# 1984–85 NBA season

The 1984–85 NBA season was the 39th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. This was David Stern's first full season as commissioner.

## Notable occurrences

* The 1985 NBA All-Star Game was played at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, with the West defeating the East 140–129. Ralph Sampson of the Houston Rockets won the game's MVP award. Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks won the Slam Dunk Contest.
* Michael Jordan became the first rookie in NBA history to lead a team in four statistics (points, assists, rebounds, steals). No other rookie would do so until Victor Wembanyama led the 2023–24 San Antonio Spurs in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks.
* The Clippers relocated from San Diego to Los Angeles. This created a situation with two teams of the same host name (the other Los Angeles team being the Lakers) in the same division, the Pacific, similar to the one in the NHL where the Patrick Division (at the time, and now the Metropolitan Division) had two teams of the same host name: the New York Islanders and Rangers. There was a similar scenario which only existed in the 1976–77 season, in which the Atlantic Division had the New York Knicks and the Nets, until the Nets moved to New Jersey the following season and changed their name.
* Turner Broadcasting began a relationship with the NBA that continues today when TBS signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the NBA.
* The Kings played their final game in Kansas City, Missouri, and moved their franchise to Sacramento the following season.
* Knicks forward Bernard King, who finished the season as the scoring champion, ruptured his ACL in his right knee in the Knicks' final game in Kansas City before the Kings' move to Sacramento. King was out of action for two whole seasons. He would come back in 1987–88, but would not return to the All-Star Game until 1990–91.
* This season marked Michael Jordan's, Akeem Olajuwon's, Charles Barkley's and John Stockton's rookie seasons in the NBA.
* This season saw the final season for Dan Issel, Billy Knight, M.L. Carr and Lionel Hollins.
* Due to a roof collapse at the Pontiac Silverdome, the Pistons were forced to rent the Joe Louis Arena, home of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs. Both the Pistons and the Red Wings would move their home games to the Little Caesars Arena, starting in 2017.
* At age 38, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the oldest player to win the honor of Finals MVP. Jabbar's team, the Lakers, became the first visiting team to win the NBA title at Boston Garden, beating their archrivals, the Boston Celtics, in six games.
* The Finals adopted the 2–3–2 format which was used through the 2013 NBA Finals after which the league returned to the 2–2–1–1–1 format.
* The Cleveland Cavaliers returned to the playoffs after a seven-year absence. They were eliminated by the Celtics in four games. They would not make the playoffs again until 1988. The Cavaliers were coached by George Karl, then making his NBA coaching debut.
* At New Orleans' Lakefront Arena (where the Atlanta Hawks played 12 of 41 home games that season), Larry Bird scored a Celtics' franchise record 60 points in Boston's 126–115 victory over the Hawks on March 12. Bird broke the previous franchise record set by teammate Kevin McHale (56) nine days earlier at Boston Garden against the Pistons.
* The Denver Nuggets made the conference finals for the first time since 1978, losing 4–1 to the Lakers. They would not make the conference finals again until 2009, which they lost to the Lakers again. The series marked the end of Dan Issel's playing career, having played 15 professional seasons and averaging 22.6 points and 9.1 rebounds in his career.
* This was the last season of the backboard height set at 48 in (1.219 m). It would be shortened 6 in (15.2 cm) next season to the current 42 in (1.067 m). The NBA logo is added on the lower left hand corner of the backboard starting this season.
Coaching changes :
| Offseason |||
| Team | 1983–84 coach | 1984–85 coach |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Tom Nissalke | George Karl |
| Indiana Pacers | Jack McKinney | George Irvine |
| Kansas City Kings | Cotton Fitzsimmons | Jack McKinney |
| San Antonio Spurs | Bob Bass | Cotton Fitzsimmons |
| In-season |||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| Los Angeles Clippers | Jim Lynam | Don Chaney |
| Kansas City Kings | Jack McKinney | Phil Johnson |

