1981–82 NBA season

1981–82 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationOctober 30, 1981 – April 18, 1982
April 20 – May 23, 1982 (Playoffs)
May 27 – June 8, 1982 (Finals)
Teams23
TV partner(s)CBS, USA
Draft
Top draft pickMark Aguirre
Picked byDallas Mavericks
Regular season
Top seedBoston Celtics
Season MVPMoses Malone (Houston)
Top scorerGeorge Gervin (San Antonio)
Playoffs
Eastern championsPhiladelphia 76ers
  Eastern runners-upBoston Celtics
Western championsLos Angeles Lakers
  Western runners-upSan Antonio Spurs
Finals
ChampionsLos Angeles Lakers
  Runners-upPhiladelphia 76ers
Finals MVPMagic Johnson (Los Angeles)

The 1981–82 NBA season was the 36th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA championship, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.

Notable occurrences

  • The regular-season ran until mid to late-April for the first time.
  • The 1982 NBA All-Star Game was played at the new Brendan Byrne Arena (later the Meadowlands Arena) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with the East defeating the West 120–118.[1] Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics wins the game's MVP award.[1] This season also marked the New Jersey Nets first season in the new arena.[2]
  • On March 6, 1982, San Antonio beat Milwaukee 171–166 in three overtime periods to set the record for most points by two teams in a game.[3] The record was broken two seasons later.
  • Magic Johnson secures his second NBA Finals MVP award several months before his 23rd birthday.
  • The Los Angeles Lakers begin a string of nine consecutive seasons as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
  • The Denver Nuggets scored at least 100 points in every single game of the season, while also allowing 100 points in every game. It remains the only time this has occurred in NBA history.
  • After a few years of success in NCAA basketball, the breakaway rim became standardized equipment in the NBA.
  • This season marked Isiah Thomas' rookie season.
  • The three-to-make-two free throw rule, along with the two-to-make one rule (both used when a team exceeded five team fouls in a quarter), were both eliminated.
  • This season marked Bob Dandridge's final season.
Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1980–81 coach 1981–82 coach
Atlanta Hawks Mike Fratello Kevin Loughery
Cleveland Cavaliers Don Delaney Bob Kloppenburg
New Jersey Nets Bob MacKinnon Larry Brown
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Chicago Bulls Jerry Sloan Phil Johnson
Phil Johnson Rod Thorn
Cleveland Cavaliers Bob Kloppenburg Chuck Daly
Chuck Daly Bill Musselman
Los Angeles Lakers Paul Westhead Pat Riley
Utah Jazz Tom Nissalke Frank Layden

Final standings

By division

Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics 63 19 .768 – 35–6 28–13 20–4
x-Philadelphia 76ers 58 24 .707 5.0 32–9 26–15 16–8
x-New Jersey Nets 44 38 .537 19.0 25–16 19–22 12–12
x-Washington Bullets 43 39 .524 20.0 22–19 21–20 7–17
New York Knicks 33 49 .402 30.0 19–22 14–27 5–19
Central Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks 55 27 .671 – 31–10 24–17 24–6
x-Atlanta Hawks 42 40 .512 13.0 24–17 18–23 15–14
Detroit Pistons 39 43 .476 16.0 23–18 16–25 19–11
Indiana Pacers 35 47 .427 20.0 25–16 10–31 14–16
Chicago Bulls 34 48 .415 21.0 22–19 12–29 12–17
Cleveland Cavaliers 15 67 .183 40.0 9–32 6–35 5–25
Midwest Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs 48 34 .585 – 29–12 19–22 20–10
x-Denver Nuggets 46 36 .561 2.0 29–12 17–24 19–11
x-Houston Rockets 46 36 .561 2.0 25–16 21–20 17–13
Kansas City Kings 30 52 .366 18.0 23–18 7–34 11–19
Dallas Mavericks 28 54 .341 20.0 16–25 12–29 11–19
Utah Jazz 25 57 .305 23.0 18–23 7–34 9–21
Pacific Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 57 25 .695 – 30–11 27–14 21–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics 52 30 .634 5.0 31–10 21–20 18–12
x-Phoenix Suns 46 36 .561 11.0 31–10 15–26 14–16
Golden State Warriors 45 37 .549 12.0 28–13 17–24 15–15
Portland Trail Blazers 42 40 .512 15.0 27–14 15–26 15–15
San Diego Clippers 17 65 .207 40.0 11–30 6–35 7–23
A ticket for an October 1981 pre-season game between the Dallas Mavericks and the season's eventual Eastern Conference champions Philadelphia 76ers.

By conference

#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Boston Celtics 63 19 .768 –
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks 55 27 .671 8
3 x-Philadelphia 76ers 58 24 .707 5
4 x-New Jersey Nets 44 38 .537 19
5 x-Washington Bullets 43 39 .524 20
6 x-Atlanta Hawks 42 40 .512 21
7 Detroit Pistons 39 43 .476 24
8 Indiana Pacers 35 47 .427 28
9 Chicago Bulls 34 48 .415 29
10 New York Knicks 33 49 .402 30
11 Cleveland Cavaliers 15 67 .183 48
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers 57 25 .695 –
2 y-San Antonio Spurs 48 34 .585 9
3 x-Seattle SuperSonics 52 30 .634 5
4 x-Denver Nuggets 46 36 .561 11
5 x-Phoenix Suns 46 36 .561 11
6 x-Houston Rockets 46 36 .561 11
7 Golden State Warriors 45 37 .549 12
8 Portland Trail Blazers 42 40 .512 15
9 Kansas City Kings 30 52 .366 27
10 Dallas Mavericks 28 54 .341 29
11 Utah Jazz 25 57 .305 32
12 San Diego Clippers 17 65 .207 40

Notes

  • z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs and first round bye
  • c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs and first round bye
  • y – Clinched division title and first round bye
  • x – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Main article: 1982 NBA playoffs

Teams 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.

First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
E1 Boston* 4
E4 New Jersey 0 E5 Washington 1
E5 Washington 2 Eastern ConferenceE1 Boston* 3
E3 Philadelphia 4
E3 Philadelphia 4
E3 Philadelphia 2 E2 Milwaukee* 2
E6 Atlanta 0 E3 Philadelphia 2
W1 Los Angeles* 4
W1 Los Angeles* 4
W4 Denver 1 W5 Phoenix 0
W5 Phoenix 2 Western ConferenceW1 Los Angeles* 4
W2 San Antonio* 0
W3 Seattle 1
W3 Seattle 2 W2 San Antonio* 4
W6 Houston 1
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage

Statistics leaders

Category Player Team Stat
Points per game George Gervin San Antonio Spurs 32.3
Rebounds per game Moses Malone Houston Rockets 14.7
Assists per game Johnny Moore San Antonio Spurs 9.6
Steals per game Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers 2.67
Blocks per game George Johnson San Antonio Spurs 3.12
FG% Artis Gilmore Chicago Bulls .652
FT% Kyle Macy Phoenix Suns .899
3FG% Campy Russell New York Knicks .439

NBA awards

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "1982 NBA All-Star recap". National Basketball Association. September 13, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Zimmer, David M. (January 3, 2022). "The teams came to the Meadowlands, then they left. So what happened?". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  3. ^ "3 Overtimes And 337 Points". The New York Times. March 7, 1982. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
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