1980–81 Boston Celtics season

NBA basketball team season (NBA champions) August 2023 March 2026 Boston Celtics yes yes yes 1981 62 20 Atlantic 1 1 Bill Fitch Red Auerbach Boston GardenHartford Civic Center Harry Mangurian WBZ-TV, WATR WBZ Radio, WTIC NBA champions(Defeated Rockets 4–2) BOS thumb|right|280px|A ticket for a March 1981 game between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks. In 1980–81 the Boston Celtics went 62–20 under coach Bill Fitch. Despite losing center Dave Cowens to retirement late in training camp, the Celtics went on to capture the 1981 NBA Championship over the Houston Rockets. The highlight was that this championship was achieved just two years after Larry Bird had been drafted. Cedric Maxwell was named NBA Finals MVP. Offseason NBA draft After the 1979–80 season, Auerbach completed what may be the most lopsided trade in NBA history. Auerbach had always been a fan of stockpiling draft picks, so even after the success of 1979–80 the Celtics had both the 1st and 13th picks in the 1980 NBA draft left over from the M.L. Carr trade. Auerbach saw an opportunity to improve the team immediately, sending the two picks to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for center Robert Parish and the Warriors first round pick, the 3rd overall, University of Minnesota power forward Kevin McHale. With these three future Hall of Famers on the team the Celtics had a core in place to become a dominant team in the NBA. Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 1 1 Joe Barry Carroll Center United States Purdue 1 13 Rickey Brown Center United States Mississippi Statehttp://www.nba.com/history/draft_round1_1980s.html#1980 Archived copy NBA.com 2009-04-15 https://web.archive.org/web/20100321192607/http://www.nba.com/history/draft_round1_1980s.html#1980 2010-03-21 dead Roster Boston Celtics 1980–81 7 Nate Archibald G 6 1 150 1948-09-02 UTEP 33 Larry Bird F 6 9 220 1956-12-07 Indiana State 30 M. L. Carr F 6 6 205 1951-01-09 Guilford College 40 Terry Duerod G 6 2 180 1956-07-29 Detroit 45 Eric Fernsten C 6 10 205 1953-11-01 San Francisco 42 Chris Ford G 6 5 190 1949-01-11 Villanova 43 Gerald Henderson G 6 2 175 1956-01-16 VCU 31 Cedric Maxwell F 6 8 205 1955-11-21 Charlotte 32 Kevin McHale basketball F 6 10 210 1957-12-19 Minnesota 00 Robert Parish C 7 1 230 1953-08-30 Centenary College of Louisiana 53 Rick Robey C 6 11 230 1956-01-30 Kentucky Bill Fitch K. C. Jones Jimmy Rodgers (L) On leave from the team https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1981.html Regular season Season standings BOS BOS Notes z, y – division champions x – clinched playoff spot Game log Regular season background:#006400; color:#FFFFFF 1980–81 game log: 62–20 (Home: 35–6; Road: 27–14) y background:#FFFFFF; color:#006400 October: 6–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 4–2) Game DateTime Team Score High points High rebounds High assists LocationAttendance Record |- |- | 1 | October 10 | Cleveland | 130–103 | | | | Boston Garden | 1–0 |- | 2 | October 14 | @ Atlanta | 116–122 | | | | The Omni | 1–1 |- | 3 | October 16 | @ Milwaukee | 110–103 | | | | MECCA Arena | 2–1 |- | 4 | October 18 | @ Indiana | 99–103 | | | | Market Square Arena | 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc | 5 | October 22 | @ New Jersey | 108–104 | | | | Rutgers Athletic Center | 3–2 |- | 6 | October 23 | New