1980–81 Utah Jazz season

1980–81 Utah Jazz season
1980–81 Utah Jazz season
Head coach	Tom Nissalke
General manager	Frank Layden
Owners	Sam Battistone; Larry Hatfield;
Arena	Salt Palace
Results
Record	28–54 (.341)
Place	Division: 5th (Midwest); Conference: 11th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KSL-TV
Radio	KSL
< 1979–80	1981–82 >

The 1980–81 Utah Jazz season was the team's seventh in the NBA. They began the season hoping to improve upon their 24–58 output from the previous season. The team started the season 12–6 but lost 15 of the next 17 games, however they bested it by four wins, finishing 28–54, but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the seventh straight season.^[1]

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	2	Darrell Griffith	SG	United States	Louisville
1	19	John Duren	PG	United States	Georgetown
4	72	Alan Taylor		United States	Brigham Young
5	94	Wally West		United States	Boston University
6	118	Ken Cunningham	G	United States	Western Michigan
7	140	Dave Colescott		United States	North Carolina
8	163	Jim Brandon		United States	St. Peter's
9	181	Paul Renfro		United States	Texas-Arlington
10	201	Leroy Coleman		United States	Middle Tennessee State

Roster

1980–81 Utah Jazz roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Player	Height	Weight	DOB	From
PF	33	Mel Bennett	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1955–01–04	Pittsburgh
SF	44	Allan Bristow	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1951–08–23	Virginia Tech
SG	24	Ron Boone	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1946–09–06	Idaho State
SF	4	Adrian Dantley	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	1955–02–28	Notre Dame
PG	18	John Duren	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1958–10–30	Georgetown
F/C	40	Wayne Cooper	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1956–11–16	New Orleans
PG	14	Rickey Green	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1954–08–18	Michigan
SG	35	Darrell Griffith	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1958–06–16	Louisville
PF	11	James Hardy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1956–12–01	San Francisco
F	5	Jeff Judkins	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1956–03–23	Utah
G	12	Carl Nicks	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1958–10–06	Indiana State
C	50	Ben Poquette	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1955–05–07	Central Michigan
C	45	Jeff Wilkins	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1955–03–09	Illinois State

Head coach

Tom Nissalke

Assistant(s)

Legend

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

Regular season

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

Game log

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
Mel Bennett
Ron Boone
Allan Bristow
Wayne Cooper
Adrian Dantley
John Duren
Rickey Green
Darrell Griffith
James Hardy
Jeff Judkins
Billy McKinney
Dick Miller
Carl Nicks
Ben Poquette
Brett Vroman
Jeff Wilkins

Awards and records

Transactions

Free agents

Subtractions
Player	Date signed	New team
Jerome Whitehead	Expansion Draft May 28, 1980	Dallas Mavericks
Paul Dawkins	October 6, 1980

References

↑ 1980-81 Utah Jazz

[1] 1980-81 Utah Jazz

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