# 1983–84 NBA season

The 1983–84 NBA season was the 38th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 for the second time since 1969 in the NBA Finals.

## Notable occurrences

Coaching changes :
| Offseason |||
| Team | 1982–83 coach | 1983–84 coach |
| Atlanta Hawks | Kevin Loughery | Mike Fratello |
| Boston Celtics | Bill Fitch | K.C. Jones |
| Chicago Bulls | Paul Westhead | Kevin Loughery |
| Detroit Pistons | Scotty Robertson | Chuck Daly |
| Golden State Warriors | Al Attles | Johnny Bach |
| Houston Rockets | Del Harris | Bill Fitch |
| New Jersey Nets | Bill Blair | Stan Albeck |
| San Antonio Spurs | Stan Albeck | Morris McHone |
| San Diego Clippers | Paul Silas | Jim Lynam |
| In-season |||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| San Antonio Spurs | Morris McHone | Bob Bass |
* The 1984 NBA All-Star Game was played at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, with the East defeating the West 154–145. Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons wins the game's MVP award. Larry Nance of the Phoenix Suns won the first NBA Slam Dunk Championship.
* David Stern begins his tenure as the league's fourth commissioner, effective April 1.
* The NBA Playoffs were expanded from 6 teams per conference to 8, where it stands to this date (with a play-in tournament for the #7 and #8 seeds in each conference added in 2020). As a result, the 'first round bye' system was eliminated.
* Marked the first year the first round of the NBA Playoffs went from best-of-three to best-of-five playoff. The first round remained best-of-five until going to best-of-seven in 2003.
* Ralph Sampson became the first rookie to win the Rookie of the Month Award in every month of the season. He unanimously won the Rookie of the Year Award. David Robinson, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Victor Wembanyama would later achieve the same feat.
* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar surpassed Wilt Chamberlain to become the all-time NBA career leader in points. He passed Chamberlain in a game against the Utah Jazz at Las Vegas' Thomas & Mack Center on April 5. Fittingly, it was his trademark sky-hook that put him in the record books.
* The Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons play in the highest scoring game in NBA history with the Pistons winning 186–184 in three overtimes.
* The Dallas Mavericks made its first postseason appearance, beating the Seattle SuperSonics 3–2 before bowing out to the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the Conference Semifinals. Game 5 of the Seattle series was played at Moody Coliseum as Reunion Arena, the Mavericks' home, was unavailable.
* The Utah Jazz appeared in the postseason for the first time, defeating the Denver Nuggets 3–2 in the opening round and then losing to the Phoenix Suns 4–2 in the Western semis. This started a streak of 20 consecutive playoff appearances, fourth longest in the NBA behind the Portland Trail Blazers (21 between 1983 and 2003), the Philadelphia 76ers (23 between 1949 (as Syracuse Nationals) and 1971), and the San Antonio Spurs 22 between 1998 and 2019).
* The Clippers play their final season in San Diego, California.
* This would be the last season until 2013–14 that the Finals had the 2–2–1–1–1 format. The Finals would adopt the 2–3–2 format the following season.
* The New Jersey Nets won a playoff series for the first time in their NBA history, upsetting the defending champion Philadelphia 76ers in five games. The series marked the only time (to date) a road team won every game in a five-game playoff series.
* Final season of ESPN broadcasting NBA games until the 2002–03 season, which also marked the league's return to future corporate partner ABC. It also marked the final season of NBA broadcasts on the USA Network.
* Spalding replaced Wilson as manufacturer of the official NBA game ball, a relationship that continued until 2021.
* It was the final season for eventual Hall of Famers Tiny Archibald, Elvin Hayes and Bob Lanier. Another eventual Hall of Famer David Thompson unexpectedly retired due to his injury from an accident.
* All five teams in the Atlantic Division made the Playoffs, the first such occurrence for any division.

