1984–85 NBA season

39th NBA season

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Sports season

1983–84 NBA season

League| National Basketball Association
Sport| Basketball
Duration| October 26, 1984 – April 14, 1985
April 17 – May 22, 1985 (Playoffs)
May 27 – June 9, 1985 (Finals)
Number of teams| 23
TV partner(s)| CBS, TBS
Draft
Top draft pick| Akeem Olajuwon
Picked by| Houston Rockets
Regular season
Top seed| Boston Celtics
Season MVP| Larry Bird (Boston)
Top scorer| Bernard King (New York)
Playoffs
Eastern champions| Boston Celtics
Eastern runners-up| Philadelphia 76ers
Western champions| Los Angeles Lakers
Western runners-up| Denver Nuggets
Finals
Champions| Los Angeles Lakers
Runners-up| Boston Celtics
Finals MVP| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (L.A. Lakers)
NBA seasons

← 1983–84

1985–86 →

The 1984–85 NBA season was the 39th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. This was David Stern's first full season as commissioner.

## Notable occurrences

[edit]

* The 1985 NBA All-Star Game was played at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, with the West defeating the East 140–129.[1] Ralph Sampson of the Houston Rockets won the game's MVP award.[1] Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks won the Slam Dunk Contest.
* Michael Jordan became the first rookie in NBA history to lead a team in four statistics (points, assists, rebounds, steals). No other rookie would do so until Victor Wembanyama led the 2023–24 San Antonio Spurs in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks.
* The Clippers relocated from San Diego to Los Angeles. This created a situation with two teams of the same host name (the other Los Angeles team being the Lakers) in the same division, the Pacific, similar to the one in the NHL where the Patrick Division (at the time, and now the Metropolitan Division) had two teams of the same host name: the New York Islanders and Rangers. There was a similar scenario which only existed in the 1976–77 season, in which the Atlantic Division had the New York Knicks and the Nets, until the Nets moved to New Jersey the following season and changed their name.
* Turner Broadcasting began a relationship with the NBA that continues today when TBS signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the NBA.
* The Kings played their final game in Kansas City, Missouri, and moved their franchise to Sacramento the following season.
* Knicks forward Bernard King, who finished the season as the scoring champion, ruptured his ACL in his right knee in the Knicks' final game in Kansas City before the Kings' move to Sacramento. King was out of action for two whole seasons. He would come back in 1987–88, but would not return to the All-Star Game until 1990–91.
* This season marked Michael Jordan's, Akeem Olajuwon's, Charles Barkley's and John Stockton's rookie seasons in the NBA.
* This season saw the final season for Dan Issel, Billy Knight, M.L. Carr and Lionel Hollins.
* Due to a roof collapse at the Pontiac Silverdome, the Pistons were forced to rent the Joe Louis Arena, home of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs. Both the Pistons and the Red Wings would move their home games to the Little Caesars Arena, starting in 2017.
* At age 38, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the oldest player to win the honor of Finals MVP. Jabbar's team, the Lakers, became the first visiting team to win the NBA title at Boston Garden, beating their archrivals, the Boston Celtics, in six games.
* The Finals adopted the 2–3–2 format which was used through the 2013 NBA Finals after which the league returned to the 2–2–1–1–1 format.
* The Cleveland Cavaliers returned to the playoffs after a seven-year absence. They were eliminated by the Celtics in four games. They would not make the playoffs again until 1988. The Cavaliers were coached by George Karl, then making his NBA coaching debut.
* At New Orleans' Lakefront Arena (where the Atlanta Hawks played 12 of 41 home games that season), Larry Bird scored a Celtics' franchise record 60 points in Boston's 126–115 victory over the Hawks on March 12. Bird broke the previous franchise record set by teammate Kevin McHale (56) nine days earlier at Boston Garden against the Pistons.
* The Denver Nuggets made the conference finals for the first time since 1978, losing 4–1 to the Lakers. They would not make the conference finals again until 2009, which they lost to the Lakers again. The series marked the end of Dan Issel's playing career, having played 15 professional seasons and averaging 22.6 points and 9.1 rebounds in his career.
* This was the last season of the backboard height set at 48 in (1.219 m). It would be shortened 6 in (15.2 cm) next season to the current 42 in (1.067 m). The NBA logo is added on the lower left hand corner of the backboard starting this season.

