1980–81 Detroit Pistons season

NBA team season

NBA professional basketball team season

Head coach

Scotty Robertson

General manager

Jack McCloskey

Owners

William Davidson

Arena

Pontiac Silverdome

Results

Record

21–61 (.256)

Place

Division: 6th (Central)
Conference: 11th (Eastern)

Playoff finish

Did not qualify

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

< 1979–80

1981–82 >

The 1980–81 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 33rd season in the NBA and 24th season in the city of Detroit.^[1] The team played at the Pontiac Silverdome.

The rebuilding Pistons finished the season with a 21–61 (.256) record, 6th place in the Central Division. The team was led by center Kent Benson (15.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and guard John Long (17.7 ppg).^[2]^[1]

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College / Team
1	17	Larry Drew	Guard	United States	Missouri
5	93	Tony Fuller	Guard	United States	Pepperdine

Roster

1980–81 Detroit Pistons roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	From
C	54	Benson, Kent	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Indiana
G	22	Drew, Larry	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Missouri
G	33	Herron, Keith	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Villanova
SF	35	Hubbard, Phil	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Michigan
F	32	Kelser, Greg	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Michigan State
G	30	Lee, Ron	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	Oregon
SG	25	Long, John	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Detroit Mercy
C	44	Mokeski, Paul	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Kansas
PF	42	Robinson, Wayne	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	Virginia Tech
G/F	41	Tyler, Terry	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Detroit Mercy
PG	15	Wright, Larry	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Grambling State

Head coach

Scotty Robertson

Assistant coach(es)

Don Chaney

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Regular season

Season standings

v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	60	22	.732	–	34–7	26–15	23–7
x-Chicago Bulls	45	37	.549	15.0	26–15	19–22	20–9
x-Indiana Pacers	44	38	.537	16.0	27–14	17–24	17–12
Atlanta Hawks	31	51	.378	29.0	20–21	11–30	9–21
Cleveland Cavaliers	28	54	.341	32.0	20–21	8–33	9–21
Detroit Pistons	21	61	.256	39.0	14–27	7–34	9–21

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	60	22	.732	2
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	62	20	.756	–
4	x-New York Knicks	50	32	.610	12
5	x-Chicago Bulls	45	37	.549	17
6	x-Indiana Pacers	44	38	.537	18

7	Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	23
8	Atlanta Hawks	31	51	.378	31
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	28	54	.341	34
10	New Jersey Nets	24	58	.293	38
11	Detroit Pistons	21	61	.256	41

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: 21–61 (Home: 14–27; Road: 7–34)

October: 1–9 (home: 0–6; road: 1–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
1	October 10	Washington	L 85–95	Pontiac Silverdome	0–1
2	October 11	@ Indiana	L 87–100	Market Square Arena	0–2
3	October 13	@ New Jersey	L 92–108	Rutgers Athletic Center	0–3
4	October 14	@ Cleveland	L 91–99	Richfield Coliseum	0–4
5	October 16	San Antonio	L 99–102	Pontiac Silverdome	0–5
6	October 18	Atlanta	L 123–125 (2OT)	Pontiac Silverdome	0–6
7	October 22	Philadelphia	L 93–94	Pontiac Silverdome	0–7
8	October 25	@ Houston	W 112–109	The Summit	1–7
9	October 29	Boston	L 85–103	Pontiac Silverdome	1–8
10	October 31	Phoenix	L 98–103 (OT)	Pontiac Silverdome	1–9

November: 7–8 (home: 5–3; road: 2–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
11	November 1	@ Chicago	L 100–122	Chicago Stadium	1–10
12	November 4	@ Milwaukee	W 98–96	MECCA Arena	2–10
13	November 5	@ Philadelphia	L 103–107	The Spectrum	2–11
14	November 7	@ Washington	L 88–114	Capital Centre	2–12
15	November 8	Dallas	W 101–73	Pontiac Silverdome	3–12
16	November 11	@ New York	L 118–149	Madison Square Garden	3–13
17	November 12	Milwaukee	L 98–122	Pontiac Silverdome	3–14
18	November 14	Chicago	W 106–99	Pontiac Silverdome	4–14
19	November 16	@ New Jersey	L 80–89	Rutgers Athletic Center	4–15
20	November 18	Indiana	L 97–102	Pontiac Silverdome	4–16
21	November 20	San Diego	W 97–90	Pontiac Silverdome	5–16
22	November 22	New Jersey	W 117–103	Pontiac Silverdome	6–16
23	November 26	Utah	L 97–104	Pontiac Silverdome	6–17
24	November 28	Kansas City	W 104–94	Pontiac Silverdome	7–17
25	November 29	@ Atlanta	W 98–95	The Omni	8–17

