1981–82 Houston Rockets season

1981–82 Houston Rockets season
Head coach	Del Harris
Arena	The Summit
Results
Record	46–36 (.561)
Place	Division: 3rd (Midwest) Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finish	West First Round (lost to SuperSonics 1–2)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KHTV
Radio	KTRH

The 1981–82 NBA season was the Rockets' 15th season in the NBA and 11th season in the city of Houston. The Rockets entered the season as runner-ups in the 1981 NBA Finals, having lost to the Boston Celtics in six games.

In the playoffs, the Rockets lost to the Seattle SuperSonics in three games in the First Round.

Draft picks

Main article: 1981 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	45	Ed Turner	SF	United States	Texas A&I
4	81	Larry Spriggs	SF	United States	Howard
5	105	Hasan Houston		United States	Bradley
6	127	Fred Cowan		United States	Kentucky
7	151	Joe Faine		United States	Bowling Green State
8	172	Stanley Brewer		United States	West Georgia State

Roster

1981–82 Houston Rockets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 10 Mike Dunleavy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) South Carolina F 00 Calvin Garrett 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Oral Roberts C 44 Elvin Hayes 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Houston G 6 Tom Henderson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Hawaiʻi F 11 Major Jones  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Albany State G 30 Allen Leavell 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Oklahoma City C 24 Moses Malone 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Petersburg High School G 23 Calvin Murphy 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Niagara C 51 Jawann Oldham  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Seattle C 5 Billy Paultz 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) St. John's F 50 Robert Reid 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Saint Mary's F 35 Larry Spriggs 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Howard F 32 Bill Willoughby 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Dwight Morrow H.S.

Head coach Del Harris Assistant(s) Carroll Dawson Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	48	34	.585	–	29–12	19–22	20–10
x-Denver Nuggets	46	36	.561	2.0	29–12	17–24	19–11
x-Houston Rockets	46	36	.561	2.0	25–16	21–20	17–13
Kansas City Kings	30	52	.366	18.0	23–18	7–34	11–19
Dallas Mavericks	28	54	.341	20.0	16–25	12–29	11–19
Utah Jazz	25	57	.305	23.0	18–23	7–34	9–21

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	57	25	.695	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	48	34	.585	9
3	x-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	5
4	x-Denver Nuggets	46	36	.561	11
5	x-Phoenix Suns	46	36	.561	11
6	x-Houston Rockets	46	36	.561	11
7	Golden State Warriors	45	37	.549	12
8	Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	15
9	Kansas City Kings	30	52	.366	27
10	Dallas Mavericks	28	54	.341	29
11	Utah Jazz	25	57	.305	32
12	San Diego Clippers	17	65	.207	40

