1984–85 NBA season

1984–85 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	Oct 26, 1984 – Apr 14, 1985; Apr 17 – May 22, 1985 (Playoffs); May 27 – Jun 9, 1985 (Finals)
Number of teams	23
TV partner(s)	CBS, TBS
Draft
Top draft pick	Akeem Olajuwon
Picked by	Houston Rockets
Regular season
Top seed	Boston Celtics
Season MVP	Larry Bird (Boston)
Top scorer	Bernard King (New York)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Boston Celtics
Eastern runners-up	Philadelphia 76ers
Western champions	Los Angeles Lakers
Western runners-up	Denver Nuggets
Finals
Champions	Los Angeles Lakers
Runners-up	Boston Celtics
Finals MVP	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (L.A. Lakers)

The 1984–85 NBA season was the 39th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team	1983–84 coach	1984–85 coach
Cleveland Cavaliers	Tom Nissalke	George Karl
Indiana Pacers	Jack McKinney	George Irvine
Kansas City Kings	Cotton Fitzsimmons	Jack McKinney
San Antonio Spurs	Bob Bass	Cotton Fitzsimmons
In-season
Team	Outgoing coach	Incoming coach
Los Angeles Clippers	Jim Lynam	Don Chaney
Kansas City Kings	Jack McKinney	Phil Johnson

The 1985 NBA All-Star Game was played at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, with the West defeating the East 140–129. Ralph Sampson of the Houston Rockets won the game's MVP award. Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks won the Slam Dunk Contest.
Michael Jordan became the only rookie in NBA history to lead a team in four statistics (points, assists, rebounds, steals).
The Clippers relocated from San Diego to Los Angeles. This created a distinction whereby two teams of the same host name (the other Los Angeles team are the Lakers) are in the same division (Pacific), similar to the one in the NHL where the Patrick Division (now succeeded by the Metropolitan Division) had two teams of the same host name which is New York (Islanders and Rangers). There was also a similar scenario which only existed in the 1976–77 season, in which the Atlantic Division had the Knicks and the Nets (who were based in New Jersey from 1977 to 2012 but are currently in Brooklyn).
Turner Broadcasting began a relationship with the NBA that continues today when TBS signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the NBA.
The Kings played their final game in Kansas City, Missouri, and moved their franchise to Sacramento the following season.
In one of their final home games, Knicks forward Bernard King, who finished the year as the scoring champion, ruptured his ACL in his right knee and was out of action for two whole seasons. King would come back in 1987–88, but would not return to the All-Star Game until 1990–91.
This season marked Michael Jordan's, Akeem Olajuwon's, Charles Barkley's and John Stockton's rookie seasons in the NBA.
Due to a roof collapse at the Pontiac Silverdome, the Pistons were forced to rent the Joe Louis Arena, home of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs. Both the Pistons and the Red Wings would move their home games to the Little Caesars Arena, starting in 2017.
At age 38, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the oldest player to win the honor of Finals MVP. Jabbar's team, the Lakers, became the first visiting team to win the NBA title at Boston Garden, beating their archrivals, the Boston Celtics, in six games.
The Finals adopted the 2-3-2 format which was used through the 2013 NBA Finals after which the league returned to the 2-2-1-1-1 format.
The Cleveland Cavaliers returned to the playoffs after a seven-year absence. They were eliminated by the Celtics in four games. They would not make the playoffs again until 1988. The Cavaliers were coached by George Karl, then making his NBA coaching debut.
At New Orleans' Lakefront Arena (where the Atlanta Hawks played 12 of 41 home games that season), Larry Bird scored a Celtics' franchise record 60 points in Boston's 126–115 victory over the Hawks on March 12. Bird broke the previous franchise record set by teammate Kevin McHale (56) nine days earlier at Boston Garden against the Pistons.
The Denver Nuggets made the Conference Finals for the first time since 1978, losing 4–1 to the Lakers. They would not make the Conference Finals again until 2009, which they lost to the Lakers again. The series marked the end of Dan Issel's playing career, having played 15 professional seasons and averaging 22.6 points and 9.1 rebounds in his career.
This was the last season of the backboard height set at 48 in (1.219 m). It would be shortened 6 in (15.2 cm) next season to the current 42 in (1.067 m). The NBA logo is added on the lower left hand corner of the backboard starting this season.

