1980–81 Denver Nuggets season

1980–81 Denver Nuggets season
Head coach	Donnie Walsh Doug Moe
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record	37–45 (.451)
Place	Division: 4th (Midwest) Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1980-81 NBA season was the Nuggets 5th season in the NBA and their 14th season as a franchise.

Draft picks

Main article: 1980 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	5	James Ray	PF	United States	Jacksonville
1	23	Carl Nicks	PG	United States	Indiana State
2	41	Jawann Oldham	C	United States	Seattle
3	47	Kurt Nimphius	C/PF	United States	Arizona State
3	48	Eddie Lee		United States	Cincinnati
3	51	Ronnie Valentine	PF	United States	Old Dominion
4	73	Sammie Ellis		United States	Pittsburgh
5	97	James Patrick		United States	Texas State
6	119	Ernie Hill		United States	Oklahoma City
7	143	Tommy Springer		United States	Vanderbilt
9	184	Jim Graziano		United States	South Carolina
10	202	Earl Sango		United States	Regis

Roster

Denver Nuggets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G/F 23 Dunn, T.R. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1955-02-01 Alabama F 2 English, Alex 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954-01-05 South Carolina G/F 22 Gondrezick, Glen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1955-08-30 UNLV G 1 Higgs, Kenny 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1955-01-31 Louisiana F/C 34 Hordges, Cedrick 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1957-01-08 South Carolina C 35 Hughes, Kim 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1952-06-04 Wisconsin F/C 44 Issel, Dan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1948-10-25 Kentucky G 7 McKinney, Billy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1955-06-05 Northwestern G 3 Nicks, Carl 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1958-10-06 Indiana C 45 Oldham, Jawann 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1957-07-04 Seattle F 43 Ray, James 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1957-07-27 Jacksonville F/C 25 Robisch, Dave 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1949-12-22 Kansas G 10 Roche, John 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1949-09-26 South Carolina G/F 33 Thompson, David 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1954-07-13 North Carolina F 42 Valentine, Ronnie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957-11-27 Old Dominion F 55 Vandeweghe, Kiki 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1958-08-01 UCLA	Head coach Doug Moe Assistant coach(es) Donnie Walsh Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: 2012–06–28

Regular season

Season standings

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Phoenix Suns	57	25	.695	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	52	30	.634	5
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	54	28	.659	3
4	x-Portland Trail Blazers	45	37	.549	12
5	x-Kansas City Kings	40	42	.488	17
6	x-Houston Rockets	40	42	.488	17
7	Golden State Warriors	39	43	.476	18
8	Denver Nuggets	37	45	.451	20
9	San Diego Clippers	36	46	.439	21
10	Seattle SuperSonics	34	48	.415	23
11	Utah Jazz	28	54	.341	29
12	Dallas Mavericks	15	67	.183	42

Notes

• z, y – division champions
• x – clinched playoff spot

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

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