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.
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), finishing a process of geographic realignment that began in the 1978–79 season. 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 Hall of Famers Rudy Tomjanovich, Wes Unseld, and Jo Jo White.
+Coaching changesOffseason 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 ShueIn-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
By conference
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.
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: F – Larry Bird, Boston Celtics F – Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers C – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers G – Dennis Johnson, Phoenix Suns G – George Gervin, San Antonio Spurs
All-NBA Second Team: F – Marques Johnson, Milwaukee Bucks F – Adrian Dantley, Utah Jazz C – Moses Malone, Houston Rockets G – Otis Birdsong, Kansas City Kings G – 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)
Players of the week WeekPlayerOct. 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 MonthPlayerOctoberMagic 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)
See also List of NBA regular season records
Notes
References