Final standings

By division

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	63	19	.768	–	35–6	28–13	19–5
x-Philadelphia 76ers	58	24	.707	5	34–7	24–17	15–9
x-New Jersey Nets	42	40	.512	21	27–14	15–26	13–11
x-Washington Bullets	40	42	.488	23	28–13	12–29	11–13
New York Knicks	24	58	.293	39	19–22	5–36	2–22

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	59	23	.720	–	36–5	23–18	20–10
x-Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	13	26–15	20–21	21–8
x-Chicago Bulls	38	44	.463	21	26–15	12–29	13–17
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	36	46	.439	23	20–21	16–25	13–16
Atlanta Hawks	34	48	.415	25	19–22	15–26	15–15
Indiana Pacers	22	60	.268	37	16–25	6–35	7–23

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Denver Nuggets	52	30	.634	–	34–7	18–23	17–13
x-Houston Rockets	48	34	.585	4	29–12	19–22	20–10
x-Dallas Mavericks	44	38	.537	8	24–17	20–21	14–16
x-Utah Jazz	41	41	.500	11	26–15	15–26	19–11
x- San Antonio Spurs	41	41	.500	1	30–11	11–30	12–18
Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	21	23–18	8–33	8–22

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	62	20	.756	–	36–5	26–15	18–12
x-Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	20	33–8	15–26	17–13
x-Phoenix Suns	36	46	.439	26	32–9	10–31	14–16
Seattle SuperSonics	31	51	.378	31	31–10	10–31	16–14
Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	.378	31	27–14	10–31	13–17
Golden State Warriors	22	60	.268	40	25–16	5–36	12–18

By conference

#	Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	63	19	.768	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	59	23	.720	4
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	58	24	.707	5
4	x-Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	17
5	x-New Jersey Nets	42	40	.512	21
6	x-Washington Bullets	40	42	.488	23
7	x-Chicago Bulls	38	44	.463	25
8	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	36	46	.439	27

9	Atlanta Hawks	34	48	.415	29
10	New York Knicks	24	58	.293	39
11	Indiana Pacers	22	60	.268	41

#	Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Denver Nuggets	52	30	.634	10
3	x-Houston Rockets	48	34	.585	14
4	x-Dallas Mavericks	44	38	.537	18
5	x-Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	20
6	x-Utah Jazz	41	41	.500	21
7	x-San Antonio Spurs	41	41	.500	21
8	x-Phoenix Suns	36	46	.439	26

9	Seattle SuperSonics	31	51	.378	31
10	Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	.378	31
11	Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	31
12	Golden State Warriors	22	60	.268	40

Notes

z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
y – Clinched division title
x – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.

A ticket for Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers.

First Round			Conference Semifinals			Conference Finals			NBA Finals


1	L.A. Lakers	3

8	Phoenix	0
			1	L.A. Lakers	4

			5	Portland	1
4	Dallas	1

5	Portland	3
						1	L.A. Lakers	4
Western Conference
						2	Denver	1
3	Houston	2

6	Utah	3
			6	Utah	1

			2	Denver	4
2	Denver	3

7	San Antonio	2
									W1	L.A. Lakers	4

									E1	Boston	2
1	Boston	3

8	Cleveland	1
			1	Boston	4

			4	Detroit	2
4	Detroit	3

5	New Jersey	0
						1	Boston	4
Eastern Conference
						3	Philadelphia	1
3	Philadelphia	3

6	Washington	1
			3	Philadelphia	4

			2	Milwaukee	0
2	Milwaukee	3

7	Chicago	1

Statistics leaders


Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points per game	Bernard King	New York Knicks	32.9
Rebounds per game	Moses Malone	Philadelphia 76ers	13.1
Assists per game	Isiah Thomas	Detroit Pistons	13.9
Steals per game	Micheal Ray Richardson	New Jersey Nets	2.96
Blocks per game	Mark Eaton	Utah Jazz	5.56
FG%	James Donaldson	Los Angeles Clippers	.637
FT%	Kyle Macy	Phoenix Suns	.907
3FG%	Byron Scott	Los Angeles Lakers	.433