Coaching changes  Offseason

Team  | 1983–84 coach  | 1984–85 coach
Cleveland Cavaliers | Tom Nissalke | George Karl
Indiana Pacers | Jack McKinney | George Irvine
Kansas City Kings | Cotton Fitzsimmons | Jack McKinney
San Antonio Spurs | Bob Bass | Cotton Fitzsimmons
In-season
Team  | Outgoing coach  | Incoming coach
Los Angeles Clippers | Jim Lynam | Don Chaney
Kansas City Kings | Jack McKinney | Phil Johnson

## Teams

[edit]

1984-85 National Basketball Association

Eastern Conference
Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity
Atlantic  | Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 14,890
New Jersey Nets | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Brendan Byrne Arena | 20,049
New York Knicks | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 19,812
Philadelphia 76ers | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | The Spectrum | 18,176
Washington Bullets | Landover, Maryland | Capital Centre | 18,756
Central  | Atlanta Hawks | Atlanta, Georgia | Omni Coliseum | 16,378
Chicago Bulls | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Stadium | 18,676
Cleveland Cavaliers | Richfield, Ohio | Richfield Coliseum | 20,900
Detroit Pistons | Pontiac, Michigan | Pontiac Silverdome | 33,000
Indiana Pacers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Market Square Arena | 17,171
Milwaukee Bucks | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | MECCA Arena | 10,783
Western Conference
Midwest  | Dallas Mavericks | Dallas, Texas | Reunion Arena | 18,293
Denver Nuggets | Denver, Colorado | McNichols Sports Arena | 17,171
Houston Rockets | Houston, Texas | The Summit | 16,285
Kansas City Kings | Kansas City, Missouri | Kemper Arena | 16,700
San Antonio Spurs | San Antonio, Texas | HemisFair Arena | 16,057
Utah Jazz | Salt Lake City, Utah | Salt Palace | 12,686
Pacific  | Golden State Warriors | Oakland, California | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 13,335
Los Angeles Clippers | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | 16,161
Los Angeles Lakers | Inglewood, California | The Forum | 17,505
Phoenix Suns | Phoenix, Arizona | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 14,870
Portland Trail Blazers | Portland, Oregon | Memorial Coliseum | 12,888
Seattle SuperSonics | Seattle, Washington | Kingdome | 59,166

## Map of teams

[edit]

Boston

New Jersey

New York

Philadelphia

Washington

Atlanta

Chicago

Cleveland

Detroit

Indiana

Milwaukee

Dallas

Denver

Houston

Kansas City

San Antonio

Utah

Golden State

Clippers

Lakers

Phoenix

Portland

Seattle

Atlantic Division  Central Division  Midwest Division  Pacific Division

## Final standings

[edit]

### By division

[edit]

Atlantic Division

* v
* t
* e

|  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB  |  Home  |  Road  |  Div

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y-Boston Celtics | 63 | 19 | .768 | – | 35–6 | 28–13 | 19–5
x-Philadelphia 76ers | 58 | 24 | .707 | 5 | 34–7 | 24–17 | 15–9
x-New Jersey Nets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 21 | 27–14 | 15–26 | 13–11
x-Washington Bullets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 23 | 28–13 | 12–29 | 11–13
New York Knicks | 24 | 58 | .293 | 39 | 19–22 | 5–36 | 2–22

Central Division

* v
* t
* e

|  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB  |  Home  |  Road  |  Div

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y-Milwaukee Bucks | 59 | 23 | .720 | – | 36–5 | 23–18 | 20–10
x-Detroit Pistons | 46 | 36 | .561 | 13 | 26–15 | 20–21 | 21–8
x-Chicago Bulls | 38 | 44 | .463 | 21 | 26–15 | 12–29 | 13–17
x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 23 | 20–21 | 16–25 | 13–16
Atlanta Hawks | 34 | 48 | .415 | 25 | 19–22 | 15–26 | 15–15
Indiana Pacers | 22 | 60 | .268 | 37 | 16–25 | 6–35 | 7–23

Midwest Division

* v
* t
* e

|  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB  |  Home  |  Road  |  Div

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y-Denver Nuggets | 52 | 30 | .634 | – | 34–7 | 18–23 | 17–13
x-Houston Rockets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 4 | 29–12 | 19–22 | 20–10
x-Dallas Mavericks | 44 | 38 | .537 | 8 | 24–17 | 20–21 | 14–16
x-Utah Jazz | 41 | 41 | .500 | 11 | 26–15 | 15–26 | 19–11
x-San Antonio Spurs | 41 | 41 | .500 | 11 | 30–11 | 11–30 | 12–18
Kansas City Kings | 31 | 51 | .378 | 21 | 23–18 | 8–33 | 8–22

Pacific Division

* v
* t
* e

|  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB  |  Home  |  Road  |  Div

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y-Los Angeles Lakers | 62 | 20 | .756 | – | 36–5 | 26–15 | 18–12
x-Portland Trail Blazers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 20 | 33–8 | 15–26 | 17–13
x-Phoenix Suns | 36 | 46 | .439 | 26 | 32–9 | 10–31 | 14–16
Seattle SuperSonics | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31 | 31–10 | 10–31 | 16–14
Los Angeles Clippers | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31 | 27–14 | 10–31 | 13–17
Golden State Warriors | 22 | 60 | .268 | 40 | 25–16 | 5–36 | 12–18

