# 1980–81 NBA season

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.
Coaching changes :
| Offseason |||
| 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 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 |

## Teams

1980-81 National Basketball Association :
| Eastern Conference |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Atlantic | Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 15,320 |
| Atlantic | New Jersey Nets | Piscataway, New Jersey | Rutgers Athletic Center | 8,500 |
| 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 | 13,237 |
| 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 |
* Expansion team *

## Final standings
### By division

| Atlantic Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | – | 35–6 | 27–14 | 19–5 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 62 | 20 | .756 | – | 37–4 | 25–16 | 15–9 |
| x-New York Knicks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 12.0 | 28–13 | 22–19 | 14–10 |
| Washington Bullets | 39 | 43 | .476 | 23.0 | 26–15 | 13–28 | 8–16 |
| New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 38.0 | 16–25 | 8–33 | 8–16 |
| Central Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Milwaukee Bucks | 60 | 22 | .732 | – | 34–7 | 26–15 | 23–7 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 45 | 37 | .549 | 15.0 | 26–15 | 19–22 | 20–9 |
| x-Indiana Pacers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 16.0 | 27–14 | 17–24 | 17–12 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 51 | .378 | 29.0 | 20–21 | 11–30 | 9–21 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 28 | 54 | .341 | 32.0 | 20–21 | 8–33 | 9–21 |
| Detroit Pistons | 21 | 61 | .256 | 39.0 | 14–27 | 7–34 | 9–21 |
| Midwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 52 | 30 | .634 | – | 34–7 | 18–23 | 21–9 |
| x-Kansas City Kings | 40 | 42 | .488 | 12.0 | 24–17 | 16–25 | 19–11 |
| x-Houston Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 12.0 | 25–16 | 15–26 | 19–11 |
| Denver Nuggets | 37 | 45 | .451 | 15.0 | 23–18 | 14–27 | 13–17 |
| Utah Jazz | 28 | 54 | .341 | 24.0 | 20–21 | 8–33 | 13–17 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 15 | 67 | .183 | 37.0 | 11–30 | 4–37 | 5–25 |
| Pacific Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Phoenix Suns | 57 | 25 | .695 | – | 36–5 | 21–20 | 22–8 |
| x-Los Angeles Lakers | 54 | 28 | .659 | 3.0 | 30–11 | 24–17 | 19–11 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12.0 | 30–11 | 15–26 | 18–12 |
| Golden State Warriors | 39 | 43 | .476 | 18.0 | 26–15 | 13–28 | 10–20 |
| San Diego Clippers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 21.0 | 22–19 | 14–27 | 14–16 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 34 | 48 | .415 | 23.0 | 22–19 | 12–29 | 7–23 |

### 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 | 60 | 22 | .732 | 2 |
| 3 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
| 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 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | c-Phoenix Suns | 57 | 25 | .695 | – |
| 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
* 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.
| 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* | 4 | | | | | | |
| E4 | New York | 0 | E5 | Chicago | 0 | | | | | | |
| E5 | Chicago | 2 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Boston* | 4 | | | |
| | | | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | 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 | Western Conference | Western Conference | W5 | Kansas City | 1 | | | |
| | | | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W6 | Houston | 4 | | | |
| | | | W6 | Houston | 4 | | | | | | |
| W3 | Los Angeles | 1 | W2 | San Antonio* | 3 | | | | | | |
| W6 | Houston | 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 | 30.7 |
| 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

### 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) |