December: 2–12 (home: 2–4; road: 0–8)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
26	December 2	Boston	L 85–94	Pontiac Silverdome	8–18
27	December 5	@ Washington	L 92–103	Capital Centre	8–19
28	December 6	@ Cleveland	L 100–101	Richfield Coliseum	8–20
29	December 10	Atlanta	L 92–100	Pontiac Silverdome	8–21
30	December 12	Cleveland	W 101–95	Pontiac Silverdome	9–21
31	December 13	@ New York	L 94–100	Madison Square Garden	9–22
32	December 17	New York	L 103–119	Pontiac Silverdome	9–23
33	December 18	@ Milwaukee	L 104–121	MECCA Arena	9–24
34	December 19	Indiana	W 109–106	Pontiac Silverdome	10–24
35	December 21	@ San Diego	L 97–117	San Diego Sports Arena	10–25
36	December 23	@ Phoenix	L 104–113	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	10–26
37	December 26	Houston	L 94–114	Pontiac Silverdome	10–27
38	December 27	@ Chicago	L 97–104	Chicago Stadium	10–28
39	December 30	@ Atlanta	L 89–96	The Omni	10–29

January: 3–13 (home: 3–5; road: 0–8)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
40	January 2	New York	W 102–100	Pontiac Silverdome	11–29
41	January 6	@ Portland	L 90–110	Memorial Coliseum	11–30
42	January 7	@ Seattle	L 94–99	Kingdome	11–31
43	January 10	@ Golden State	L 103–105	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena	11–32
44	January 11	@ Los Angeles	L 108–117	The Forum	11–33
45	January 13	Milwaukee	L 96–119	Pontiac Silverdome	11–34
46	January 14	@ Indiana	L 99–101	Market Square Arena	11–35
47	January 15	Washington	L 89–106	Pontiac Silverdome	11–36
48	January 17	New Jersey	L 103–119	Pontiac Silverdome	11–37
49	January 19	@ Boston	L 90–92	Hartford Civic Center	11–38
50	January 20	Philadelphia	W 83–75	Pontiac Silverdome	12–38
51	January 22	Chicago	L 92–125	Pontiac Silverdome	12–39
52	January 24	Cleveland	W 117–94	Pontiac Silverdome	13–39
53	January 26	@ Utah	L 99–102	Salt Palace Acord Arena	13–40
54	January 27	@ Denver	L 123–143	McNichols Sports Arena	13–41
55	January 29	Golden State	L 112–117	Pontiac Silverdome	13–42

February: 3–10 (home: 2–4; road: 1–6)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
56	February 3	@ San Antonio	L 99–102	HemisFair Arena	13–43
57	February 4	@ Kansas City	L 90–91	Kemper Arena	13–44
58	February 6	Los Angeles	L 102–111	Pontiac Silverdome	13–45
59	February 7	@ Chicago	L 90–98	Chicago Stadium	13–46
60	February 8	Indiana	L 101–124	Pontiac Silverdome	13–47
61	February 10	@ Dallas	W 101–95	Reunion Arena	14–47
62	February 13	@ New York	L 92–120	Madison Square Garden	14–48
63	February 14	Washington	W 105–103	Pontiac Silverdome	15–48
64	February 17	@ Cleveland	L 108–109	Richfield Coliseum	15–49
65	February 18	@ Philadelphia	L 97–111	The Spectrum	15–50
66	February 19	Portland	L 106–115	Pontiac Silverdome	15–51
67	February 21	Boston	L 119–130	Pontiac Silverdome	15–52
68	February 27	Cleveland	W 118–109	Pontiac Silverdome	16–52

March: 5–9 (home: 2–5; road: 3–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
69	March 1	@ New Jersey	W 117–104	Rutgers Athletic Center	17–52
70	March 3	@ Milwaukee	L 98–115	MECCA Arena	17–53
71	March 5	New York	L 101–104	Pontiac Silverdome	17–54
72	March 7	Denver	L 109–121	Pontiac Silverdome	17–55
73	March 11	Atlanta	W 100–97	Pontiac Silverdome	18–55
73	March 13	Seattle	L 100–102	Pontiac Silverdome	18–56
75	March 14	@ Indiana	W 101–94	Market Square Arena	19–56
76	March 18	New Jersey	W 118–115	Pontiac Silverdome	20–56
77	March 20	Milwaukee	L 86–104	Pontiac Silverdome	20–57
78	March 22	Chicago	L 103–109	Pontiac Silverdome	20–58
79	March 24	@ Atlanta	L 91–96	The Omni	20–59
80	March 25	@ Philadelphia	L 75–114	The Spectrum	20–60
81	March 27	@ Boston	W 115–90	Boston Garden	21–60
82	March 28	@ Washington	L 103–108	Capital Centre	21–61

1980–81 schedule

References

^ ^a ^b "1980-81 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
^ "Chevette to Corvette No. 58: The 1980-81 Detroit Pistons". September 20, 2011.

1980–81 NBA season

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 Los Angeles Phoenix Portland San Diego Seattle

v t e Detroit Pistons
Founded in 1937 Formerly the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (1937–1948) and the Fort Wayne Pistons (1948–1957) Based in Detroit, Michigan
Franchise	All-time roster Draft history Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	North Side High School Gym Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Detroit Olympia Memorial Building Cobo Arena Pontiac Silverdome The Palace of Auburn Hills Little Caesars Arena
Personnel	Owner(s) Tom Gores President Ed Stefanski General manager Troy Weaver Head coach Monty Williams
G League affiliate	Motor City Cruise
Retired numbers	1 2 3 4 10 11 15 16 21 32 40
NBA championships	1989 1990 2004
Rivalries	Boston Celtics Chicago Bulls Los Angeles Lakers
Culture and lore	Broadcasters Hooper Jordan Rules 1990 Detroit riot John Mason Malice at the Palace