The 1980-81 Chicago Bulls season led by head coach Jerry Sloan, who was in his second year at the helm. The Bulls finished with a 45-37 record, placing them in fourth position in the Central Division. The roster featured players like Reggie Theus, who was a key contributor throughout the season. Theus, a dynamic guard, provided much of the offensive firepower for the team. He was supported by forward David Greenwood and center Artis Gilmore, the latter being an imposing presence in the paint. Despite these talents, the Bulls struggled with consistency and depth, which hindered their performance against more well-rounded teams.
- Regular Season Record: 45-37
- Playoff Result: Eastern Conference First Round: 2-0, Eastern Conference Semifinals: 0-4
Chicago Bulls Roster and Stats for 1980-81 Season
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3P% | GP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3P% |
| Reggie Theus | 82 | 18.9 | 3.5 | 5.2 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 20.0 | 6 | 19.8 | 3.5 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 22.2 |
| Artis Gilmore | 82 | 17.9 | 10.1 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 6 | 18.0 | 11.2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 0.0 |
| Dave Greenwood | 82 | 14.4 | 8.8 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 6 | 17.8 | 7.3 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| Larry Kenon | 77 | 14.1 | 5.2 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 6 | 6.7 | 4.5 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Ricky Sobers | 71 | 13.5 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 25.8 | 6 | 13.2 | 1.8 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 16.7 |
| Bob Wilkerson | 80 | 10.0 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 10.0 | 6 | 9.2 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Dwight Jones | 81 | 7.6 | 5.0 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 6 | 12.5 | 9.8 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Scott May | 63 | 7.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| Coby Dietrick | 82 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 33.3 | 6 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| James Wilkes | 48 | 4.1 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Ronnie Lester | 8 | 3.8 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sam Worthen | 64 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Ollie Mack | 3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
Chicago Bulls in the 1981 NBA Playoffs
Playoffs First Round vs. New York Knicks
In the 1981 NBA Playoffs, the Chicago Bulls beat the New York Knicks in a best-of-three series to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 1981 | @ New York Knicks | W 90-80 | |
| Apr 03, 1981 | vs. New York Knicks | W 115-114 |
Playoffs Second Round vs. Boston Celtics
In the 1981 NBA Playoffs, the Chicago Bulls advanced to the second round after a surprising first-round victory against the New York Knicks. However, their postseason journey was cut short by the Boston Celtics, who defeated the Bulls in a decisive manner. The Celtics, with their formidable lineup featuring Larry Bird, proved too strong for the Bulls, highlighting the gap between the emerging Chicago squad and the league's elite teams at the time.
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 05, 1981 | @ Boston Celtics | L 121-109 | |
| Apr 07, 1981 | @ Boston Celtics | L 106-97 | |
| Apr 10, 1981 | vs. Boston Celtics | L 113-107 | |
| Apr 12, 1981 | vs. Boston Celtics | L 109-103 |
Chicago Bulls 1980-81 Regular Season Game Log
Here is the game log for the 1980-81 season for the Chicago Bulls.
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 1980 | @ Atlanta Hawks | L 101-93 | |
| Oct 15, 1980 | @ Indiana Pacers | W 108-97 | |
| Oct 17, 1980 | vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | W 98-79 | |
| Oct 18, 1980 | vs. New Jersey Nets | L 107-90 | |
| Oct 21, 1980 | @ New York Knicks | L 105-97 | |
| Oct 24, 1980 | vs. Washington Bullets | W 104-96 | |
| Oct 25, 1980 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | L 109-93 | |
| Oct 28, 1980 | vs. Milwaukee Bucks | L 106-99 | |
| Oct 29, 1980 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | L 115-102 | |
