title_inaugural_season

The 16 VBA teams drafted from a pool of 18 NBA teams. The Eastern Conference featured four teams each in the Robertson and Havlicek Divisions. The Western Conference featured four teams each in the West and Chamberlain Divisions.

The coaches added the following teams to the draft pool:

  • Los Angeles Lakers 60-22 – Magic’s first season, Kareem 24.8 ppg
  • Houston Rockets 41-41 – Moses Malone 25.8 ppg, 14.5 reb
  • Philadelphia 76ers 59-23 – Dr. J 26.9 ppg, Mo Cheeks 7.0 ast
  • Boston Celtics 61-21 – Larry Bird’s 1st year (21.3 ppg, 10.4 reb)
  • Chicago Bulls 30-52 – Reggie Theus 20.2 ppg, 6.3 apg
  • San Antonio Spurs 41-41 – George Gervin 33.1 ppg, Larry Kenon 9.9 reb
  • Milwaukee Bucks 49-33 – Marques Johnson 21.7 ppg, 7.4 reb
  • Atlanta Hawks 50-32 – Eddie Johnson 18.5 ppg, Dan Roundfield 10.3 reb
  • Phoenix Suns 55-27 – Paul Westphal 21.9 ppg, Walter Davis 21.5 ppg
  • Seattle SuperSonics 56-26 – Gus Williams 22.0 ppg, Jack Sikma 11.7 reb
  • Detroit Pistons 16-66 – Bob Lanier 21.7 ppg, 10.1 reb, Bob McAdoo 21.1 ppg
  • Golden State Warriors 24-58 – R.Parish 17.0 ppg, 10.9 reb, P.Short 17.0 ppg
  • Utah Jazz 24-58 – Adrian Dantley 28.0 ppg, 7.6 reb
  • Denver Nuggets 30-52 – Dan Issel 23.8 ppg, 8.8 reb
  • San Diego Clippers 35-47 – World B. Free 30.2 ppg, Swen Nater 10.7 reb
  • Washington Bullets 39-43 – Elvin Hayes 23.0 ppg, 11.1 reb

The league then voted on the following two teams:

  • Portland Trail Blazers 38-44 – Calvin Natt 20.4 ppg, Kermit Washington 10.5 reb
  • New York Knicks 39-43 – Bill Cartwright 21.7 ppg, Ray Williams 20.9 ppg