1980–81 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1980–81 NBA season was the fifth season in the NBA, the seventh in San Antonio and the 13th as a franchise. It was a landmark season in many ways. The San Antonio Spurs moved to the Western Conference along with the Houston Rockets. The Spurs won their first Midwest Division title, and their third division title overall (they had won the Central Division in 1977-78 and 1978–79). The Spurs had the fourth best team offensive rating in the NBA.

1980–81 San Antonio Spurs season
Division champions
Head coach	Stan Albeck
General manager	Bob Bass
Owner(s)	Angelo Drossos
Arena	HemisFair Arena
Results
Record	52–30 (.634)
Place	Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Rockets 3–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KMOL
Radio	KCTI
< 1979–80 1981–82 >

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	15	Reggie Johnson[1]	PF/C	United States	Tennessee
2	39	Michael Wiley		United States	California State-Long Beach
4	83	Calvin Roberts		United States	California State-Fullerton
5	107	Gib Hinz		United States	Wisconsin-Eau Claire
6	129	Dean Uthoff		United States	Iowa State
7	153	Allan Zahn		United States	Arkansas
8	172	Bill Bailey		United States	Texas Pan-American
9	192	Al Williams		United States	North Texas State
10	209	Steve Schall		United States	Arkansas

Roster

1980–81 San Antonio Spurs roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 10 Ron Brewer 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1955–07–16 Arkansas C 40 Dave Corzine 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1956–04–25 DePaul G/F 44 George Gervin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1952–04–27 Eastern Michigan F/C 30 Paul Griffin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1954–01–20 Western Michigan F/C 52 George Johnson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1948–12–18 Dillard F 32 Reggie Johnson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1957–06–25 Tennessee G 00 Johnny Moore 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1958–03–03 Texas F 53 Mark Olberding 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1956–04–21 Minnesota F/C 31 Kevin Restani 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1951–12–23 San Francisco G 13 James Silas 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1949–02–11 Stephen F. Austin F 33 Michael Wiley 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1957–10–16 Long Beach State

Head coach Stan Albeck Assistant(s) Morris McHone Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: March 2, 1981

Regular season

Under realignment, the Spurs were shifted to the Midwest Division in the Western Conference.^[2] Looking to improve on the previous season, the Spurs looked to shore up the defense by acquiring Dave Corzine, Dave Johnson, and Reggie Johnson. The moves paid immediate dividends as the Spurs got off to a 10–2 start, on the way to a Division Crown with a 52–30 record.^[2] In the playoffs, the Spurs lost in 7 games to the cross-state rival Houston Rockets.

• The 1980-81 San Antonio Spurs scored 9209 points and allowed 8973 points
• The Spurs Points Per 100 Possessions on Offense was 109.7, which ranked 1st out of 23 teams. Their Points Per 100 Possessions on the Defense was 104.5, ranking them 8th out of 23.

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	52	30	.634	–	34–7	18–23	21–9
x-Kansas City Kings	40	42	.488	12.0	24–17	16–25	19–11
x-Houston Rockets	40	42	.488	12.0	25–16	15–26	19–11
Denver Nuggets	37	45	.451	15.0	23–18	14–27	13–17
Utah Jazz	28	54	.341	24.0	20–21	8–33	13–17
Dallas Mavericks	15	67	.183	37.0	11–30	4–37	5–25

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Phoenix Suns	57	25	.695	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	52	30	.634	5
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	54	28	.659	3
4	x-Portland Trail Blazers	45	37	.549	12
5	x-Kansas City Kings	40	42	.488	17
6	x-Houston Rockets	40	42	.488	17
7	Golden State Warriors	39	43	.476	18
8	Denver Nuggets	37	45	.451	20
9	San Diego Clippers	36	46	.439	21
10	Seattle SuperSonics	34	48	.415	23
11	Utah Jazz	28	54	.341	29
12	Dallas Mavericks	15	67	.183	42

