1980–81 San Diego Clippers season
NBA professional basketball team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1980–81 San Diego Clippers season was the Clippers' 11th season in the NBA and their 3rd season in the city of San Diego.[1]
Record36–46 (.439)
| 1980–81 San Diego Clippers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Paul Silas |
| Arena | San Diego Sports Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 36–46 (.439) |
| Place | Division: 5th (Pacific) Conference: 9th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | XETV |
| Radio | KOGO |
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Michael Brooks | Forward |  United States |
LaSalle |
| 4 | 76 | Ed Odom | Guard | United States |
Oklahoma State |
| 5 | 99 | Wally Rank | Forward | United States |
San Jose State |
| 6 | 122 | Londale Theus | Guard | United States |
Santa Clara |
| 7 | 145 | Paul Anderson | Guard | United States |
Southern California College |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
|
Roster notes
- Center Bill Walton missed the entire season due to a left foot injury.
- This is Gar Heard's second tour of duty with the franchise. He previously played for the Buffalo Braves from 1973 to 1976.
Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Phoenix Suns | 57 | 25 | .695 | – | 36–5 | 21–20 | 22–8 |
| x-Los Angeles Lakers | 54 | 28 | .659 | 3.0 | 30–11 | 24–17 | 19–11 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12.0 | 30–11 | 15–26 | 18–12 |
| Golden State Warriors | 39 | 43 | .476 | 18.0 | 26–15 | 13–28 | 10–20 |
| San Diego Clippers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 21.0 | 22–19 | 14–27 | 14–16 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 34 | 48 | .415 | 23.0 | 22–19 | 12–29 | 7–23 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
| 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 | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swen Nater | 82 | 34.3 | .553 | .795 | 12.4 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 15.6 | |
| Phil Smith | 76 | 31.3 | .491 | .222 | .757 | 2.1 | 4.9 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 16.8 |
| Michael Brooks | 82 | 30.2 | .479 | .000 | .706 | 5.4 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 14.7 |
| Brian Taylor | 80 | 28.9 | .525 | .383 | .789 | 1.9 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 10.1 |
| Joe Bryant | 82 | 28.8 | .479 | .133 | .791 | 5.4 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 11.6 |
| Freeman Williams | 82 | 24.1 | .465 | .340 | .852 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 19.3 |
| Sidney Wicks | 49 | 22.1 | .437 | .000 | .507 | 4.6 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 6.7 |
| Gar Heard | 78 | 20.9 | .376 | .000 | .782 | 4.5 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 4.8 |
| Henry Bibby | 73 | 15.2 | .386 | .337 | .684 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 4.6 |
| Jerome Whitehead | 38 | 14.8 | .475 | .000 | .511 | 4.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 4.1 |
| Ron Davis | 64 | 12.8 | .443 | .250 | .595 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 5.8 |
| Wally Rank | 25 | 6.1 | .368 | .464 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.2 | |
| Tony Price | 5 | 5.8 | .286 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.8 | ||
| Stan Pietkiewicz | 6 | 5.0 | .400 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
Awards, records and milestones
Awards
- Guard Brian Taylor led the league in 3-point field goal percentage this season at .383 (44/115)
Week/Month
All-Star
Season
Records
Milestones
Transactions
The Clippers were involved in the following transactions during the 1980–81 season.
Trades
| August 28, 1980 | To San Diego Clippers
|
To Golden State Warriors |
| October 14, 1980 | To San Diego Clippers
|
To Phoenix Suns
|
Free agents
Additions
|
Subtractions
|