Surf Wiki
Save to docs
sports

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

1980 NBA playoffs

Postseason tournament

Postseason tournament

FieldValue
titleNBA playoffs
year1980
season[1979–80](1979-80-nba-season)
datesApril 2–May 16, 1980
num_teams12
winnersLos Angeles Lakers
count7
secondPhiladelphia 76ers
semifinal1Seattle SuperSonics
semifinal2Boston Celtics
prev_season[1979](1979-nba-playoffs)
next_season[1981](1981-nba-playoffs)

The 1980 NBA playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1979–80 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. The Lakers earned their seventh NBA title, their second since moving from Minneapolis.

Magic Johnson became the first and (), only rookie to be named NBA Finals MVP, leading L.A. to a clinching Game 6 victory with 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. With center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar out with a severely sprained ankle, Johnson started at center instead, and ultimately played all five positions on the court in the game.

Philadelphia earned their third Eastern Conference championship, but were unsuccessful in capturing their third NBA title.

The Milwaukee Bucks appeared in the playoffs for the last time as a member of the West; the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs likewise appeared for the last time playing for the East. They switched conferences (along with the Chicago Bulls) in the 1980–81 season with the addition of the Dallas Mavericks. The Bucks made the playoffs for the first time since 1978, starting a string of twelve consecutive appearances that included three Conference Finals appearances (1983, 1984, and 1986) and seven consecutive division titles (1980–1986). They did not miss the playoffs again until 1992.

Bracket

| RD2-group1 = Eastern Conference | RD2-group2 = Western Conference

| RD1-seed01=E4 | RD1-team01=Houston | RD1-score01=2 | RD1-seed02=E5 | RD1-team02=San Antonio | RD1-score02=1

| RD1-seed03=E3 | RD1-team03=Philadelphia | RD1-score03=2 | RD1-seed04=E6 | RD1-team04=Washington | RD1-score04=0

| RD1-seed05=W4 | RD1-team05=Phoenix | RD1-score05=2 | RD1-seed06=W5 | RD1-team06=Kansas City | RD1-score06=1

| RD1-seed07=W3 | RD1-team07=Seattle | RD1-score07=2 | RD1-seed08=W6 | RD1-team08=Portland | RD1-score08=1

| RD2-seed01=E1 | RD2-team01=Boston* | RD2-score01=4 | RD2-seed02=E4 | RD2-team02=Houston | RD2-score02=0

| RD2-seed03=E3 | RD2-team03=Philadelphia | RD2-score03=4 | RD2-seed04=E2 | RD2-team04=Atlanta* | RD2-score04=1

| RD2-seed05=W1 | RD2-team05=Los Angeles* | RD2-score05=4 | RD2-seed06=W4 | RD2-team06=Phoenix | RD2-score06=1

| RD2-seed07=W3 | RD2-team07=Seattle | RD2-score07=4 | RD2-seed08=W2 | RD2-team08=Milwaukee* | RD2-score08=3

| RD3-seed01=E1 | RD3-team01=*Boston** | RD3-score01=1 | RD3-seed02=E3 | RD3-team02=Philadelphia | RD3-score02=4

| RD3-seed03=W1 | RD3-team03=Los Angeles* | RD3-score03=4 | RD3-seed04=W3 | RD3-team04=Seattle | RD3-score04=1

| RD4-seed01=E3 | RD4-team01=Philadelphia | RD4-score01=2 | RD4-seed02=W1 | RD4-team02=Los Angeles* | RD4-score02=4 |* Division winner |Bold Series winner |Italic Team with home-court advantage}}

First round

Eastern Conference first round

(3) [[1979–80 Philadelphia 76ers season|Philadelphia 76ers]] vs. (6) [[1979–80 Washington Bullets season|Washington Bullets]]

Philadelphia won 5–1 in the regular-season series

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bullets winning the first two meetings.

Washington leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series

(4) [[1979–80 Houston Rockets season|Houston Rockets]] vs. (5) [[1979–80 San Antonio Spurs season|San Antonio Spurs]]

The Rockets gained home-court advantage due to a better record within the Central Division (20–10 to the Spurs' 14–16). Both teams had 41-41 records and split their season series 3-3.