## Teams

1983-84 National Basketball Association :
| Eastern Conference |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Atlantic | Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 14,890 |
| Atlantic | New Jersey Nets | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Brendan Byrne Arena | 20,049 |
| Atlantic | New York Knicks | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 19,812 |
| Atlantic | Philadelphia 76ers | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | The Spectrum | 18,176 |
| Atlantic | Washington Bullets | Landover, Maryland | Capital Centre | 18,756 |
| Central | Atlanta Hawks | Atlanta, Georgia | Omni Coliseum | 16,378 |
| Central | Chicago Bulls | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Stadium | 18,676 |
| Central | Cleveland Cavaliers | Richfield, Ohio | Richfield Coliseum | 20,900 |
| Central | Detroit Pistons | Pontiac, Michigan | Pontiac Silverdome | 33,000 |
| Central | Indiana Pacers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Market Square Arena | 17,171 |
| Central | Milwaukee Bucks | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | MECCA Arena | 10,783 |
| Western Conference |||||
| Midwest | Dallas Mavericks | Dallas, Texas | Reunion Arena | 18,293 |
| Midwest | Denver Nuggets | Denver, Colorado | McNichols Sports Arena | 17,171 |
| Midwest | Houston Rockets | Houston, Texas | The Summit | 16,285 |
| Midwest | Kansas City Kings | Kansas City, Missouri | Kemper Arena | 16,700 |
| Midwest | San Antonio Spurs | San Antonio, Texas | HemisFair Arena | 16,057 |
| Midwest | Utah Jazz | Salt Lake City, Utah | Salt Palace | 12,686 |
| Pacific | Golden State Warriors | Oakland, California | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 13,335 |
| Pacific | Los Angeles Lakers | Inglewood, California | The Forum | 17,505 |
| Pacific | Phoenix Suns | Phoenix, Arizona | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 14,870 |
| Pacific | Portland Trail Blazers | Portland, Oregon | Memorial Coliseum | 12,888 |
| Pacific | San Diego Clippers | San Diego, California | San Diego Sports Arena | 14,500 |
| Pacific | Seattle SuperSonics | Seattle, Washington | Kingdome | 59,166 |

## Final standings
### By division

| Atlantic Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | – | 33–8 | 29–12 | 13–11 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 52 | 30 | .634 | 10 | 32–9 | 20–21 | 15–9 |
| x-New York Knicks | 47 | 35 | .573 | 15 | 29–12 | 18–23 | 12–12 |
| x-New Jersey Nets | 45 | 37 | .549 | 17 | 29–12 | 16–25 | 12–12 |
| x-Washington Bullets | 35 | 47 | .427 | 27 | 25–16 | 10–31 | 8–16 |
| Central Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Milwaukee Bucks | 50 | 32 | .610 | – | 30–11 | 20–21 | 19–10 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 49 | 33 | .598 | 1 | 30–11 | 19–22 | 21–8 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 40 | 42 | .488 | 10 | 31–10 | 9–32 | 16–14 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 28 | 54 | .341 | 22 | 23–18 | 5–36 | 11–19 |
| Chicago Bulls | 27 | 55 | .329 | 23 | 18–23 | 9–32 | 10–20 |
| Indiana Pacers | 26 | 56 | .317 | 24 | 20–21 | 6–35 | 12–18 |
| Midwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Utah Jazz | 45 | 37 | .549 | – | 31–10 | 14–27 | 15–15 |
| x-Dallas Mavericks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 2 | 31–10 | 12–29 | 19–11 |
| x-Denver Nuggets | 38 | 44 | .463 | 7 | 27–14 | 11–30 | 16–14 |
| x-Kansas City Kings | 38 | 44 | .463 | 7 | 26–15 | 12–29 | 16–14 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 37 | 45 | .451 | 8 | 28–13 | 9–32 | 14–16 |
| Houston Rockets | 29 | 53 | .354 | 16 | 21–20 | 8–33 | 9–21 |
| Pacific Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 54 | 28 | .659 | – | 28–13 | 26–15 | 18–12 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 6 | 33–8 | 15–26 | 17–13 |
| x-Seattle SuperSonics | 42 | 40 | .512 | 12 | 32–9 | 10–31 | 14–16 |
| x-Phoenix Suns | 41 | 41 | .500 | 13 | 31–10 | 10–31 | 16–14 |
| Golden State Warriors | 37 | 45 | .451 | 17 | 27–14 | 10–31 | 13–17 |
| San Diego Clippers | 30 | 52 | .366 | 24 | 25–16 | 5–36 | 12–18 |

