1980–81 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1980-81 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 11th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

1980–81 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coach	Bill Musselman (25–46) Don Delaney (3–8)
General manager	Don Delaney
Owner	Ted Stepien
Arena	Coliseum at Richfield
Results
Record	28–54 (.341)
Place	Division: 5th (Central) Conference: 9th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WUAB
Radio	WWWE

Draft picks

Main article: 1980 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Club team

Roster

1980–81 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 11, 23 Mike Bratz 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Stanford F 32 Kenny Carr 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) NC State G 21 Mack Calvin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) USC F 35 Don Ford 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) UC Santa Barbara G 20 Geoff Huston 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Texas Tech F 40 Walter Jordan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Purdue C 41 Bill Laimbeer 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Notre Dame F 30 Mike Mitchell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Auburn G 15 Roger Phegley 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Bradley G 9 Randy Smith 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Buffalo State F 31 Richard Washington 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) UCLA

Head coach Don Delaney Assistant(s) Larry Creger Gerald Oliver Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	60	22	.732	–	34–7	26–15	23–7
x-Chicago Bulls	45	37	.549	15.0	26–15	19–22	20–9
x-Indiana Pacers	44	38	.537	16.0	27–14	17–24	17–12
Atlanta Hawks	31	51	.378	29.0	20–21	11–30	9–21
Cleveland Cavaliers	28	54	.341	32.0	20–21	8–33	9–21
Detroit Pistons	21	61	.256	39.0	14–27	7–34	9–21

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	60	22	.732	2
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	62	20	.756	–
4	x-New York Knicks	50	32	.610	12
5	x-Chicago Bulls	45	37	.549	17
6	x-Indiana Pacers	44	38	.537	18
7	Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	23
8	Atlanta Hawks	31	51	.378	31
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	28	54	.341	34
10	New Jersey Nets	24	58	.293	38
11	Detroit Pistons	21	61	.256	41

Notes

• z, y – division champions
• x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

1980–81 game log Total: 28–54 (Home: 20–21; Road: 8–33)
October: 4–8 (home: 3–3; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
November: 4–10 (home: 4–3; road: 0–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 19 November 13, 1980 Atlanta W 114–111 Coliseum at Richfield 3,987 5–14
December: 5–9 (home: 4–5; road: 1–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
January: 9–5 (home: 5–2; road: 4–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 43 January 9, 1981 @ Atlanta W 108–107 (OT) The Omni 9,398 16–27 51 January 23, 1981 @ Atlanta W 106–98 The Omni 9,820 20–31
February: 3–9 (home: 3–4; road: 0–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record All-Star Break 64 February 21, 1981 Atlanta L 105–118 Coliseum at Richfield 8,231 25–39
March: 3–13 (home: 1–4; road: 2–9) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 73 March 14, 1981 @ Atlanta W 112–110 (OT) The Omni 7,368 26–47 75 March 17, 1981 Atlanta W 122–107 Coliseum at Richfield 4,288 28–47
1980–81 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Mike Mitchell	82		39.0	47.6	44.4	78.4	6.1	1.7	0.8	0.6	24.5
Kenny Carr	81		32.3	51.1	0.0	71.4	10.3	2.4	0.9	0.5	15.2
Randy Smith	82		26.8	46.6	3.6	81.5	2.4	4.4	1.4	0.2	14.6
Roger Phegley	82		27.7	49.1	28.6	83.9	3.0	2.2	0.8	0.2	14.4
Mike Bratz	80		32.4	39.0	33.7	81.1	2.5	5.7	1.7	0.2	10.0
Richard Washington	69		21.8	45.9	50.0	75.0	5.3	1.6	0.6	0.8	9.9
Bill Laimbeer	81		30.4	50.3	0.0	76.5	8.6	2.7	0.7	1.0	9.8
Dave Robisch	11		33.8	37.8	0.0	80.6	7.7	4.0	0.6	0.5	9.4
Robert Smith	1		20.0	40.0	0.0	100.0	3.0	3.0	0.0	0.0	8.0
Geoff Huston	25		21.7	49.7	0.0	81.5	1.6	4.7	0.5	0.0	7.0
Bill Robinzine	8		10.5	43.8	0.0	62.5	1.6	0.6	0.5	0.0	4.1
Don Ford	64		15.6	44.6	0.0	91.7	2.6	1.3	0.2	0.2	3.5
Chad Kinch	29		8.5	39.6	0.0	80.0	0.8	1.2	0.3	0.2	2.8
Mack Calvin	21		6.1	33.3	20.0	71.4	0.6	1.3	0.2	0.0	2.5
Walter Jordan	30		6.9	38.7	0.0	58.8	1.4	0.4	0.4	0.2	2.3
John Lambert	3		2.7	60.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	2.0
Jerome Whitehead	3		2.7	33.3	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.7

Player statistics citation:

Awards and records

Transactions

Free agents

Subtractions
Player	Date signed	New team
Austin Carr	Expansion Draft May 28, 1980	Dallas Mavericks