1980–81 San Antonio Spurs season
| 1980–81 San Antonio Spurs season | |
|---|---|
| Midwest Division Champions | |
| Head coach | Stan Albeck |
| Owner(s) | Angelo Drossos |
| Arena | HemisFair Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 52–30 (.634) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 2nd (Western) |
| Playoff finish | West Semifinals (Eliminated 3–4) |
|
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com |
|
| Local media | |
| Television | KMOL |
| Radio | KCTI |
The 1980-81 NBA season was the 5th season in the NBA, the 7th in San Antonio, and the 13th as a franschise. This would be a landmark season in many ways. The San Antonio Spurs moved to the Western Conference along with the Houston Rockets. The Spurs would win their first Midwest Division title, their third division title overall (the Spurs also won the Central Division in 1977-78 and 1978–79).
Contents
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Reggie Johnson[1] | PF/C |  United States |
Tennessee |
| 2 | 39 | Michael Miley | United States |
California State-Long Beach | |
| 3 | 60 | Lavon Mercer | United States |
Georgia | |
| 3 | 61 | Rich Yonakor | United States |
North Carolina | |
| 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 |
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 would lose 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 | 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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
Player stats
Note: GP= Games played; FG= Field Goals; FT= Free Throws; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average
| Player | GP | FG | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Gervin | 82 | 850 | 512 | 419 | 260 | 94 | 55 | 2221 | 27.0 |
| James Silas | 75 | 456 | 374 | 231 | 285 | 51 | 12 | 1326 | 17.7 |
| Mark Olberding | 82 | 348 | 315 | 471 | 277 | 75 | 31 | 1012 | 12.3 |
| Dave Corzine | 82 | 366 | 125 | 636 | 117 | 42 | 99 | 857 | 10.5 |
| Reggie Johnson | 79 | 340 | 128 | 348 | 78 | 45 | 48 | 808 | 10.2 |
| Ron Brewer | 46 | 180 | 65 | 53 | 93 | 27 | 24 | 425 | 9.2 |
| Johnny Moore | 82 | 249 | 105 | 196 | 373 | 120 | 22 | 604 | 7.4 |
| Kevin Restani | 64 | 192 | 62 | 174 | 81 | 16 | 14 | 449 | 7.0 |
| Paul Griffin | 82 | 166 | 170 | 505 | 249 | 77 | 38 | 502 | 6.1 |
| Michael Wiley | 33 | 76 | 36 | 64 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 188 | 5.7 |
| George Johnson | 82 | 164 | 80 | 602 | 92 | 47 | 278 | 408 | 5.0 |
| John Shumate | 22 | 56 | 53 | 87 | 24 | 21 | 9 | 165 | 7.5 |
| Mike Gale | 35 | 86 | 19 | 52 | 99 | 55 | 2 | 192 | 5.5 |
| Gus Gerrard | 11 | 22 | 8 | 38 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 52 | 4.7 |
Playoffs
West First Round
The Spurs had a first round bye.
West Conference Semifinals
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Houston Rockets: Rockets win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ San Antonio: Houston 107, San Antonio 98
- Game 2 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 125, Houston 113
- Game 3 @ Houston: Houston 112, San Antonio 99
- Game 4 @ Houston: San Antonio 114, Houston 112
- Game 5 @ San Antonio: Houston 123, San Antonio 117
- Game 6 @ Houston: San Antonio 101, Houston 96
- Game 7 @ San Antonio: Houston 105, San Antonio 100
Award winners
- George Gervin, All-NBA First Team
- George Johnson, NBA Leader Blocks per Game, 3.4
Transactions
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
