Every 1981-82 NBA race charted day by day: East, Atlantic, Central, West, Midwest and Pacific. Final standings, from a season that ran October 30, 1981 to April 18, 1982.
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East standings, 1981-82
Team
W
L
Pct
GB
L10
Streak
Boston Celtics (BOS)e
63
19
.768
-
7-3
W1
Philadelphia 76ers (PHL)x
58
24
.707
5
8-2
W4
Milwaukee Bucks (MIL)x
55
27
.671
8
6-4
L1
New Jersey Nets (NJN)x
44
38
.537
19
8-2
W5
Washington Bullets (WAS)x
43
39
.524
20
6-4
W1
Atlanta Hawks (ATL)x
42
40
.512
21
6-4
L1
Detroit Pistons (DET)
39
43
.476
24
5-5
W1
Indiana Pacers (IND)
35
47
.427
28
3-7
L2
Chicago Bulls (CHI)
34
48
.415
29
5-5
W4
New York Knicks (NYK)
33
49
.402
30
2-8
L5
Cleveland Cavaliers (CLE)
15
67
.183
48
0-10
L19
Final standings.
Clinch key
x
clinched a playoff place
e
clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference
Turning points
The lead changed hands 13 times.
The Boston Celtics trailed by as many as 2 games on February 23, 1982.
The Boston Celtics took first place for good on February 28, 1982.
The Boston Celtics won 18 games in a row from February 24, 1982 to March 26, 1982, the longest run of the race.
The Philadelphia 76ers led by 1.5 games as late as January 7, 1982.
The Boston Celtics led by as many as 7 games on April 11, 1982.
The Boston Celtics went 17-0 from February 23, 1982 to March 25, 1982, turning a deficit of 2 games into a lead of 6.5 games.
The top two ended the day within one game of each other on 81 of the 144 days played.
The Boston Celtics spent 107 of the season's 171 charted days in first place.