1980–81 Boston Celtics season
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1980–81 Boston Celtics season
| 1980–81 Boston Celtics season | |
|---|---|
| Fourteenth NBA Championship | |
| Head coach | Bill Fitch |
| Owner(s) | Harry Mangurian |
| Arena | Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 62–20 (.756) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 1st (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | NBA Champions |
|
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com |
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| Local media | |
| Television | WBZ-TV, WATR |
| Radio | WBZ Radio, WTIC |
| Boston Celtics seasons | |
| < 1979–80 | 1981–82 > |
In 1980-81 the Boston Celtics went 62-20 under coach Bill Fitch. Despite losing center Dave Cowens to retirement late in training camp, the Celtics went on to capture the 1981 NBA Championship over the Houston Rockets. The highlight was that this championship was achieved just two years after Bird had been drafted. Cedric Maxwell was named NBA Finals MVP.
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Contents
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Offseason
NBA Draft
After the 1979-80 season, Auerbach completed what may be the most lopsided trade in NBA history. Auerbach had always been a fan of stockpiling draft picks, so even after the success of 1979-80 the Celtics had both the 1st and 13th picks in the 1980 NBA Draft leftover from the M.L. Carr trade. Auerbach saw an opportunity to improve the team immediately, sending the two picks to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for center Robert Parish and the Warriors first round pick, the 3rd overall, University of Minnesota power forward Kevin McHale. With these three future Hall of Famers on the team the Celtics had a core in place to become a dominant team in the NBA.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Joe Barry Carroll | Center |  United States |
Purdue |
| 1 | 13 | Rickey Brown | Center | United States |
Mississippi State |
Roster
Depth chart
| Pos. | Starter | Bench | Reserve | Inactive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Robert Parish | Rick Robey | Eric Fernsten | |
| PF | Larry Bird | Kevin McHale | ||
| SF | Cedric Maxwell | M. L. Carr | ||
| SG | Chris Ford | Terry Duerod | ||
| PG | Nate Archibald | Gerald Henderson |
Regular season
Season standings
| Atlantic Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | – | 35–6 | 27–14 | 19–5 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 62 | 20 | .756 | – | 37–4 | 25–16 | 15–9 |
| x-New York Knicks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 12.0 | 28–13 | 22–19 | 14–10 |
| Washington Bullets | 39 | 43 | .476 | 23.0 | 26–15 | 13–28 | 8–16 |
| New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 38.0 | 16–25 | 8–33 | 8–16 |
| # | Eastern Conference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
| 2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 60 | 22 | .732 | 2 |
| 3 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
| 4 | x-New York Knicks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 12 |
| 5 | x-Chicago Bulls | 45 | 37 | .549 | 17 |
| 6 | x-Indiana Pacers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 18 |
| 7 | Washington Bullets | 39 | 43 | .476 | 23 |
| 8 | Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31 |
| 9 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 28 | 54 | .341 | 34 |
| 10 | New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 38 |
| 11 | Detroit Pistons | 21 | 61 | .256 | 41 |
Notes
- z, y – division champions
- x – clinched playoff spot
Player stats
Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average
| Player | GP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nate Archibald | 80 | 176 | 618 | 75 | 18 | 1106 | 13.8 |
| Larry Bird | 82 | 895 | 451 | 161 | 63 | 1741 | 21.2 |
| M. L. Carr | 41 | 83 | 56 | 30 | 18 | 248 | 6.0 |
| Terry Duerod | 32 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 79 | 2.5 |
| Eric Fernsten | 45 | 62 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 96 | 2.1 |
| Chris Ford | 82 | 163 | 295 | 100 | 23 | 728 | 8.9 |
| Gerald Henderson | 82 | 132 | 213 | 79 | 12 | 636 | 7.8 |
| Wayne Kreklow | 25 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 1.2 |
| Cedric Maxwell | 81 | 525 | 219 | 79 | 68 | 1234 | 15.2 |
| Kevin McHale | 82 | 359 | 55 | 27 | 151 | 818 | 10.0 |
| Robert Parish | 82 | 777 | 144 | 81 | 214 | 1552 | 18.9 |
| Rick Robey | 82 | 390 | 126 | 38 | 19 | 740 | 9.0 |
Playoffs
NBA finals
Award winners
- Nate Archibald, All-NBA Second Team
- Larry Bird, All-NBA First Team
- Cedric Maxwell, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
- Kevin McHale, All-NBA Rookie Team
References
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| Boston Celtics seasons | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise • History • Seasons | ||||||||||
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| 1970s | 1969–70 | 1970–71 | 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 |
| 1980s | 1979–80 | 1980–81 | 1981–82 | 1982–83 | 1983–84 | 1984–85 | 1985–86 | 1986–87 | 1987–88 | 1988–89 |
| 1990s | 1989–90 | 1990–91 | 1991–92 | 1992–93 | 1993–94 | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 |
| 2000s | 1999–00 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 |
| 2010s | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | |||||||
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