# 1981–82 NBA season

The 1981–82 NBA season was the 36th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.

## Notable occurrences

* The regular-season ran until mid to late-April for the first time.
* The 1982 NBA All-Star Game was played at the new Brendan Byrne Arena (later the Meadowlands Arena) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with the East defeating the West 120–118. Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics wins the game's MVP award. This season also marked the New Jersey Nets first season in the new arena.
* On March 6, 1982, San Antonio beat Milwaukee 171–166 in three overtime periods to set the record for most points by two teams in a game. The record was broken two seasons later.
* Magic Johnson secures his second NBA Finals MVP award several months before his 23rd birthday.
* The Los Angeles Lakers begin a string of nine consecutive seasons as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
* The Denver Nuggets scored at least 100 points in every single game of the season, while also allowing 100 points in every game. It remains the only time this has occurred in NBA history.
* After a few years of success in NCAA basketball, the breakaway rim became standardized equipment in the NBA.
* This season marked Isiah Thomas' rookie season.
* The three-to-make-two free throw rule, along with the two-to-make one rule (both used when a team exceeded five team fouls in a quarter), were both eliminated.
* This season marked Bob Dandridge's final season.
Coaching changes :
| Offseason |||
| Team | 1980–81 coach | 1981–82 coach |
| Atlanta Hawks | Mike Fratello | Kevin Loughery |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Don Delaney | Bob Kloppenburg |
| New Jersey Nets | Bob MacKinnon | Larry Brown |
| In-season |||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| Chicago Bulls | Jerry Sloan | Phil Johnson |
| Chicago Bulls | Phil Johnson | Rod Thorn |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Bob Kloppenburg | Chuck Daly |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Chuck Daly | Bill Musselman |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Paul Westhead | Pat Riley |
| Utah Jazz | Tom Nissalke | Frank Layden |

## Teams

1981-82 National Basketball Association :
| Eastern Conference |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Atlantic | Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 15,320 |
| 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 | 13,237 |
| 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 |

## Final standings
### By division

| Atlantic Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Boston Celtics | 63 | 19 | .768 | – | 35–6 | 28–13 | 20–4 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 58 | 24 | .707 | 5.0 | 32–9 | 26–15 | 16–8 |
| x-New Jersey Nets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 19.0 | 25–16 | 19–22 | 12–12 |
| x-Washington Bullets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 20.0 | 22–19 | 21–20 | 7–17 |
| New York Knicks | 33 | 49 | .402 | 30.0 | 19–22 | 14–27 | 5–19 |
| Central Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Milwaukee Bucks | 55 | 27 | .671 | – | 31–10 | 24–17 | 24–6 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 42 | 40 | .512 | 13.0 | 24–17 | 18–23 | 15–14 |
| Detroit Pistons | 39 | 43 | .476 | 16.0 | 23–18 | 16–25 | 19–11 |
| Indiana Pacers | 35 | 47 | .427 | 20.0 | 25–16 | 10–31 | 14–16 |
| Chicago Bulls | 34 | 48 | .415 | 21.0 | 22–19 | 12–29 | 12–17 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 15 | 67 | .183 | 40.0 | 9–32 | 6–35 | 5–25 |
| Midwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 48 | 34 | .585 | – | 29–12 | 19–22 | 20–10 |
| x-Denver Nuggets | 46 | 36 | .561 | 2.0 | 29–12 | 17–24 | 19–11 |
| x-Houston Rockets | 46 | 36 | .561 | 2.0 | 25–16 | 21–20 | 17–13 |
| Kansas City Kings | 30 | 52 | .366 | 18.0 | 23–18 | 7–34 | 11–19 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 28 | 54 | .341 | 20.0 | 16–25 | 12–29 | 11–19 |
| Utah Jazz | 25 | 57 | .305 | 23.0 | 18–23 | 7–34 | 9–21 |
| Pacific Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 57 | 25 | .695 | – | 30–11 | 27–14 | 21–9 |
| x-Seattle SuperSonics | 52 | 30 | .634 | 5.0 | 31–10 | 21–20 | 18–12 |
| x-Phoenix Suns | 46 | 36 | .561 | 11.0 | 31–10 | 15–26 | 14–16 |
| Golden State Warriors | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12.0 | 28–13 | 17–24 | 15–15 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 15.0 | 27–14 | 15–26 | 15–15 |
| San Diego Clippers | 17 | 65 | .207 | 40.0 | 11–30 | 6–35 | 7–23 |

### By conference

| # | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Boston Celtics | 63 | 19 | .768 | – |
| 2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 55 | 27 | .671 | 8 |
| 3 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 58 | 24 | .707 | 5 |
| 4 | x-New Jersey Nets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 19 |
| 5 | x-Washington Bullets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 20 |
| 6 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 42 | 40 | .512 | 21 |
| 7 | Detroit Pistons | 39 | 43 | .476 | 24 |
| 8 | Indiana Pacers | 35 | 47 | .427 | 28 |
| 9 | Chicago Bulls | 34 | 48 | .415 | 29 |
| 10 | New York Knicks | 33 | 49 | .402 | 30 |
| 11 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 15 | 67 | .183 | 48 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | c-Los Angeles Lakers | 57 | 25 | .695 | – |
| 2 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 48 | 34 | .585 | 9 |
| 3 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 52 | 30 | .634 | 5 |
| 4 | x-Denver Nuggets | 46 | 36 | .561 | 11 |
| 5 | x-Phoenix Suns | 46 | 36 | .561 | 11 |
| 6 | x-Houston Rockets | 46 | 36 | .561 | 11 |
| 7 | Golden State Warriors | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12 |
| 8 | Portland Trail Blazers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 15 |
| 9 | Kansas City Kings | 30 | 52 | .366 | 27 |
| 10 | Dallas Mavericks | 28 | 54 | .341 | 29 |
| 11 | Utah Jazz | 25 | 57 | .305 | 32 |
| 12 | San Diego Clippers | 17 | 65 | .207 | 40 |
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.
| 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 Jersey | 0 | E5 | Washington | 1 | | | | | | |
| E5 | Washington | 2 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Boston* | 3 | | | |
| | | | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E3 | Philadelphia | 4 | | | |
| | | | E3 | Philadelphia | 4 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Philadelphia | 2 | E2 | Milwaukee* | 2 | | | | | | |
| E6 | Atlanta | 0 | | | | | | | E3 | Philadelphia | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 |
| | | | W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Denver | 1 | W5 | Phoenix | 0 | | | | | | |
| W5 | Phoenix | 2 | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | | | |
| | | | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | San Antonio* | 0 | | | |
| | | | W3 | Seattle | 1 | | | | | | |
| W3 | Seattle | 2 | W2 | San Antonio* | 4 | | | | | | |
| W6 | Houston | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage

## Statistics leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| Points per game | George Gervin | San Antonio Spurs | 32.3 |
| Rebounds per game | Moses Malone | Houston Rockets | 14.7 |
| Assists per game | Johnny Moore | San Antonio Spurs | 9.6 |
| Steals per game | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers | 2.67 |
| Blocks per game | George Johnson | San Antonio Spurs | 3.12 |
| FG% | Artis Gilmore | Chicago Bulls | .652 |
| FT% | Kyle Macy | Phoenix Suns | .899 |
| 3FG% | Campy Russell | New York Knicks | .439 |

## NBA awards

* Most Valuable Player: Moses Malone, Houston Rockets
* Rookie of the Year: Buck Williams, New Jersey Nets
* Coach of the Year: Gene Shue, Washington Bullets