1985-86 National Basketball Association season

Seasons

1984-85

1985-86

1986-87

Teams and Alignment

Conference	Division	Team	Primary Venue	Municipality
Eastern Conference	Atlantic Division	Boston Celtics	Boston Garden	Boston
		New Jersey Nets	Meadowlands Arena	East Rutherford, New Jersey
		New York Knickerbockers	Madison Square Garden	Manhattan, New York
		Philadelphia 76ers	The Spectrum	Philadelphia
		Washington Bullets	Capital Centre	Lake Arbor, Maryland
	Central Division	Atlanta Hawks	Omni Coliseum	Atlanta
		Chicago Bulls	Chicago Stadium	Chicago
		Cleveland Cavaliers	Richfield Coliseum	Summit County, Ohio
		Detroit Pistons	Pontiac Silverdome	Pontiac, Michigan
		Indiana Pacers	Market Square Arena	Indianapolis
		Milwaukee Bucks	UWM Panther Arena	Milwaukee
Western Conference	Midwest Division	Dallas Mavericks	Reunion Arena	Dallas
		Denver Nuggets	McNichols Sports Arena	Denver
		Houston Rockets	The Summit	Houston
		Sacramento Kings	ARCO Arena (1985)	Sacramento, California
		San Antonio Spurs	HemisFair Arena	San Antonio
		Utah Jazz	Salt Palace (1969)	Salt Lake City
	Pacific Division	Golden State Warriors	Oakland Arena	Oakland, California
		Los Angeles Clippers	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	Los Angeles
		Los Angeles Lakers	Kia Forum	Inglewood, California
		Phoenix Suns	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	Phoenix
		Portland Trail Blazers	Veterans Memorial Coliseum	Portland, Oregon
		Seattle SuperSonics	Climate Pledge Arena	Seattle

Changes

• Detroit Pistons relocate from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit to Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.
• Kansas City Kings relocate from Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City, Missouri to ARCO Arena (1985) in Sacramento, California and renamed Sacramento Kings.
• Seattle SuperSonics relocate from The Kingdome to Climate Pledge Arena.

Regular Season Results

Conference	Division	Team	W	L	GB
Eastern Conference	Atlantic Division	Boston Celtics	67	15
		Philadelphia 76ers	54	28	13
		Washington Bullets	39	43	28
		New Jersey Nets	39	43	28
		New York Knickerbockers	23	59	44
	Central Division	Milwaukee Bucks	57	25
		Atlanta Hawks	50	32	7
		Detroit Pistons	46	36	11
		Chicago Bulls	30	52	27
		Cleveland Cavaliers	29	53	28
		Indiana Pacers	26	56	31
Western Conference	Midwest Division	Houston Rockets	51	31
		Denver Nuggets	47	35	4
		Dallas Mavericks	44	38	7
		Utah Jazz	42	40	9
		Sacramento Kings	37	45	14
		San Antonio Spurs	35	47	16
	Pacific Division	Los Angeles Lakers	62	20
		Portland Trail Blazers	40	42	22
		Phoenix Suns	32	50	30
		Los Angeles Clippers	32	50	30
		Seattle SuperSonics	31	51	31
		Golden State Warriors	30	52	32

Postseason Results

Team (Best-of-Five)		Team (Best-of-Seven)		Team (Best-of-Seven)		Team (Best-of-Seven)		Champions
Boston Celtics	3	Boston Celtics	4	Boston Celtics	4	Boston Celtics	4	Boston Celtics
Chicago Bulls	0
Atlanta Hawks	3	Atlanta Hawks	1
Detroit Pistons	1
Milwaukee Bucks	3	Milwaukee Bucks	4	Milwaukee Bucks	0
New Jersey Nets	0
Philadelphia 76ers	3	Philadelphia 76ers	3
Washington Bullets	2
Los Angeles Lakers	3	Los Angeles Lakers	4	Los Angeles Lakers	1	Houston Rockets	2
San Antonio Spurs	0
Dallas Mavericks	3	Dallas Mavericks	2
Utah Jazz	1
Houston Rockets	3	Houston Rockets	4	Houston Rockets	4
Sacramento Kings	0
Denver Nuggets	3	Denver Nuggets	2
Portland Trail Blazers	1

