1982–83 NBA season
| 1982–83 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration |
Oct 29, 1982 – Apr 17, 1983 Apr 19 – May 20, 1983 (Playoffs) May 22–31, 1983 (Finals) |
| Number of teams | 23 |
| TV partner(s) | CBS, ESPN, USA |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | James Worthy |
| Picked by | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Season MVP | Moses Malone (Philadelphia) |
| Top scorer | Alex English (Denver) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Eastern runners-up | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Western champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Western runners-up | San Antonio Spurs |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Finals MVP | Moses Malone (Philadelphia) |
The 1982–83 NBA season was the 37th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Philadelphia 76ers winning the NBA Championship, sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals.
Notable occurrences
- The 1983 NBA All-Star Game was played at the The Forum in Inglewood, California, with the East defeating the West 132–123. Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers won the game's MVP award. It was at this game that R&B singer Marvin Gaye performed his famous rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner".
- This season marked the final season for Larry O'Brien as commissioner of the NBA. In honor of his long tenure, the NBA would rename its championship trophy after him (it was originally named after the late Boston Celtics owner Walter A. Brown).
- The USA Network extended their cable deal with the NBA for another two years, and ESPN shared broadcast rights with them.
- The 76ers posted a 12–1 record in the playoffs, a record for highest winning percentage in the postseason (since broken by the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers).
- The Boston Celtics were swept for the first time in their playoff history, at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks in the Conference Semifinals of the 1983 NBA Playoffs. The Bucks swept the Celtics 4–0.
- The 1983 NBA Finals was the last Finals to end before June 1.
- This was the final season for Wilson serving as the suppliers of the official NBA game ball; it was replaced in that capacity by Spalding in the following season, which has supplied the game balls to the league since then.[1]
- Ted Stepien sold the Cleveland Cavaliers to Gordon Gund. Under Stepien, attendance at the Cavaliers' home arena at Richfield Coliseum declined, first-round picks were traded in consecutive years (which led the NBA to institute the Ted Stepien rule), and long-time announcer Joe Tait was fired (he returned following the Gund purchase). The Cavaliers had five different coaches and three consecutive losing seasons under Stepien.
- On November 3, 1982, Randy Smith played in his 845th consecutive NBA game, breaking Johnny Kerr's iron man record.[2] The game was a 130–111 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in which Smith started and scored 14 points. Smith's iron man streak ended at 906 games when he played his last game with the Clippers on March 13, 1983 and was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. The record was later surpassed by A. C. Green in 1997.
| Off-season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 1981–82 coach | 1982–83 coach |
| Chicago Bulls | Rod Thorn | Paul Westhead |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Bill Musselman | Tom Nissalke |
| New York Knicks | Red Holzman | Hubie Brown |
| In-season | ||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| New Jersey Nets | Larry Brown | Bill Blair |
Final standings
By division
| Atlantic Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Philadelphia 76ers | 65 | 17 | .793 | – | 35–6 | 30–11 | 15–9 |
| x-Boston Celtics | 56 | 26 | .683 | 9 | 33–8 | 23–18 | 14–10 |
| x-New Jersey Nets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 16 | 30–11 | 19–22 | 11–13 |
| x-New York Knicks | 44 | 38 | .537 | 21 | 26–15 | 18–23 | 10–14 |
| Washington Bullets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 23 | 27–14 | 15–26 | 10–14 |
| Central Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Milwaukee Bucks | 51 | 31 | .622 | – | 31–10 | 20–21 | 22–7 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 8 | 26–15 | 17–24 | 21–8 |
| Detroit Pistons | 37 | 45 | .451 | 14 | 23–18 | 14–27 | 19–11 |
| Chicago Bulls | 28 | 54 | .341 | 23 | 18–23 | 10–31 | 13–17 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 23 | 59 | .280 | 28 | 15–26 | 8–33 | 8–22 |
| Indiana Pacers | 20 | 62 | .244 | 31 | 14–27 | 6–35 | 6–24 |
| Midwest Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 53 | 29 | .646 | – | 31–10 | 22–19 | 21–9 |
| x-Denver Nuggets | 45 | 37 | .549 | 8 | 29–12 | 16–25 | 17–13 |
| Kansas City Kings | 45 | 37 | .549 | 8 | 30–11 | 15–26 | 18–12 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 38 | 44 | .463 | 15 | 23–18 | 15–26 | 15–15 |
| Utah Jazz | 30 | 52 | .366 | 23 | 21–20 | 9–32 | 15–15 |
| Houston Rockets | 14 | 68 | .171 | 39 | 9–32 | 5–36 | 4–26 |
| Pacific Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 58 | 24 | .707 | – | 33–8 | 25–16 | 21–9 |
| x-Phoenix Suns | 53 | 29 | .646 | 5 | 32–9 | 21–20 | 21–9 |
| x-Seattle SuperSonics | 48 | 34 | .585 | 10 | 29–12 | 19–22 | 14–16 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 46 | 36 | .561 | 12 | 31–10 | 15–26 | 16–14 |
| Golden State Warriors | 30 | 52 | .366 | 28 | 21–20 | 9–32 | 11–19 |
| San Diego Clippers | 25 | 57 | .305 | 33 | 18–23 | 7–34 | 7–23 |
By conference
| # | Eastern Conference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Philadelphia 76ers | 65 | 17 | .793 | – |
