The 1980 NBA draft was the 34th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1980, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers, before the 1980–81 season. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip.
The Boston Celtics, who obtained the Detroit Pistons' first-round pick in a trade, won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Utah Jazz were awarded the second pick. The Celtics then traded the first pick to the Golden State Warriors before the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. An expansion franchise, the Dallas Mavericks, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the eleventh pick in each round. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was automatically eligible for selection. Before the draft, five college underclassmen announced that they would leave college early and would be eligible for selection. The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising the selection of 214 players. This draft was also notable for being the first NBA draft to air on national TV, with the event being aired on the USA Network; it would continue airing on the USA Network for a few more years after this one up until the 1985 NBA draft occurred, which had the event start airing on TBS instead.
Draft selections and draftee career notes Joe Barry Carroll from Purdue University was selected first overall by the Golden State Warriors. Darrell Griffith from the University of Louisville was selected second by the Utah Jazz. He went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season. Kevin McHale from the University of Minnesota was selected third by the Boston Celtics. McHale spent his entire 13-year career with the Celtics and won three NBA championships. He also won two consecutive Sixth Man of the Year Award and was also selected to one All-NBA Team, seven All Star Games and six All-Defensive Teams. For his achievements, he has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame. McHale was also named to the list of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996. Carroll, 8th pick Andrew Toney, 11th pick Kiki Vandeweghe and 25th pick Jeff Ruland are the only other players from this draft who was selected to an All-Star Game.
Nine players drafted went on to have a coaching career in the NBA. Kevin McHale served as the interim head coach for the Timberwolves in and in the before working as head coach of the Houston Rockets for four and a half seasons. Mike Woodson, the 12th pick, coached the Atlanta Hawks for six seasons. Larry Drew, the 17th pick, worked as Woodson's assistant before he was promoted to the head coaching position in . Bill Hanzlik, the 20th pick, coached the Denver Nuggets in the , compiling an 11–71 record, the worst full-season record for a rookie coach in NBA history. Butch Carter, the 37th pick, coached the Toronto Raptors for two and a half seasons. Terry Stotts, the 38th pick, coached both the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks for two seasons, and the Portland Trail Blazers for nine seasons. Kurt Rambis, the 58th pick, who played nine years for the Los Angeles Lakers, served as the team's interim head coach in . After working as the Lakers assistant coach for seven years, Rambis received his first permanent head coaching position with the Minnesota Timberwolves in . Two other players, Kiki Vandeweghe and Kenny Natt, had brief spells as interim head coaches in the NBA, each of which lasted less than one season. Woodson would later go on to be the first person in NBA history to become head coach of the team that drafted him when he took over as head coach of the New York Knicks on an interim basis in March 2012.