Notes

• z, y – division champions
• 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	1-1	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: 52–30 (home: 34–7; road: 18–23)
October: 10–2 (home: 5–0; road: 5–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 10 @ Denver W 113–112 McNichols Sports Arena 1–0 2 October 11 @ Dallas L 92–103 Reunion Arena 1–1 3 October 14 Kansas City W 109–103 HemisFair Arena 2–1 4 October 16 @ Detroit W 102–99 Pontiac Silverdome 3–1 5 October 18 Dallas W 110–96 HemisFair Arena 4–1 6 October 21 San Diego W 123–120 HemisFair Arena 5–1 7 October 23 Golden State W 128–109 HemisFair Arena 6–1 8 October 25 @ San Diego W 116–98 San Diego Sports Arena 7–1 9 October 26 @ Los Angeles W 108–102 The Forum 8–1 10 October 28 Portland W 120–112 HemisFair Arena 9–1 11 October 29 @ Utah L 96–109 Salt Palace Acord Arena 9–2 12 October 31 @ Seattle W 112–96 Kingdome 10–2
November: 7–6 (home: 4–3; road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 13 November 1 @ Golden State L 108–123 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 10–3 14 November 5 Phoenix W 114–84 HemisFair Arena 11–3 15 November 8 Los Angeles W 112–109 HemisFair Arena 12–3 16 November 11 Indiana L 113–119 HemisFair Arena 12–4 17 November 12 @ Phoenix L 127–130 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12–5 18 November 13 @ San Diego W 113–107 San Diego Sports Arena 13–5 19 November 15 Utah W 120–104 HemisFair Arena 14–5 20 November 18 @ Atlanta L 93–97 The Omni 14–6 21 November 19 @ New Jersey W 112–104 (OT) Rutgers Athletic Center 15–6 22 November 22 Philadelphia L 101–108 HemisFair Arena 15–7 23 November 26 Chicago W 125–122 HemisFair Arena 16–7 24 November 28 Houston L 115–124 HemisFair Arena 16–8 25 November 29 @ Kansas City W 106–104 Kemper Arena 17–8
December: 9–6 (home: 6–1; road: 3–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 26 December 2 Phoenix L 107–122 HemisFair Arena 17–9 27 December 4 Cleveland W 130–100 HemisFair Arena 18–9 28 December 7 @ Portland L 115–116 Memorial Coliseum 18–10 29 December 8 @ Seattle L 99–104 Kingdome 18–11 30 December 9 @ Utah W 115–90 Salt Palace Acord Arena 19–11 31 December 11 Kansas City W 122–104 HemisFair Arena 20–11 32 December 13 Denver W 147–123 HemisFair Arena 21–11 33 December 14 @ Milwaukee L 98–115 MECCA Arena 21–12 34 December 16 @ Dallas W 89–83 Reunion Arena 22–12 35 December 17 @ Houston W 113–107 The Summit 23–12 36 December 19 Golden State W 126–111 HemisFair Arena 24–12 37 December 21 @ Los Angeles L 122–135 The Forum 24–13 38 December 25 @ Phoenix L 111–131 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 24–14 39 December 27 Utah W 142–117 HemisFair Arena 25–14 40 December 30 Seattle W 102–100 HemisFair Arena 26–14
January: 8–6 (home: 6–0; road: 2–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 41 January 2 Los Angeles W 118–112 HemisFair Arena 27–14 42 January 3 @ Chicago W 119–111 Chicago Stadium 28–14 43 January 6 @ New York W 113–108 Madison Square Garden 29–14 44 January 7 @ Philadelphia L 102–135 The Spectrum 29–15 45 January 9 Portland W 102–86 HemisFair Arena 30–15 46 January 11 Washington W 137–106 HemisFair Arena 31–15 47 January 14 New York W 116–105 HemisFair Arena 32–15 48 January 16 @ Boston L 85–94 Boston Garden 32–16 49 January 17 @ Washington L 93–103 Capital Centre 32–17 50 January 20 Phoenix W 119–112 (OT) HemisFair Arena 33–17 51 January 21 @ Kansas City L 108–115 Kemper Arena 33–18 52 January 24 @ Denver L 115–129 McNichols Sports Arena 33–19 53 January 25 @ Portland L 100–118 Memorial Coliseum 33–20 54 January 29 New Jersey W 122–108 HemisFair Arena 34–20
February: 10–4 (home: 8–1; road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 55 February 3 Detroit W 102–99 HemisFair Arena 35–20 56 February 4 @ Denver W 135–132 McNichols Sports Arena 36–20 57 February 6 Portland W 122–96 HemisFair Arena 37–20 58 February 8 Dallas W 102–98 HemisFair Arena 38–20 59 February 11 @ Houston L 89–108 The Summit 38–21 60 February 12 Atlanta W 110–109 HemisFair Arena 39–21 61 February 14 @ Dallas W 107–99 Reunion Arena 40–21 62 February 15 Milwaukee W 110–108 HemisFair Arena 41–21 63 February 17 Boston L 116–128 HemisFair Arena 41–22 64 February 19 @ Cleveland L 104–118 Richfield Coliseum 41–23 65 February 20 @ Indiana L 106–109 Market Square Arena 41–24 66 February 22 Denver W 133–129 (OT) HemisFair Arena 42–24 67 February 24 Golden State W 131–126 HemisFair Arena 43–24 68 February 26 Seattle W 123–113 HemisFair Arena 44–24
March: 8–6 (home: 5–2; road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 69 March 1 Houston W 102–86 HemisFair Arena 45–24 70 March 4 Kansas City L 97–111 HemisFair Arena 45–25 71 March 6 @ Seattle L 94–102 Kingdome 45–26 72 March 8 Dallas W 133–108 HemisFair Arena 46–26 73 March 10 @ Los Angeles L 104–118 The Forum 46–27 74 March 14 @ San Diego L 118–126 San Diego Sports Arena 46–28 75 March 15 @ Golden State W 114–112 (OT) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 47–28 76 March 17 Utah W 94–86 HemisFair Arena 48–28 77 March 20 @ Kansas City W 114–111 (OT) Kemper Arena 49–28 78 March 22 San Diego W 107–99 HemisFair Arena 50–28 79 March 24 Denver L 123–125 HemisFair Arena 50–29 80 March 25 @ Houston L 111–117 The Summit 50–30 81 March 26 @ Utah W 98–97 Salt Palace Acord Arena 51–30 82 March 29 Houston W 135–109 HemisFair Arena 52–30
1980–81 schedule

