1980–81 Dallas Mavericks season

The 1980–81 Dallas Mavericks season was the first season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

1980–81 Dallas Mavericks season
Head coach	Dick Motta
General manager	Norm Sonju
Owner(s)	Don Carter
Arena	Reunion Arena
Results
Record	15–67 (.183)
Place	Division: 6th (Midwest) Conference: 12th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WFAA KTXA
Radio	KJIM

A ticket for a March 1981 game between the Dallas Mavericks and the season's eventual champions Boston Celtics.

Expansion draft

Player	Position	Team
Del Beshore	Guard	Chicago Bulls
Winford Boynes	Forward	New Jersey Nets
Alonzo Bradley	Forward	Houston Rockets
Mike Bratz	Guard	Phoenix Suns
Marty Byrnes	Forward	Los Angeles Lakers
Austin Carr	Guard	Cleveland Cavaliers
Jim Cleamons	Forward	Washington Bullets
Terry Duerod	Guard	Detroit Pistons
Jack Givens	Forward	Atlanta Hawks
Joe Hassett	Guard	Indiana Pacers
Geoff Huston	Guard	New York Knicks
Abdul Jeelani	Forward	Portland Trail Blazers
Jeff Judkins	Forward	Boston Celtics
Arvid Kramer	Center	Denver Nuggets
Tom LaGarde	Center	Seattle SuperSonics
Bill McKinney	Guard	Kansas City Kings
Wiley Peck	Guard	San Antonio Spurs
Bingo Smith	Guard	San Diego Clippers
Jim Spanarkel	Guard	Philadelphia 76ers
Raymond Townsend	Guard	Golden State Warriors
Richard Washington	Forward	Milwaukee Bucks
Jerome Whitehead	Center	Utah Jazz

Draft picks

Main article: 1980 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	11	Kiki Vandeweghe	SF	United States	UCLA
2	34	Rossevelt Bouie	PG	United States	Syracuse
3	57	Dave Britton	SG	United States	Texas A&M

• Kiki Vandeweghe of UCLA was drafted by the Mavs with the 11th pick of the 1980 NBA draft, but Vandeweghe refused to play for the expansion Mavericks and staged a holdout that lasted a month into the team's inaugural season. Vandeweghe was traded to the Denver Nuggets, along with a first-round pick in 1981, in exchange for two future first-round picks

Roster

1980–81 Dallas Mavericks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SF 45 Byrnes, Marty 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1956–04–30 Syracuse PG 15 Davis, Brad 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1955–12–17 Maryland SF 11 Jeelani, Abdul 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1954–02–10 UW–Parkside PF 53 Kea, Clarence 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1959–02–02 Lamar SG 21 Kinch, Chad 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1958–05–22 Charlotte C 25 LaGarde, Tom 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1955–02–10 North Carolina C 44 Lloyd, Scott 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1952–12–19 Arizona State SG 17 Mack, Ollie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1957–06–06 East Carolina SG 43 Pietkiewicz, Stan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1956–07–14 Auburn PF 52 Robinzine, Bill 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1953–01–20 DePaul SF 34 Spanarkel, Jim 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1957–06–28 Duke

Head coach Dick Motta Assistant coach(es) Bob Weiss Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: March 2, 1981

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	52	30	.634	–	34–7	18–23	21–9
x-Kansas City Kings	40	42	.488	12.0	24–17	16–25	19–11
x-Houston Rockets	40	42	.488	12.0	25–16	15–26	19–11
Denver Nuggets	37	45	.451	15.0	23–18	14–27	13–17
Utah Jazz	28	54	.341	24.0	20–21	8–33	13–17
Dallas Mavericks	15	67	.183	37.0	11–30	4–37	5–25

#	Western Conference
	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

Notes

• z, y – division champions
• 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: 15–67 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
October: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 3 October 15 8:35 p.m. CDT @ Denver L 98–133 Spanarkel (15) Whitehead (10) Huston (6) McNichols Sports Arena 6,658 1–2
November: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 15 November 7 7:30 p.m. CST Los Angeles L 102–126 Duerod, Huston (16) Byrnes, Lloyd (8) LaGarde (7) Reunion Arena 17,481 2–13 19 November 16 9:00 p.m. CST @ Los Angeles L 102–110 Huston Spanarkel (28) Lloyd, Spanarkel (8) Lloyd (10) The Forum 10,893 3–16 24 November 28 7:30 p.m. CST Denver L 117–119 (OT) LaGarde (22) Lloyd (16) Huston (9) Reunion Arena 7,713 3–21
December: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 27 December 5 6:30 p.m. CST @ Boston L 87–97 Robinzine (24) LaGarde (12) Huston (7) Boston Garden 14,351 3–24 29 December 9 7:30 p.m. CST Los Angeles L 92–103 Huston (19) LaGarde (12) Huston, Spanarkel (5) Reunion Arena 9,313 3–26 30 December 10 8:35 p.m. CST @ Denver L 107–116 Huston (27) LaGarde, Robinzine (11) Davis (9) McNichols Sports Arena 7,768 3–27 38 December 26 7:30 p.m. CST Denver W 119–111 Jeelani (20) Lloyd (16) Davis (7) Reunion Arena 8,293 5–33
January: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
February: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 61 February 15 4:00 p.m. CST @ Los Angeles L 99–107 Mack (19) Kea (13) Davis (6) The Forum 11,920 8–53
March: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 69 March 3 7:30 p.m. CST Boston L 105–117 Davis (31) LaGarde (8) Davis (13) Reunion Arena 15,593 10–59 75 March 17 7:30 p.m. CST Los Angeles L 109–114 Robinzine (26) LaGarde (15) Davis (16) Reunion Arena 17,828 12–63 77 March 20 7:30 p.m. CST Denver W 126–125 Byrnes, Robinzine (22) Robinzine (15) Davis (10) Reunion Arena 6,359 13–64 80 March 25 8:35 p.m. CST @ Denver W 126–115 Davis (25) Jeelani (11) Davis (10) McNichols Sports Arena 14,035 15–65
1980–81 schedule