| 2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 51 | 31 | .622 | 14 |
| 3 | x-Boston Celtics | 56 | 26 | .683 | 9 |
| 4 | x-New Jersey Nets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 16 |
| 5 | x-New York Knicks | 44 | 38 | .537 | 21 |
| 6 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 22 |
| 7 | Washington Bullets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 23 |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | 37 | 45 | .451 | 28 |
| 9 | Chicago Bulls | 28 | 54 | .341 | 37 |
| 10 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 23 | 59 | .280 | 42 |
| 11 | Indiana Pacers | 20 | 62 | .244 | 45 |
| # | Western Conference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | c-Los Angeles Lakers | 58 | 24 | .707 | – |
| 2 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 53 | 29 | .646 | 5 |
| 3 | x-Phoenix Suns | 53 | 29 | .646 | 5 |
| 4 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 48 | 34 | .585 | 10 |
| 5 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 46 | 36 | .561 | 12 |
| 6 | x-Denver Nuggets | 45 | 37 | .549 | 13 |
| 7 | Kansas City Kings | 45 | 37 | .549 | 13 |
| 8 | Dallas Mavericks | 38 | 44 | .463 | 20 |
| 9 | Utah Jazz | 30 | 52 | .366 | 28 |
| 9 | Golden State Warriors | 30 | 52 | .366 | 28 |
| 11 | San Diego Clippers | 25 | 57 | .305 | 33 |
| 12 | Houston Rockets | 14 | 68 | .171 | 44 |
Notes
- z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs and first round bye
- c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs and first round bye
- y – Clinched division title and first round bye
- 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.
Main article: 1983 NBA Playoffs
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Los Angeles | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Portland | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Seattle | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Portland | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Los Angeles | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | San Antonio | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Phoenix | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Denver | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Denver | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | San Antonio | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Philadelphia | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New York | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | New Jersey | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New York | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Milwaukee | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Boston | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Atlanta | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Boston | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Milwaukee | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
Statistics leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Alex English | Denver Nuggets | 28.4 |
| Rebounds per game | Moses Malone | Philadelphia 76ers | 15.3 |
| Assists per game | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers | 10.5 |
| Steals per game | Micheal Ray Richardson | Golden State Warriors | 2.84 |
| Blocks per game | Tree Rollins | Atlanta Hawks | 4.29 |
| FG% | Artis Gilmore | San Antonio Spurs | .626 |
| FT% | Calvin Murphy | Houston Rockets | .920 |
| 3FG% | Mike Dunleavy | San Antonio Spurs | .345 |
NBA awards
- Most Valuable Player: Moses Malone, Philadelphia 76ers
- Rookie of the Year: Terry Cummings, San Diego Clippers
- Defensive Player of the Year: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
- Sixth Man of the Year: Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers
- Coach of the Year: Don Nelson, Milwaukee Bucks
- All-NBA First Team:
- Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
- Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
- Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers
- Moses Malone, Philadelphia 76ers
- Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
- All-NBA Rookie Team:
- James Worthy, Los Angeles Lakers
- Quintin Dailey, Chicago Bulls
- Terry Cummings, San Diego Clippers
- Clark Kellogg, Indiana Pacers
- Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta Hawks
- NBA All-Defensive First Team:
- NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com
Player of the week
The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.
Player of the month
The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.
| Month | Player |
|---|---|
| October/November | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) |
| December | Larry Drew (Kansas City Kings) Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers) |
| January | Alex English (Denver Nuggets) |
| February | Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers) |
| March | Jeff Ruland (Washington Bullets) |
Rookie of the month
The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.
| Month | Rookie |
|---|---|
| October/November | Terry Cummings (San Diego Clippers) |
| December | Clark Kellogg (Indiana Pacers) |
| January | Terry Cummings (San Diego Clippers) |
| February | Terry Cummings (San Diego Clippers) |
| March | Terry Cummings (San Diego Clippers) |
Coach of the month
The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.
| Month | Coach |
|---|---|
| October/November | Scotty Robertson (Detroit Pistons) |
| December | Billy Cunningham (Philadelphia 76ers) |
| January | Pat Riley (Los Angeles Lakers) |
| February | Hubie Brown (New York Knicks) |
| March | Stan Albeck (San Antonio Spurs) |
References
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