1980–81 Chicago Bulls season

The 1980–81 NBA season was the Bulls' 15th season in the NBA and their first season in the Eastern Conference.^[1]

1980–81 Chicago Bulls season
Head coach	Jerry Sloan
General manager	Rod Thorn
Owner(s)	Arthur Wirtz and Jonathan Kovler
Arena	Chicago Stadium
Results
Record	45–37 (.549)
Place	Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Celtics 0–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WGN-TV/ONTV (Milo Hamilton, Johnny “Red” Kerr)
Radio	WVON (Jim Durham, Norm Van Lier)
< 1979–80 1981–82 >

Draft picks

Main article: 1980 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	4	Kelvin Ransey	PG	United States	Ohio State
2	26	Sam Worthen	SG	United States	Marquette
3	50	James Wilkes	SF	United States	UCLA
4	74	Ron Charles	PF/C	United States	Michigan State
5	96	Mike Campbell		United States	Northwestern
6	120	Bernard Rencher		United States	St. John's
7	142	Robert Byrd		United States	Marquette
8	164	Modzel Greer		United States	North Park
9	183	Jay Shidler		United States	Kentucky
10	203	Billy Foster		United States	Montana State-Billings

Roster

1980–81 Chicago Bulls roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 26 Coby Dietrick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1948–07–23 San José State C 53 Artis Gilmore 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1949–09–21 Jacksonville F 34 Dave Greenwood 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1957–05–27 UCLA F 13 Dwight Jones 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1952–02–27 Houston F 35 Larry Kenon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1952–12–13 Memphis G 12 Ronnie Lester 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1959–01–01 Iowa F 7 Scott May 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1954–03–19 Indiana G 40 Ricky Sobers 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1953–01–15 UNLV G 24 Reggie Theus 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1957–10–13 UNLV G 33 Bob Wilkerson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1954–08–15 Indiana F 32 James Wilkes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1958–04–01 UCLA G 31 Sam Worthen 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1958–01–17 Marquette

Head coach Jerry Sloan Assistant(s) Phil Johnson Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: November 21, 1980

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	60	22	.732	–	34–7	26–15	23–7
x-Chicago Bulls	45	37	.549	15.0	26–15	19–22	20–9
x-Indiana Pacers	44	38	.537	16.0	27–14	17–24	17–12
Atlanta Hawks	31	51	.378	29.0	20–21	11–30	9–21
Cleveland Cavaliers	28	54	.341	32.0	20–21	8–33	9–21
Detroit Pistons	21	61	.256	39.0	14–27	7–34	9–21

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	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

1980-81 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NYN	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

Regular season

1980–81 game log Total: 45–37 (home: 26–15; road: 19–22)
October: 3–7 (home: 2–3; road: 1–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
November: 7–7 (home: 4–3; road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 15 November 9 @ Boston L 105–111 Boston Garden 6–9 19 November 18 Boston L 112–113 Chicago Stadium 7–12
December: 9–6 (home: 6–2; road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 December 13 Boston L 95–106 Chicago Stadium 12–19 33 December 17 @ Boston L 98–115 Boston Garden 13–20 35 December 20 Houston W 133–109 Chicago Stadium 15–20
January: 8–7 (home: 5–4; road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 43 January 9 @ Boston L 111–117 Boston Garden 21–22 46 January 14 @ Houston L 105–109 The Summit 21–25 54 January 29 Boston W 108–85 Chicago Stadium 27–27
February: 7–8 (home: 4–3; road: 3–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record All-Star Break
March: 11–2 (home: 5–0; road: 6–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
1980–81 schedule

Playoffs

1981 playoff game log
Eastern Conference 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 @ New York W 90–80 Sobers (18) Gilmore (16) Sobers (6) Madison Square Garden 14,822 1–0 2 April 3 New York W 115–114 (OT) Theus (37) Jones (14) Theus (11) Chicago Stadium 19,901 2–0
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 5 @ Boston L 109–121 Jones (19) Jones (9) Jones, Sobers (4) Boston Garden 15,320 0–1 2 April 7 @ Boston L 97–106 Theus (21) Gilmore, Jones (10) three players tied (4) Boston Garden 15,320 0–2 3 April 10 Boston L 107–113 Theus (26) Greenwood (12) Theus (8) Chicago Stadium 19,995 0–3 4 April 12 Boston L 103–109 Greenwood (24) Gilmore (15) Sobers, Theus (7) Chicago Stadium 18,249 0–4
1981 schedule

Player statistics

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

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

• Artis Gilmore, NBA All-Star Game
• Reggie Theus, NBA All-Star Game

Transactions

Free agents

Subtractions
Player	Date signed	New team
Del Beshore	Expansion Draft May 28, 1980	Dallas Mavericks
John Mengelt	September 9, 1980	Golden State Warriors
Ollie Mack	October 23, 1980	Dallas Mavericks