## Teams

1984-85 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 Clippers | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | 16,161 |
| 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 | 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 | 19–5 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 58 | 24 | .707 | 5 | 34–7 | 24–17 | 15–9 |
| x-New Jersey Nets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 21 | 27–14 | 15–26 | 13–11 |
| x-Washington Bullets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 23 | 28–13 | 12–29 | 11–13 |
| New York Knicks | 24 | 58 | .293 | 39 | 19–22 | 5–36 | 2–22 |
| Central Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Milwaukee Bucks | 59 | 23 | .720 | – | 36–5 | 23–18 | 20–10 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 46 | 36 | .561 | 13 | 26–15 | 20–21 | 21–8 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 38 | 44 | .463 | 21 | 26–15 | 12–29 | 13–17 |
| x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 23 | 20–21 | 16–25 | 13–16 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 34 | 48 | .415 | 25 | 19–22 | 15–26 | 15–15 |
| Indiana Pacers | 22 | 60 | .268 | 37 | 16–25 | 6–35 | 7–23 |
| Midwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Denver Nuggets | 52 | 30 | .634 | – | 34–7 | 18–23 | 17–13 |
| x-Houston Rockets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 4 | 29–12 | 19–22 | 20–10 |
| x-Dallas Mavericks | 44 | 38 | .537 | 8 | 24–17 | 20–21 | 14–16 |
| x-Utah Jazz | 41 | 41 | .500 | 11 | 26–15 | 15–26 | 19–11 |
| x-San Antonio Spurs | 41 | 41 | .500 | 11 | 30–11 | 11–30 | 12–18 |
| Kansas City Kings | 31 | 51 | .378 | 21 | 23–18 | 8–33 | 8–22 |
| Pacific Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 62 | 20 | .756 | – | 36–5 | 26–15 | 18–12 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 20 | 33–8 | 15–26 | 17–13 |
| x-Phoenix Suns | 36 | 46 | .439 | 26 | 32–9 | 10–31 | 14–16 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31 | 31–10 | 10–31 | 16–14 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31 | 27–14 | 10–31 | 13–17 |
| Golden State Warriors | 22 | 60 | .268 | 40 | 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 | 63 | 19 | .768 | – |
| 2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 59 | 23 | .720 | 4 |
| 3 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 58 | 24 | .707 | 5 |
| 4 | x-Detroit Pistons | 46 | 36 | .561 | 17 |
| 5 | x-New Jersey Nets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 21 |
| 6 | x-Washington Bullets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 23 |
| 7 | x-Chicago Bulls | 38 | 44 | .463 | 25 |
| 8 | x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 27 |
| 9 | Atlanta Hawks | 34 | 48 | .415 | 29 |
| 10 | New York Knicks | 24 | 58 | .293 | 39 |
| 11 | Indiana Pacers | 22 | 60 | .268 | 41 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | c-Los Angeles Lakers | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
| 2 | y-Denver Nuggets | 52 | 30 | .634 | 10 |
| 3 | x-Houston Rockets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 14 |
| 4 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 44 | 38 | .537 | 18 |
| 5 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 20 |
| 6 | x-Utah Jazz | 41 | 41 | .500 | 21 |
| 7 | x-San Antonio Spurs | 41 | 41 | .500 | 21 |
| 8 | x-Phoenix Suns | 36 | 46 | .439 | 26 |
| 9 | Seattle SuperSonics | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Clippers | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31 |
| 11 | Kansas City Kings | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31 |
| 12 | Golden State Warriors | 22 | 60 | .268 | 40 |
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 Rounds | First Rounds | First Rounds | | | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | | NBA Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals |
| E1 | Boston* | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E8 | Cleveland | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E8 | Cleveland | 1 | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E4 | Detroit | 2 | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Detroit | 3 | | | E4 | Detroit | 2 | | | | | | | |
| E5 | New Jersey | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | New Jersey | 0 | | | | | | 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 | E3 | Philadelphia | 1 | | | | |
| E3 | Philadelphia | 3 | | | | | | | | | E3 | Philadelphia | 1 | | | | |
| E6 | Washington | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Washington | 1 | | | E3 | Philadelphia | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E2 | Milwaukee* | 0 | | | | | | | |
| E2 | Milwaukee* | 3 | | | E2 | Milwaukee* | 0 | | | | | | | |
| E7 | Chicago | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E7 | Chicago | 1 | | | | | | | | | | E1 | Boston* | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 |
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 |
| W8 | Phoenix | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W8 | Phoenix | 0 | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W5 | Portland | 1 | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Dallas | 1 | | | W5 | Portland | 1 | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Portland | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Portland | 3 | | | | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | Denver* | 1 | | | | |
| W3 | Houston | 2 | | | | | | | | | W2 | Denver* | 1 | | | | |
| W6 | Utah | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | Utah | 3 | | | W6 | Utah | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W2 | Denver* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| W2 | Denver* | 3 | | | W2 | Denver* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| W7 | San Antonio | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage

