1980–81 NBA season

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

[edit] 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 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.
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.

C - NBA Champions

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

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:
All-NBA Rookie Team:
NBA All-Defensive First Team:
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)

Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com

v • d • e National Basketball Association seasons
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Also this year: 1980 Draft \| 1981 Playoffs \| 1981 Finals \| 1981 in sports

v • d • e

1980–81 NBA season by team

Atlantic	Boston • New Jersey • New York • Philadelphia • Washington

Central	Atlanta • Chicago • Cleveland • Detroit • Indiana • Milwaukee

Midwest	Dallas • Denver • Houston • Kansas City • San Antonio • Utah

Pacific	Golden State • Los Angeles • Phoenix • Portland • San Diego • Seattle