1980-81 Sensational trade that gave the Boston Celtics more muscles.
1980-81 Sensational trade that gave the Boston Celtics more muscles.
The biggest news of the season came four months before the season started.
On June 9, 1980, Red Auerbach dealt the first and 13th picks in the 1980 NBA
draft to Golden State for the third pick of the same draft and four-year center
Robert Parish. The Warriors selected center Joe Barry Carroll (number 1) and
Mississippi forward Rickey Brown (as 13th). The Celtics picked forward Kevin
McHale from Minnesota, and added him with Parish to a front five, which featured
Larry Bird and Cedric Maxwell. In one trade, Auerbach had created a team for the
next decade.
The 35th season started very well for the Celtics, who had a 29-53 finish the
season before. The Lakers, with injured Magic Johnson who had been out of 45
games, were easily knocked out the Playoffs in the first round by Houston,
finish the season with a 40-42 record. Moses Malone, the 25-year-old center in
his seventh season in th NBA, averaged 27.8 ppg and led the NBA in rebounding
with 14.8 rpg. Boston easily beat Chicago, defeated Philadelphia in seven games
(initially losing 1-3), and won over Houston in six games to win their first
title of the Bird/Parish/McHale Era.
All-Time NBA Team welcomed Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor,
Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Julius Erving, John Havlicek, George Mikan, Bob
Pettit, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, and coach Red Auerbach.
Bird's shot. A shot by Larry Bird at the end of the fourth quarter of
Game 1 of the Finals will be engraved in everyone's memory forever. Bird shot an
18-footer from the right side, then rebounded after he missed, caught the ball
and switched it to his left hand in midair and sunk it from 12 feet in the
basket. "It was the one best shot I've ever seen," Auerbach said.
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