| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
| 2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 60 | 22 | .732 | 2 |
| 3 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
| 4 | x-New York Knicks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 12 |
| 5 | x-Chicago Bulls | 45 | 37 | .549 | 17 |
| 6 | x-Indiana Pacers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 18 |
| 7 | Washington Bullets | 39 | 43 | .476 | 23 |
| 8 | Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31 |
| 9 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 28 | 54 | .341 | 34 |
| 10 | New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 38 |
| 11 | Detroit Pistons | 21 | 61 | .256 | 41 |
To use the update on any article, insert:
{{1980–81 NBA East standings}}
To highlight the New York Knicks, insert:
{{1980–81 NBA East standings|team=NYK}}
For the other teams, use:
- Washington Bullets - WSB
- Boston Celtics - BOS
- Cleveland Cavaliers - CLE
- Detroit Pistons - DET
- Atlanta Hawks - ATL
- Philadelphia 76ers - PHI
- New Jersey Nets - NJN
- Chicago Bulls - CHI
- Indiana Pacers - IND
- Milwaukee Bucks - MIL