NBA awards

Yearly awards

Most Valuable Player: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
Rookie of the Year: Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
Defensive Player of the Year: Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz
Sixth Man of the Year: Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
Coach of the Year: Don Nelson, Milwaukee Bucks
All-NBA First Team:
- F – Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
- F – Bernard King, New York Knicks
- C – Moses Malone, Philadelphia 76ers
- G – Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
- G – Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
All-NBA Second Team:
- F – Terry Cummings, Milwaukee Bucks
- F – Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets
- C – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
- G – Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
- G – Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
All-NBA Rookie Team:
- Charles Barkley (F), Philadelphia 76ers
- Sam Perkins (F), Dallas Mavericks
- Akeem Olajuwon (C), Houston Rockets
- Sam Bowie (C), Portland Trail Blazers
- Michael Jordan (G), Chicago Bulls
NBA All-Defensive First Team:
- Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
- Paul Pressey, Milwaukee Bucks
- Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz
- Michael Cooper, Los Angeles Lakers
- Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 76ers
NBA All-Defensive Second Team:

Note: All above information was obtained on the History section on NBA.com

Player of the week

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.

Week	Player
Oct. 26 – Nov. 4	Larry Nance (Phoenix Suns)
Nov. 5 – Nov. 11	Alex English (Denver Nuggets)
Nov. 12 – Nov. 18	Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers)
Nov. 19 – Nov. 25	Bernard King (New York Knicks)
Nov. 26 – Dec. 2	Jack Sikma (Seattle SuperSonics)
Dec. 3 – Dec. 9	Orlando Woolridge (Chicago Bulls)
Dec. 10 – Dec. 16	Derek Smith (Los Angeles Clippers)
Dec. 17 – Dec. 23	Terry Cummings (Milwaukee Bucks)
Dec. 25 – Dec. 30	Micheal Ray Richardson (New Jersey Nets)
Jan. 1 – Jan. 6	Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons)
Jan. 7 – Jan. 13	World B. Free (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Jan. 14 – Jan. 20	Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Jan. 21 – Jan. 27	Tom McMillen (Washington Bullets)
Jan. 28 – Feb. 3	Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)
Feb. 4 – Feb. 17	Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Feb. 18 – Feb. 24	Mark Aguirre (Dallas Mavericks)
Feb. 25 – Mar. 3	Sleepy Floyd (Golden State Warriors)
Mar. 4 – Mar. 10	Darrell Griffith (Utah Jazz)
Mar. 11 – Mar. 17	Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
Mar. 18 – Mar. 24	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers)
Mar. 25 – Mar. 31	Calvin Natt (Denver Nuggets)
Apr. 1 – Apr. 7	Derek Smith (Los Angeles Clippers)
Apr. 8 – Apr. 14	Micheal Ray Richardson (New Jersey Nets)

Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.

Month	Player
November	Alex English (Denver Nuggets)
December	Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
January	Terry Cummings (Milwaukee Bucks)
February	Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
March	Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)

Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.

Month	Rookie
November	Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
December	Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
January	Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
February	Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
March (tie)	Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
March (tie)	Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)

Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.

Month	Coach
November	Doug Moe (Denver Nuggets)
December	Don Nelson (Milwaukee Bucks)
January	Chuck Daly (Detroit Pistons)
February	George Karl (Cleveland Cavaliers)
March	Pat Riley (Los Angeles Lakers)

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References

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