25 | 19β11 |
x- Houston Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 12.0 | 25β16 | 15β26 | 19β11 |
Denver Nuggets | 37 | 45 | .451 | 15.0 | 23β18 | 14β27 | 13β17 |
Utah Jazz | 28 | 54 | .341 | 24.0 | 20β21 | 8β33 | 13β17 |
Dallas Mavericks | 15 | 67 | .183 | 37.0 | 11β30 | 4β37 | 5β25 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Phoenix Suns | 57 | 25 | .695 | β | 36β5 | 21β20 | 22β8 |
x- Los Angeles Lakers | 54 | 28 | .659 | 3.0 | 30β11 | 24β17 | 19β11 |
x- Portland Trail Blazers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12.0 | 30β11 | 15β26 | 18β12 |
Golden State Warriors | 39 | 43 | .476 | 18.0 | 26β15 | 13β28 | 10β20 |
San Diego Clippers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 21.0 | 22β19 | 14β27 | 14β16 |
Seattle SuperSonics | 34 | 48 | .415 | 23.0 | 22β19 | 12β29 | 7β23 |
# | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
1 | z- Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | β |
2 | y- Milwaukee Bucks | 60 | 22 | .732 | 2 |
3 | x- Philadelphia 76ers | 62 | 20 | .756 | β |
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 | β |
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
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 |
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 |
|
|
|
Week | Player |
---|---|
Oct. 10 β Oct. 19 | Adrian Dantley ( Utah Jazz) (1/1) |
Oct. 20 β Oct. 26 | Otis Birdsong ( Kansas City Kings) (1/1) |
Oct. 27 β Nov. 02 | David Thompson ( Denver Nuggets) (1/1) |
Nov. 03 β Nov. 09 | Elvin Hayes ( Washington Bullets) (1/1) |
Nov. 10 β Nov. 16 | Billy Knight ( Indiana Pacers) (1/1) |
Nov. 17 β Nov. 23 | Artis Gilmore ( Chicago Bulls) (1/1) |
Nov. 24 β Nov. 30 | Robert Parish ( Boston Celtics) (1/1) |
Dec. 01 β Dec. 07 | Mike Dunleavy ( Houston Rockets) (1/1) |
Dec. 08 β Dec. 14 | Dan Roundfield ( Atlanta Hawks) (1/1) |
Dec. 15 β Dec. 21 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( Los Angeles Lakers) (1/1) |
Dec. 22 β Dec. 28 | Dennis Johnson ( Phoenix Suns) (1/1) |
Dec. 29 β Jan. 04 | Bernard King ( Golden State Warriors) (1/1) |
Jan. 05 β Jan. 11 | Nate Archibald ( Boston Celtics) (1/1) |
Jan. 12 β Jan. 18 | Julius Erving ( Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1) |
Jan. 19 β Jan. 25 | Phil Ford ( Kansas City Kings) (1/1) |
Jan. 26 β Feb. 01 | Kenny Carr ( Cleveland Cavaliers) (1/1) |
Feb. 02 β Feb. 08 | Caldwell Jones ( Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1) |
Feb. 09 β Feb. 15 | Mike Newlin ( New Jersey Nets) (1/1) |
Feb. 16 β Feb. 22 | Mike Mitchell ( Cleveland Cavaliers) (1/1) |
Mar. 02 β Mar. 08 | Larry Smith ( Golden State Warriors) (1/1) |
Mar. 09 β Mar. 15 | Moses Malone ( Houston Rockets) (1/1) |
Mar. 16 β Mar. 22 | Michael Ray Richardson ( New York Knicks) (1/1) |
Mar. 23 β Mar. 29 | Robert Reid ( Houston Rockets) (1/1) |
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) |
This article needs additional citations for
verification. (January 2024) |
1980β81 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 10, 1980 β March 29, 1981 March 31 β May 3, 1981 (Playoffs) May 5β14, 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) |
The 1980β81 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.
