# 1980–81 Boston Celtics season

In 1980–81 the Boston Celtics went 62-20 under coach Bill Fitch. Despite losing center Dave Cowens to retirement late in training camp, the Celtics went on to capture the 1981 NBA Championship over the Houston Rockets. The highlight was that this championship was achieved just two years after Larry Bird had been drafted. Cedric Maxwell was named NBA Finals MVP.

## Offseason
### NBA draft

After the 1979–80 season, Auerbach completed what may be the most lopsided trade in NBA history. Auerbach had always been a fan of stockpiling draft picks, so even after the success of 1979–80 the Celtics had both the 1st and 13th picks in the 1980 NBA draft left over from the M.L. Carr trade. Auerbach saw an opportunity to improve the team immediately, sending the two picks to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for center Robert Parish and the Warriors first round pick, the 3rd overall, University of Minnesota power forward Kevin McHale. With these three future Hall of Famers on the team the Celtics had a core in place to become a dominant team in the NBA.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
| 1 | 1 | Joe Barry Carroll | Center | United States | Purdue |
| 1 | 13 | Rickey Brown | Center | United States | Mississippi State |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| 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 |
| # | 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 |
Notes
* z, y – division champions
* x – clinched playoff spot

### Record vs. opponents

1980-81 NBA Records :
| Team | ATL | BOS | CHI | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GSW | HOU | IND | KCK | LAL | MIL | NJN | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SAS | SDC | SEA | UTA | WAS |
| Atlanta | – | 2–4 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 |
| Boston | 4–2 | – | 5–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–1 |
| Chicago | 4–2 | 1–5 | – | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 |
| Cleveland | 5–1 | 1–4 | 1–5 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–6 | 3–3 | 0–5 | 0–6 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 |
| Dallas | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 3–3 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–6 | 0–2 | 0–6 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 0–2 |
| Denver | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | – | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 0–2 |
| Detroit | 2–4 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 1–5 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–5 |
| Golden State | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | – | 3–2 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| Houston | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | – | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 0–2 |
| Indiana | 5–1 | 3–3 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 0–6 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 |
| Kansas City | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 4–2 | 0–2 | – | 0–5 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 1–1 |
| Los Angeles | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 5–0 | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Milwaukee | 5–1 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 5–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 |
| New Jersey | 2–3 | 0–6 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–5 | – | 0–6 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 |
| New York | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 6–0 | – | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 |
| Philadelphia | 5–1 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 3–3 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 |
| Phoenix | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 3–3 | 3–2 | 6–0 | 5–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 |
| Portland | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | – | 2–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 |
| San Antonio | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 3–2 | – | 4–1 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 1–1 |
| San Diego | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–6 | 2–4 | 1–4 | – | 5–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 |
| Seattle | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–6 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 1–5 | – | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| Utah | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 3–2 | 1–5 | 2–3 | 1–4 | – | 0–2 |
| Washington | 4–1 | 1–5 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — |

## Game log
### Regular season

1980–81 game log: 62–20 (Home: 35–6; Road: 27–14) :
October: 6–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 4–2)
GameDate TimeTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
October 10
Cleveland
130–103
Boston Garden
1–0
2
October 14
@ Atlanta
116–122
The Omni
1–1
3
October 16
@ Milwaukee
110–103
MECCA Arena
2–1
4
October 18
@ Indiana
99–103
Market Square Arena
2–2
5
October 22
@ New Jersey
108–104
Rutgers Athletic Center
3–2
6
October 23
New York
107–109 (OT)
Hartford Civic Center
3–3
7
October 25
@ Washington
103–87
Capital Centre
4–3
8
October 29
@ Detroit
103–85
Pontiac Silverdome
5–3
9
October 31
Kansas City
115–110
Boston Garden
6–3 :
November: 9–4 (Home: 7–1; Road: 2–3)
GameDate TimeTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
10
November 1
@ Philadelphia
113–117 (OT)
The Spectrum
6–4
11
November 5
Atlanta
104–87
Boston Garden
7–4
12
November 7
Milwaukee
101–102
Boston Garden
7–5
13
November 9
Chicago
111–105
Boston Garden
8–5
14
November 12
Washington
93–86
Boston Garden
9–5
15
November 14
New Jersey
126–102
Boston Garden
10–5
16
November 18
@ Chicago
113–107
Chicago Stadium
11–5
17
November 19
@ Indiana
103–91
Market Square Arena
12–5
18
November 21
Golden State
108–106
Boston Garden
13–5
19
November 22
@ Cleveland
98–113
Richfield Coliseum
13–6
20
November 26
Portland
126–101
Boston Garden
14–6
21
November 28
New York
120–106
Boston Garden
15–6
22
November 30
@ Milwaukee
105–107
MECCA Arena
15–7 :
December: 14–1 (Home: 7–1; Road: 7–0)
GameDate TimeTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
23
December 2
@ Detroit
94–85
Pontiac Silverdome
16–7
24
December 3
Atlanta
106–101
Boston Garden
17–7
25
December 5
Dallas
97–87
Boston Garden
18–7
26
December 7
Washington
103–113
Hartford Civic Center
18–8
27
December 9
Milwaukee
112–89
Boston Garden
19–8
28
December 10
@ Washington
101–99
Capital Centre
20–8
29
December 12
New Jersey
119–104
Boston Garden
21–8
30
December 13
@ Chicago
106–95
Chicago Stadium
22–8
31
December 17
Chicago
115–98
Boston Garden
23–8
32
December 19
Houston
133–119
Boston Garden
24–8
33
December 20
@ Cleveland
107–102
Richfield Coliseum
25–8
34
December 23
Denver
136–128
Boston Garden
26–8
35
December 25
@ New York
117–108
Madison Square Garden
27–8
36
December 27
@ Atlanta
112–107
The Omni
28–8
37
December 30
@ Phoenix
116–97
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
29–8 :
January: 14–2 (Home: 10–0; Road: 4–2)
GameDate TimeTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
38
January 1
@ San Diego
88–85
San Diego Sports Arena
30–8
39
January 2
@ Golden State
106–121
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
30–9
40
January 4
@ Portland
120–111
Memorial Coliseum
31–9
41
January 7
Phoenix
108–90
Boston Garden
32–9
42
January 9
Chicago
117–111 (OT)
Boston Garden
33–9
43
January 10
@ New Jersey
117–115
Rutgers Athletic Center
34–9
44
January 13
@ New York
93–89
Madison Square Garden
35–9
45
January 14
Cleveland
120–113
Boston Garden
36–9
46
January 16
San Antonio
94–85
Boston Garden
37–9
47
January 18
Los Angeles
98–96
Boston Garden
38–9
48
January 19
Detroit
92–90
Hartford Civic Center
39–9
49
January 21
Utah
117–87
Boston Garden
40–9
50
January 23
Indiana
104–103
Boston Garden
41–9
51
January 25
Seattle
115–106
Boston Garden
42–9
52
January 28
Philadelphia
104–101
Boston Garden
43–9
53
January 29
@ Chicago
85–108
Chicago Stadium
43–10 :
February: 8–5 (Home: 3–0; Road: 5–5)
GameDate TimeTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
54
February 4
@ Philadelphia
104–107
The Spectrum
43–11
55
February 5
@ Milwaukee
103–113
MECCA Arena
43–12
56
February 6
Indiana
111–98
Boston Garden
44–12
57
February 8
San Diego
123–107
Boston Garden
45–12
58
February 10
@ Seattle
107–108 (OT)
Kingdome
45–13
59
February 11
@ Los Angeles
105–91
The Forum
46–13
60
February 13
@ Utah
89–104
Salt Palace
46–14
61
February 15
@ Denver
120–118
McNichols Sports Arena
47–14
62
February 17
@ San Antonio
128–116
HemisFair Arena
48–14
63
February 18
@ Kansas City
113–114
Kemper Arena
48–15
64
February 21
@ Detroit
130–119
Pontiac Silverdome
49–15
65
February 25
Cleveland
124–103
Boston Garden
50–15
66
February 27
@ Atlanta
132–102
The Omni
51–15 :
March: 11–5 (Home: 6–3; Road: 5–2)
GameDate TimeTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
67
March 1
Philadelphia
114–107
Boston Garden
52–15
68
March 3
@ Dallas
117–105
Reunion Arena
53–15
69
March 4
@ Houston
108–101
The Summit
54–15
70
March 6
@ Indiana
104–110
Market Square Arena
54–16
71
March 8
New York
115–94
Boston Garden
55–16
72
March 11
Milwaukee
122–108
Boston Garden
56–16
73
March 13
Indiana
94–101
Boston Garden
56–17
74
March 15
New Jersey
133–125
Boston Garden
57–17
75
March 17
@ Washington
112–91
Capital Centre
58–17
76
March 18
Atlanta
97–108
Boston Garden
58–18
77
March 20
Washington
128–116
Boston Garden
59–18
78
March 22
@ Philadelphia
94–126
The Spectrum
59–19
79
March 24
@ New York
118–116
Madison Square Garden
60–19
80
March 25
@ New Jersey
111–105
Rutgers Athletic Center
61–19
81
March 27
Detroit
90–115
Boston Garden
61–20
82
March 29
Philadelphia
98–94
Boston Garden
62–20 :
1981 regular season schedule :