Key Pos.GFCPositionGuardForwardCenter
Draft
Player Team 11 + F/C Golden State Warriors Purdue 12 ~ G Utah Jazz Louisville 13 ^ F/C Boston Celtics Minnesota 14 G Chicago Bulls Ohio State 15 F Denver Nuggets Jacksonville 16 G/F New Jersey Nets North Carolina 17 C New Jersey Nets Duke 18 + G Philadelphia 76ers Southwestern Louisiana 19 F San Diego Clippers La Salle 110 G Portland Trail Blazers Iowa 111 + F Dallas Mavericks UCLA 112 G/F New York Knicks Indiana 113 F/C Golden State Warriors Mississippi State 114 G Washington Bullets Wisconsin 115 F/C San Antonio Spurs Tennessee 116 G/F Kansas City Kings NC State 117 G Detroit Pistons Missouri 118 G/F Atlanta Hawks Washington State 119 G Utah Jazz Georgetown 120 G/F Seattle SuperSonics Notre Dame 121 F Philadelphia 76ers Tennessee State 122 G Cleveland Cavaliers UNC Charlotte 123 G Denver Nuggets Indiana State 224 F/C Golden State Warriors Alcorn State 225 + F/C Golden State Warriors Iona 226 F Chicago Bulls Marquette 227 F Houston Rockets Mississippi 228 F Atlanta Hawks Georgetown 229 F Indiana Pacers Syracuse 230 G Indiana Pacers Northeast Louisiana 231 F Los Angeles Lakers Virginia Tech 232 # F Portland Trail Blazers McNeese State 233 # G/F Portland Trail Blazers Weber State 234 # C Dallas Mavericks Syracuse 235 F/C Washington Bullets Hampton 236 F New York Knicks LSU 237 G Los Angeles Lakers Indiana 238 # F Houston Rockets Oklahoma 239 F San Antonio Spurs Long Beach State 240 F Indiana Pacers Toledo 241 C Denver Nuggets Seattle 242 # F Phoenix Suns Stanford 243 # G Houston Rockets Clemson 244 # G Philadelphia 76ers NC State 245 F/C Detroit Pistons SMU 246 # F Boston Celtics Purdue 347 F/C Denver Nuggets Arizona State 348 # G Denver Nuggets Cincinnati 349 # G Golden State Warriors North Carolina 350 F Chicago Bulls UCLA 351 F Denver Nuggets Old Dominion 352 G New Jersey Nets West Virginia 353 # C Cleveland Cavaliers Washington State 354 # G Boston Celtics Holy Cross 355 # F Cleveland Cavaliers Southern Illinois 356 F/C Portland Trail Blazers North Park 357 G Dallas Mavericks Texas A&M 358 F New York Knicks Santa Clara 359 # F Phoenix Suns Clemson 360 # F San Antonio Spurs Georgia 461 F San Antonio Spurs North Carolina 362 # G Kansas City Kings Southern 363 # F Milwaukee Bucks Oklahoma 364 # F Detroit Pistons Furman 365 # F Phoenix Suns California 466 C Seattle SuperSonics Tuskegee 367 # F Philadelphia 76ers Winston-Salem State 368 # G Cleveland Cavaliers Illinois State 369 # G Boston Celtics Idaho 470 G Detroit Pistons Portland 471 # G Golden State Warriors Alabama 472 # C Utah Jazz BYU 473 # F Denver Nuggets Pittsburgh 474 # F Chicago Bulls Michigan State 475 G New Jersey Nets Villanova 476 # G San Diego Clippers Oklahoma State 477 # F Cleveland Cavaliers Florida State 478 # G Indiana Pacers Notre Dame 479 # F Portland Trail Blazers Saint Louis 480 # F Dallas Mavericks Weber State 481 # F Washington Bullets Long Beach State 482 # F New York Knicks Wisconsin 483 # F San Antonio Spurs Cal State Fullerton 484 # F Houston Rockets Utah State 485 # G Philadelphia 76ers Western Kentucky 486 # F Milwaukee Bucks North Carolina 487 G Los Angeles Lakers Florida State 488 # G Phoenix Suns Loyola Chicago 489 # F Seattle SuperSonics Murray State 490 # F Philadelphia 76ers Savannah State 491 # G Los Angeles Lakers Texas 492 # G Boston Celtics Iona 593 G Detroit Pistons Pepperdine 594 # F Utah Jazz Boston University 595 # G Golden State Warriors USC 596 # F Chicago Bulls Northwestern 597 # F Denver Nuggets Texas State 598 # G New Jersey Nets Oklahoma 599 G/F San Diego Clippers San Jose State 5100 # C Indiana Pacers Illinois State 5101 # G