1981 Overview
From Hoopedia
1980-81 NBA Season
During their years together in Boston, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish were known as The Big Three, the frontcourt that powered the Celtics to glory.
The 1980-81 season was their first together, made possible by a big heist. On June 9, 1980, Celtics General Manager Red Auerbach pulled off the type of trade that had earned him a reputation for thievery in his more than three decades in the league. Auerbach dealt the first and 13th picks in the 1980 NBA Draft to Golden State for the third pick in the draft and Parish, a four-year veteran center. The Warriors selected Purdue center Joe Barry Carroll with the first pick and Mississippi State forward Rickey Brown 13th. The Celtics took forward McHale, adding him and Parish to a frontcourt that already featured Bird and Cedric Maxwell.
In one trade, Auerbach had stocked a frontcourt that would lead the franchise to five NBA Finals appearances in seven seasons. The other two Celtics teams would reach the Conference Finals. As if these gains weren’t enough, Auerbach’s strong year continued with his selection as the coach on the NBA’s All-Time Team. In conjunction with the NBA’s 35th anniversary, pro basketball writers selected Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Julius Erving, John Havlicek, George Mikan, Bob Pettit, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West as the game’s greatest players.
The Lakers, meanwhile, were dealt a big blow when Magic Johnson suffered torn cartilage in his left knee just one month into the season, forcing him out of 45 games. As a result, the Lakers failed to win the Pacific Division and were knocked out of the playoffs in the First Round by Houston, which made it all the way to the Finals despite a 40-42 record in the regular season.
Moses Malone of Houston, the 26-year-old center already in his seventh professional season, averaged 27.8 points per game and led the NBA in rebounding with 14.8 rebounds per game.
The Celtics swept Chicago (coached by Jerry Sloan), defeated Philadelphia in seven games after trailing 3-1 and overmatched Houston in six games to win their first title of the Bird-Parish-McHale era.
A shot by Bird late in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals set the tone for the series. Bird launched an 18-footer from the right side, knew instantly that the shot was off, hustled to rebound his miss, caught the ball as his momentum was carrying him to the baseline, switched the ball to his left hand in midair and swished a 12-footer. The Boston Garden faithful fell about the place.
“It was the one best shot I’ve ever seen a player make,” Auerbach claimed. Bird, though, spent much of the series mired in a slump until a huge performance in Game 6. Carrying the load offensively and in terms of leadership was Maxwell, whose efforts would be rewarded with series MVP honors.
It was Maxwell who led the charge after Houston’s Malone told reporters he could get four guys off the streets of Petersburg, Va., his hometown, and beat the Celtics. “I don’t think they’re all that good,” he said. “I don’t think they can stop us from doing what we want to do.”
Malone’s comment provided the emotional spark the Celtics needed. “The man threw down a challenge,” Maxwell explained, “and this is a team that responds well to challenges.”
