1983–84 NBA season

1983–84 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
TV partner/s	CBS, ESPN, USA
Regular season
Season MVP	Larry Bird (Boston)
Top scorer	Adrian Dantley (Utah)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Boston Celtics
Eastern runners-up	Milwaukee Bucks
Western champions	Los Angeles Lakers
Western runners-up	Phoenix Suns
Finals
Finals champions	Boston Celtics
Runners-up	Los Angeles Lakers
Finals MVP	Larry Bird (Boston)
NBA seasons
← 1982–83	1984–85 →

The 1983–84 NBA season was the 38th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 since 1969 in the NBA Finals.

• The 1984 NBA All-Star Game was played at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, with the East defeating the West 154–145. Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons wins the game's MVP Award. Larry Nance of the Phoenix Suns won the first NBA Slam Dunk Championship.
• David Stern begins his tenure as the league's fourth commissioner, effective April 1.
• The NBA Playoffs were expanded from 6 teams per conference to 8, where it stands to this date.
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar surpassed Wilt Chamberlain to become the all-time NBA career leader in points. He passed Chamberlain in a game against the Utah Jazz at Las Vegas' Thomas & Mack Center on April 5. Fittingly, it was his trademark sky-hook that put him in the record books.
• The Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons play in the highest scoring game in NBA history with the Pistons winning 186–184 in three overtimes.
• The Dallas Mavericks made its first postseason appearance, beating the Seattle SuperSonics 3–2 before bowing out to the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the Conference Semifinals.
• The Utah Jazz appeared in the postseason for the first time, defeating the Nuggets 3–2 in the opening round and then losing to the Suns 4–2 in the Western semis.
• The Clippers played their final game in San Diego, California.
• This would be the last season until 2013–14 that the Finals had the 2–2–1–1–1 format. The Finals would adopt the 2–3–2 format the following season.
• The New Jersey Nets won a playoff series for the first time in their NBA history, upsetting the defending champion Philadelphia 76ers in five games. The series marked the only time (to date) a road team won every game in a playoff series.

Final standings

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division Team W L PCT. GB Boston Celtics C 62 20 .756 - Philadelphia 76ers 52 30 .634 10 New York Knicks 47 35 .573 15 New Jersey Nets 45 37 .549 17 Washington Bullets 35 47 .427 27

Central Division Team W L PCT. GB Milwaukee Bucks 50 32 .610 - Detroit Pistons 49 33 .598 1 Atlanta Hawks 40 42 .488 10 Cleveland Cavaliers 28 54 .341 22 Chicago Bulls 27 55 .329 23 Indiana Pacers 26 56 .317 24

Western Conference

Midwest Division Team W L PCT. GB Utah Jazz 45 37 .549 - Dallas Mavericks 43 39 .524 2 Denver Nuggets 38 44 .463 7 Kansas City Kings 38 44 .463 7 San Antonio Spurs 37 45 .451 8 Houston Rockets 29 53 .354 16

Pacific Division Team W L PCT. GB Los Angeles Lakers 54 28 .659 - Portland Trail Blazers 48 34 .585 6 Seattle SuperSonics 42 40 .512 12 Phoenix Suns 41 41 .500 13 Golden State Warriors 37 45 .451 17 San Diego Clippers 30 52 .366 24

C - NBA Champions

Statistics leaders

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points per game	Adrian Dantley	Utah Jazz	30.6
Rebounds per game	Moses Malone	Philadelphia 76ers	13.4
Assists per game	Magic Johnson	Los Angeles Lakers	13.1
Steals per game	Rickey Green	Utah Jazz	2.7
Blocks per game	Mark Eaton	Utah Jazz	4.3
FG%	Artis Gilmore	San Antonio Spurs	63.1
FT%	Larry Bird	Boston Celtics	88.8
3FG%	Darrell Griffith	Utah Jazz	36.1

NBA awards

Yearly awards

• Most Valuable Player: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
• Rookie of the Year: Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets
• Defensive Player of the Year: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
• Sixth Man of the Year: Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
• Coach of the Year: Frank Layden, Utah Jazz
• All–NBA First Team:
  • Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
  • Bernard King, New York Knicks
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
  • Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
  • Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
• All–NBA Rookie Team:
  • Steve Stipanovich, Indiana Pacers
  • Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets
  • Darrell Walker, New York Knicks
  • Jeff Malone, Washington Bullets
  • Thurl Bailey, Utah Jazz
  • Byron Scott, Los Angeles Lakers
• NBA All–Defensive First Team:
  • Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Michael Cooper, Los Angeles Lakers
  • Tree Rollins, Atlanta Hawks
  • Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
• NBA All–Defensive Second Team:
  • Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
  • Dan Roundfield, Atlanta Hawks
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
  • Dennis Johnson, Boston Celtics
  • T.R. Dunn, Denver Nuggets

Note: All above information were obtained on the History section on NBA.com

Player of the week

The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.

Week	Player
Oct. 28 – Nov. 6	Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Kings)
Nov. 7 – Nov. 13	Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Nov. 14 – Nov. 20	Kiki Vandeweghe (Denver Nuggets)
Nov. 21 – Nov. 27	Mark Aguirre (Dallas Mavericks)
Nov. 28 – Dec. 4	Rickey Green (Utah Jazz)
Dec. 5 – Dec. 11	Jeff Ruland (Washington Bullets)
Dec. 12 – Dec. 18	Adrian Dantley (Utah Jazz)
Dec. 19 – Dec. 26	Dan Roundfield (Atlanta Hawks)
Dec. 27 – Jan. 2	Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons)
Jan. 3 – Jan. 8	Purvis Short (Golden State Warriors)
Jan. 9 – Jan. 15	Kelly Tripucka (Detroit Pistons)
Jan. 16 – Jan. 22	Buck Williams (New Jersey Nets)
Jan. 31 – Feb. 5	Bernard King (New York Knicks)
Feb. 6 – Feb. 12	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers)
Feb. 13 – Feb. 19	Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
Feb. 20 – Feb. 26	Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
Feb. 27 – Mar. 4	Mickey Johnson (Golden State Warriors)
Mar. 5 – Mar. 11	Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
Mar. 12 – Mar. 18	Adrian Dantley (Utah Jazz)
Mar. 19 – Mar. 25	Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers)
Mar. 26 – Apr. 1	Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons)
Apr. 2 – Apr. 8	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers)
Apr. 9 – Apr. 15	Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)

Player of the month

The following players were named NBA Player of the Month.

Month	Player
November	Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)
December	Jeff Ruland (Washington Bullets)
January	Mark Aguirre (Dallas Mavericks)
February	Bernard King (New York Knicks)
March	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers)

Rookie of the month

The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month.

Month	Rookie
November	Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets)
December	Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets)
January	Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets)
February	Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets)
March	Ralph Sampson (Houston Rockets)

Coach of the month

The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month.

Month	Coach
November	Dick Motta (Dallas Mavericks)
December	Frank Layden (Utah Jazz)
January	K.C. Jones (Boston Celtics)
February	Chuck Daly (Detroit Pistons)
March	Jack Ramsay (Portland Trail Blazers)