Cleveland Cavaliers Kentucky 5102 # F Portland Trail Blazers New Mexico 5103 F Dallas Mavericks UCLA 5104 # G New York Knicks Albright 5105 # F Washington Bullets Rutgers 5106 # F Houston Rockets New Mexico 5107 # C San Antonio Spurs Wisconsin–Eau Claire 5108 # F Kansas City Kings Eastern Michigan 5109 # C Milwaukee Bucks VCU 5110 # G Atlanta Hawks South Carolina 5111 # F Phoenix Suns Northern Arizona 5112 # F Seattle SuperSonics Georgia Tech 5113 # F Philadelphia 76ers Toledo 5114 # G Los Angeles Lakers Portland 5115 # G Boston Celtics Maine 6116 # G Detroit Pistons Alaska Anchorage 6117 # F Golden State Warriors Illinois 6118 # G Utah Jazz Western Michigan 6119 # G Denver Nuggets Oklahoma City 6120 # G Chicago Bulls St. John's 6121 # C New Jersey Nets LSU 6122 # G San Diego Clippers Santa Clara 6123 # F Cleveland Cavaliers Oral Roberts 6124 # F Indiana Pacers Philadelphia Textile 6125 # G Portland Trail Blazers Lethbridge 6126 # G Dallas Mavericks Cameron 6127 # F Washington Bullets Chicago State 6128 # F New York Knicks NYIT 6129 # C San Antonio Spurs Iowa State 6130 # F Houston Rockets New Mexico 6131 # F Kansas City Kings Kent State 6132 # F Milwaukee Bucks Indiana State 6133 # F Atlanta Hawks George Washington 6134 # F Phoenix Suns Utah 6135 # C Seattle SuperSonics South Carolina 6136 # F Philadelphia 76ers St. Augustine's 6137 # G Los Angeles Lakers North Alabama 6138 # G Boston Celtics Norfolk State 7139 # F Detroit Pistons Gonzaga 7140 # G Utah Jazz North Carolina 7141 G Golden State Warriors Washington 7142 # F Chicago Bulls Marquette 7143 # G Denver Nuggets Vanderbilt 7144 # F Milwaukee Bucks UAB 7145 # G San Diego Clippers Vanguard 7146 # F Indiana Pacers Lafayette 7147 # G Cleveland Cavaliers Wilmington (Ohio) 7148 # C Portland Trail Blazers UCLA 7149 # F Dallas Mavericks Midwestern State 7150 # G New York Knicks Louisville 7151 # G Washington Bullets Stephen F. Austin 7152 # G Houston Rockets Arizona 7153 # F San Antonio Spurs Arkansas 7154 # G Kansas City Kings Montana State 7155 # G Milwaukee Bucks Furman 7156 # F Atlanta Hawks Dillard 7157 # G Phoenix Suns Montana Western 7158 # G Seattle SuperSonics Seattle 7159 # C Philadelphia 76ers Weber State 7 Los Angeles Lakers 7160 # F Boston Celtics Virginia Tech 8161 # G Detroit Pistons Fairmont State 8162 # G Golden State Warriors La Salle 8163 # F Utah Jazz Saint Peter's 8 Denver Nuggets 8164 # F Chicago Bulls North Park 8165 # F New Jersey Nets New Orleans 8166 # F Cleveland Cavaliers Ohio State 8167 # F Indiana Pacers James Madison 8168 F Portland Trail Blazers Montana 8169 F Dallas Mavericks Lamar 8170 # F Washington Bullets Auburn 8171 # G New York Knicks Penn 8172 # G San Antonio Spurs Pan American Broncs 8173 # G Houston Rockets Bowling Green 8 Kansas City Kings 8174 # G Milwaukee Bucks Virginia Union 8 Atlanta Hawks 8175 # F Phoenix Suns La Salle 8176 # F Seattle SuperSonics Georgetown 8177 # G Philadelphia 76ers Grambling State 8178 # F Los Angeles Lakers Edinboro 8179 # F Boston Celtics Boston University 9180 # G Detroit Pistons Huron 9181 # C Utah Jazz UT Arlington 9182 G Golden State Warriors San Francisco 9183 # G Chicago Bulls Kentucky 9184 # C Denver Nuggets South Carolina 9185 # F New Jersey Nets Colorado State 9186 # G Indiana Pacers Kenyon 9187 # F Cleveland Cavaliers Central State 9188 # G Portland Trail Blazers Maine 9189 # G Dallas Mavericks Houston 9190 # F New York Knicks Monmouth 9191 # G Washington Bullets Alcorn State 9192 # F San Antonio Spurs North Texas 9193 # G Kansas City Kings Delta State 9194 # F Milwaukee Bucks Illinois State 9195 # G Atlanta Hawks Steubenville 9196 # F Phoenix Suns North Park 9197 Jim Tillman