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1981-82 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SDC	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	1–5	2–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	0–2	2–0	4–2	1–1	0–2	3–3	3–2	5–1	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–4
Boston	5–1	—	4–2	5–0	2–0	1–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	5–1	5–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	6–0
Chicago	3–2	2–4	—	5–1	1–1	1–1	0–6	0–2	1–1	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–5	2–4	3–2	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–4
Cleveland	2–4	0–5	1–5	—	2–0	0–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	1–5	1–1	0–2	0–6	0–6	0–6	0–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–5
Dallas	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	—	1–5	1–1	0–5	2–4	1–1	4–2	1–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–3	2–3	1–5	2–3	1–4	3–3	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	5–1	—	1–1	3–2	5–1	0–2	4–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–3	2–4	5–0	2–3	3–3	2–0
Detroit	4–2	0–6	6–0	5–1	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	2–0	2–4	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–4	3–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–4
Golden State	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–0	2–3	0–2	—	1–4	2–0	3–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–2	2–4	3–2	5–1	1–5	3–2	1–1
Houston	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–5	0–2	4–1	—	2–0	3–3	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	4–1	3–3	4–1	2–3	6–0	2–0
Indiana	2–4	1–5	3–3	5–1	1–1	2–0	4–2	0–2	0–2	—	1–1	0–2	0–6	4–2	3–2	0–6	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–5
Kansas City	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–4	0–2	2–3	3–3	1–1	—	1–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–3	0–5	1–5	4–1	2–3	3–3	0–2
Los Angeles	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–1	4–1	2–0	3–3	4–1	2–0	4–1	—	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–2	5–1	2–3	5–1	4–2	5–0	2–0
Milwaukee	3–3	3–3	5–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	4–2	0–2	1–1	6–0	1–1	2–0	—	4–1	3–3	4–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
New Jersey	2–3	1–5	4–2	6–0	0–2	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–1	1–1	1–4	—	4–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	4–2
New York	1–5	1–5	2–3	6–0	1–1	1–1	3–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	2–0	3–3	2–4	—	1–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–5
Philadelphia	3–3	2–4	5–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	6–0	2–0	1–1	2–4	3–3	5–1	—	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	6–0
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–2	3–2	2–0	2–4	2–3	1–1	3–2	2–4	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	—	3–3	4–1	4–2	3–3	3–2	1–1
Portland	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	3–2	2–0	4–2	1–4	1–1	5–0	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–3	—	3–2	4–2	3–3	4–1	0–2
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	5–1	4–2	2–0	2–3	3–3	0–2	5–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–4	2–3	—	3–2	4–1	3–3	1–1
San Diego	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–2	0–5	0–2	1–5	1–4	0–2	1–4	1–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–4	2–4	2–3	—	1–5	1–4	0–2
Seattle	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–1	3–2	1–1	5–1	3–2	1–1	3–2	2–4	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	1–4	5–1	—	5–0	1–1
Utah	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–3	3–3	1–1	2–3	0–6	1–1	3–3	0–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3	1–4	3–3	4–1	0–5	—	1–1
Washington	4–2	0–6	4–2	5–1	1–1	0–2	4–1	1–1	0–2	5–1	2–0	0–2	2–3	2–4	5–1	0–6	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	—

Game log

Regular season

1981–82 game log Total: 46–36 (home: 25–16; road: 21–20)
October: 1–1 (home: 0–0; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 30, 1981 @ Los Angeles W 113–112 (2OT) The Forum 1–0
November: 5–10 (home: 2–4; road: 3–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 7 November 11, 1981 Los Angeles L 93–95 The Summit 2–5 13 November 21, 1981 @ Philadelphia L 106–135 The Spectrum 6–7 17 November 29, 1981 @ Los Angeles L 104–122 The Forum 6–11
December: 6–7 (home: 4–4; road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
January: 9–4 (home: 6–2; road: 3–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 43 January 28, 1982 Philadelphia W 109–101 The Summit 21–22
February: 11–3 (home: 6–0; road: 5–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
March: 9–7 (home: 3–5; road: 6–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 68 March 21, 1982 @ Los Angeles L 102–107 The Forum 36–32
April: 5–4 (home: 4–1; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 76 April 6, 1982 Los Angeles L 97–108 The Summit 43–33
1981–82 schedule

Playoffs

1982 playoff game log
First Round: 1–2 (home: 1–0; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 21 @ Seattle L 87–102 Moses Malone (20) Moses Malone (15) Tom Henderson (7) Kingdome 14,071 0–1 2 April 23 Seattle W 91–70 Moses Malone (28) Moses Malone (23) Allen Leavell (6) The Summit 15,676 1–1 3 April 25 @ Seattle L 83–104 Moses Malone (24) Moses Malone (13) Mike Dunleavy (5) Kingdome 14,071 1–2
1982 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Mike Dunleavy
Calvin Garrett
Elvin Hayes
Tom Henderson
Major Jones
Allen Leavell
Moses Malone
Calvin Murphy
Jawann Oldham
Billy Paultz
Robert Reid
Larry Spriggs

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Awards and records

• Moses Malone, NBA Most Valuable Player Award
• Moses Malone, All-NBA First Team

Transactions

• June 8, 1981: Traded a 1981 2nd round draft pick (Charles Davis) and a 1983 2nd round draft pick to the Washington Bullets for Elvin Hayes.

See also

• 1981–82 NBA season