| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Boston Celtics | 63 | 19 | .768 | – |
| 2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 55 | 27 | .671 | 8 |
| 3 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 58 | 24 | .707 | 5 |
| 4 | x-New Jersey Nets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 19 |
| 5 | x-Washington Bullets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 20 |
| 6 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 42 | 40 | .512 | 21 |
| 7 | Detroit Pistons | 39 | 43 | .476 | 24 |
| 8 | Indiana Pacers | 35 | 47 | .427 | 28 |
| 9 | Chicago Bulls | 34 | 48 | .415 | 29 |
| 10 | New York Knicks | 33 | 49 | .402 | 30 |
| 11 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 15 | 67 | .183 | 48 |
To use the update on any article, insert:
{{1981–82 NBA East standings}}
To highlight the New York Knicks, insert:
{{1981–82 NBA East standings|team=NYK}}
For the other teams, use:
- Washington Bullets - WSB
- Boston Celtics - BOS
- Cleveland Cavaliers - CLE
- Detroit Pistons - DET
- Atlanta Hawks - ATL
- Philadelphia 76ers - PHI
- New Jersey Nets - NJN
- Chicago Bulls - CHI
- Indiana Pacers - IND
- Milwaukee Bucks - MIL