League officials decided to adopt a new scoring option: the three point attempt. October 12, 1979 was a historic night as Boston’s Chris "The Mad Bomber" Ford converted the first ever three pointer against the Houston Rockets.
The crazy idea of employing three officials per game is rescinded after one season. The association will return to the more frugal two referee system.
With dirges in the air, Sam Battistone and the Jazz left the city of New Orleans after some financial woes. Although many other cities were considered, the Jazz decided to reside in Salt Lake City. After a wildly popular run of ABA’s Utah Stars, the Jazz will have a great basketball fan base to support this move.
A stellar rookie class brought in superstars despite being new to the NBA. Earvin “Magic” Johnson, out of Michigan State University, was the first overall pick in the 1979 draft, but he was not alone. His college rival Larry Bird, out of Indiana State University, also joined the league with the Boston Celtics.
In a rather unique circumstance, Philadelphia’s Daryl Dawkins caused havoc twice this year. At Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium on November 13, Dawkins shattered a backboard, but he was not done with his damages. Just 23 days later in Philadelphia, “Chocolate Thunder” shattered another backboard.
George “The Iceman” Gervin wins the All Star Game MVP while representing the San Antonio Spurs. The East defeated the West 144-136.
For the sixth time in his career, Kareem-Abdul Jabar won the NBA MVP award while playing all 82 games and averaging 24.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game. George Gervin won the scoring title at 33.1 points per game. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics had the best record in the regular season and brought home some additional hardware with Coach of the Year going to Bill Fitch and Rookie of the Year going to Larry Bird.
As the 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia went on a tear in the playoffs knocking out the 6 seed Washington Bullets, the 2 seed Atlanta Hawks, the 1 seed Boston Celtics. The Western Conference went much more according to plan with the 1 seed Los Angeles Lakers beating both the 4 seed Phoenix Suns and the 3 seed Seattle Supersonics in 5 games each.
In the NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in 6 games. In a surprise vote, Earvin “Magic” Johnson won the Finals MVP as a rookie.
Like the end of any season, we did see some stars hang up their shoes and enter retirement. Former champion and Finals MVP Rick Barry retired after 14 years of professional basketball in both the NBA and ABA. Two time NBA champion Walter “Clyde” Frazier retired after 13 seasons. The flashy “Pistol” Pete Maravich retired after 10 seasons.
As the 1980-1981 season is upon us, let's hope we can have this type of excitement in the new season.