### By conference

[edit]

#  |

Eastern Conference

* v
* t
* e

|

Team  |  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB
1  | z-Boston Celtics | 63 | 19 | .768 | –
2  | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 59 | 23 | .720 | 4
3  | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 58 | 24 | .707 | 5
4  | x-Detroit Pistons | 46 | 36 | .561 | 17
5  | x-New Jersey Nets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 21
6  | x-Washington Bullets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 23
7  | x-Chicago Bulls | 38 | 44 | .463 | 25
8  | x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 27
9  | Atlanta Hawks | 34 | 48 | .415 | 29
10  | New York Knicks | 24 | 58 | .293 | 39
11  | Indiana Pacers | 22 | 60 | .268 | 41
#  |

Western Conference

* v
* t
* e

|

Team  |  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB
1  | c-Los Angeles Lakers | 62 | 20 | .756 | –
2  | y-Denver Nuggets | 52 | 30 | .634 | 10
3  | x-Houston Rockets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 14
4  | x-Dallas Mavericks | 44 | 38 | .537 | 18
5  | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 20
6  | x-Utah Jazz | 41 | 41 | .500 | 21
7  | x-San Antonio Spurs | 41 | 41 | .500 | 21
8  | x-Phoenix Suns | 36 | 46 | .439 | 26
9  | Seattle SuperSonics | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31
10  | Los Angeles Clippers | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31
11  | Kansas City Kings | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31
12  | Golden State Warriors | 22 | 60 | .268 | 40

Notes

* z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
* c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
* y – Clinched division title
* x – Clinched playoff spot

## Playoffs

[edit]

Main article: 1985 NBA playoffs

A ticket for Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers.

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.

| First Rounds | | | Conference Semifinals | | | Conference Finals | | | NBA Finals |

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|  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| E1 | Boston* | 3 | | | |
| E8 | Cleveland | 1 |
| | E1 | Boston* | 4 |
|  |
| | | E4 | Detroit | 2 |
| E4 | Detroit | 3 |

| E5 | New Jersey | 0 |
| | E1 | Boston* | 4 |
| Eastern Conference |
| | | E3 | Philadelphia | 1 |
| E3 | Philadelphia | 3 | |

| E6 | Washington | 1 |
| | E3 | Philadelphia | 4 |
|  |
| | | E2 | Milwaukee* | 0 |
| E2 | Milwaukee* | 3 |

| E7 | Chicago | 1 |
| | E1 | Boston* | 2 |
|  |
| | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 |
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 3 | | |

| W8 | Phoenix | 0 |
| | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 |
|  |
| | | W5 | Portland | 1 |
| W4 | Dallas | 1 |

| W5 | Portland | 3 |
| | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 |
| Western Conference |
| | | W2 | Denver* | 1 |
| W3 | Houston | 2 | |

| W6 | Utah | 3 |
| | W6 | Utah | 1 |
|  |
| | | W2 | Denver* | 4 |
| W2 | Denver* | 3 |

| W7 | San Antonio | 2 |

* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage

## Statistical leaders

[edit]

### Individual statistic leaders

[edit]

Category | Player | Team(s) | Statistic

|
|
|

Points per game | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | 28.7
Rebounds per game | Moses Malone | Philadelphia 76ers | 13.1
Assists per game | Isiah Thomas | Detroit Pistons | 13.9
Steals per game | Michael Ray Richardson | New Jersey Nets | 2.9
Blocks per game | Mark Eaton | Utah Jazz | 5.6
Turnovers per game | Ralph Sampson | Houston Rockets | 4.0
Fouls per game | Akeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets | 4.2
Minutes per game | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | 39.5
FG% | James Donaldson | Los Angeles Clippers | 63.7%
FT% | Kyle Macy | Phoenix Suns | 90.7%
3P% | Darrell Griffith | Utah Jazz | 35.8%
Efficiency per game | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | 26.5
Double-doubles | Isiah Thomas | Detroit Pistons | 65
Triple-doubles | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers | 11

### Individual game highs

[edit]

Category | Player | Team | Statistic

|
|
|

Points | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | 60
Bernard King | New York Knicks
Rebounds | Akeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets | 25
Assists | Isiah Thomas | Detroit Pistons | 25
Steals | Fat Lever | Denver Nuggets | 10
Johnny Moore | San Antonio Spurs
Blocks | Mark Eaton | Utah Jazz | 14

## NBA awards

[edit]

### Yearly awards

[edit]