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1979β80 coach | 1980β81 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 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | β | 35β6 | 27β14 | 19β5 |
x- Philadelphia 76ers | 62 | 20 | .756 | β | 37β4 | 25β16 | 15β9 |
x- New York Knicks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 12.0 | 28β13 | 22β19 | 14β10 |
Washington Bullets | 39 | 43 | .476 | 23.0 | 26β15 | 13β28 | 8β16 |
New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 38.0 | 16β25 | 8β33 | 8β16 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Milwaukee Bucks | 60 | 22 | .732 | β | 34β7 | 26β15 | 23β7 |
x- Chicago Bulls | 45 | 37 | .549 | 15.0 | 26β15 | 19β22 | 20β9 |
x- Indiana Pacers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 16.0 | 27β14 | 17β24 | 17β12 |
Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 51 | .378 | 29.0 | 20β21 | 11β30 | 9β21 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | 28 | 54 | .341 | 32.0 | 20β21 | 8β33 | 9β21 |
Detroit Pistons | 21 | 61 | .256 | 39.0 | 14β27 | 7β34 | 9β21 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- San Antonio Spurs | 52 | 30 | .634 | β | 34β7 | 18β23 | 21β9 |
x- Kansas City Kings | 40 | 42 | .488 | 12.0 | 24β17 | 16β25 | 19β11 |
x- Houston Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 12.0 | 25β16 | 15β26 | 19β11 |
Denver Nuggets | 37 | 45 | .451 | 15.0 | 23β18 | 14β27 | 13β17 |
Utah Jazz | 28 | 54 | .341 | 24.0 | 20β21 | 8β33 | 13β17 |
Dallas Mavericks | 15 | 67 | .183 | 37.0 | 11β30 | 4β37 | 5β25 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Phoenix Suns | 57 | 25 | .695 | β | 36β5 | 21β20 | 22β8 |
x- Los Angeles Lakers | 54 | 28 | .659 | 3.0 | 30β11 | 24β17 | 19β11 |
x- Portland Trail Blazers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12.0 | 30β11 | 15β26 | 18β12 |
Golden State Warriors | 39 | 43 | .476 | 18.0 | 26β15 | 13β28 | 10β20 |
San Diego Clippers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 21.0 | 22β19 | 14β27 | 14β16 |
Seattle SuperSonics | 34 | 48 | .415 | 23.0 | 22β19 | 12β29 | 7β23 |
# | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
1 | z- Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | β |
2 | y- Milwaukee Bucks | 60 | 22 | .732 | 2 |
3 | x- Philadelphia 76ers | 62 | 20 | .756 | β |
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 | β |
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
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 |
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 |
|
|
|
Week | Player |
---|---|
Oct. 10 β Oct. 19 | Adrian Dantley ( Utah Jazz) (1/1) |
Oct. 20 β Oct. 26 | Otis Birdsong ( Kansas City Kings) (1/1) |
Oct. 27 β Nov. 02 | David Thompson ( Denver Nuggets) (1/1) |
Nov. 03 β Nov. 09 | Elvin Hayes ( Washington Bullets) (1/1) |
Nov. 10 β Nov. 16 | Billy Knight ( Indiana Pacers) (1/1) |
Nov. 17 β Nov. 23 | Artis Gilmore ( Chicago Bulls) (1/1) |
Nov. 24 β Nov. 30 | Robert Parish ( Boston Celtics) (1/1) |
Dec. 01 β Dec. 07 | Mike Dunleavy ( Houston Rockets) (1/1) |
Dec. 08 β Dec. 14 | Dan Roundfield ( Atlanta Hawks) (1/1) |
Dec. 15 β Dec. 21 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( Los Angeles Lakers) (1/1) |
Dec. 22 β Dec. 28 | Dennis Johnson ( Phoenix Suns) (1/1) |
Dec. 29 β Jan. 04 | Bernard King ( Golden State Warriors) (1/1) |
Jan. 05 β Jan. 11 | Nate Archibald ( Boston Celtics) (1/1) |
Jan. 12 β Jan. 18 | Julius Erving ( Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1) |
Jan. 19 β Jan. 25 | Phil Ford ( Kansas City Kings) (1/1) |
Jan. 26 β Feb. 01 | Kenny Carr ( Cleveland Cavaliers) (1/1) |
Feb. 02 β Feb. 08 | Caldwell Jones ( Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1) |
Feb. 09 β Feb. 15 | Mike Newlin ( New Jersey Nets) (1/1) |
Feb. 16 β Feb. 22 | Mike Mitchell ( Cleveland Cavaliers) (1/1) |
Mar. 02 β Mar. 08 | Larry Smith ( Golden State Warriors) (1/1) |
Mar. 09 β Mar. 15 | Moses Malone ( Houston Rockets) (1/1) |
Mar. 16 β Mar. 22 | Michael Ray Richardson ( New York Knicks) (1/1) |
Mar. 23 β Mar. 29 | Robert Reid ( Houston Rockets) (1/1) |
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) |