| Oct 31, 1980 | vs. Indiana Pacers | L 121-114 | |
| Nov 01, 1980 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 122-100 | |
| Nov 05, 1980 | @ New Jersey Nets | W 120-105 | |
| Nov 07, 1980 | vs. Atlanta Hawks | W 103-100 | |
| Nov 08, 1980 | vs. Denver Nuggets | L 130-126 | |
| Nov 09, 1980 | @ Boston Celtics | L 111-105 | |
| Nov 11, 1980 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | L 121-80 | |
| Nov 14, 1980 | @ Detroit Pistons | L 106-99 | |
| Nov 16, 1980 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | W 114-108 | |
| Nov 18, 1980 | vs. Boston Celtics | L 113-112 | |
| Nov 21, 1980 | vs. New York Knicks | W 130-121 | |
| Nov 22, 1980 | vs. Washington Bullets | W 114-101 | |
| Nov 26, 1980 | @ San Antonio Spurs | L 125-122 | |
| Nov 28, 1980 | @ Phoenix Suns | L 102-101 | |
| Nov 30, 1980 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | W 122-108 | |
| Dec 02, 1980 | @ Denver Nuggets | W 129-124 | |
| Dec 03, 1980 | @ Seattle SuperSonics | L 113-105 | |
| Dec 05, 1980 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | L 116-115 | |
| Dec 09, 1980 | vs. Phoenix Suns | L 123-108 | |
| Dec 10, 1980 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | L 113-100 | |
| Dec 12, 1980 | vs. Utah Jazz | W 118-98 | |
| Dec 13, 1980 | vs. Boston Celtics | L 106-95 | |
| Dec 16, 1980 | @ Washington Bullets | W 96-94 | |
| Dec 17, 1980 | @ Boston Celtics | L 115-98 | |
| Dec 19, 1980 | vs. Milwaukee Bucks | W 129-106 | |
| Dec 20, 1980 | vs. Houston Rockets | W 133-109 | |
| Dec 23, 1980 | vs. New York Knicks | W 117-114 | |
| Dec 26, 1980 | @ Cleveland Cavaliers | W 100-98 | |
| Dec 27, 1980 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 104-97 | |
| Dec 30, 1980 | vs. New Jersey Nets | W 121-110 | |
| Jan 02, 1981 | @ Washington Bullets | W 92-82 | |
| Jan 03, 1981 | vs. San Antonio Spurs | L 119-111 | |
| Jan 06, 1981 | vs. San Diego Clippers | W 108-93 | |
| Jan 09, 1981 | @ Boston Celtics | L 117-111 | |
| Jan 10, 1981 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | L 117-102 | |
| Jan 13, 1981 | @ Dallas Mavericks | L 112-106 | |
| Jan 14, 1981 | @ Houston Rockets | L 109-105 | |
| Jan 16, 1981 | vs. Portland Trail Blazers | L 113-112 | |
| Jan 17, 1981 | vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | L 110-98 | |
| Jan 20, 1981 | vs. Indiana Pacers | W 121-105 | |
| Jan 22, 1981 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 125-92 | |
| Jan 23, 1981 | vs. Dallas Mavericks | W 106-98 | |
| Jan 24, 1981 | @ Atlanta Hawks | W 104-102 | |
| Jan 27, 1981 | vs. Golden State Warriors | W 118-101 | |
| Jan 29, 1981 | vs. Boston Celtics | W 108-85 | |
| Feb 04, 1981 | @ Cleveland Cavaliers | W 109-96 | |
| Feb 06, 1981 | vs. New York Knicks | L 112-94 | |
| Feb 07, 1981 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 98-90 | |
| Feb 08, 1981 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | L 128-109 | |
| Feb 10, 1981 | vs. Kansas City Kings | W 116-115 | |
| Feb 11, 1981 | @ New Jersey Nets | L 135-133 | |
| Feb 14, 1981 | vs. Seattle SuperSonics | W 134-117 | |
| Feb 15, 1981 | @ Indiana Pacers | L 113-107 | |
| Feb 17, 1981 | @ San Diego Clippers | L 128-95 | |
| Feb 18, 1981 | @ Golden State Warriors | L 103-100 | |
| Feb 20, 1981 | @ Utah Jazz | W 92-84 | |
| Feb 22, 1981 | vs. Atlanta Hawks | L 121-116 | |
| Feb 24, 1981 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | L 107-97 | |
| Feb 27, 1981 | vs. Washington Bullets | W 112-100 | |
| Feb 28, 1981 | @ New York Knicks | W 101-97 | |
| Mar 03, 1981 | vs. New Jersey Nets | W 128-102 | |
| Mar 04, 1981 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | W 111-100 | |
| Mar 08, 1981 | @ Washington Bullets | L 103-99 | |
| Mar 10, 1981 | @ Atlanta Hawks | W 118-116 | |
| Mar 13, 1981 | @ New York Knicks | L 127-117 | |
| Mar 15, 1981 | @ Kansas City Kings | W 97-87 | |
| Mar 17, 1981 | vs. Milwaukee Bucks | W 116-106 | |
| Mar 19, 1981 | @ Cleveland Cavaliers | W 116-111 | |
| Mar 20, 1981 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | W 120-108 | |
| Mar 22, 1981 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 109-103 | |
| Mar 24, 1981 | vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | W 121-108 | |
| Mar 27, 1981 | vs. Atlanta Hawks | W 108-83 | |
| Mar 29, 1981 | @ Indiana Pacers | W 101-97 |