1979–80 NBA season

The 1979–80 NBA season was the 34th 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 NBA officially adopts the three-point field goal.
• The Jazz relocate from New Orleans, Louisiana to Salt Lake City, Utah and move from the Central Division to the Midwest Division (with the Indiana Pacers replacing them).
• The 1980 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Capital Centre in Washington, DC, with the East defeating the West 144-136 in overtime. George Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs wins the game's MVP award.
• This was the first season the NBA had a cable television partner. The USA Network signed a 3 year, 1.5 million dollar deal.
• Magic Johnson and Larry Bird's rookie season, the 1979-80 NBA season is considered, by many, to be the birth of the modern game.^{[citation needed]} Playing an up tempo style, the NBA appealed to a wider audience.
• Darryl Dawkins broke two backboards: one at Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium on November 13, 1979, and a second backboard 23 days later at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Because his dunks resulted in delays while teams went to find another backboard, the NBA eventually modified their basketball rims to make them collapsible.

Final standings

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

C - NBA Champions

1979-80 NBA statistics leaders

NBA awards

• Most Valuable Player: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
• Rookie of the Year: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
• Coach of the Year: Bill Fitch, Boston Celtics
• All-NBA First Team:
  • Paul Westphal, Phoenix Suns
  • George Gervin, San Antonio Spurs
  • Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
• All-NBA Rookie Team:
  • Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
  • Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
  • Bill Cartwright, New York Knicks
  • David Greenwood, Chicago Bulls
  • Calvin Natt, Portland Trail Blazers
• NBA All-Defensive First Team:
  • Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Dan Roundfield, Atlanta Hawks
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
  • Dennis Johnson, Seattle SuperSonics
  • Don Buse, Phoenix Suns (tie)
  • Micheal Ray Richardson, New York Knicks (tie)
• NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
  • Scott Wedman, Kansas City Kings
  • Kermit Washington, Portland Trail Blazers
  • Dave Cowens, Boston Celtics
  • Quinn Buckner, Milwaukee Bucks
  • Eddie Johnson, Atlanta Hawks

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

See also