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.

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.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
G	10	Brewer, Ron	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1955–07–16	Arkansas
C	40	Corzine, Dave	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	1956–04–25	DePaul
G/F	44	Gervin, George (C)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1952–04–27	Eastern Michigan
F/C	30	Griffin, Paul	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1954–01–20	Western Michigan
F/C	52	Johnson, George	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1948–12–18	Dillard
F	32	Johnson, Reggie	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1957–06–25	Tennessee
G	00	Moore, Johnny	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1958–03–03	Texas
F	53	Olberding, Mark	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1956–04–21	Minnesota
F/C	31	Restani, Kevin	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1951–12–23	San Francisco
G	13	Silas, James	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1949–02–11	Stephen F. Austin
F	33	Wiley, Michael	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1957–10–16	Long Beach State

Head coach

Stan Albeck

Assistant coach(es)

Morris McHone

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 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	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

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	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	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	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	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	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	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 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

Award winners

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

Transactions

References

^ "Complete First Round Results — 1980-89". NBA.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
^ ^a ^b San Antonio Spurs (1973-Present)

1980–81 NBA season

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston New Jersey New York Philadelphia Washington
Central	Atlanta Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee

Western

Midwest	Dallas Denver Houston Kansas City San Antonio Utah
Pacific	Golden State Los Angeles Phoenix Portland San Diego Seattle

v t e San Antonio Spurs
Founded in 1967 Formerly the Dallas Chaparrals (1967–1970, 1971–1973) and the Texas Chaparrals (1970–1971) Based in San Antonio, Texas
Franchise	ABA–NBA merger All-time roster Draft history Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	State Fair Coliseum Moody Coliseum Tarrant County Coliseum Lubbock Municipal Coliseum HemisFair Arena Alamodome Frost Bank Center
Personnel	Owner(s) Spurs Sports & Entertainment President Gregg Popovich General manager Brian Wright Head coach Gregg Popovich
G League affiliate	Austin Spurs
Retired numbers	00 6 9 12 13 20 21 32 44 50
NBA championships	1999 2003 2005 2007 2014
Rivalries	Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Los Angeles Lakers Phoenix Suns
Culture and lore	The Coyote Bruise Brothers The Iceman "Get Ready for This" The Admiral The Twin Towers The Big Three Memorial Day Miracle The Big Fundamental Semi-Pro The Shot