1981–82 San Diego Clippers season

The 1981–82 NBA season was the Clippers' 12th season in the NBA and their fourth season in the city of San Diego.^[1]

1981–82 San Diego Clippers season
Head coach	Paul Silas
Arena	San Diego Sports Arena
Results
Record	17–65 (.207)
Place	Division: 6th (Pacific) Conference: 12th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	XETV
Radio	KGB
< 1980–81 1982–83 >

Donald Sterling took over control of the franchise during this season, beginning what would be a 33-year stewardship.

Draft picks

Main article: 1981 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	8	Tom Chambers	Forward	United States	Utah
3	54	Jim Smith	Forward	United States	Ohio State
4	77	Lee Raker	Guard	United States	Virginia
5	100	Dennis Isbell	Forward	United States	Memphis State
6	123	Mike Pepper	Guard	United States	North Carolina
7	146	Randy Johnson	Guard	United States	Southern Colorado
8	168	Todd Haynes	Forward	United States	Davidson
9	190	Art Jones	Forward	United States	North Carolina State
10	210	Tony Gwynn	Guard	United States	San Diego State

Roster

San Diego Clippers 1981-1982 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. From G 15 Brogan, Jim 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) West Virginia Wesleyan F 7 Brooks, Michael 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) La Salle F 23 Bryant, Joe 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 185 lb (84 kg) La Salle F 22 Chambers, Tom 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Utah G 1 Criss, Charlie 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) New Mexico State G 42 Davis, Ron 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Washington State G 13 Douglas, John 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Kansas G 24 Hill, Armond 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Princeton F 34 Lee, Rock 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) San Diego State C 31 Nater, Swen 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) UCLA F 30 Smith, Jim 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Ohio State G 11 Smith, Phil 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 197 lb (89 kg) San Francisco G 14 Taylor, Brian 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Princeton C 33 Whitehead, Jerome 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Marquette F 21 Wiley, Michael 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Long Beach State C 32 Walton, Bill  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) UCLA G 20 Williams, Freeman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Portland State G 4 Wood, Al 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 193 lb (88 kg) North Carolina	Head coach Paul Silas Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Roster Notes

• Center Bill Walton missed the entire season again due to another left foot injury.
• This is Jerome Whitehead's second tour of duty with the Clippers. He previously played with the team during the 1978–79 season.
• Guard Armond Hill is currently an assistant coach with the franchise since 2013.

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	57	25	.695	–	30–11	27–14	21–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	5.0	31–10	21–20	18–12
x-Phoenix Suns	46	36	.561	11.0	31–10	15–26	14–16
Golden State Warriors	45	37	.549	12.0	28–13	17–24	15–15
Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	15.0	27–14	15–26	15–15
San Diego Clippers	17	65	.207	40.0	11–30	6–35	7–23

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	57	25	.695	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	48	34	.585	9
3	x-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	5
4	x-Denver Nuggets	46	36	.561	11
5	x-Phoenix Suns	46	36	.561	11
6	x-Houston Rockets	46	36	.561	11
7	Golden State Warriors	45	37	.549	12
8	Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	15
9	Kansas City Kings	30	52	.366	27
10	Dallas Mavericks	28	54	.341	29
11	Utah Jazz	25	57	.305	32
12	San Diego Clippers	17	65	.207	40

