1980–81 Los Angeles Lakers season

The Lakers were attempting to become the first team since 1969 to repeat as NBA Champions. Despite missing Magic Johnson for 45 games due to a knee injury, the Lakers still managed an impressive 54-28 record during the regular season, and they were the #3 seed heading into the Western Conference playoffs. However, the underdog Houston Rockets eliminated the Lakers in a best-of-three first round series two games to one.

1980–81 Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coachPaul Westhead
General managerBill Sharman
Owner(s)Jerry Buss
ArenaThe Forum
Results
Record54–28 (.659)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Pacific)
Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finishFirst Round
(Lost to Rockets 1–2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKHJ
RadioAM 570 KLAC
A ticket for a March 1981 game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks.

NBA Draft

The Lakers did not have a first round pick in the 1980 Draft. Their first selection was Wayne Robinson, the 31st pick overall, but he never played a game for the Lakers. Future NBA Coach Butch Carter was their second selection at #37 overall.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
2 31 Wayne Robinson Forward  United States Virginia Tech
2 37 Butch Carter Guard  United States Indiana

Roster
1980–81 Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
C 33 Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem (C) 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1947-04-16 UCLA
PF 8, 40 Brewer, Jim 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951-12-03 Minnesota
SF 24 Carter, Butch 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1958-06-11 Indiana
PF 9 Chones, Jim 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1949-11-30 Marquette
SG 21 Cooper, Michael 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1956-04-15 New Mexico
SG 25 Hardy, Alan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1957-05-25 Michigan
SG 14 Holland, Brad 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1956-12-06 UCLA
SG 32 Johnson, Magic  (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1959-08-14 Michigan State
PG 15 Jordan, Eddie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955-01-29 Rutgers
PF 54 Landsberger, Mark 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1955-05-21 Arizona State
PG 10 Nixon, Norm 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955-10-11 Duquesne
SF 52 Wilkes, Jamaal 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1953-05-02 UCLA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: December 2, 1980

Roster Notes
  • Shooting guard Magic Johnson missed 45 games during the season after suffering a torn cartilage in his left knee on November 18 during a game against the Kansas City Kings.[1]

Regular season

Season standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Phoenix Suns5725.695–36–521–2022–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers5428.6593.030–1124–1719–11
x-Portland Trail Blazers4537.54912.030–1115–2618–12
Golden State Warriors3943.47618.026–1513–2810–20
San Diego Clippers3646.43921.022–1914–2714–16
Seattle SuperSonics3448.41523.022–1912–297–23
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Phoenix Suns5725.695–
2 y-San Antonio Spurs5230.6345
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers5428.6593
4 x-Portland Trail Blazers4537.54912
5 x-Kansas City Kings4042.48817
6 x-Houston Rockets4042.48817
7 Golden State Warriors3943.47618
8 Denver Nuggets3745.45120
9 San Diego Clippers3646.43921
10 Seattle SuperSonics3448.41523
11 Utah Jazz2854.34129
12 Dallas Mavericks1567.18342


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 —2–42–41–52–01–14–22–01–11–51–10–21–53–22–41–50–21–11–11–11–12–01–4
Boston 4–2—5–14–12–02–04–11–12–03–31–12–03–36–05–13–32–02–02–02–01–11–15–1
Chicago 4–21–5—5–11–11–15–11–11–13–22–01–13–33–23–32–40–20–20–21–11–12–05–1
Cleveland 5–11–41–5—2–01–13–31–10–22–40–20–20–63–30–50–61–11–11–11–10–21–14–2
Dallas 0–20–21–10–2—3–30–22–30–60–20–60–50–21–11–10–21–41–41–52–31–41–50–2
Denver 1–10–21–11–13–3—2–03–22–41–14–23–21–11–10–21–11–42–32–43–23–22–40–2
Detroit 2–41–41–53–32–00–2—0–21–12–41–10–21–53–31–51–40–20–20–21–10–20–21–5
Golden State 0–21–11–11–13–22–32–0—3–21–15–01–51–11–12–00–22–42–41–42–43–34–11–1
Houston 1–10–21–12–06–04–21–12–3—1–12–42–30–22–00–20–21–43–23–31–44–14–20–2
Indiana 5–13–32–34–22–01–14–21–11–1—2–00–22–45–13–20–61–10–22–01–10–21–14–2
Kansas City 1–11–10–22–06–02–41–10–54–20–2—0–51–12–01–10–23–23–22–43–22–35–11–1
Los Angeles 2–00–21–12–05–02–32–05–13–22–05–0—0–22–02–01–12–43–32–33–36–03–21–1
Milwaukee 5–13–33–36–02–01–15–11–12–04–21–12–0—5–13–33–21–12–01–12–02–02–04–1
New Jersey 2–30–62–33–31–11–13–31–10–21–50–20–21–5—0–61–51–12–00–20–21–11–13–3
New York 4–21–53–35–01–12–05–10–22–02–31–10–23–36–0—3–31–11–10–22–02–02–04–2
Philadelphia 5–13–34–26–02–01–14–12–02–06–02–01–12–35–13–3—1–11–12–02–02–02–04–2
Phoenix 2–00–22–01–14–14–12–04–24–11–12–34–21–11–11–11–1—3–33–26–05–15–01–1
Portland 1–10–22–01–14–13–22–04–22–32–02–33–30–20–21–11–13–3—2–34–24–22–32–0
San Antonio 1–10–22–01–15–14–22–04–13–30–24–23–21–12–02–00–22–33–2—4–13–25–11–1
San Diego 1–10–21–11–13–22–31–14–24–11–12–33–30–22–00–20–20–62–41–4—5–13–20–2
Seattle 1–11–11–12–04–12–32–03–31–42–03–20–60–21–10–20–21–52–42–31–5—4–11–1
Utah 0–21–10–21–15–14–22–01–42–41–11–52–30–21–10–20–20–53–21–52–31–4—0–2
Washington 4–11–51–52–42–02–05–11–12–02–41–11–11–43–32–42–41–10–21–12–01–12–0—

Playoffs
1980–81 game log
First Round: 1–2 (Home: 0–2; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 1 Houston L 107–111 Magic Johnson (26) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15) Norm Nixon (10) The Forum
15,517		 0–1
2 April 3 @ Houston W 111–106 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) Magic Johnson (18) Norm Nixon (11) The Summit
16,121		 1–1
3 April 5 Houston L 86–89 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (18) Magic Johnson (9) The Forum
14,813		 1–2
1981 schedule

Player statistics

Note: GP= Games played; MPG= Minutes per Game; REB = Rebounds; AST = Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; PPG = Points per Game

Player GP MPG REB AST STL BLK PTS PPG
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar8037.282127259228209526.2
Jamaal Wilkes8137.443523512129182722.6
Norm Nixon7937.523269614611135017.1
Jim Chones8231.2657153399688210.8
Magic Johnson3737.13203171272779821.6
Michael Cooper8132.4336332133787639.4
Mark Landsberger6915.7377271963905.7
Eddie Jordan6016.5801957473065.1
Butch Carter5412.465522313015.6
Jim Brewer7814.22815543582172.8
Brad Holland417.229232111303.2
Alan Hardy225.019319512.3
Myles Patrick33.0210051.7
Tony Jackson27.0222021.0

Award winners/Honors

References
  1. "With Johnson Out, The Lakers Are Having Their Problems". Los Angeles Times. January 12, 1981. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
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