## Statistical leaders
### Individual statistic leaders

| Category | Player | Team(s) | Statistic |
| Points per game | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | 28.7 |
| Rebounds per game | Moses Malone | Philadelphia 76ers | 13.1 |
| Assists per game | Isiah Thomas | Detroit Pistons | 13.9 |
| Steals per game | Michael Ray Richardson | New Jersey Nets | 2.9 |
| Blocks per game | Mark Eaton | Utah Jazz | 5.6 |
| Turnovers per game | Ralph Sampson | Houston Rockets | 4.0 |
| Fouls per game | Akeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets | 4.2 |
| Minutes per game | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | 39.5 |
| FG% | James Donaldson | Los Angeles Clippers | 63.7% |
| FT% | Kyle Macy | Phoenix Suns | 90.7% |
| 3P% | Darrell Griffith | Utah Jazz | 35.8% |
| Efficiency per game | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | 26.5 |
| Double-doubles | Isiah Thomas | Detroit Pistons | 65 |
| Triple-doubles | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers | 11 |

### Individual game highs

| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| Points | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | 60 |
| Points | Bernard King | New York Knicks | 60 |
| Rebounds | Akeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets | 25 |
| Assists | Isiah Thomas | Detroit Pistons | 25 |
| Steals | Fat Lever | Denver Nuggets | 10 |
| Steals | Johnny Moore | San Antonio Spurs | 10 |
| Blocks | Mark Eaton | Utah Jazz | 14 |

## NBA awards
### Yearly awards

* Most Valuable Player: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
* Rookie of the Year: Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
* Defensive Player of the Year: Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz
* Sixth Man of the Year: Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
* Coach of the Year: Don Nelson, Milwaukee Bucks

### Player of the week

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.
| Week | Player |
| Oct. 26 – Nov. 4 | Larry Nance (Phoenix Suns) |
| Nov. 5 – Nov. 11 | Alex English (Denver Nuggets) |
| Nov. 12 – Nov. 18 | Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers) |
| Nov. 19 – Nov. 25 | Bernard King (New York Knicks) |
| Nov. 26 – Dec. 2 | Jack Sikma (Seattle SuperSonics) |
| Dec. 3 – Dec. 9 | Orlando Woolridge (Chicago Bulls) |
| Dec. 10 – Dec. 16 | Derek Smith (Los Angeles Clippers) |
| Dec. 17 – Dec. 23 | Terry Cummings (Milwaukee Bucks) |
| Dec. 25 – Dec. 30 | Micheal Ray Richardson (New Jersey Nets) |
| Jan. 1 – Jan. 6 | Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons) |
| Jan. 7 – Jan. 13 | World B. Free (Cleveland Cavaliers) |
| Jan. 14 – Jan. 20 | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) |
| Jan. 21 – Jan. 27 | Tom McMillen (Washington Bullets) |
| Jan. 28 – Feb. 3 | Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks) |
| Feb. 4 – Feb. 17 | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| Feb. 18 – Feb. 24 | Mark Aguirre (Dallas Mavericks) |
| Feb. 25 – Mar. 3 | Sleepy Floyd (Golden State Warriors) |
| Mar. 4 – Mar. 10 | Darrell Griffith (Utah Jazz) |
| Mar. 11 – Mar. 17 | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) |
| Mar. 18 – Mar. 24 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| Mar. 25 – Mar. 31 | Calvin Natt (Denver Nuggets) |
| Apr. 1 – Apr. 7 | Derek Smith (Los Angeles Clippers) |
| Apr. 8 – Apr. 14 | Micheal Ray Richardson (New Jersey Nets) |

### Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.
| Month | Player |
| November | Alex English (Denver Nuggets) |
| December | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) |
| January | Terry Cummings (Milwaukee Bucks) |
| February | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| March | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) |

### Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.
| Month | Rookie |
| November | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) |
| December | Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) |
| January | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) |
| February | Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) |
| March (tie) | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) |
| March (tie) | Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) |

### Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.
| Month | Coach |
| November | Doug Moe (Denver Nuggets) |
| December | Don Nelson (Milwaukee Bucks) |
| January | Chuck Daly (Detroit Pistons) |
| February | George Karl (Cleveland Cavaliers) |
| March | Pat Riley (Los Angeles Lakers) |