Notes

• z, y – division champions
• x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1981-82 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SDC	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	1–5	2–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	0–2	2–0	4–2	1–1	0–2	3–3	3–2	5–1	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–4
Boston	5–1	—	4–2	5–0	2–0	1–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	5–1	5–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	6–0
Chicago	3–2	2–4	—	5–1	1–1	1–1	0–6	0–2	1–1	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–5	2–4	3–2	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–4
Cleveland	2–4	0–5	1–5	—	2–0	0–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	1–5	1–1	0–2	0–6	0–6	0–6	0–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–5
Dallas	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	—	1–5	1–1	0–5	2–4	1–1	4–2	1–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–3	2–3	1–5	2–3	1–4	3–3	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	5–1	—	1–1	3–2	5–1	0–2	4–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–3	2–4	5–0	2–3	3–3	2–0
Detroit	4–2	0–6	6–0	5–1	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	2–0	2–4	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–4	3–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–4
Golden State	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–0	2–3	0–2	—	1–4	2–0	3–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–2	2–4	3–2	5–1	1–5	3–2	1–1
Houston	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–5	0–2	4–1	—	2–0	3–3	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	4–1	3–3	4–1	2–3	6–0	2–0
Indiana	2–4	1–5	3–3	5–1	1–1	2–0	4–2	0–2	0–2	—	1–1	0–2	0–6	4–2	3–2	0–6	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–5
Kansas City	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–4	0–2	2–3	3–3	1–1	—	1–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–3	0–5	1–5	4–1	2–3	3–3	0–2
Los Angeles	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–1	4–1	2–0	3–3	4–1	2–0	4–1	—	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–2	5–1	2–3	5–1	4–2	5–0	2–0
Milwaukee	3–3	3–3	5–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	4–2	0–2	1–1	6–0	1–1	2–0	—	4–1	3–3	4–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
New Jersey	2–3	1–5	4–2	6–0	0–2	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–1	1–1	1–4	—	4–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	4–2
New York	1–5	1–5	2–3	6–0	1–1	1–1	3–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	2–0	3–3	2–4	—	1–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–5
Philadelphia	3–3	2–4	5–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	6–0	2–0	1–1	2–4	3–3	5–1	—	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	6–0
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–2	3–2	2–0	2–4	2–3	1–1	3–2	2–4	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	—	3–3	4–1	4–2	3–3	3–2	1–1
Portland	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	3–2	2–0	4–2	1–4	1–1	5–0	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–3	—	3–2	4–2	3–3	4–1	0–2
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	5–1	4–2	2–0	2–3	3–3	0–2	5–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–4	2–3	—	3–2	4–1	3–3	1–1
San Diego	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–2	0–5	0–2	1–5	1–4	0–2	1–4	1–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–4	2–4	2–3	—	1–5	1–4	0–2
Seattle	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–1	3–2	1–1	5–1	3–2	1–1	3–2	2–4	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	1–4	5–1	—	5–0	1–1
Utah	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–3	3–3	1–1	2–3	0–6	1–1	3–3	0–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3	1–4	3–3	4–1	0–5	—	1–1
Washington	4–2	0–6	4–2	5–1	1–1	0–2	4–1	1–1	0–2	5–1	2–0	0–2	2–3	2–4	5–1	0–6	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	—

Game log

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Jim Brogan	63	19	16.3	.453	.281	.726	1.9	2.5	0.8	0.2	6.3
Michael Brooks	82	73	33.5	.504	.000	.757	7.6	2.9	1.4	0.5	15.6
Joe Bryant	75	49	26.5	.486	.267	.785	3.7	2.5	1.0	0.4	11.8
Tom Chambers	81	58	33.1	.525	.000	.620	6.9	1.8	0.7	0.6	17.2
Charlie Criss	28	20	30.0	.479	.381	.884	1.6	4.0	0.8	0.1	12.9
Ron Davis	7	0	9.6	.400		.500	1.9	0.6	0.0	0.0	3.3
John Douglas	64	9	16.1	.465	.305	.657	1.4	2.3	0.8	0.1	7.0
Armond Hill	19	14	25.3	.382	.000	.688	1.4	4.3	0.8	0.2	4.7
Rock Lee	2	0	5.0	.500		.000	0.5	1.0	0.0	0.0	1.0
Swen Nater	21	7	27.4	.577	1.000	.747	9.1	1.4	0.3	0.4	12.5
Jim Smith	72	3	11.9	.509		.459	2.5	0.6	0.3	0.7	2.9
Phil Smith	48	39	30.1	.440	.208	.732	2.4	4.9	0.9	0.4	13.2
Brian Taylor	41	40	31.1	.503	.365	.818	2.3	5.6	1.1	0.2	10.8
Jerome Whitehead	72	63	30.8	.559		.763	9.2	1.4	0.7	0.6	13.8
Michael Wiley	61	1	16.6	.565	.000	.695	3.0	0.9	0.7	0.3	8.3
Freeman Williams	37	10	21.8	.456	.324	.843	1.4	1.8	0.6	0.0	16.5
Al Wood	29	5	23.9	.518	.167	.802	3.1	1.6	0.8	0.3	12.5

Awards, records and milestones

Transactions

The Clippers were involved in the following transactions during the 1981–82 season.

Trades

January 20, 1982	To San Diego Clippers Al Wood & Charlie Criss	To Atlanta Hawks Freeman Williams
February 16, 1982	To San Diego Clippers Armond Hill, 1982 second-round draft pick & cash	To Seattle SuperSonics Phil Smith

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team Jim Brogan 8/31/81 Atlantic City Hi-Rollers John Douglas 9/4/81 Montana Golden Nuggets Michael Wiley 12/2/81 San Antonio Spurs Rock Lee 4/11/82 San Diego Clippers Subtractions Player Left New team Wally Rank 7/28/81 Sacramora Rimini Rock Lee 10/20/81 Ron Davis 11/30/81

References

1. 1981-82 San Diego Clippers