The NBA 35th Anniversary Team were chosen on October 30, 1980, to honor the 35th anniversary of the founding of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) as the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

(BAA) in 1946. It was the second anniversary team in the NBA. Unlike its predecessor, the

NBA 25th Anniversary Team The NBA 25th Anniversary Team was chosen on December 11, 1971, to honor the 25th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. It was the first anniversary team i ...

, that followed the concept of an

All-NBA Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sele ...

, this team was more like an

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of al ...

team that contains the eleven best players in the NBA's 35 years existence regardless of their position, and also had a coach. In addition, this team did not require a player to have completed his career to be eligible for this Team.

NBA 35th Anniversary Team members

Sorted by last name, players in italics were still active in 1980. *

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

(former coach of

Washington Capitols The Washington Capitols were a former Basketball Association of America (forerunner of the National Basketball Association) team based in Washington, D.C. from 1946 to 1951. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerbach ...

Tri-Cities Blackhawks Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

, and

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

) was selected as NBA 35th Anniversary Team's coach. *The 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers selected as the greatest individual team. *

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most V ...

was selected as the greatest player. All members of this team, including Red Auerbach, have been inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

. Cousy, Mikan, Pettit, and Russell had been previously selected into the

in 1971. All players on this team were included among the

50 Greatest Players in NBA History The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...

from 1996 and the

NBA 75th Anniversary Team The NBA 75th Anniversary Team, also referred to as the NBA 75, was chosen in 2021 to honor the 75th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the fourth and most recent anniversary team in the league. S ...

in 2021. Only made of 11 players, this team excludes 25th Anniversary Team players Paul Arizin,

Bob Davies Robert Edris Davies (January 15, 1920 – April 22, 1990) was an American professional basketball player. Alongside Bobby Wanzer he formed one of the best backcourt duos in the National Basketball Association's early years. Davies and Wanzer le ...

Joe Fulks Joseph Franklin "Jumping Joe" Fulks (October 26, 1921 – March 21, 1976) was an American professional basketball player, sometimes called "the first of the high-scoring forwards". He was posthumously enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball ...

, Sam Jones,

Dolph Schayes Adolph Schayes (May 19, 1928 – December 10, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A top scorer and rebounder, he was a 12-time NBA All-Star and a 12-time All-NBA selection ...

Bill Sharman William Walton Sharman (May 25, 1926 – October 25, 2013) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what was then considered ...

Selection process

The list was made through voting compiled by the

Pro Basketball Writers Association The Professional Basketball Writers Association (PBWA) is a professional nonprofit organization for sportswriters and editors who write about professional basketball—including the National Basketball Association (NBA)—for newspapers, magazines a ...

References

External links

APBR.org - NBA 35th Anniversary Team (1981)
{{NBA Anniversary Team 35 1980–81 NBA season