* Most Valuable Player: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
* Rookie of the Year: Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
* Defensive Player of the Year: Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz
* Sixth Man of the Year: Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
* Coach of the Year: Don Nelson, Milwaukee Bucks

* All-NBA First Team:
* F – Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
* F – Bernard King, New York Knicks
* C – Moses Malone, Philadelphia 76ers
* G – Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
* G – Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers

* All-NBA Second Team:
* F – Terry Cummings, Milwaukee Bucks
* F – Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets
* C – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
* G – Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
* G – Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks

|

* All-NBA Rookie Team:
* Charles Barkley (F), Philadelphia 76ers
* Sam Perkins (F), Dallas Mavericks
* Akeem Olajuwon (C), Houston Rockets
* Sam Bowie (C), Portland Trail Blazers
* Michael Jordan (G), Chicago Bulls

* NBA All-Defensive First Team:
* Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
* Paul Pressey, Milwaukee Bucks
* Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz
* Michael Cooper, Los Angeles Lakers
* Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 76ers

* NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
* Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers
* Danny Vranes, Seattle SuperSonics
* Akeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets
* Dennis Johnson, Boston Celtics
* T. R. Dunn, Denver Nuggets

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### Player of the week

[edit]

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.

Week  | Player

|

Oct. 26 – Nov. 4  | Larry Nance (Phoenix Suns)
Nov. 5 – Nov. 11  | Alex English (Denver Nuggets)
Nov. 12 – Nov. 18  | Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers)
Nov. 19 – Nov. 25  | Bernard King (New York Knicks)
Nov. 26 – Dec. 2  | Jack Sikma (Seattle SuperSonics)
Dec. 3 – Dec. 9  | Orlando Woolridge (Chicago Bulls)
Dec. 10 – Dec. 16  | Derek Smith (Los Angeles Clippers)
Dec. 17 – Dec. 23  | Terry Cummings (Milwaukee Bucks)
Dec. 25 – Dec. 30  | Micheal Ray Richardson (New Jersey Nets)
Jan. 1 – Jan. 6  | Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons)
Jan. 7 – Jan. 13  | World B. Free (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Jan. 14 – Jan. 20  | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Jan. 21 – Jan. 27  | Tom McMillen (Washington Bullets)
Jan. 28 – Feb. 3  | Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)
Feb. 4 – Feb. 17  | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Feb. 18 – Feb. 24  | Mark Aguirre (Dallas Mavericks)
Feb. 25 – Mar. 3  | Sleepy Floyd (Golden State Warriors)
Mar. 4 – Mar. 10  | Darrell Griffith (Utah Jazz)
Mar. 11 – Mar. 17  | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
Mar. 18 – Mar. 24  | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers)
Mar. 25 – Mar. 31  | Calvin Natt (Denver Nuggets)
Apr. 1 – Apr. 7  | Derek Smith (Los Angeles Clippers)
Apr. 8 – Apr. 14  | Micheal Ray Richardson (New Jersey Nets)

### Player of the month

[edit]

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.

Month  | Player

|

November  | Alex English (Denver Nuggets)
December  | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
January  | Terry Cummings (Milwaukee Bucks)
February  | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
March  | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)

### Rookie of the month

[edit]

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.

Month  | Rookie

|

November  | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
December  | Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
January  | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
February  | Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
March (tie)  | Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
March (tie)  | Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)

### Coach of the month

[edit]

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.

Month  | Coach

|

November  | Doug Moe (Denver Nuggets)
December  | Don Nelson (Milwaukee Bucks)
January  | Chuck Daly (Detroit Pistons)
February  | George Karl (Cleveland Cavaliers)
March  | Pat Riley (Los Angeles Lakers)

## See also

[edit]

* List of NBA regular season records

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Cotton, Anthony (February 11, 1985). "Johnson-to-Sampson Setups Leave East Cold, 140-129". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2024.

* v
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NBA seasons

1940s|

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1950s|

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1960s|

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1970s|

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1980s|

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1990s|

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2000s|

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2010s|

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2020s|

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* v
* t
* e

1984–85 NBA season

* 1984 NBA draft
* All-Star Game
* Playoffs
* Finals
* Transactions

Eastern|

| Atlantic|

* Boston
* New Jersey
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Washington

|

Central|

* Atlanta
* Chicago
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* Indiana
* Milwaukee

Western|

| Midwest|

* Dallas
* Denver
* Houston
* Kansas City
* San Antonio
* Utah

|

Pacific|

* Golden State
* L.A. Clippers
* L.A. Lakers
* Phoenix
* Portland
* Seattle

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[ W ]: Games won
*[ L ]: Games lost
*[ PCT ]: Winning percentage
*[ GB ]: Games behind
*[ Home ]: Home record
*[ Road ]: Road record
*[ Div ]: Division record