1980–81 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1980–81 season was the 11th season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] The Blazers won seven more games than the previous season, ending with a record of 45–37 and making the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

1980–81 Portland Trail Blazers season
Head coach	Jack Ramsay
General manager	Harry Glickman
Owner(s)	Larry Weinberg
Arena	Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	45–37 (.549)
Place	Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Kings 1–2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
< 1979–80 1981–82 >

The Blazers were eliminated from the 1981 NBA Playoffs after losing their best-of-three first-round series to the Kansas City Kings, two games to one.

Draft picks

Main article: 1980 NBA draft

Note: This is not a complete list; only the first two rounds are covered, as well as any other picks by the franchise who played at least one NBA game.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	10	Ronnie Lester	G	United States	Iowa
2	32	David Lawrence	F	United States	McNeese State
2	33	Bruce Collins	G/F	United States	Weber State
3	56	Mike Harper	F/C	United States	North Park
8	168	John Stroeder	F	United States	Montana

Roster

1980–81 Portland Trail Blazers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 12 Bates, Billy Ray 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1956–05–31 Kentucky State C 45 Crompton, Geoff 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1955–07–04 North Carolina G 11 Gale, Mike 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1950–07–18 Elizabeth City State F 30 Gross, Bob 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1953–08–03 Long Beach State F 32 Harper, Mike 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1957–12–09 North Park C 44 Kunnert, Kevin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1951–11–11 Iowa SF 33 Natt, Calvin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1957–01–08 Louisiana–Monroe F/C 25 Owens, Tom 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1949–06–28 South Carolina G 4 Paxson, Jim 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1957–07–09 Dayton PG 14 Ransey, Kelvin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1958–05–03 Ohio State F/C 43 Thompson, Mychal 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 226 lb (103 kg) 1955–01–30 Minnesota F 42 Washington, Kermit 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1951–09–17 American

Head coach Jack Ramsay Assistant coach(es) Bucky Buckwalter Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended   Injured

Regular season

 

The Trail Blazers played their home games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	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

#	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

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1980–81 NBA records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SDC	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	2–4	2–4	1–5	2–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	1–1	1–5	1–1	0–2	1–5	3–2	2–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–4
Boston	4–2	–	5–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	4–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	1–1	2–0	3–3	6–0	5–1	3–3	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	5–1
Chicago	4–2	1–5	–	5–1	1–1	1–1	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	3–3	3–2	3–3	2–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	5–1
Cleveland	5–1	1–4	1–5	–	2–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	2–4	0–2	0–2	0–6	3–3	0–5	0–6	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–2
Dallas	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	–	3–3	0–2	2–3	0–6	0–2	0–6	0–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–4	1–5	2–3	1–4	1–5	0–2
Denver	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–3	–	2–0	3–2	2–4	1–1	4–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–4	2–3	2–4	3–2	3–2	2–4	0–2
Detroit	2–4	1–4	1–5	3–3	2–0	0–2	–	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–5	3–3	1–5	1–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–5
Golden State	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	–	3–2	1–1	5–0	1–5	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–4	1–4	2–4	3–3	4–1	1–1
Houston	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	6–0	4–2	1–1	2–3	–	1–1	2–4	2–3	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–4	3–2	3–3	1–4	4–1	4–2	0–2
Indiana	5–1	3–3	2–3	4–2	2–0	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	–	2–0	0–2	2–4	5–1	3–2	0–6	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–2
Kansas City	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	6–0	2–4	1–1	0–5	4–2	0–2	–	0–5	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–2	3–2	2–4	3–2	2–3	5–1	1–1
Los Angeles	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	5–0	2–3	2–0	5–1	3–2	2–0	5–0	–	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–4	3–3	2–3	3–3	6–0	3–2	1–1
Milwaukee	5–1	3–3	3–3	6–0	2–0	1–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	4–2	1–1	2–0	–	5–1	3–3	3–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–1
New Jersey	2–3	0–6	2–3	3–3	1–1	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	1–5	0–2	0–2	1–5	–	0–6	1–5	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–3
New York	4–2	1–5	3–3	5–0	1–1	2–0	5–1	0–2	2–0	2–3	1–1	0–2	3–3	6–0	–	3–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
Philadelphia	5–1	3–3	4–2	6–0	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	6–0	2–0	1–1	2–3	5–1	3–3	–	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
Phoenix	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	4–1	2–0	4–2	4–1	1–1	2–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	–	3–3	3–2	6–0	5–1	5–0	1–1
Portland	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	3–2	2–0	4–2	2–3	2–0	2–3	3–3	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–3	–	2–3	4–2	4–2	2–3	2–0
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	5–1	4–2	2–0	4–1	3–3	0–2	4–2	3–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–3	3–2	–	4–1	3–2	5–1	1–1
San Diego	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	1–1	4–2	4–1	1–1	2–3	3–3	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–6	2–4	1–4	–	5–1	3–2	0–2
Seattle	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–1	2–3	2–0	3–3	1–4	2–0	3–2	0–6	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–4	2–3	1–5	–	4–1	1–1
Utah	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	5–1	4–2	2–0	1–4	2–4	1–1	1–5	2–3	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–5	3–2	1–5	2–3	1–4	–	0–2
Washington	4–1	1–5	1–5	2–4	2–0	2–0	5–1	1–1	2–0	2–4	1–1	1–1	1–4	3–3	2–4	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	—

