# 1982–83 NBA season

The 1982–83 NBA season was the 37th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Philadelphia 76ers winning the NBA Championship, sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals.

## Notable occurrences

* The 1983 NBA All-Star Game was played at The Forum in Inglewood, California, with the East defeating the West 132–123. Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers won the game's MVP award. It was at this game that R&B singer Marvin Gaye performed his famous rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner".
* This season marked the final season for Larry O'Brien as commissioner of the NBA. In honor of his long tenure, the NBA would rename its championship trophy after him (it was originally named after the late Boston Celtics owner Walter A. Brown).
* The USA Network extended their cable deal with the NBA for another two years, and ESPN shared broadcast rights with them.
* The 76ers posted a 12–1 record in the playoffs, a record for highest winning percentage in the postseason (it was later broken by the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers, whose record was, in turn, later broken by the 2017 Golden State Warriors).
* The Boston Celtics were swept for the first time in their playoff history, at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks in the Conference Semifinals of the 1983 NBA playoffs. The Bucks swept the Celtics 4–0.
* The 1983 NBA Finals was the last Finals to end before June 1.
* This was the final season for Wilson serving as the suppliers of the official NBA game ball (a partnership that dated back to 1946); it was replaced in that capacity by Spalding in the following season, which supplied game balls to the NBA through the 2020–21 season. Wilson returned as the game ball supplier for the 2021–22 season.
* Ted Stepien sold the Cleveland Cavaliers to Gordon Gund. Under Stepien, attendance at the Cavaliers' home arena at Richfield Coliseum declined, first-round picks were traded in consecutive years (which led the NBA to institute the Ted Stepien rule), and long-time announcer Joe Tait was fired (he returned following the Gund purchase). The Cavaliers had five different coaches and three consecutive losing seasons under Stepien.
* On November 3, 1982, Randy Smith played in his 845th consecutive NBA game, breaking Johnny Kerr's iron man record. The game was a 130–111 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in which Smith started and scored 14 points. Smith's iron man streak ended at 906 games when he played his last game with the Clippers on March 13, 1983, and was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. The record was later surpassed by A.C. Green in 1997.
* On April 16, 1983, during a 12-point victory over the Dallas Mavericks, the San Antonio Spurs set the all-time NBA regular season record for team field goal percentage by shooting .707 from the floor.
* The NBA adds the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award awards.
* This season saw the final season of eventual Hall of Famers' Dave Cowens, Spencer Haywood and Calvin Murphy.
Coaching changes :
| Off-season |||
| Team | 1981–82 coach | 1982–83 coach |
| Chicago Bulls | Rod Thorn | Paul Westhead |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Bill Musselman | Tom Nissalke |
| New York Knicks | Red Holzman | Hubie Brown |
| In-season |||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| New Jersey Nets | Larry Brown | Bill Blair |

