1980–81 Milwaukee Bucks season

The 1980–81 NBA season was the Bucks 13th season in the NBA.^[1] They finished with 60 wins and 22 losses, placing first in their division and second in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics. It was the Bucks' best regular season record since 1972–73, and their only 60-win season without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on their roster until the 2018-19 season. The team's top scorer, fourth-year small forward Marques Johnson finished sixth in the MVP voting.

1980–81 Milwaukee Bucks season
Division champions
Head coach	Don Nelson
General manager	Don Nelson
Owner(s)	Jim Fitzgerald
Arena	MECCA Arena
Results
Record	60–22 (.732)
Place	Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to 76ers 3–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WVTV
Radio	WTMJ
< 1979–80 1981–82 >

Draft picks

Main article: 1980 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
3	63	Al Beal		United States	Oklahoma
4	86	Jeff Wolf		United States	North Carolina
5	109	Ken Jones		United States	Virginia Commonwealth
6	132	Alex Gilbert		United States	Indiana State
7	155	Ron White		United States	Furman
8	174	Keith Valentine		United States	Virginia Union
9	194	Del Yarbrough		United States	Illinois State
10	210	Melvin Crayton		United States	Alabama State

Roster

1980–81 Milwaukee Bucks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SF 2 Junior Bridgeman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1953–09–17 Louisville PG 21 Quinn Buckner 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954–08–20 Indiana PF 42 Harvey Catchings 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1951–09–02 Hardin–Simmons PF 6 Pat Cummings 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1956–07–11 Cincinnati C 41 Len Elmore 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1952–03–28 Maryland PG 5 Mike Evans 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955–04–19 Kansas State C 35 Kim Hughes 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1952–06–04 Wisconsin SF 8 Marques Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1956–02–08 UCLA PF 43 Mickey Johnson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1952–08–31 Aurora C 16 Bob Lanier 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1948–09–10 St. Bonaventure PG 4 Sidney Moncrief 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1957–09–21 Arkansas SG 32 Brian Winters 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1952–03–01 South Carolina

Head coach Don Nelson Assistant(s) John Killilea Dave Wohl Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

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

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	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

1980–81 game log Total: 60–22 (home: 34–7; road: 26–15)
October: 9–2 (home: 4–1; road: 5–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 10, 1980 @ Philadelphia W 106–103 Junior Bridgeman (21) The Spectrum 1–0 2 October 11, 1980 @ New York L 109–114 Marques Johnson (19) Madison Square Garden 1-1 3 October 16, 1980 Boston L 103–110 Marques Johnson (27) MECCA Arena 1–2 4 October 18, 1980 @ Cleveland W 107–105 Brian Winters (25) Coliseum at Richfield 2-2 5 October 19, 1980 New Jersey W 105–93 Brian Winters (22) MECCA Arena 3–2 6 October 21, 1980 Cleveland W 115–95 Marques Johnson (28) MECCA Arena 4–2 7 October 22, 1980 @ Indiana W 119–105 Market Square Arena 5–2 8 October 25, 1980 Chicago W 109–93 Marques Johnson (21) MECCA Arena 6–2 8 October 26, 1980 Washington W 111–88 Marques Johnson (21) Marques Johnson, Sidney Moncrief (9) Quinn Buckner, Brian Winters (7) MECCA Arena 7–2 9 October 28, 1980 @ Chicago W 106–99 Chicago Stadium 8–2 10 October 29, 1980 @ New Jersey W 132–116 Junior Bridgeman (26) Rutgers Athletic Center 9–2
November: 9–3 (home: 2–3; road: 7–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 11 November 1, 1980 @ Atlanta W 99–93 Omni Coliseum 10–2 12 November 2, 1980 Indiana W 135–121 Marques Johnson (40) MECCA Arena 11–2 13 November 4, 1980 Detroit L 96–98 MECCA Arena 11–3 14 November 7, 1980 @ Boston w 102–101 Boston Garden 12–3 15 November 9, 1980 Philadelphia L 121–136 MECCA Arena 12–4 16 November 11, 1980 @ Cleveland W 100–96 Marques Johnson (19) Coliseum at Richfield 13–4 17 November 12, 1980 @ Detroit W 122–98 Junior Bridgeman (27) Pontiac Silverdome 14–4 18 November 14, 1980 New York W 125–106 MECCA Arena 15–4 19 November 16, 1980 Chicago L 108–114 MECCA Arena 15–5 20 November 18, 1980 @ Utah W 126–93 Sidney Moncrief (21) Salt Palace 16–5 21 November 20, 1980 @ Portland W 97–93 Mickey Johnson (22) Memorial Coliseum 17–5 22 November 23, 1980 @ Los Angeles W 110–94 Marques Johnson (24) The Forum 18–5 23 November 28, 1980 Atlanta W 114–108 OT MECCA Arena 19–5 24 November 29, 1980 @ Washington L 89–98 Capital Centre 19–6 25 November 30, 1980 Boston W 107–105 MECCA Arena 20–6
December: 3–1 (home: 3–0; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 27 December 2, 1980 Utah W 119–108 MECCA Arena 21–6 28 December 5, 1980 Indiana W 102–100 MECCA Arena 22–6 29 December 6, 1980 @ New York L 94–104 Madison Square Garden 22–7 30 December 9, 1980 @ Boston L 89–112 Boston Garden 22–8 31 December 11, 1980 New York W 119–107 MECCA Arena 23–8 32 December 13, 1980 @ Atlanta L 119–122 Omni Coliseum 23–9 33 December 14, 1980 San Antonio W 115–98 MECCA Arena 24–9 34 December 17, 1980 @ New Jersey L 112–115 Rutgers Athletic Center 24–10 35 December 18, 1980 Detroit W 121–104 MECCA Arena 25–10 37 December 21, 1980 Houston W 123–91 MECCA Arena 26–11 38 December 27, 1980 Dallas W 112–96 MECCA Arena 27–11
January: 3–0 (home: 3–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 40 January 4, 1980 San Diego W 128–95 MECCA Arena 29–11 41 January 6, 1980 New Jersey W 102–86 MECCA Arena 30–11 42 January 8, 1980 Atlanta W 98–95 MECCA Arena 31–11
February: 1–0 (home: 0–0; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 62 February 17, 1981 @ Dallas W 114–106 Reunion Arena 45–17
March: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
1980–81 schedule