Tied 3–3 in the regular-season series

This was the first playoff meeting between the Rockets and the Spurs. Additionally, this was the first NBA playoff series between teams from Texas.

Western Conference first round

(3) [[1979–80 Seattle SuperSonics season|Seattle SuperSonics]] vs. (6) [[1979–80 Portland Trail Blazers season|Portland Trail Blazers]]

Seattle won 5–1 in the regular-season series

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the SuperSonics winning the first meeting.

Seattle leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series

(4) [[1979–80 Phoenix Suns season|Phoenix Suns]] vs. (5) [[1979–80 Kansas City Kings season|Kansas City Kings]]

Phoenix won 5–1 in the regular-season series

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Suns winning the first meeting.

Phoenix leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference semifinals

(1) [[1979–80 Boston Celtics season|Boston Celtics]] vs. (4) [[1979–80 Houston Rockets season|Houston Rockets]]

  • Rick Barry's final NBA game.
Boston won 6–0 in the regular-season series

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first meeting.

Boston leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series

(2) [[1979–80 Atlanta Hawks season|Atlanta Hawks]] vs. (3) [[1979–80 Philadelphia 76ers season|Philadelphia 76ers]]

Atlanta won 4–2 in the regular-season series

This was the first playoff meeting between the Hawks and the 76ers.

Western Conference semifinals

(1) [[1979–80 Los Angeles Lakers season|Los Angeles Lakers]] vs. (4) [[1979–80 Phoenix Suns season|Phoenix Suns]]

Tied 3–3 in the regular-season series

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting.

Los Angeles leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series

(2) [[1979–80 Milwaukee Bucks season|Milwaukee Bucks]] vs. (3) [[1979–80 Seattle SuperSonics season|Seattle SuperSonics]]

  • Dennis Johnson hits 3 pointer with 1 second left.
  • Attendance of 40,172 was a previous NBA record.
Seattle won 4–2 in the regular-season series

This was the first playoff meeting between the Bucks and the SuperSonics.

Conference finals

Eastern Conference finals

(1) [[1979–80 Boston Celtics season|Boston Celtics]] vs. (3) [[1979–80 Philadelphia 76ers season|Philadelphia 76ers]]

  • Pete Maravich's final NBA game; Dave Cowens' final NBA game with Celtics.
Tied 3–3 in the regular-season series

This was the 15th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning eight of the first 14 meetings.

Boston leads 8–6 in all-time playoff series

Western Conference finals

(1) [[1979–80 Los Angeles Lakers season|Los Angeles Lakers]] vs. (3) [[1979–80 Seattle SuperSonics season|Seattle SuperSonics]]

  • Jack Sikma hits a game-winning free throw with 2 seconds left.
  • Games 3 & 4 were not played at either the Kingdome or the Seattle Center Coliseum due to being unavailable.
Los Angeles won 4–2 in the regular-season series

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the SuperSonics winning the first two meetings.

Seattle leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series

NBA Finals: (W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E3) Philadelphia 76ers

Main article: 1980 NBA Finals

  • Julius Erving makes the "Up and Under" move.
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dunks the clutch 3-point play with 33 seconds left.
  • Magic Johnson starts at Center.
Tied 1–1 in the regular-season series

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first two meetings. These series took place prior to the relocation of the Lakers (1960) and 76ers (formerly Nationals) (1963).

Los Angeles/ Minneapolis leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series

References

References

  1. "Team Rivalry Finder — Philadelphia 76ers versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
  2. "Team Rivalry Finder — Houston Rockets versus San Antonio Spurs (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
  3. "Team Rivalry Finder — Oklahoma City Thunder versus Portland Trail Blazers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
  4. "Team Rivalry Finder — Phoenix Suns versus Sacramento Kings (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
  5. "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Houston Rockets (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
  6. "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
  7. "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Phoenix Suns (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
  8. (April 17, 1980). "Bucks Beat Sonics for 3-2 Lead". [[The Washington Post]].
  9. "Team Rivalry Finder — Milwaukee Bucks versus Oklahoma City Thunder (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
  10. "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
  11. "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Oklahoma City Thunder (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
  12. "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
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.

nba-playoffs 1979–80-nba-season sports-in-portland,-oregon
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 1980 NBA playoffs — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

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