From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1980–81 NBA season
35th NBA season
35th NBA season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | 1980–81 NBA season |
| league | National Basketball Association |
| sport | Basketball |
| duration | October 10, 1980 – March 29, 1981 |
| March 31 – May 3, 1981 (Playoffs) | |
| May 5–14, 1981 (Finals) | |
| no_of_teams | 23 |
| TV | CBS, USA |
| draft | Draft |
| draft_link | 1980 NBA Draft |
| top_pick_link | List of first overall NBA draft picks |
| top_pick | Joe Barry Carroll |
| picked_by | [Golden State Warriors](1980-81-golden-state-warriors-season) |
| season | Regular season |
| top_seed | [Boston Celtics](1980-81-boston-celtics-season) |
| MVP | Julius Erving ([Philadelphia](1980-81-philadelphia-76ers-season)) |
| MVP_link | NBA MVP |
| top_scorer | Adrian Dantley ([Utah](1980-81-utah-jazz-season)) |
| playoffs | Playoffs |
| playoffs_link | 1981 NBA Playoffs |
| conf1 | Eastern |
| conf1_link | Eastern Conference (NBA) |
| conf1_champ | [Boston Celtics](1980-81-boston-celtics-season) |
| conf1_runner-up | [Philadelphia 76ers](1980-81-philadelphia-76ers-season) |
| conf2 | Western |
| conf2_link | Western Conference (NBA) |
| conf2_champ | [Houston Rockets](1980-81-houston-rockets-season) |
| conf2_runner-up | [Kansas City Kings](1980-81-kansas-city-kings-season) |
| finals | Finals |
| finals_link | 1981 NBA Finals |
| finals_venue | * Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |
| finals_champ | [Boston Celtics](1980-81-boston-celtics-season) |
| finals_runner-up | [Houston Rockets](1980-81-houston-rockets-season) |
| finals_MVP | Cedric Maxwell ([Boston](1980-81-boston-celtics-season)) |
| finals_MVP_link | NBA Finals MVP |
| seasonslist | List of NBA seasons |
| seasonslistnames | NBA |
| prevseason_link | 1979–80 NBA season |
| prevseason_year | 1979–80 |
| nextseason_link | 1981–82 NBA season |
| nextseason_year | 1981–82 |
March 31 – May 3, 1981 (Playoffs) May 5–14, 1981 (Finals) | conf1_runner-up = Philadelphia 76ers | conf2_runner-up = Kansas City Kings
- The Summit, Houston, Texas | finals_runner-up = Houston Rockets 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 2023, this was the last time an NBA season (including postseason) had ended before Memorial Day.
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.
| Offseason | Team | 1979–80 coach | 1980–81 coach | In-season | Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming 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 | |||||
| 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
Main article: 1981 NBA 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 | ||||
| Rebounds per game | Moses Malone | ||||
| Assists per game | Kevin Porter | ||||
| Steals per game | Magic Johnson | ||||
| Blocks per game | George Johnson | ||||
| FG% | Artis Gilmore | ||||
| FT% | Calvin Murphy | ||||
| 3FG% | Brian Taylor |
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
| 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
References
References
- DuPree, David. (February 2, 1981). "Archibald 'Biggest' NBA Star". [[The Washington Post]].
Info: Wikipedia Source
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1980–81 NBA season — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up free
Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report