Playoffs

1981 playoff game log
Conference semifinals: 3–4 (home: 2–1; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 5 @ Philadelphia L 122–125 Junior Bridgeman (32) Marques Johnson (14) Quinn Buckner (8) Spectrum 9,727 0–1 2 April 7 @ Philadelphia W 109–99 Marques Johnson (22) Bob Lanier (10) Quinn Buckner (6) Spectrum 15,259 1–1 3 April 10 Philadelphia L 103–108 Marques Johnson (29) Marques Johnson (9) Marques Johnson (8) MECCA Arena 11,052 1–2 4 April 12 Philadelphia W 109–98 Marques Johnson (35) Sidney Moncrief (10) Marques Johnson (7) MECCA Arena 11,052 2–2 5 April 15 @ Philadelphia L 99–116 Mickey Johnson, Moncrief (20) Mickey Johnson (13) Marques Johnson (7) Spectrum 15,384 2–3 6 April 17 Philadelphia W 109–86 Mickey Johnson (22) Mickey Johnson (12) Lanier, Buckner (6) MECCA Arena 11,052 3–3 7 April 19 @ Philadelphia L 98–99 Marques Johnson (36) Bob Lanier (10) four players tied (4) Spectrum 6,704 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

Season

Season^[2]

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Marques Johnson	76		33.4	55.2	0.0	70.6	6.8	4.6	1.5	0.5	20.3
Junior Bridgeman	77		28.8	48.7	14.3	88.4	3.8	3.0	1.1	0.4	16.8
Bob Lanier	67		26.2	52.5	100.0	75.1	6.2	2.7	1.1	1.2	14.3
Sidney Moncrief	80		30.2	54.1	22.2	80.4	5.1	3.3	1.1	0.5	14.0
Quinn Buckner	82		29.1	49.3	16.7	73.4	3.6	4.7	2.4	0.0	13.3
Mickey Johnson	82		25.8	44.8	16.7	78.9	6.6	3.5	1.1	0.9	12.5
Brian Winters	69		25.7	47.5	35.3	86.9	2.0	3.3	1.0	0.1	11.6
Pat Cummings	74		14.6	53.9	0.0	70.7	3.9	0.8	0.4	0.3	8.0
Mike Evans	71		12.8	46.0	14.3	78.1	1.2	2.4	0.5	0.1	4.5
Harvey Catchings	77		21.2	44.7	0.0	64.1	6.1	1.3	0.4	2.4	4.2
Len Elmore	72		12.8	35.8	0.0	72.0	2.9	1.0	0.5	0.7	2.9
Kim Hughes	45		7.4	35.6	0.0	0.0	1.7	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.7

Playoffs

Playoffs^[2]

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Marques Johnson	7	7	38.0	55.6	0.0	71.9	9.4	4.9	1.4	1.0	24.7
Bob Lanier	7	7	33.7	58.8	0.0	71.9	7.4	4.0	1.7	1.1	17.6
Sidney Moncrief	7	7	39.6	43.5	0.0	74.5	6.7	2.9	1.7	0.4	14.0
Junior Bridgeman	7	0	26.1	46.2	100.0	81.3	2.1	3.3	0.9	0.0	14.0
Mickey Johnson	7	7	24.3	40.0	0.0	85.7	6.7	1.9	1.3	0.9	11.7
Brian Winters	7	0	25.9	45.9	33.3	75.0	3.3	3.1	1.4	0.1	10.0
Quinn Buckner	7	7	26.1	43.3	0.0	68.8	2.9	5.0	1.6	0.0	9.0
Mike Evans	4	0	9.5	52.9	0.0	87.5	0.3	1.5	0.0	0.3	6.3
Pat Cummings	5	0	5.0	27.3	0.0	75.0	1.2	0.0	0.2	0.0	1.8
Harvey Catchings	7	0	15.6	18.8	0.0	100.0	3.7	1.1	0.0	1.6	1.1
Len Elmore	4	0	3.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Awards, records and milestones

Awards

Week/Month

All-Star

Season

• Marques Johnson, All-NBA Second Team
• Quinn Buckner, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Records

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

September 11, 1980

To Milwaukee Bucks---- Mickey Johnson

To Indiana Pacers---- George L. Johnson

Free agents

Player	Signed	Former team
Kim Hughes	October 31, 1980	Denver Nuggets

Subtractions
Player	Date signed	New team
Dave Meyers	April 30, 1980	Retired
Richard Washington	Expansion Draft May 28, 1980	Dallas Mavericks
Lloyd Walton	October 6, 1980	Kansas City Kings
Scott Lloyd	October 20, 1980	Dallas Mavericks