As the calendar turned over to the year 1980, the NBA landscape looked very different than it does today. George Gervin would finish the 1979-1980 season as the scoring champion (33.1 points per game), Larry Bird would win Rookie of the Year while averaging a double-double and there were only 22 teams in the league spread across four divisions. The Wizards were still called the Bullets. The Clippers hailed from San Diego while the Kings took up residence in Kansas City. The Rockets and Spurs were Eastern Conference teams. The Bucks and Bulls were Western Conference teams. Twelve teams made the playoffs, which meant the one and two seed in each Conference received a first round bye. The Dallas Mavericks did not yet exist.

It took many people, a lot of persistence and a bit of luck to see a

See Full Page