York | 107–109 (OT) | | | | Hartford Civic Center | 3–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc | 7 | October 25 | @ Washington | 103–87 | | | | Capital Centre | 4–3 |- | 8 | October 29 | @ Detroit | 103–85 | | | | Pontiac Silverdome | 5–3 |- | 9 | October 31 | Kansas City | 115–110 | | | | Boston Garden | 6–3 |- y background:#FFFFFF; color:#006400 November: 9–4 (Home: 7–1; Road: 2–3) Game DateTime Team Score High points High rebounds High assists LocationAttendance Record |- |- | 10 | November 1 | @ Philadelphia | 113–117 (OT) | | | | The Spectrum | 6–4 |- | 11 | November 5 | Atlanta | 104–87 | | | | Boston Garden | 7–4 |- | 12 | November 7 | Milwaukee | 101–102 | | | | Boston Garden | 7–5 |- | 13 | November 9 | Chicago | 111–105 | | | | Boston Garden | 8–5 |- | 14 | November 12 | Washington | 93–86 | | | | Boston Garden | 9–5 |- | 15 | November 14 | New Jersey | 126–102 | | | | Boston Garden | 10–5 |- | 16 | November 18 | @ Chicago | 113–107 | | | | Chicago Stadium | 11–5 |- | 17 | November 19 | @ Indiana | 103–91 | | | | Market Square Arena | 12–5 |- | 18 | November 21 | Golden State | 108–106 | | | | Boston Garden | 13–5 |- | 19 | November 22 | @ Cleveland | 98–113 | | | | Richfield Coliseum | 13–6 |- | 20 | November 26 | Portland | 126–101 | | | | Boston Garden | 14–6 |- | 21 | November 28 | New York | 120–106 | | | | Boston Garden | 15–6 |- | 22 | November 30 | @ Milwaukee | 105–107 | | | | MECCA Arena | 15–7 |- y background:#FFFFFF; color:#006400 December: 14–1 (Home: 7–1; Road: 7–0) Game DateTime Team Score High points High rebounds High assists LocationAttendance Record |- |- | 23 | December 2 | @ Detroit | 94–85 | | | | Pontiac Silverdome | 16–7 |- | 24 | December 3 | Atlanta | 106–101 | | | | Boston Garden | 17–7 |- | 25 | December 5 | Dallas | 97–87 | | | | Boston Garden | 18–7 |- | 26 | December 7 | Washington | 103–113 | | | | Hartford Civic Center | 18–8 |- | 27 | December 9 | Milwaukee | 112–89 | | | | Boston Garden | 19–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc | 28 | December 10 | @ Washington | 101–99 | | | | Capital Centre | 20–8 |- | 29 | December 12 | New Jersey | 119–104 | | | | Boston Garden | 21–8 |- | 30 | December 13 | @ Chicago | 106–95 | | | | Chicago Stadium | 22–8 |- | 31 | December 17 | Chicago | 115–98 | | | | Boston Garden | 23–8 |- | 32 | December 19 | Houston | 133–119 | | | | Boston Garden | 24–8 |- | 33 | December 20 | @ Cleveland | 107–102 | | | | Richfield Coliseum | 25–8 |- | 34 | December 23 | Denver | 136–128 | | | | Boston Garden | 26–8 |- | 35 | December 25 | @ New York | 117–108 | | | | Madison Square Garden | 27–8 |- | 36 | December 27 | @ Atlanta | 112–107 | | | | The Omni | 28–8 |- | 37 | December 30 | @ Phoenix | 116–97 | | | | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 29–8 |- y background:#FFFFFF; color:#006400 January: 14–2 (Home: 10–0; Road: 4–2) Game DateTime Team Score High points High rebounds High assists LocationAttendance Record |- |- | 38 | January 1 | @ San Diego | 88–85 | | | | San Diego Sports Arena | 30–8 |- | 39 | January 2 | @ Golden State | 106–121 | | | | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 30–9 |- | 40 | January 4 | @ Portland | 120–111 | | | | Memorial Coliseum | 31–9 |- | 41 | January 7 | Phoenix | 108–90 | | | | Boston Garden | 32–9 |- | 42 | January 9 | Chicago | 117–111 (OT) | | | | Boston Garden | 