The 1984–85 NBA season was the 39th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA championship, beating the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. This was David Stern's first full season as commissioner.
Notable occurrences The 1985 NBA All-Star Game was played at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, with the West defeating the East 140–129. Ralph Sampson of the Houston Rockets won the game's MVP award. Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks won the Slam Dunk Contest. Michael Jordan became the first rookie in NBA history to lead a team in four statistics (points, assists, rebounds, steals). No other rookie would do so until Victor Wembanyama led the 2023–24 San Antonio Spurs in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks. The Clippers relocated from San Diego to Los Angeles. This created a situation with two teams of the same host name (the other Los Angeles team being the Lakers) in the same division, the Pacific, similar to the one in the NHL where the Patrick Division (at the time, and now the Metropolitan Division) had two teams of the same host name: the New York Islanders and Rangers. There was a similar scenario which only existed in the 1976–77 season, in which the Atlantic Division had the New York Knicks and the Nets, until the Nets moved to New Jersey the following season and changed their name. Turner Broadcasting began a relationship with the NBA that continued until the 2025 season when TBS signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the NBA. The Kings played their final game in Kansas City, Missouri, and moved their franchise to Sacramento the following season. Knicks forward Bernard King, who finished the season as the scoring champion, ruptured his ACL in his right knee in the Knicks' final game in Kansas City before the Kings' move to Sacramento. King was out of action for two whole seasons. He would come back in 1987–88, but would not return to the All-Star Game until 1990–91. This season marked Michael Jordan's, Akeem Olajuwon's, Charles Barkley's and John Stockton's rookie seasons in the NBA. This season saw the final season for Dan Issel, Billy Knight, M.L. Carr and Lionel Hollins. Due to a roof collapse at the Pontiac Silverdome, the Pistons were forced to rent the Joe Louis Arena, home of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs. Both the Pistons and the Red Wings would move their home games to the Little Caesars Arena, starting in 2017. At age 38, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the oldest player to win the honor of Finals MVP. Jabbar's team, the Lakers, became the first visiting team to win the NBA title at Boston Garden, beating their archrivals, the Boston Celtics, in six games. The Finals adopted the 2–3–2 format which was used through the 2013 NBA Finals after which the league returned to the 2–2–1–1–1 format. The Cleveland Cavaliers returned to the playoffs after a seven-year absence. They were eliminated by the Celtics in four games. They would not make the playoffs again until 1988. The Cavaliers were coached by George Karl, then making his NBA coaching debut. At New Orleans' Lakefront Arena (where the Atlanta Hawks played 12 of 41 home games that season), Larry Bird scored a Celtics' franchise record 60 points in Boston's 126–115 victory over the Hawks on March 12. Bird broke the previous franchise record set by teammate Kevin McHale (56) nine days earlier at Boston Garden against the Pistons. The Denver Nuggets made the conference finals for the first time since 1978, losing 4–1 to the Lakers. They would not make the conference finals again until 2009, which they lost to the Lakers again. The series marked the end of Dan Issel's playing career, having played 15 professional seasons and averaging 22.6 points and 9.1 rebounds in his career. This was the last season of the backboard height set at . It would be shortened next season to the current . The NBA logo is added on the lower left hand corner of the backboard starting this season. +Coaching changesOffseason Team 1983–84 coach 1984–85 coach Cleveland Cavaliers Tom Nissalke George Karl Indiana Pacers Jack McKinney George Irvine Kansas City Kings Cotton Fitzsimmons Jack McKinney San Antonio Spurs Bob Bass Cotton FitzsimmonsIn-season Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach Los Angeles Clippers Jim Lynam Don Chaney Kansas City Kings Jack McKinney Phil Johnson
Final standings
By division
By conference
Notes z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs y – Clinched division title x – Clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.
