The 1983–84 NBA season was the 38th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 since 1969 in the NBA Finals .
The 1984 NBA All-Star Game was played at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, with the East defeating the West 154–145. Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons wins the game's MVP Award. Larry Nance of the Phoenix Suns won the first NBA Slam Dunk Championship .
David Stern begins his tenure as the league's fourth commissioner, effective April 1.
The NBA Playoffs were expanded from 6 teams per conference to 8, where it stands to this date.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar surpassed Wilt Chamberlain to become the all-time NBA career leader in points. He passed Chamberlain in a game against the Utah Jazz at Las Vegas' Thomas & Mack Center on April 5. Fittingly, it was his trademark sky-hook that put him in the record books.
The Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons play in the highest scoring game in NBA history with the Pistons winning 186–184 in three overtimes.
The Dallas Mavericks made its first postseason appearance, beating the Seattle SuperSonics 3–2 before bowing out to the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the Conference Semifinals.
The Utah Jazz appeared in the postseason for the first time, defeating the Nuggets 3–2 in the opening round and then losing to the Suns 4–2 in the Western semis.
The Clippers played their final game in San Diego, California.
This would be the last season until 2013–14 that the Finals had the 2–2–1–1–1 format. The Finals would adopt the 2–3–2 format the following season .
The New Jersey Nets won a playoff series for the first time in their NBA history, upsetting the defending champion Philadelphia 76ers in five games. The series marked the only time (to date) a road team won every game in a playoff series.
Final standings [ ]
Eastern Conference [ ]
Atlantic Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Boston Celtics C
62
20
.756
-
Philadelphia 76ers
52
30
.634
10
New York Knicks
47
35
.573
15
New Jersey Nets
45
37
.549
17
Washington Bullets
35
47
.427
27
Central Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Milwaukee Bucks
50
32
.610
-
Detroit Pistons
49
33
.598
1
Atlanta Hawks
40
42
.488
10
Cleveland Cavaliers
28
54
.341
22
Chicago Bulls
27
55
.329
23
Indiana Pacers
26
56
.317
24
Western Conference [ ]
Midwest Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Utah Jazz
45
37
.549
-
Dallas Mavericks
43
39
.524
2
Denver Nuggets
38
44
.463
7
Kansas City Kings
38
44
.463
7
San Antonio Spurs
37
45
.451
8
Houston Rockets
29
53
.354
16
Pacific Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Los Angeles Lakers
54
28
.659
-
Portland Trail Blazers
48
34
.585
6
Seattle SuperSonics
42
40
.512
12
Phoenix Suns
41
41
.500
13
Golden State Warriors
37
45
.451
17
San Diego Clippers
30
52
.366
24
C - NBA Champions
Statistics leaders [ ]
Category
Player
Team
Stat
Points per game
Adrian Dantley
Utah Jazz
30.6
Rebounds per game
Moses Malone
Philadelphia 76ers
13.4
Assists per game
Magic Johnson
Los Angeles Lakers
13.1
Steals per game
Rickey Green
Utah Jazz
2.7
Blocks per game
Mark Eaton
Utah Jazz
4.3
FG%
Artis Gilmore
San Antonio Spurs
63.1
FT%
Larry Bird
Boston Celtics
88.8
3FG%
Darrell Griffith
Utah Jazz
36.1
NBA awards [ ]
Yearly awards [ ]
Most Valuable Player: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
Rookie of the Year: Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets
Defensive Player of the Year: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
Sixth Man of the Year: Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
Coach of the Year: Frank Layden, Utah Jazz
All–NBA First Team:
Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
Bernard King, New York Knicks
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
All–NBA Rookie Team:
Steve Stipanovich, Indiana Pacers
Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets
Darrell Walker, New York Knicks
Jeff Malone, Washington Bullets
Thurl Bailey, Utah Jazz
Byron Scott, Los Angeles Lakers
NBA All–Defensive First Team:
Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers
Michael Cooper, Los Angeles Lakers
Tree Rollins, Atlanta Hawks
Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 76ers
Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
NBA All–Defensive Second Team:
Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
Dan Roundfield, Atlanta Hawks
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
Dennis Johnson, Boston Celtics
T.R. Dunn, Denver Nuggets
Note: All above information were obtained on the History section on NBA.com
Player of the week [ ]
The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.
Week
Player
Oct. 28 – Nov. 6
Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Kings)
Nov. 7 – Nov. 13
Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Nov. 14 – Nov. 20
Kiki Vandeweghe (Denver Nuggets)
Nov. 21 – Nov. 27
Mark Aguirre (Dallas Mavericks)
Nov. 28 – Dec. 4
Rickey Green (Utah Jazz)
Dec. 5 – Dec. 11
Jeff Ruland (Washington Bullets)
Dec. 12 – Dec. 18
Adrian Dantley (Utah Jazz)
Dec. 19 – Dec. 26
Dan Roundfield (Atlanta Hawks)
Dec. 27 – Jan. 2
Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons)
Jan. 3 – Jan. 8
Purvis Short (Golden State Warriors)
Jan. 9 – Jan. 15
Kelly Tripucka (Detroit Pistons)
Jan. 16 – Jan. 22
Buck Williams (New Jersey Nets)
Jan. 31 – Feb. 5
Bernard King (New York Knicks)
Feb. 6 – Feb. 12
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers)
Feb. 13 – Feb. 19
Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
Feb. 20 – Feb. 26
Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Feb. 27 – Mar. 4
Mickey Johnson (Golden State Warriors)
Mar. 5 – Mar. 11
Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
Mar. 12 – Mar. 18
Adrian Dantley (Utah Jazz)
Mar. 19 – Mar. 25
Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers)
Mar. 26 – Apr. 1
Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons)
Apr. 2 – Apr. 8
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers)
Apr. 9 – Apr. 15
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)
Player of the month [ ]
The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.
Month
Player
November
Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
December
Jeff Ruland (Washington Bullets)
January
Mark Aguirre (Dallas Mavericks)
February
Bernard King (New York Knicks)
March
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers)
Rookie of the month [ ]
The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.
Month
Rookie
November
Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets)
December
Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets)
January
Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets)
February
Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets)
March
Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets)
Coach of the month [ ]
The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.
Month
Coach
November
Dick Motta (Dallas Mavericks)
December
Frank Layden (Utah Jazz)
January
K.C. Jones (Boston Celtics)
February
Chuck Daly (Detroit Pistons)
March
Jack Ramsay (Portland Trail Blazers)