33–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc | 43 | January 10 | @ New Jersey | 117–115 | | | | Rutgers Athletic Center | 34–9 |- | 44 | January 13 | @ New York | 93–89 | | | | Madison Square Garden | 35–9 |- | 45 | January 14 | Cleveland | 120–113 | | | | Boston Garden | 36–9 |- | 46 | January 16 | San Antonio | 94–85 | | | | Boston Garden | 37–9 |- | 47 | January 18 | Los Angeles | 98–96 | | | | Boston Garden | 38–9 |- | 48 | January 19 | Detroit | 92–90 | | | | Hartford Civic Center | 39–9 |- | 49 | January 21 | Utah | 117–87 | | | | Boston Garden | 40–9 |- | 50 | January 23 | Indiana | 104–103 | | | | Boston Garden | 41–9 |- | 51 | January 25 | Seattle | 115–106 | | | | Boston Garden | 42–9 |- | 52 | January 28 | Philadelphia | 104–101 | | | | Boston Garden | 43–9 |- | 53 | January 29 | @ Chicago | 85–108 | | | | Chicago Stadium | 43–10 |- y background:#FFFFFF; color:#006400 February: 8–5 (Home: 3–0; Road: 5–5) Game DateTime Team Score High points High rebounds High assists LocationAttendance Record |- |- | 54 | February 4 | @ Philadelphia | 104–107 | | | | The Spectrum | 43–11 |- | 55 | February 5 | @ Milwaukee | 103–113 | | | | MECCA Arena | 43–12 |- | 56 | February 6 | Indiana | 111–98 | | | | Boston Garden | 44–12 |- | 57 | February 8 | San Diego | 123–107 | | | | Boston Garden | 45–12 |- | 58 | February 10 | @ Seattle | 107–108 (OT) | | | | Kingdome | 45–13 |- | 59 | February 11 | @ Los Angeles | 105–91 | | | | The Forum | 46–13 |- | 60 | February 13 | @ Utah | 89–104 | | | | Salt Palace | 46–14 |- | 61 | February 15 | @ Denver | 120–118 | | | | McNichols Sports Arena | 47–14 |- | 62 | February 17 | @ San Antonio | 128–116 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 48–14 |- | 63 | February 18 | @ Kansas City | 113–114 | | | | Kemper Arena | 48–15 |- | 64 | February 21 | @ Detroit | 130–119 | | | | Pontiac Silverdome | 49–15 |- | 65 | February 25 | Cleveland | 124–103 | | | | Boston Garden | 50–15 |- | 66 | February 27 | @ Atlanta | 132–102 | | | | The Omni | 51–15 |- y background:#FFFFFF; color:#006400 March: 11–5 (Home: 6–3; Road: 5–2) Game DateTime Team Score High points High rebounds High assists LocationAttendance Record |- |- | 67 | March 1 | Philadelphia | 114–107 | | | | Boston Garden | 52–15 |- | 68 | March 3 | @ Dallas | 117–105 | | | | Reunion Arena | 53–15 |- | 69 | March 4 | @ Houston | 108–101 | | | | The Summit | 54–15 |- | 70 | March 6 | @ Indiana | 104–110 | | | | Market Square Arena | 54–16 |- | 71 | March 8 | New York | 115–94 | | | | Boston Garden | 55–16 |- | 72 | March 11 | Milwaukee | 122–108 | | | | Boston Garden | 56–16 |- | 73 | March 13 | Indiana | 94–101 | | | | Boston Garden | 56–17 |- | 74 | March 15 | New Jersey | 133–125 | | | | Boston Garden | 57–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc | 75 | March 17 | @ Washington | 112–91 | | | | Capital Centre | 58–17 |- | 76 | March 18 | Atlanta | 97–108 | | | | Boston Garden | 58–18 |- | 77 | March 20 | Washington | 128–116 | | | | Boston Garden | 59–18 |- | 78 | March 22 | @ Philadelphia | 94–126 | | | | The Spectrum | 59–19 |- | 79 | March 24 | @ New York | 118–116 | | | | Madison Square Garden | 60–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc | 80 | March 25 | @ New Jersey | 111–105 | | | | Rutgers Athletic Center | 61–19 |- | 81 | March 27 | Detroit | 90–115 | | | | Boston Garden | 61–20 |- | 82 | March 