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 coach	Billy Cunningham
General manager	Pat Williams
Arena	The Spectrum
Results
Record	62–20 (.756)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Eastern Conference finals (lost to Celtics 3–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WKBS-TV PRISM
Radio	WIP
< 1979–80 1981–82 >

Draft picks

Main article: 1980 NBA draft

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

1980–81 Philadelphia 76ers roster

Players

Coaches

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

Head coach Billy Cunningham Assistant(s) Chuck Daly Jack McMahon Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	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 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: 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

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

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

Awards and records

• Julius Erving, NBA Most Valuable Player Award
• Julius Erving, All-NBA First Team
• Bobby Jones, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Caldwell Jones, NBA All-Defensive First Team

See also

• 1980-81 NBA season