Statistical leaders
Individual statistic leaders Category Player Team(s) Statistic Points per game Bernard King New York Knicks 32.9 Rebounds per game Moses Malone Philadelphia 76ers 13.1 Assists per game Isiah Thomas Detroit Pistons 13.9 Steals per game Michael Ray Richardson New Jersey Nets 2.9 Blocks per game Mark Eaton Utah Jazz 5.6 Turnovers per game Ralph Sampson Houston Rockets 4.0 Fouls per game Akeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets 4.2 Minutes per game Larry Bird Boston Celtics 39.5 FG% James Donaldson Los Angeles Clippers 63.7% FT% Kyle Macy Phoenix Suns 90.7% 3P% Darrell Griffith Utah Jazz 35.8% Efficiency per game Larry Bird Boston Celtics 26.5 Double-doubles Isiah Thomas Detroit Pistons 65 Triple-doubles Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers 11
Individual game highs Category Player Team Statistic Points Larry Bird Boston Celtics 60 Bernard King New York Knicks Rebounds Akeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets 25 Assists Isiah Thomas Detroit Pistons 25 Steals Fat Lever Denver Nuggets 10 Johnny Moore San Antonio Spurs Blocks Mark Eaton Utah Jazz 14
NBA awards
Yearly awards Most Valuable Player: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics Rookie of the Year: Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls Defensive Player of the Year: Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz Sixth Man of the Year: Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics Coach of the Year: Don Nelson, Milwaukee Bucks
All-NBA First Team: F – Larry Bird, Boston Celtics F – Bernard King, New York Knicks C – Moses Malone, Philadelphia 76ers G – Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons G – Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
All-NBA Second Team: F – Terry Cummings, Milwaukee Bucks F – Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets C – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers G – Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls G – Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
All-NBA Rookie Team: Charles Barkley (F), Philadelphia 76ers Sam Perkins (F), Dallas Mavericks Akeem Olajuwon (C), Houston Rockets Sam Bowie (C), Portland Trail Blazers Michael Jordan (G), Chicago Bulls
NBA All-Defensive First Team: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks Paul Pressey, Milwaukee Bucks Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz Michael Cooper, Los Angeles Lakers Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 76ers
NBA All-Defensive Second Team: Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers Danny Vranes, Seattle SuperSonics Akeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets Dennis Johnson, Boston Celtics T. R. Dunn, Denver Nuggets
Player of the week The following players were named NBA Player of the Week. WeekPlayerOct. 26 – Nov. 4Larry Nance (Phoenix Suns)Nov. 5 – Nov. 11Alex English (Denver Nuggets)Nov. 12 – Nov. 18Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers)Nov. 19 – Nov. 25Bernard King (New York Knicks)Nov. 26 – Dec. 2Jack Sikma (Seattle SuperSonics)Dec. 3 – Dec. 9Orlando Woolridge (Chicago Bulls)Dec. 10 – Dec. 16Derek Smith (Los Angeles Clippers)Dec. 17 – Dec. 23Terry Cummings (Milwaukee Bucks)Dec. 25 – Dec. 30Micheal Ray Richardson (New Jersey Nets)Jan. 1 – Jan. 6Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons)Jan. 7 – Jan. 13World B. Free (Cleveland Cavaliers)Jan. 14 – Jan. 20Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)Jan. 21 – Jan. 27Tom McMillen (Washington Bullets)Jan. 28 – Feb. 3Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)Feb. 4 – Feb. 17Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)Feb. 18 – Feb. 24Mark Aguirre (Dallas Mavericks)Feb. 25 – Mar. 3Sleepy Floyd (Golden State Warriors)Mar. 4 – Mar. 10Darrell Griffith (Utah Jazz)Mar. 11 – Mar. 17Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)Mar. 18 – Mar. 24Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers)Mar. 25 – Mar. 31Calvin Natt (Denver Nuggets)Apr. 1 – Apr. 7Derek Smith (Los Angeles Clippers)Apr. 8 – Apr. 14Micheal Ray Richardson (New Jersey Nets)
Player of the month The following players were named NBA Player of the Month. MonthPlayerNovemberAlex English (Denver Nuggets)DecemberLarry Bird (Boston Celtics)JanuaryTerry Cummings (Milwaukee Bucks)FebruaryMagic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)MarchLarry Bird (Boston Celtics)
Rookie of the month The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month. MonthRookieNovemberMichael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)DecemberAkeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)JanuaryMichael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)FebruaryAkeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)March (tie)Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)March (tie)Akeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)
Coach of the month The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month. MonthCoachNovemberDoug Moe (Denver Nuggets)DecemberDon Nelson (Milwaukee Bucks)JanuaryChuck Daly (Detroit Pistons)FebruaryGeorge Karl (Cleveland Cavaliers)MarchPat Riley (Los Angeles Lakers)
See also List of NBA regular season records
References