Game log

Regular season

1980–81 game log Total: 45–37 (home: 30–11; road: 15–26)
October: 3–7 (home: 3–1; road: 0–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 10 @ Utah L 86–96 Salt Palace Acord Arena 0–1 2 October 12 Seattle W 107–96 Memorial Coliseum 1–1 3 October 15 @ Golden State L 92–95 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 1–2 4 October 17 Houston L 99–102 Memorial Coliseum 1–3 5 October 21 Los Angeles W 107–103 Memorial Coliseum 2–3 6 October 24 Dallas W 120–105 Memorial Coliseum 3–3 7 October 26 @ Seattle L 98–111 Kingdome 3–4 8 October 28 @ San Antonio L 112–120 HemisFair Arena 3–5 9 October 29 @ Kansas City L 98–115 Kemper Arena 3–6
November: 4–12 (home: 4–4; road: 0–8) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 10 November 1 Utah L 87–95 Memorial Coliseum 3–7 11 November 2 Cleveland W 102–96 Memorial Coliseum 4–7 12 November 4 @ Los Angeles L 118–119 The Forum 4–8 13 November 7 Golden State W 122–113 Memorial Coliseum 5–8 14 November 8 San Diego L 106–110 (OT) Memorial Coliseum 5–9 15 November 11 Kansas City L 101–102 Memorial Coliseum 5–10 16 November 14 @ Dallas L 106–113 Reunion Arena 5–11 17 November 15 @ Denver L 123–125 McNichols Sports Arena 5–12 18 November 16 @ Phoenix L 107–119 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5–13 19 November 18 Denver W 122–103 Memorial Coliseum 6–13 20 November 20 Milwaukee L 93–97 Memorial Coliseum 6–14 21 November 23 Dallas W 116–96 Memorial Coliseum 7–14 22 November 25 @ Atlanta L 108–112 The Omni 7–15 23 November 26 @ Boston L 101–126 Boston Garden 7–16 24 November 28 @ Philadelphia L 103–116 The Spectrum 7–17 25 November 29 @ New York L 110–111 Madison Square Garden 7–18
December: 13–2 (home: 8–2; road: 5–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 26 December 2 New Jersey L 105–118 Memorial Coliseum 7–19 27 December 4 @ San Diego W 103–100 San Diego Sports Arena 8–19 28 December 5 Chicago W 116–115 Memorial Coliseum 9–19 29 December 7 San Antonio W 116–115 Memorial Coliseum 10–19 30 December 9 Seattle W 111–98 Memorial Coliseum 11–19 31 December 12 Houston W 106–100 Memorial Coliseum 12–19 32 December 14 @ Phoenix W 116–110 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13–19 33 December 17 @ Golden State W 115–113 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 14–19 34 December 19 @ Los Angeles W 110–106 The Forum 15–19 35 December 20 Atlanta W 122–119 (OT) Memorial Coliseum 16–19 36 December 21 Phoenix L 100–111 Memorial Coliseum 16–20 37 December 23 Los Angeles W 108–102 Memorial Coliseum 17–20 38 December 25 Golden State W 115–114 Memorial Coliseum 18–20 39 December 26 @ Seattle W 96–90 Kingdome 19–20 40 December 30 Philadelphia W 109–108 Memorial Coliseum 20–20
January: 7–7 (home: 4–1; road: 3–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 41 January 1 Denver W 122–119 Memorial Coliseum 21–20 42 January 3 @ Utah L 103–109 Salt Palace Acord Arena 21–21 43 January 4 Boston L 111–120 Memorial Coliseum 21–22 44 January 6 Detroit W 110–90 Memorial Coliseum 22–22 45 January 9 @ San Antonio L 86–102 HemisFair Arena 22–23 46 January 10 @ Houston L 105–106 The Summit 22–24 47 January 14 @ Kansas City W 110–91 Kemper Arena 23–24 48 January 16 @ Chicago W 113–112 Chicago Stadium 24–24 49 January 18 @ Milwaukee L 103–110 MECCA Arena 24–25 50 January 20 @ Cleveland L 94–99 Richfield Coliseum 24–26 51 January 23 New York W 117–90 Memorial Coliseum 25–26 52 January 25 San Antonio W 118–100 Memorial Coliseum 26–26 53 January 26 @ Los Angeles L 112–124 The Forum 26–27 54 January 29 @ San Diego W 108–106 San Diego Sports Arena 27–27
February: 7–6 (home: 4–2; road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 55 February 3 Washington W 111–104 (OT) Memorial Coliseum 28–27 56 February 4 @ Golden State L 100–115 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 28–28 57 February 6 @ San Antonio L 96–122 HemisFair Arena 28–29 58 February 8 Kansas City W 129–123 (OT) Memorial Coliseum 29–29 59 February 12 Seattle L 109–112 Memorial Coliseum 29–30 60 February 13 @ Denver L 143–162 McNichols Sports Arena 29–31 61 February 15 Utah W 118–84 Memorial Coliseum 30–31 62 February 17 @ Washington W 124–104 Capital Centre 31–31 63 February 19 @ Detroit W 115–106 Pontiac Silverdome 32–31 64 February 20 @ New Jersey L 113–123 Rutgers Athletic Center 32–32 65 February 22 @ Indiana W 113–109 (OT) Market Square Arena 33–32 66 February 24 San Diego L 107–121 Memorial Coliseum 33–33 67 February 27 Phoenix W 121–117 Memorial Coliseum 34–33
March: 11–4 (home: 7–1; road: 4–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 68 March 1 Utah W 108–97 Memorial Coliseum 35–33 69 March 3 Indiana W 117–112 Memorial Coliseum 36–33 70 March 5 @ Kansas City L 100–106 Kemper Arena 36–34 71 March 6 @ Phoenix L 107–128 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 36–35 72 March 8 Golden State W 120–112 (OT) Memorial Coliseum 37–35 73 March 10 @ Denver W 142–137 McNichols Sports Arena 38–35 74 March 13 @ Houston L 104–126 The Summit 38–36 75 March 15 Dallas W 135–110 Memorial Coliseum 39–36 76 March 17 San Diego W 127–112 Memorial Coliseum 40–36 77 March 20 Houston W 107–103 Memorial Coliseum 41–36 78 March 21 Los Angeles L 111–117 Memorial Coliseum 41–37 79 March 24 Phoenix W 120–111 Memorial Coliseum 42–37 80 March 25 @ Seattle W 112–103 Kingdome 43–37 81 March 27 @ Dallas W 123–109 Reunion Arena 44–37 82 March 29 @ San Diego W 144–129 San Diego Sports Arena 45–37
1980–81 schedule

