1980–81 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 1980–81 Philadelphia 76ers season was the team's 32nd season in the NBA and 18th season in Philadelphia The team finished the regular season with a 62–20 record, however they lost the tie breaker with the Boston Celtics who had the home court advantage with the same regular season record. In the playoffs, they lost a seven-game series to the Boston Celtics, in the Eastern Conference finals, after having a three games to one series lead. This was the second time this occurred between the two teams (other in 1968), and the final 3 games of the series were decided by 5 points total. Julius Erving would win the Most Valuable Player of the League.[1]

1980–81 Philadelphia 76ers season
Head coachBilly Cunningham
General managerPat Williams
ArenaThe Spectrum
Results
Record62–20 (.756)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Atlantic)
Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finishEastern Conference finals
(lost to Celtics 3–4)

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWKBS-TV
PRISM
RadioWIP
< 1979–80 1981–82 >

Draft picks

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Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 8 Andrew Toney SG   United States Louisiana-Lafayette
1 21 Monti Davis F   United States Tennessee State
2 44 Clyde Austin   United States North Carolina State
3 67 Reggie Gaines   United States Winston-Salem State
4 85 Billy Bryant   United States Western Kentucky
4 90 Harold Hubbard   United States Savannah State
5 113 Jim Swaney   United States Toledo
6 136 Donald Cooper   United States St. Augustine's
7 159 Richard Smith   United States Weber State
8 177 Martin Lemelle   United States Grambling State
9 198 Luke Griffin   United States St. Joseph's
10 213 Joe Hand   United States King's College

Roster

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1980–81 Philadelphia 76ers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G 10 Cheeks, Maurice 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1956–09–08 West Texas A&M
G 20 Collins, Doug   6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1951–07–28 Illinois State
F 25 Cureton, Earl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957–09–03 Detroit Mercy
C 53 Dawkins, Darryl 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 251 lb (114 kg) 1957–01–11 Maynard Evans HS (FL)
F 6 Erving, Julius 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1950–02–22 UMass
G 9 Hollins, Lionel 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1953–10–19 Arizona State
F 18 Johnson, Ollie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1949–05–11 Temple
F 24 Jones, Bobby 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951–12–18 North Carolina
C 11 Jones, Caldwell 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 1950–08–04 Albany State
G 4 Richardson, Clint 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1956–08–07 Seattle
F 50 Mix, Steve 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1947–12–30 Toledo
G 22 Toney, Andrew 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1957–11–23 Louisiana
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  •   Injured

Regular season

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Season standings

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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
#
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
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

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1980-81 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta 2–4 2–4 1–5 2–0 1–1 4–2 2–0 1–1 1–5 1–1 0–2 1–5 3–2 2–4 1–5 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–4
Boston 4–2 5–1 4–1 2–0 2–0 4–1 1–1 2–0 3–3 1–1 2–0 3–3 6–0 5–1 3–3 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 5–1
Chicago 4–2 1–5 5–1 1–1 1–1 5–1 1–1 1–1 3–2 2–0 1–1 3–3 3–2 3–3 2–4 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 5–1
Cleveland 5–1 1–4 1–5 2–0 1–1 3–3 1–1 0–2 2–4 0–2 0–2 0–6 3–3 0–5 0–6 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 4–2
Dallas 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 3–3 0–2 2–3 0–6 0–2 0–6 0–5 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–4 1–4 1–5 2–3 1–4 1–5 0–2
Denver 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 3–3 2–0 3–2 2–4 1–1 4–2 3–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–4 2–3 2–4 3–2 3–2 2–4 0–2
Detroit 2–4 1–4 1–5 3–3 2–0 0–2 0–2 1–1 2–4 1–1 0–2 1–5 3–3 1–5 1–4 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–5
Golden State 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 3–2 2–3 2–0 3–2 1–1 5–0 1–5 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–4 2–4 1–4 2–4 3–3 4–1 1–1
Houston 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 6–0 4–2 1–1 2–3 1–1 2–4 2–3 0–2 2–0 0–2 0–2 1–4 3–2 3–3 1–4 4–1 4–2 0–2
Indiana 5–1 3–3 2–3 4–2 2–0 1–1 4–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–4 5–1 3–2 0–6 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 4–2
Kansas City 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–0 6–0 2–4 1–1 0–5 4–2 0–2 0–5 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 3–2 3–2 2–4 3–2 2–3 5–1 1–1
Los Angeles 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–0 5–0 2–3 2–0 5–1 3–2 2–0 5–0 0–2 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–4 3–3 2–3 3–3 6–0 3–2 1–1
Milwaukee 5–1 3–3 3–3 6–0 2–0 1–1 5–1 1–1 2–0 4–2 1–1 2–0 5–1 3–3 3–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 4–1
New Jersey 2–3 0–6 2–3 3–3 1–1 1–1 3–3 1–1 0–2 1–5 0–2 0–2 1–5 0–6 1–5 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 3–3
New York 4–2 1–5 3–3 5–0 1–1 2–0 5–1 0–2 2–0 2–3 1–1 0–2 3–3 6–0 3–3 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 4–2
Philadelphia 5–1 3–3 4–2 6–0 2–0 1–1 4–1 2–0 2–0 6–0 2–0 1–1 2–3 5–1 3–3 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 4–2
Phoenix 2–0 0–2 2–0 1–1 4–1 4–1 2–0 4–2 4–1 1–1 2–3 4–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 3–3 3–2 6–0 5–1 5–0 1–1
Portland 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 4–1 3–2 2–0 4–2 2–3 2–0 2–3 3–3 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 3–3 2–3 4–2 4–2 2–3 2–0
San Antonio 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 5–1 4–2 2–0 4–1 3–3 0–2 4–2 3–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 0–2 2–3 3–2 4–1 3–2 5–1 1–1
San Diego 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 3–2 2–3 1–1 4–2 4–1 1–1 2–3 3–3 0–2 2–0 0–2 0–2 0–6 2–4 1–4 5–1 3–2 0–2
Seattle 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 4–1 2–3 2–0 3–3 1–4 2–0 3–2 0–6 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–5 2–4 2–3 1–5 4–1 1–1
Utah 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 5–1 4–2 2–0 1–4 2–4 1–1 1–5 2–3 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–5 3–2 1–5 2–3 1–4 0–2
Washington 4–1 1–5 1–5 2–4 2–0 2–0 5–1 1–1 2–0 2–4 1–1 1–1 1–4 3–3 2–4 2–4 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0

