1981-82 NBA Season Standings

The Los Angeles Lakers, under first-year head coach Pat Riley, defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 4-2 in the Finals. The Boston Celtics posted the NBA's best regular-season record (63-19). Division champions San Antonio (Midwest) and Milwaukee (Central) were again automatically seeded #2 in their conferences under the era's playoff format, ranking ahead of teams with better records such as Seattle in the West.

Basketball: Standings ▾

Sourcing caveat: 23 teams total this season (11 East, 12 West). San Antonio and Milwaukee's division titles earned automatic #2 conference seeding ahead of teams with better records (e.g. Seattle in the West), per this era's playoff format.

Eastern Conference

SeedTeamWLPCTGB
1BCBoston Celtics6319.768-
2MBMilwaukee Bucks5527.6718
3P7Philadelphia 76ers5824.7075
4NJNNew Jersey Nets4438.53719
5WBWashington Bullets4339.52420
6AHAtlanta Hawks4240.51221
7DPDetroit Pistons3943.47624
8IPIndiana Pacers3547.42728
9CBChicago Bulls3448.41529
10NYKNew York Knicks3349.40230
11CCCleveland Cavaliers1567.18348

Western Conference

SeedTeamWLPCTGB
1LALLos Angeles Lakers5725.695-
2SASSan Antonio Spurs4834.5859
3SSSeattle SuperSonics5230.6345
4DNDenver Nuggets4636.56111
5PSPhoenix Suns4636.56111
6HRHouston Rockets4636.56111
7GSWGolden State Warriors4537.54912
8PTBPortland Trail Blazers4240.51215
9KCKKansas City Kings3052.36627
10DMDallas Mavericks2854.34129
11UJUtah Jazz2557.30532
12SDCSan Diego Clippers1765.20740

Sources

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

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