Special Event Results

Event	Away	Score	Home
NBA All-Star Game	Eastern Conference	139-132	Western Conference

Markets and Venues

Combined Statistical Area	Metropolitan Statistical Area	Metropolitan Division	County / Equivalent	Municipality	Venue	Team / Event	Regular	Postseason	Total
Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL Combined Statistical Area	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Division	Fulton County, Georgia	Atlanta	Omni Coliseum	Atlanta Hawks	41	Four	45
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH Combined Statistical Area	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area	Boston, MA Metropolitan Division	Suffolk County, Massachusetts	Boston	Boston Garden	Boston Celtics	38	10	48
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical Area	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area	Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, IL Metropolitan Division	Cook County, Illinois	Chicago	Chicago Stadium	Chicago Bulls	41	One	42
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area	Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area		Summit County, Ohio	Unincorporated	Richfield Coliseum	Cleveland Cavaliers	41		41
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK Combined Statistical Area	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area	Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division	Dallas County, Texas	Dallas	Reunion Arena	Dallas Mavericks	41	Five	46
						NBA All-Star Game			One
Denver-Aurora-Greeley, CO Combined Statistical Area	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area		Denver County, Colorado	Denver	McNichols Sports Arena	Denver Nuggets	41	Five	46
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI Combined Statistical Area	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area	Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division	Oakland County, Michigan	Pontiac, Michigan	Pontiac Silverdome	Detroit Pistons	41	Two	43
Houston-Pasadena, TX Combined Statistical Area	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area		Harris County, Texas	Houston	The Summit	Houston Rockets	41	10	51
Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN Combined Statistical Area	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area		Marion County, Indiana	Indianapolis	Market Square Arena	Indiana Pacers	41		41
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division	Los Angeles County, California	Inglewood, California	Kia Forum	Los Angeles Lakers	41	Eight	49
				Los Angeles	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	Los Angeles Clippers	41		41
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI Combined Statistical Area	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area		Milwaukee County, Wisconsin	Milwaukee	UWM Panther Arena	Milwaukee Bucks	41	Eight	49
New Haven-Hartford-Waterbury, CT Combined Statistical Area	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area		Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut	Hartford, Connecticut	PeoplesBank Arena	Boston Celtics	Three		Three
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area	New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division	Bergen County, New Jersey	East Rutherford, New Jersey	Meadowlands Arena	New Jersey Nets	41	One	42
			New York County, New York	Manhattan, New York	Madison Square Garden	New York Knickerbockers	41		41
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area	Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division	Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	The Spectrum	Philadelphia 76ers	41	Six	47
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ Combined Statistical Area	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area		Maricopa County, Arizona	Phoenix	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	Phoenix Suns	41		41
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA Combined Statistical Area	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area		Multnomah County, Oregon	Portland, Oregon	Veterans Memorial Coliseum	Portland Trail Blazers	41	Two	43
Sacramento-Roseville, CA Combined Statistical Area	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area		Sacramento County, California	Sacramento, California	ARCO Arena (1985)	Sacramento Kings	41	One	42
Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem, UT-ID Combined Statistical Area	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area		Salt Lake County, Utah	Salt Lake City	Salt Palace (1969)	Utah Jazz	41	Two	43
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Kerrville, TX Combined Statistical Area	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area		Bexar County, Texas	San Antonio	HemisFair Arena	San Antonio Spurs	41	One	42
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area	Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division	Alameda County, California	Oakland, California	Oakland Arena	Golden State Warriors	41		41
Seattle-Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area	Seattle-Bellevue-Kent, WA Metropolitan Division	King County, Washington	Seattle	Climate Pledge Arena	Seattle SuperSonics	41		41
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area	Washington, DC-MD Metropolitan Division	Prince George's County, Maryland	Lake Arbor, Maryland	Capital Centre	Washington Bullets	41	Two	43
Total							943	68	1,012