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player	POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Tom LaGarde	PF	82	82	2,670	665	237	35	45	1,122	32.6	8.1	2.9	.4	.5	13.7
Jim Spanarkel	SF	82		2,317	297	232	117	20	1,184	28.3	3.6	2.8	1.4	.2	14.4
Scott Lloyd	C	72		2,186	454	159	34	25	637	30.4	6.3	2.2	.5	.3	8.8
Marty Byrnes	SF	72		1,360	177	113	29	17	561	18.9	2.5	1.6	.4	.2	7.8
Bill Robinzine†	PF	70		1,932	520	113	71	9	970	27.6	7.4	1.6	1.0	.1	13.9
Abdul Jeelani	SF	66		1,108	230	65	44	31	553	16.8	3.5	1.0	.7	.5	8.4
Oliver Mack†	SG	62		1,666	229	162	55	7	635	26.9	3.7	2.6	.9	.1	10.2
Geoff Huston†	PG	56		1,892	99	277	45	6	899	33.8	1.8	4.9	.8	.1	16.1
Brad Davis	PG	56		1,686	151	385	52	11	626	30.1	2.7	6.9	.9	.2	11.2
Winford Boynes	SG	44		757	75	37	23	16	287	17.2	1.7	.8	.5	.4	6.5
Stan Pietkiewicz†	SG	36		431	41	75	15	2	140	12.0	1.1	2.1	.4	.1	3.9
Darrell Allums	PF	22		276	65	25	5	8	59	12.5	3.0	1.1	.2	.4	2.7
Terry Duerod†	SF	18		337	39	30	12	4	168	18.7	2.2	1.7	.7	.2	9.3
Joe Hassett†	SG	17		280	25	18	5	0	138	16.5	1.5	1.1	.3	.0	8.1
Clarence Kea	PF	16		199	67	5	6	1	117	12.4	4.2	.3	.4	.1	7.3
Chad Kinch†	SG	12		106	9	10	2	1	38	8.8	.8	.8	.2	.1	3.2
Richard Washington†	PF	11		307	84	16	5	7	119	27.9	7.6	1.5	.5	.6	10.8
Austin Carr†	SG	8		77	9	9	1	0	16	9.6	1.1	1.1	.1	.0	2.0
Jerome Whitehead†	C	7		118	28	2	4	1	37	16.9	4.0	.3	.6	.1	5.3
Ralph Drollinger	C	6		67	19	14	1	2	15	11.2	3.2	2.3	.2	.3	2.5
Monti Davis†	PF	1		8	3	0	0	1	1	8.0	3.0	.0	.0	1.0	1.0

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Mavericks only.

Awards and records

Transactions

Trades

June 9, 1980	To Dallas Mavericks---- 1981 second-round draft pick ( Elston Turner) Future considerations	To Phoenix Suns---- Wiley Peck
September 11, 1980	To Utah Jazz---- Billy McKinney	To Dallas Mavericks---- 1983 second-round draft pick ( Mark West) 1984 second-round draft pick ( Anthony Teachey)
September 16, 1980	To Cleveland Cavaliers---- Mike Bratz	To Dallas Mavericks---- 1984 first-round draft pick ( Sam Perkins
October 30, 1980	To "'Cleveland Cavaliers"'---- Richard Washington	To "'Dallas Mavericks"'---- Bill Robinzine 1983 first-round draft pick Derek Harper 1986 first-round draft pick Roy Tarpley

Free agents

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team
Ralph Drollinger	June 9, 1980
Scott Lloyd	October 28, 1980	Milwaukee Bucks
Ollie Mack	November 17, 1980	Chicago Bulls
Brad Davis (basketball)	December 2, 1980

Subtractions

Player	Left	New team
Dave Britton	September 12, 1980	Washington Bullets
Raymond Townsend	October 3, 1980
Austin Carr	November 6, 1980	Washington Bullets
Joe Hassett	November 17, 1980	Golden State Warriors
Darrell Allums	December 1, 1980
Terry Duerod	December 2, 1980	Boston Celtics
Monti Davis	January 12, 1981
Winford Boynes	February 19, 1981
Ralph Drollinger	March 2, 1981

See also

• 1980–81 NBA season