29 | Philadelphia | 98–94 | | | | Boston Garden | 62–20 |- |- | 1981 regular season schedule Playoffs Boston Celtics 1981 #006400 #FFFFFF yes Boston Celtics #008040 white Conference Semifinals yes yes no 2 0 2 0 |- | 1 | April 5 | Chicago | W 121–109 | Larry Bird (23) | Larry Bird (12) | Bird, Maxwell (5) | Boston Garden15,320 | 1–0 |- | 2 | April 7 | Chicago | W 106–97 | Archibald, Parish (27) | Larry Bird (12) | Larry Bird (9) | Boston Garden15,320 | 2–0 |- | 3 | April 10 | @ Chicago | W 113–107 | Larry Bird (24) | Larry Bird (17) | Larry Bird (10) | Chicago Stadium19,995 | 3–0 |- | 4 | April 12 | @ Chicago | W 109–103 | Larry Bird (35) | Larry Bird (11) | Tiny Archibald (6) | Chicago Stadium18,249 | 4–0 |- Boston Celtics #008040 white Conference Finals yes no 3 1 1 2 |- | 1 | April 21 | Philadelphia | L 104–105 | Larry Bird (33) | Robert Parish (13) | Tiny Archibald (9) | Boston Garden15,320 | 0–1 |- | 2 | April 22 | Philadelphia | W 118–99 | Larry Bird (34) | Larry Bird (16) | Larry Bird (5) | Boston Garden15,320 | 1–1 |- | 3 | April 24 | @ Philadelphia | L 100–110 | Larry Bird (22) | Larry Bird (13) | Tiny Archibald (5) | Spectrum18,276 | 1–2 |- | 4 | April 26 | @ Philadelphia | L 105–107 | Cedric Maxwell (20) | Larry Bird (17) | Tiny Archibald (14) | Spectrum18,276 | 1–3 |- | 5 | April 29 | Philadelphia | W 111–109 | Larry Bird (32) | Larry Bird (11) | Tiny Archibald (7) | Boston Garden15,320 | 2–3 |- | 6 | May 1 | @ Philadelphia | W 111–109 | Larry Bird (25) | Larry Bird (16) | Tiny Archibald (6) | Spectrum18,276 | 3–3 |- | 7 | May 3 | Philadelphia | W 91–90 | Larry Bird (23) | Larry Bird (11) | Tiny Archibald (7) | Boston Garden15,320 | 4–3 |- Boston Celtics #008040 white NBA Finals yes no 2 1 2 1 |- | 1 | May 5 | Houston | W 98–95 | Larry Bird (18) | Larry Bird (21) | Larry Bird (9) | Boston Garden15,320 | 1–0 |- | 2 | May 7 | Houston | L 90–91 | Larry Bird (19) | Larry Bird (21) | Archibald, Henderson (4) | Boston Garden15,320 | 1–1 |- | 3 | May 9 | @ Houston | W 94–71 | Cedric Maxwell (19) | Larry Bird (13) | Larry Bird (10) | The Summit16,121 | 2–1 |- | 4 | May 10 | @ Houston | L 86–91 | Cedric Maxwell (24) | Cedric Maxwell (14) | Larry Bird (7) | The Summit16,121 | 2–2 |- | 5 | May 12 | Houston | W 109–80 | Cedric Maxwell (28) | Cedric Maxwell (15) | Larry Bird (8) | Boston Garden15,320 | 3–2 |- | 6 | May 14 | @ Houston | W 102–91 | Larry Bird (27) | Larry Bird (13) | Tiny Archibald (12) | The Summit16,121 | 4–2 |- BOS yes 1981 Player stats Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG Nate Archibald 80 176 618 75 18 1106 13.8 Larry Bird 82 895 451 161 63 1741 21.2 M. L. Carr 41 83 56 30 18 248 6.0 Eric Fernsten 45 62 10 6 7 96 2.1 Chris Ford 82 163 295 100 23 728 8.9 Wayne Kreklow 25 12 9 2 1 30 1.2 Cedric Maxwell 81 525 219 79 68 1234 15.2 Kevin McHale 82 359 55 27 151 818 10.0 Robert Parish 82 777 144 81 214 1552 18.9 Rick Robey 82 390 126 38 19 740 9.0 Award winners Nate Archibald, All-NBA Second Team Larry Bird, All-NBA First Team Cedric Maxwell, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award Kevin McHale, All-NBA Rookie Team References External links Celtics on Database Basketball Celtics on Basketball Reference Category:Boston Celtics seasons Category:Eastern Conference (NBA) championship seasons Category:NBA championship seasons Boston Celtics Boston Celtics Boston Celtics Celtics Celtics