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| Dates | May 5–14 | |||||||||
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| MVP | Cedric Maxwell (Boston Celtics) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Celtics: Nate Archibald (1991) Larry Bird (1998) Kevin McHale (1999) Robert Parish (2003) Rockets: Moses Malone (2001) Calvin Murphy (1993) Rudy Tomjanovich (2020; coach) Coaches: Bill Fitch (2019) Del Harris (2022) Officials: Darell Garretson (2016) Earl Strom (1995) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Celtics defeated 76ers, 4–3 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Rockets defeated Kings, 4–1 | |||||||||
The 1981 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1980–81 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It pitted the 62–20 Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics against the 40–42 Western Conference champion Houston Rockets. This series has the distinction of featuring for the third time in NBA history, and last to date, a team with a losing record in the Finals. They were the first team since the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959 to reach the championship round despite having more regular season losses than wins. This, along with 1986 (which was also played by the Celtics and the Rockets), was one of the only two NBA championships of the 1980s not to feature the Lakers.