1980–81 NBA season

1980–81 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
TV partner/s	CBS, USA
Regular season
Season MVP	Julius Erving (Philadelphia)
Top scorer	Adrian Dantley (Utah)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Boston Celtics
Eastern runners-up	Philadelphia 76ers
Western champions	Houston Rockets
Western runners-up	Kansas City Kings
Finals
Finals champions	Boston Celtics
Runners-up	Houston Rockets
Finals MVP	Cedric Maxwell (Boston)
NBA seasons
← 1979–80	1981–82 →

The 1980–81 NBA season was the 35th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA championship, beating the Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.

Notable occurrences

• The Dallas Mavericks become the league's 23rd franchise. As a result, the NBA realigns four of its teams to better reflect its geographical location (the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls move to the Eastern Conference; the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets to the Western Conference).
• 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.
• As of March 2010, 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 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.

Final standings

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division Team W L PCT. GB Boston Celtics C 62 20 .756 - Philadelphia 76ers 62 20 .756 - New York Knicks 50 32 .610 12 Washington Bullets 39 43 .476 23 New Jersey Nets 24 58 .293 38

Central Division Team W L PCT. GB Milwaukee Bucks 60 22 .732 - Chicago Bulls 45 37 .549 15 Indiana Pacers 44 38 .537 16 Atlanta Hawks 31 51 .378 29 Cleveland Cavaliers 28 54 .341 32 Detroit Pistons 21 61 .256 39

Western Conference

Midwest Division Team W L PCT. GB San Antonio Spurs 52 30 .634 - Houston Rockets 40 42 .488 12 Kansas City Kings 40 42 .488 12 Denver Nuggets 37 45 .451 15 Utah Jazz 28 54 .341 24 Dallas Mavericks 15 67 .183 37

Pacific Division Team W L PCT. GB Phoenix Suns 57 25 .695 - Los Angeles Lakers 54 28 .659 3 Portland Trail Blazers 45 37 .549 12 Golden State Warriors 39 43 .476 18 San Diego Clippers 36 46 .439 21 Seattle SuperSonics 34 48 .415 23

C - NBA Champions

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	3.4
Blocks per game	George Johnson	San Antonio Spurs	3.4
FG%	Artis Gilmore	Chicago Bulls	67.0
FT%	Calvin Murphy	Houston Rockets	95.8
3FG%	Brian Taylor	San Diego Clippers	38.3

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
• All–NBA First Team:
  • Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
  • George Gervin, San Antonio Spurs
  • Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Dennis Johnson, Phoenix Suns
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
• All–NBA Rookie Team:
  • Kelvin Ransey, Portland Trail Blazers
  • Darrell Griffith, Utah Jazz
  • Larry Smith, Golden State Warriors
  • Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
  • Joe Barry Carroll, Golden State Warriors
• NBA All–Defensive First Team:
  • Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Caldwell Jones, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
  • Dennis Johnson, Phoenix Suns
  • Michael Ray Richardson, New York Knicks
• NBA All–Defensive Second Team:
  • Dan Roundfield, Atlanta Hawks
  • Kermit Washington, Portland Trail Blazers
  • George Johnson, San Antonio Spurs
  • Quinn Buckner, Milwaukee Bucks
  • Dudley Bradley, Indiana Pacers (tie)
  • Michael Cooper, Los Angeles Lakers (tie)