### Playoffs

1981 playoff game log :
Conference Semifinals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 5
Chicago
W 121–109
Larry Bird (23)
Larry Bird (12)
Bird, Maxwell (5)
Boston Garden 15,320
1–0
2
April 7
Chicago
W 106–97
Archibald, Parish (27)
Larry Bird (12)
Larry Bird (9)
Boston Garden 15,320
2–0
3
April 10
@ Chicago
W 113–107
Larry Bird (24)
Larry Bird (17)
Larry Bird (10)
Chicago Stadium 19,995
3–0
4
April 12
@ Chicago
W 109–103
Larry Bird (35)
Larry Bird (11)
Tiny Archibald (6)
Chicago Stadium 18,249
4–0 :
Conference Finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 21
Philadelphia
L 104–105
Larry Bird (33)
Robert Parish (13)
Tiny Archibald (9)
Boston Garden 15,320
0–1
2
April 22
Philadelphia
W 118–99
Larry Bird (34)
Larry Bird (16)
Larry Bird (5)
Boston Garden 15,320
1–1
3
April 24
@ Philadelphia
L 100–110
Larry Bird (22)
Larry Bird (13)
Tiny Archibald (5)
Spectrum 18,276
1–2
4
April 26
@ Philadelphia
L 105–107
Cedric Maxwell (20)
Larry Bird (17)
Tiny Archibald (14)
Spectrum 18,276
1–3
5
April 29
Philadelphia
W 111–109
Larry Bird (32)
Larry Bird (11)
Tiny Archibald (7)
Boston Garden 15,320
2–3
6
May 1
@ Philadelphia
W 111–109
Larry Bird (25)
Larry Bird (16)
Tiny Archibald (6)
Spectrum 18,276
3–3
7
May 3
Philadelphia
W 91–90
Larry Bird (23)
Larry Bird (11)
Tiny Archibald (7)
Boston Garden 15,320
4–3 :
NBA Finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
May 5
Houston
W 98–95
Larry Bird (18)
Larry Bird (21)
Larry Bird (9)
Boston Garden 15,320
1–0
2
May 7
Houston
L 90–91
Larry Bird (19)
Larry Bird (21)
Archibald, Henderson (4)
Boston Garden 15,320
1–1
3
May 9
@ Houston
W 94–71
Cedric Maxwell (19)
Larry Bird (13)
Larry Bird (10)
The Summit 16,121
2–1
4
May 10
@ Houston
L 86–91
Cedric Maxwell (24)
Cedric Maxwell (14)
Larry Bird (7)
The Summit 16,121
2–2
5
May 12
Houston
W 109–80
Cedric Maxwell (28)
Cedric Maxwell (15)
Larry Bird (8)
Boston Garden 15,320
3–2
6
May 14
@ Houston
W 102–91
Larry Bird (27)
Larry Bird (13)
Tiny Archibald (12)
The Summit 16,121
4–2 :
1981 schedule :

## Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average
| Player | GP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | AVG |
| Nate Archibald | 80 | 176 | 618 | 75 | 18 | 1106 | 13.8 |
| Larry Bird | 82 | 895 | 451 | 161 | 63 | 1741 | 21.2 |
| M. L. Carr | 41 | 83 | 56 | 30 | 18 | 248 | 6.0 |
| Eric Fernsten | 45 | 62 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 96 | 2.1 |
| Chris Ford | 82 | 163 | 295 | 100 | 23 | 728 | 8.9 |
| Wayne Kreklow | 25 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 1.2 |
| Cedric Maxwell | 81 | 525 | 219 | 79 | 68 | 1234 | 15.2 |
| Kevin McHale | 82 | 359 | 55 | 27 | 151 | 818 | 10.0 |
| Robert Parish | 82 | 777 | 144 | 81 | 214 | 1552 | 18.9 |
| Rick Robey | 82 | 390 | 126 | 38 | 19 | 740 | 9.0 |

## Award winners

* Nate Archibald, All-NBA Second Team
* Larry Bird, All-NBA First Team
* Cedric Maxwell, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
* Kevin McHale, All-NBA Rookie Team