## Teams

1982-83 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 | 13,335 |
| 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-Philadelphia 76ers | 65 | 17 | .793 | – | 35–6 | 30–11 | 15–9 |
| x-Boston Celtics | 56 | 26 | .683 | 9 | 33–8 | 23–18 | 14–10 |
| x-New Jersey Nets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 16 | 30–11 | 19–22 | 11–13 |
| x-New York Knicks | 44 | 38 | .537 | 21 | 26–15 | 18–23 | 10–14 |
| Washington Bullets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 23 | 27–14 | 15–26 | 10–14 |
| Central Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Milwaukee Bucks | 51 | 31 | .622 | – | 31–10 | 20–21 | 22–7 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 8 | 26–15 | 17–24 | 21–8 |
| Detroit Pistons | 37 | 45 | .451 | 14 | 23–18 | 14–27 | 19–11 |
| Chicago Bulls | 28 | 54 | .341 | 23 | 18–23 | 10–31 | 13–17 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 23 | 59 | .280 | 28 | 15–26 | 8–33 | 8–22 |
| Indiana Pacers | 20 | 62 | .244 | 31 | 14–27 | 6–35 | 6–24 |
| Midwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 53 | 29 | .646 | – | 31–10 | 22–19 | 21–9 |
| x-Denver Nuggets | 45 | 37 | .549 | 8 | 29–12 | 16–25 | 17–13 |
| Kansas City Kings | 45 | 37 | .549 | 8 | 30–11 | 15–26 | 18–12 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 38 | 44 | .463 | 15 | 23–18 | 15–26 | 15–15 |
| Utah Jazz | 30 | 52 | .366 | 23 | 21–20 | 9–32 | 15–15 |
| Houston Rockets | 14 | 68 | .171 | 39 | 9–32 | 5–36 | 4–26 |
| Pacific Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 58 | 24 | .707 | – | 33–8 | 25–16 | 21–9 |
| x-Phoenix Suns | 53 | 29 | .646 | 5 | 32–9 | 21–20 | 21–9 |
| x-Seattle SuperSonics | 48 | 34 | .585 | 10 | 29–12 | 19–22 | 14–16 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 46 | 36 | .561 | 12 | 31–10 | 15–26 | 16–14 |
| Golden State Warriors | 30 | 52 | .366 | 28 | 21–20 | 9–32 | 11–19 |
| San Diego Clippers | 25 | 57 | .305 | 33 | 18–23 | 7–34 | 7–23 |

### By conference

| # | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Philadelphia 76ers | 65 | 17 | .793 | – |
| 2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 51 | 31 | .622 | 14 |
| 3 | x-Boston Celtics | 56 | 26 | .683 | 9 |
| 4 | x-New Jersey Nets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 16 |
| 5 | x-New York Knicks | 44 | 38 | .537 | 21 |
| 6 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 22 |
| 7 | Washington Bullets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 23 |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | 37 | 45 | .451 | 28 |
| 9 | Chicago Bulls | 28 | 54 | .341 | 37 |
| 10 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 23 | 59 | .280 | 42 |
| 11 | Indiana Pacers | 20 | 62 | .244 | 45 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | c-Los Angeles Lakers | 58 | 24 | .707 | – |
| 2 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 53 | 29 | .646 | 5 |
| 3 | x-Phoenix Suns | 53 | 29 | .646 | 5 |
| 4 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 48 | 34 | .585 | 10 |
| 5 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 46 | 36 | .561 | 12 |
| 6 | x-Denver Nuggets | 45 | 37 | .549 | 13 |
| 7 | Kansas City Kings | 45 | 37 | .549 | 13 |
| 8 | Dallas Mavericks | 38 | 44 | .463 | 20 |
| 9 | Utah Jazz | 30 | 52 | .366 | 28 |
| 9 | Golden State Warriors | 30 | 52 | .366 | 28 |
| 11 | San Diego Clippers | 25 | 57 | .305 | 33 |
| 12 | Houston Rockets | 14 | 68 | .171 | 44 |
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 | Philadelphia* | 4 | | | | | | |
| E4 | New Jersey | 0 | E5 | New York | 0 | | | | | | |
| E5 | New York | 2 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 | | | |
| | | | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Milwaukee* | 1 | | | |
| | | | E3 | Boston | 0 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Boston | 2 | E2 | Milwaukee* | 4 | | | | | | |
| E6 | Atlanta | 1 | | | | | | | E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | W1 | Los Angeles* | 0 |
| | | | W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Seattle | 0 | W5 | Portland | 1 | | | | | | |
| W5 | Portland | 2 | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | | | |
| | | | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | San Antonio* | 2 | | | |
| | | | W6 | Denver | 1 | | | | | | |
| W3 | Phoenix | 1 | W2 | San Antonio* | 4 | | | | | | |
| W6 | Denver | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage

