1979-80 NBA Season Standings

This was the first NBA season to feature the three-point line. Boosted by rookie Magic Johnson, the Los Angeles Lakers won the championship over Julius Erving's Philadelphia 76ers, capped by Magic's famous 42-point, 15-rebound Game 6 while playing center for an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The New Orleans Jazz relocated to Salt Lake City to become the Utah Jazz this season. Atlanta (Central) and Milwaukee (Midwest) were division champions and received automatic top-two conference seeding despite other teams (Philadelphia, Seattle, Phoenix) posting better records.

Basketball: Standings ▾

Sourcing caveat: 22 teams total this season (11 per conference). Division champions Atlanta and Milwaukee were automatically seeded #2 in their conferences even though other teams had better records, per the era's playoff format — the rank order below reflects official standings tables of the day.

Eastern Conference

SeedTeamWLPCTGB
1BCBoston Celtics6121.744-
2AHAtlanta Hawks5032.61011
3P7Philadelphia 76ers5923.7202
4HRHouston Rockets4141.50020
5SASSan Antonio Spurs4141.50020
6WBWashington Bullets3943.47622
7NYKNew York Knicks3943.47622
8CCCleveland Cavaliers3745.45124
9IPIndiana Pacers3745.45124
10NJNNew Jersey Nets3448.41527
11DPDetroit Pistons1666.19545

Western Conference

SeedTeamWLPCTGB
1LALLos Angeles Lakers6022.732-
2MBMilwaukee Bucks4933.59811
3SSSeattle SuperSonics5626.6834
4PSPhoenix Suns5527.6715
5KCKKansas City Kings4735.57313
6PTBPortland Trail Blazers3844.46322
7SDCSan Diego Clippers3547.42725
8CBChicago Bulls3052.36630
9DNDenver Nuggets3052.36630
10UJUtah Jazz2458.29336
11GSWGolden State Warriors2458.29336

Sources

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

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