### By conference

| # | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
| 2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 12 |
| 3 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 52 | 30 | .634 | 10 |
| 4 | x-Detroit Pistons | 49 | 33 | .598 | 13 |
| 5 | x-New York Knicks | 47 | 35 | .573 | 15 |
| 6 | x-New Jersey Nets | 45 | 37 | .549 | 17 |
| 7 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 40 | 42 | .488 | 22 |
| 8 | x-Washington Bullets | 35 | 47 | .427 | 27 |
| 9 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 28 | 54 | .341 | 34 |
| 10 | Chicago Bulls | 27 | 55 | .329 | 35 |
| 11 | Indiana Pacers | 26 | 56 | .317 | 36 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | c-Los Angeles Lakers | 54 | 28 | .659 | – |
| 2 | y-Utah Jazz | 45 | 37 | .549 | 9 |
| 3 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 6 |
| 4 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 11 |
| 5 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 42 | 40 | .512 | 12 |
| 6 | x-Phoenix Suns | 41 | 41 | .500 | 13 |
| 7 | x-Denver Nuggets | 38 | 44 | .463 | 16 |
| 8 | x-Kansas City Kings | 38 | 44 | .463 | 16 |
| 9 | San Antonio Spurs | 37 | 45 | .451 | 17 |
| 10 | Golden State Warriors | 37 | 45 | .451 | 17 |
| 11 | San Diego Clippers | 30 | 52 | .366 | 24 |
| 12 | Houston Rockets | 29 | 53 | .354 | 25 |
Notes
* z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
* c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
* y – Clinched division title
* 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.
| First Round | First Round | First Round | | | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | | NBA Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals |
| E1 | Boston* | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E8 | Washington | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E8 | Washington | 1 | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E5 | New York | 3 | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Detroit | 2 | | | E5 | New York | 3 | | | | | | | |
| E5 | New York | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | New York | 3 | | | | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Boston* | 4 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Milwaukee* | 1 | | | | |
| E3 | Philadelphia | 2 | | | | | | | | | E2 | Milwaukee* | 1 | | | | |
| E6 | New Jersey | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | New Jersey | 3 | | | E6 | New Jersey | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E2 | Milwaukee* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E2 | Milwaukee* | 3 | | | E2 | Milwaukee* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E7 | Atlanta | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E7 | Atlanta | 2 | | | | | | | | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | Los Angeles* | 3 |
| W1 | Los Angeles* | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | Los Angeles* | 3 |
| W8 | Kansas City | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W8 | Kansas City | 0 | | | W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W4 | Dallas | 1 | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Dallas | 3 | | | W4 | Dallas | 1 | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Seattle | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Seattle | 2 | | | | | | W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W6 | Phoenix | 2 | | | | |
| W3 | Portland | 2 | | | | | | | | | W6 | Phoenix | 2 | | | | |
| W6 | Phoenix | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | Phoenix | 3 | | | W6 | Phoenix | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W2 | Utah* | 2 | | | | | | | |
| W2 | Utah* | 3 | | | W2 | Utah* | 2 | | | | | | | |
| W7 | Denver | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage

## Statistics leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| Points per game | Adrian Dantley | Utah Jazz | 30.6 |
| Rebounds per game | Moses Malone | Philadelphia 76ers | 13.4 |
| Assists per game | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers | 13.1 |
| Steals per game | Rickey Green | Utah Jazz | 2.65 |
| Blocks per game | Mark Eaton | Utah Jazz | 4.28 |
| FG% | Artis Gilmore | San Antonio Spurs | .631 |
| FT% | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | .888 |
| 3FG% | Darrell Griffith | Utah Jazz | .361 |

## NBA awards
### Yearly awards

* Most Valuable Player: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
* Rookie of the Year: Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets
* Defensive Player of the Year: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
* Sixth Man of the Year: Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
* Coach of the Year: Frank Layden, Utah Jazz

### Player of the week

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.
| Week | Player |
| Oct. 28 – Nov. 6 | Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Kings) |
| Nov. 7 – Nov. 13 | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| Nov. 14 – Nov. 20 | Kiki Vandeweghe (Denver Nuggets) |
| Nov. 21 – Nov. 27 | Mark Aguirre (Dallas Mavericks) |
| Nov. 28 – Dec. 4 | Rickey Green (Utah Jazz) |
| Dec. 5 – Dec. 11 | Jeff Ruland (Washington Bullets) |
| Dec. 12 – Dec. 18 | Adrian Dantley (Utah Jazz) |
| Dec. 19 – Dec. 26 | Dan Roundfield (Atlanta Hawks) |
| Dec. 27 – Jan. 2 | Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons) |
| Jan. 3 – Jan. 8 | Purvis Short (Golden State Warriors) |
| Jan. 9 – Jan. 15 | Kelly Tripucka (Detroit Pistons) |
| Jan. 16 – Jan. 22 | Buck Williams (New Jersey Nets) |
| Jan. 31 – Feb. 5 | Bernard King (New York Knicks) |
| Feb. 6 – Feb. 12 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| Feb. 13 – Feb. 19 | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) |
| Feb. 20 – Feb. 26 | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| Feb. 27 – Mar. 4 | Mickey Johnson (Golden State Warriors) |
| Mar. 5 – Mar. 11 | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) |
| Mar. 12 – Mar. 18 | Adrian Dantley (Utah Jazz) |
| Mar. 19 – Mar. 25 | Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers) |
| Mar. 26 – Apr. 1 | Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons) |
| Apr. 2 – Apr. 8 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| Apr. 9 – Apr. 15 | Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks) |

### Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.
| Month | Player |
| November | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| December | Jeff Ruland (Washington Bullets) |
| January | Mark Aguirre (Dallas Mavericks) |
| February | Bernard King (New York Knicks) |
| March | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) |

### Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.
| Month | Rookie |
| November | Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets) |
| December | Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets) |
| January | Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets) |
| February | Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets) |
| March | Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets) |

### Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.
| Month | Coach |
| November | Dick Motta (Dallas Mavericks) |
| December | Frank Layden (Utah Jazz) |
| January | K.C. Jones (Boston Celtics) |
| February | Chuck Daly (Detroit Pistons) |
| March | Jack Ramsay (Portland Trail Blazers) |