## Statistics leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| Points per game | Alex English | Denver Nuggets | 28.4 |
| Rebounds per game | Moses Malone | Philadelphia 76ers | 15.3 |
| Assists per game | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers | 10.5 |
| Steals per game | Micheal Ray Richardson | Golden State Warriors | 2.84 |
| Blocks per game | Tree Rollins | Atlanta Hawks | 4.29 |
| FG% | Artis Gilmore | San Antonio Spurs | .626 |
| FT% | Calvin Murphy | Houston Rockets | .920 |
| 3FG% | Mike Dunleavy | San Antonio Spurs | .345 |

## NBA awards

* Most Valuable Player: Moses Malone, Philadelphia 76ers
* Rookie of the Year: Terry Cummings, San Diego Clippers
* Defensive Player of the Year: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
* Sixth Man of the Year: Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers
* 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. 29 – Nov. 7 | Reggie Theus (Chicago Bulls) (1/1) |
| Nov. 8 – Nov. 14 | Kelly Tripucka (Detroit Pistons) (1/1) |
| Nov. 15 – Nov. 21 | Alex English (Denver Nuggets) (1/2) |
| Nov. 22 – Nov. 28 | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) (1/3) |
| Nov. 29 – Dec. 5 | Buck Williams (New Jersey Nets) (1/1) |
| Dec. 6 – Dec. 12 | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) (2/3) |
| Dec. 13 – Dec. 19 | Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons) (1/1) |
| Dec. 20 – Dec. 26 | Maurice Lucas (Phoenix Suns) (1/1) |
| Dec. 27 – Jan. 2 | Kiki Vandeweghe (Denver Nuggets) (1/1) |
| Jan. 3 – Jan. 9 | Mickey Johnson (New Jersey Nets) (1/1) |
| Jan. 10 – Jan. 16 | Alex English (Denver Nuggets) (2/2) |
| Jan. 17 – Jan. 23 | Joe Barry Carroll (Golden State Warriors) (1/1) |
| Jan. 24 – Jan. 30 | Artis Gilmore (San Antonio Spurs) (1/1) |
| Jan. 31 – Feb. 6 | Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1) |
| Feb. 7 – Feb. 21 | Larry Nance (Phoenix Suns) (1/1) |
| Feb. 22 – Feb. 27 | Walter Davis (Phoenix Suns) (1/1) |
| Feb. 28 – Mar. 6 | John Drew (Utah Jazz) (1/1) |
| Mar. 7 – Mar. 13 | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) (1/2) |
| Mar. 14 – Mar. 20 | Andrew Toney (Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1) |
| Mar. 21 – Mar. 27 | Jeff Ruland (Washington Bullets) (1/1) |
| Mar. 28 – Apr. 3 | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) (3/3) |
| Apr. 4 – Apr. 10 | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) (2/2) |
| Apr. 11 – Apr. 17 | Mike Glenn (Atlanta Hawks) (1/1) |

### Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.
| Month | Player |
| October/November | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) (1/1) |
| December | Larry Drew (Kansas City Kings)(1/1) Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers) (1/2) |
| January | Alex English (Denver Nuggets) (1/1) |
| February | Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers) (2/2) |
| March | Jeff Ruland (Washington Bullets) (1/1) |

### Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.
| Month | Rookie |
| October/November | Terry Cummings (San Diego Clippers) (1/4) |
| December | Clark Kellogg (Indiana Pacers) (1/1) |
| January | Terry Cummings (San Diego Clippers) (2/4) |
| February | Terry Cummings (San Diego Clippers) (3/4) |
| March | Terry Cummings (San Diego Clippers) (4/4) |

### Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.
| Month | Coach |
| October/November | Scotty Robertson (Detroit Pistons) (1/1) |
| December | Billy Cunningham (Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1) |
| January | Pat Riley (Los Angeles Lakers) (1/1) |
| February | Hubie Brown (New York Knicks) (1/1) |
| March | Stan Albeck (San Antonio Spurs) (1/1) |