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.
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 and 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.To date, 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 date) 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.
Notes
z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs and first round byec – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs and first round byey – Clinched division title and first round byex – Clinched playoff spotTeams 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. Note that in the Western Conference, the lower seeded team won every series.
Most Valuable Player: Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ersRookie of the Year: Darrell Griffith, Utah JazzCoach of the Year: Jack McKinney, Indiana PacersAll-NBA First Team:Larry Bird, Boston CelticsGeorge Gervin, San Antonio SpursJulius Erving, Philadelphia 76ersDennis Johnson, Phoenix SunsKareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles LakersAll-NBA Rookie Team:Kelvin Ransey, Portland Trail BlazersDarrell Griffith, Utah JazzLarry Smith, Golden State WarriorsKevin McHale, Boston CelticsJoe Barry Carroll, Golden State WarriorsNBA All-Defensive First Team:Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ersCaldwell Jones, Philadelphia 76ersKareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles LakersDennis Johnson, Phoenix SunsMicheal Ray Richardson, New York KnicksNBA All-Defensive Second Team:Dan Roundfield, Atlanta HawksKermit Washington, Portland Trail BlazersGeorge Johnson, San Antonio SpursQuinn Buckner, Milwaukee BucksDudley 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
