1980–81 NBA season

1980–81 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	Oct 10, 1980 – Mar 29, 1981 Mar 31 – May 3, 1981 (Playoffs) May 5–14, 1981 (Finals)
Number of teams	23
TV partner(s)	CBS, USA
Draft
Top draft pick	Joe Barry Carroll
Picked by	Golden State Warriors
Regular season
Top seed	Boston Celtics
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
Champions	Boston Celtics
Runners-up	Houston Rockets
Finals MVP	Cedric Maxwell (Boston)

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.

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 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.

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team	1979-80 coach	1980-81 coach
Cleveland Cavaliers	Stan Albeck	Bill Musselman
Dallas Mavericks	Expansion	Dick Motta
Detroit Pistons	Richie Adubato	Scotty Robertson
Golden State Warriors	Johnny Bach	Al Attles
Indiana Pacers	Bobby Leonard	Jack McKinney
San Antonio Spurs	Bob Bass	Stan Albeck
San Diego Clippers	Gene Shue	Paul Silas
Washington Bullets	Dick Motta	Gene Shue
In-season
Team	Outgoing coach	Incoming coach
Atlanta Hawks	Hubie Brown	Mike Fratello
Cleveland Cavaliers	Bill Musselman	Don Delaney
Denver Nuggets	Donnie Walsh	Doug Moe
New Jersey Nets	Kevin Loughery	Bob MacKinnon

Final standings

A ticket for a March 1981 game between the Dallas Mavericks and the season's eventual champions Boston Celtics.

By division

===By

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1980–81 NBA season