hoops datahoops dataEvery pick from the 1981 NBA draft, headlined by No. 1 overall pick Mark Aguirre. Tom Chambers (pick 8) went on to score the most career points in the class. Click any player for full career stats.
| Pick | Player | Team | G | PTS | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Aguirre | Dallas Mavericks | 923 | 18,458 | 20.0 |
| 2 | Isiah Thomas | Detroit Pistons | 979 | 18,822 | 19.2 |
| 3 | Buck Williams | New Jersey Nets | 1,306 | 16,765 | 12.8 |
| 4 | Al Wood | Atlanta Hawks | 416 | 4,902 | 11.8 |
| 5 | Danny Vranes | Seattle SuperSonics | 510 | 2,613 | 5.1 |
| 6 | Orlando Woolridge | Chicago Bulls | 851 | 13,623 | 16.0 |
| 7 | Steve Johnson | Kansas City Kings | 629 | 7,410 | 11.8 |
| 8 | Tom Chambers | San Diego Clippers | 1,107 | 20,049 | 18.1 |
| 9 | Rolando Blackman | Dallas Mavericks | 979 | 17,606 | 18.0 |
| 10 | Albert King | New Jersey Nets | 534 | 6,470 | 12.1 |
| 11 | Frank Johnson | Washington Bullets | 596 | 4,939 | 8.3 |
| 12 | Kelly Tripucka | Detroit Pistons | 707 | 12,142 | 17.2 |
| 13 | Danny Schayes | Utah Jazz | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 14 | Herb Williams | Indiana Pacers | 1,101 | 11,944 | 10.8 |
| 15 | Jeff Lamp | Portland Trail Blazers | 291 | 1,495 | 5.1 |
| 16 | Darnell Valentine | Portland Trail Blazers | 620 | 5,400 | 8.7 |
| 17 | Kevin Loder | Kansas City Kings | 148 | 875 | 5.9 |
| 18 | Ray Tolbert | New Jersey Nets | 260 | 928 | 3.6 |
| 19 | Mike McGee | Los Angeles Lakers | 520 | 4,968 | 9.6 |
| 20 | Larry Nance | Phoenix Suns | 920 | 15,687 | 17.1 |
| 21 | Alton Lister | Milwaukee Bucks | 953 | 6,298 | 6.6 |
| 22 | Franklin Edwards | Philadelphia 76ers | 296 | 1,802 | 6.1 |
| 23 | Charles Bradley | Boston Celtics | 110 | 347 | 3.2 |
| R2 · 24 | Jay Vincent | Dallas Mavericks | 575 | 8,711 | 15.1 |
| R2 · 25 | Tracy Jackson | Boston Celtics | 129 | 694 | 5.4 |
| R2 · 26 | Brian Jackson | Portland Trail Blazers | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| R2 · 27 | Howard Wood | Utah Jazz | 41 | 144 | 3.5 |
| R2 · 28 | Gene Banks | San Antonio Spurs | 468 | 5,305 | 11.3 |
| R2 · 29 | Eddie Johnson | Kansas City Kings | 1,202 | 19,182 | 16.0 |
| R2 · 30 | Ed Rains | San Antonio Spurs | 83 | 287 | 3.5 |
| R2 · 31 | Danny Ainge | Boston Celtics | 1,042 | 11,964 | 11.5 |
| R2 · 32 | Mike Olliver | Chicago Bulls | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| R2 · 33 | Sam Williams | Golden State Warriors | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| R2 · 34 | Ken Green | Denver Nuggets | 7 | 31 | 4.4 |
| R2 · 35 | Charles Davis | Washington Bullets | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| R2 · 36 | Ray Blume | Indiana Pacers | 49 | 226 | 4.6 |
| R2 · 37 | Al Leslie | Indiana Pacers | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| R2 · 38 | Clyde Bradshaw | Atlanta Hawks | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| R2 · 39 | Harvey Knuckles | Los Angeles Lakers | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| R2 · 40 | Greg Cook | New York Knicks | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| R2 · 41 | Claude Gregory | Washington Bullets | 25 | 136 | 5.4 |
| R2 · 42 | Elvis Rolle | Los Angeles Lakers | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| R2 · 43 | Elston Turner | Dallas Mavericks | 505 | 2,397 | 4.7 |
| R2 · 44 | Steve Lingenfelter | Washington Bullets | 10 | 10 | 1.0 |
| R2 · 45 | Ed Turner | Houston Rockets | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| R2 · 46 | Vernon Smith | Philadelphia 76ers | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Mark Aguirre was selected first overall in the 1981 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks.
Tom Chambers (pick 8) leads the 1981 class with 20,049 career regular-season points.
The 1981 NBA draft included 46 picks across the first two rounds.