National Basketball Association (NBA)

1984-85 NBA Season Overview

National Basketball Association (NBA)

1984-85 NBA Season Overview

Leagues / Basketball / NBA / 1985 / Season Overview

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. * Michael Jordan became the only rookie in NBA history to lead a team in four statistics (points, assists, rebounds, steals). * The Clippers relocated from San Diego to Los Angeles. This created a distinction whereby two teams of the same host name (the other Los Angeles team are the Lakers) are in the same division (Pacific), similar to the one in the NHL where the Patrick Division (now succeeded by the Metropolitan Division) had two teams of the same host name which is New York (Islanders and Rangers). There was also a similar scenario which only existed in the 1976–77 season, in which the Atlantic Division had the Knicks and the Nets (who were based in New Jersey from 1977 to 2012 but are currently in Brooklyn). * Turner Broadcasting began a relationship with the NBA that continues today 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. * In one of their final home games, Knicks forward Bernard King, who finished the year as the scoring champion, ruptured his ACL in his right knee and was out of action for two whole seasons. King 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. * 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 48 in (1.219 m). It would be shortened 6 in (15.2 cm) next season to the current 42 in (1.067 m). The NBA logo is added on the lower left hand corner of the backboard starting this season.

1985 NBA Champions

Los Angeles Lakers

defeated Boston Celtics

Commissioner David Stern

Union Director Larry Fleisher

Players' President Junior Bridgeman

1985 NBA Draft

Pick Player Team

1 Patrick Ewing Knicks

2 Wayman Tisdale Pacers

3 Benoit Benjamin Clippers

4 Xavier McDaniel Supersonics

5 Jon Koncak Hawks

View Entire 1985 NBA Draft

1 Comment

Davan S. Mani says:

April 17, 2020 at 11:36 pm

what a year. the competitiveness of the ABL really brought the NBA out of its duldrums.

Reply

1985 NBA Draft

Related Articles

Subscribe to our monthly Sports History Newsletter

1 Comment

LEAVE A COMMENT Cancel reply