Playoffs

1981 playoff game log
Conference semifinals: 3–4 (home: 1–3; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 7 Houston L 98–107 George Gervin (30) George Johnson (12) Paul Griffin (7) HemisFair Arena 13,319 0–1 2 April 8 Houston W 125–113 Mark Olberding (34) G. Johnson, Griffin (7) Dave Corzine (7) HemisFair Arena 12,128 1–1 3 April 10 @ Houston L 99–112 George Gervin (33) Gervin, G. Johnson (8) Mark Olberding (5) The Summit 16,121 1–2 4 April 12 @ Houston W 114–112 George Gervin (33) Dave Corzine (11) Mark Olberding (6) The Summit 16,121 2–2 5 April 14 Houston L 117–123 Reggie Johnson (25) George Johnson (11) George Gervin (9) HemisFair Arena 16,114 2–3 6 April 15 @ Houston W 101–96 George Gervin (26) three players tied (8) Mark Olberding (6) The Summit 16,121 3–3 7 April 17 Houston L 100–105 George Gervin (21) George Johnson (10) Johnny Moore (10) HemisFair Arena 16,114 3–4
1981 schedule

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player	POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
George Gervin	SG	82	82	2,765	419	260	94	56	2,221	33.7	5.1	3.2	1.1	.7	27.1
Mark Olberding	SF	82	82	2,408	471	277	75	31	1,012	29.4	5.7	3.4	.9	.4	12.3
George T. Johnson	C	82	82	1,935	602	92	47	278	408	23.6	7.3	1.1	.6	3.4	5.0
Dave Corzine	C	82		1,960	636	117	42	99	857	23.9	7.8	1.4	.5	1.2	10.5
Paul Griffin	PF	82		1,930	505	249	77	38	502	23.5	6.2	3.0	.9	.5	6.1
Johnny Moore	PG	82		1,578	196	373	120	22	604	19.2	2.4	4.5	1.5	.3	7.4
Reggie Johnson	PF	79		1,716	358	78	45	48	808	21.7	4.5	1.0	.6	.6	10.2
James Silas	PG	75		2,055	231	285	51	12	1,326	27.4	3.1	3.8	.7	.2	17.7
Kevin Restani	SF	64		999	174	81	16	14	449	15.6	2.7	1.3	.3	.2	7.0
Ron Brewer†	SG	46		904	53	93	27	25	425	19.7	1.2	2.0	.6	.5	9.2
Mike Gale†	PG	35		636	52	99	55	2	192	18.2	1.5	2.8	1.6	.1	5.5
Michael Wiley	PF	33		271	64	11	8	6	188	8.2	1.9	.3	.2	.2	5.7
John Shumate†	PF	22		519	87	24	21	9	165	23.6	4.0	1.1	1.0	.4	7.5
Gus Gerard†	SF	11		129	38	9	7	3	52	11.7	3.5	.8	.6	.3	4.7

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Spurs only.

Playoffs

Player	POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
George Gervin	SG	7		274	35	24	5	5	190	39.1	5.0	3.4	.7	.7	27.1
Mark Olberding	SF	7		254	41	30	4	0	138	36.3	5.9	4.3	.6	.0	19.7
Reggie Johnson	PF	7		224	34	16	4	5	89	32.0	4.9	2.3	.6	.7	12.7
Paul Griffin	PF	7		183	40	29	6	5	37	26.1	5.7	4.1	.9	.7	5.3
George T. Johnson	C	7		165	63	6	3	16	31	23.6	9.0	.9	.4	2.3	4.4
James Silas	PG	7		161	15	19	4	0	80	23.0	2.1	2.7	.6	.0	11.4
Dave Corzine	C	7		161	48	16	4	8	63	23.0	6.9	2.3	.6	1.1	9.0
Johnny Moore	PG	7		124	13	27	10	1	42	17.7	1.9	3.9	1.4	.1	6.0
Ron Brewer	SG	7		118	5	13	1	6	80	16.9	.7	1.9	.1	.9	11.4
Kevin Restani	SF	3		11	2	0	0	1	2	3.7	.7	.0	.0	.3	.7
Michael Wiley	PF	3		5	0	0	0	0	2	1.7	.0	.0	.0	.0	.7

Award winners

• George Gervin, All-NBA First Team
• George Johnson, NBA Leader Blocks per Game, 3.4

Transactions