Playoffs

1981 playoff game log
First round: 1–2 (home: 0–2; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 1 Kansas City L 97–98 (OT) Billy Ray Bates (25) Kermit Washington (17) Kelvin Ransey (10) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 0–1 2 April 3 @ Kansas City W 124–119 (OT) Mychal Thompson (40) Kermit Washington (18) Kelvin Ransey (7) Kemper Arena 11,088 1–1 3 April 5 Kansas City L 95–104 Billy Ray Bates (34) Kermit Washington (17) Kelvin Ransey (8) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 1–2
1981 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

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Awards and honors

• Kelvin Ransey, All-NBA Rookie Team
• Kermit Washington, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Transactions

July 21, 1980

• Waived Charles Jones^[2]

August 15, 1980

• Traded T. R. Dunn and a first round pick in the 1983 NBA draft to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for a 1983 first round draft pick and a second round pick in the 1984 NBA draft.^[3] Denver drafted Howard Carter and the Trail Blazers selected Clyde Drexler in 1983 and Steve Colter in 1984.^[4][5][6]

September 24, 1980

• Signed free agent Roy Hamilton^[7]

October 8, 1980

• Traded Jim Brewer to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for the a second round draft pick in the 1984 NBA draft. During the draft the Trail Blazers had the option to swap first round picks with the Lakers but declined. Portland selected Jerome Kersey with the Lakers pick.

October 13, 1980

• Waived Roy Hamilton^[7]

December 19, 1980

• Traded Ron Brewer to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Mike Gale and a first round pick in the 1982 NBA draft.^[8][9] The Trail Blazers later traded that pick which the Detroit Pistons used to select Ricky Pierce.^[10]

February 2, 1981

• Signed free agent Geoff Crompton^[11]

June 5, 1981

• Traded Tom Owens to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a first round pick in the 1984 NBA draft.^[12] Portland selected Sam Bowie with the pick.^[13]

June 8, 1981

• Traded Mike Gale to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for a second round pick in 1982 NBA draft and a 1985 second round pick.^[9] In 1982 Portland selected Audie Norris and Mike Smrek was chosen in 1985.^[14][15]

References

1. 1980-81 Portland Trail Blazers
2. "Charles Jones NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
3. "T. R. Dunn NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
4. "Howard Carter NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
5. "Clyde Drexler NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
6. "Steve Colter NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
7. "Roy Hamilton NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
8. "Ron Brewer NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
9. "Mike Gale NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
10. "Ricky Pierce NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
11. "Geoff Crompton NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
12. "Tom Owens NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
13. "Sam Bowie NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
14. "Audie Norris NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
15. "Mike Smrek NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.