Game log

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Regular season

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1980–81 game log
Total: 62–20 (home: 37–4; road: 25–16)
October: 8–2 (home: 3–1; road: 5–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
November: 15–1 (home: 8–1; road: 7–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
December: 10–4 (home: 6–0; road: 4–4)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
January: 11–3 (home: 7–0; road: 4–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
February: 10–3 (home: 7–1; road: 3–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
March: 8–7 (home: 6–1; road: 2–6)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
1980–81 schedule

Playoffs

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1981 playoff game log
First Round: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Series
1 March 31 Indiana W 124–108 Julius Erving (32) Caldwell Jones (12) Andrew Toney (11) Spectrum
7,288
1–0
2 April 2 @ Indiana W 96–85 Julius Erving (23) Caldwell Jones (11) Maurice Cheeks (6) Market Square Arena
8,921
2–0
Conference semifinals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Series
1 April 5 Milwaukee W 125–122 Julius Erving 38) Caldwell Jones 11) Caldwell Jones 7) Spectrum
9,727
1–0
2 April 7 Milwaukee L 99–109 Bobby Jones (22) Julius Erving (13) Maurice Cheeks (6) Spectrum
15,259
1–1
3 April 10 @ Milwaukee W 108–103 Erving, Dawkins (23) Caldwell Jones (13) Maurice Cheeks (9) MECCA Arena
11,052
2–1
4 April 12 @ Milwaukee L 98–109 Julius Erving (22) Caldwell Jones (8) Maurice Cheeks (8) MECCA Arena
11,052
2–2
5 April 15 Milwaukee W 116–99 Cheeks, Hollins (20) Julius Erving (9) Maurice Cheeks (10) Spectrum
15,384
3–2
6 April 17 @ Milwaukee L 86–109 Julius Erving (25) Julius Erving (7) Maurice Cheeks (7) MECCA Arena
11,052
3–3
7 April 19 Milwaukee W 99–98 Julius Erving (28) Caldwell Jones (12) Maurice Cheeks (11) Spectrum
6,704
4–3
Conference finals: 3–4 (home: 2–1; road: 1–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Series
1 April 21 @ Boston W 105–104 Andrew Toney (26) Julius Erving (9) Maurice Cheeks (8) Boston Garden
15,320
1–0
2 April 22 @ Boston L 118–99 Andrew Toney (35) Dawkins, Toney (7) Andrew Toney (7) Boston Garden
15,320
1–1
3 April 24 Boston W 110–100 Julius Erving (22) Caldwell Jones (14) Maurice Cheeks (8) Spectrum
18,276
2–1
4 April 26 Boston W 107–105 Julius Erving (20) Caldwell Jones (10) Maurice Cheeks (10) Spectrum
18,276
3–1
5 April 29 @ Boston L 109–111 Lionel Hollins (23) Darryl Dawkins (8) Erving, Hollins (5) Boston Garden
15,320
3–2
6 May 1 Boston L 98–100 Darryl Dawkins (24) Caldwell Jones (8) Maurice Cheeks (8) Spectrum
18,276
3–3
7 May 3 @ Boston L 90–91 Julius Erving (23) Caldwell Jones (15) Maurice Cheeks (7) Boston Garden
15,320
3–4
1981 schedule

Player statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Playoffs

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Awards and records

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See also

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References

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