1980–81 Boston Celtics season


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.
RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalitySchool/Club Team
11Joe Barry CarrollCenterUnited StatesPurdue
113Rickey BrownCenterUnited StatesMississippi State

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Notes

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average
PlayerGPREBASTSTLBLKPTSAVG
Nate Archibald801766187518110613.8
Larry Bird8289545116163174121.2
M. L. Carr41835630182486.0
Eric Fernsten45621067962.1
Chris Ford82163295100237288.9
Wayne Kreklow2512921301.2
Cedric Maxwell815252197968123415.2
Kevin McHale82359552715181810.0
Robert Parish8277714481214155218.9
Rick Robey8239012638197409.0

Playoffs

Eastern Conference First Round

The Celtics have a first-round bye.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

Boston defeats the Chicago Bulls four games to none in a best of seven series.
Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls: Celtics win series 4–0
Last Playoff Meeting: Not available

Eastern Conference Finals

Boston defeats the Philadelphia 76ers four games to three in a best of seven series after making a comeback when they were losing 3-1.
Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers: Celtics win series 4–3
Last Playoff Meeting: 1980 Eastern Conference Finals

NBA Finals

Boston Celtics vs. Houston Rockets: Celtics win series 4–2
Last Playoff Meeting: 1980 Eastern Conference Semifinals

Award winners