1975–76 NBA season
The 1975–76 NBA season was the 30th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.
| 1975–76 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | October 23, 1975 – April 11, 1976 April 13 – May 18, 1976 (Playoffs) May 23 – June 6, 1976 (Finals) |
| Number of games | 82 |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| TV partner(s) | CBS |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | David Thompson |
| Picked by | Atlanta Hawks |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Golden State Warriors |
| Season MVP | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (L.A. Lakers) |
| Top scorer | Bob McAdoo (Buffalo) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Boston Celtics |
| Eastern runners-up | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Western champions | Phoenix Suns |
| Western runners-up | Golden State Warriors |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics |
| Runners-up | Phoenix Suns |
| Finals MVP | Jo Jo White (Boston) |
Notable occurrences
- Larry O'Brien begins his tenure as the league's third commissioner.
- The 1976 NBA All-Star Game was played at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, with the Eastern Conference beating the Western Conference 123–109. Dave Bing of the Washington Bullets wins the game's MVP award.
- The Kansas City-Omaha Kings are renamed the Kansas City Kings as they settle into a permanent home in Kansas City, Missouri.
- The New Orleans Jazz moved into the cavernous Louisiana Superdome after splitting their inaugural season between two inadequate facilities, the Loyola University Fieldhouse and New Orleans Municipal Auditorium.
- The Houston Rockets play their inaugural season in The Summit.
- It was the final season for Don Nelson, Pat Riley and Jerry Sloan as players. Each would go on to coach more than 2,000 games in the NBA.
- This was the final season before the NBA-ABA merger. In the 1976 offseason, four ABA teams joined the NBA: the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, and the reigning ABA champion New York Nets, who relocated to New Jersey.
- Dick Bavetta began his Hall of Fame officiating career, replacing the retired Mendy Rudolph, who suffered a blood clot in his lung during a 1975 playoff game and became an analyst for CBS Sports. Bavetta went on to set the record for most games officiated with 2,635 by the time he retired in 2014.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named the league's Most Valuable Player despite his team missing the playoffs. He remains the only league MVP to miss the playoffs.
- The NBA Finals were contested by the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns. Phoenix was making their first finals appearance; Boston was making their fourteenth.
- Game 4 of the NBA Finals was first game ever played in the month of June.
- Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and the Suns went into triple-overtime before the Celtics prevailed 128–126. This was the first triple-overtime game in NBA finals history; the only triple-overtime finals game since occurred in 1993, in which the Phoenix Suns were again participating.
| Offseason | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 1974–75 coach | 1975–76 coach |
| N/A | ||
| In-season | ||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| Atlanta Hawks | Cotton Fitzsimmons | Bumper Tormohlen |
| Detroit Pistons | Ray Scott | Herb Brown |
Final standings
By division
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Boston Celtics | 54 | 28 | .659 | – | 31–10 | 23–18 | 13–8 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 46 | 36 | .561 | 8 | 34–7 | 12–29 | 9–12 |
| x-Buffalo Braves | 46 | 36 | .561 | 8 | 28–14 | 18–22 | 10–11 |
| New York Knicks | 38 | 44 | .463 | 16 | 24–17 | 14–27 | 10–11 |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Cleveland Cavaliers | 49 | 33 | .598 | – | 29–12 | 20–21 | 15–11 |
| x-Washington Bullets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 1 | 31–10 | 17–24 | 14–12 |
| Houston Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 9 | 27–13 | 13–29 | 14–12 |
| New Orleans Jazz | 38 | 44 | .463 | 11 | 22–19 | 16–25 | 15–11 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 29 | 53 | .354 | 20 | 20–21 | 9–32 | 7–19 |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Milwaukee Bucks | 38 | 44 | .463 | – | 22–19 | 16–25 | 13–8 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 36 | 46 | .439 | 2 | 24–17 | 12–29 | 12–9 |
| Kansas City Kings | 31 | 51 | .378 | 7 | 25–16 | 6–35 | 10–11 |
| Chicago Bulls | 24 | 58 | .293 | 14 | 15–26 | 9–32 | 7–14 |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Division | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Golden State Warriors | 59 | 23 | .720 | – | 36–5 | 23–18 | 17–9 |
| x-Seattle SuperSonics | 43 | 39 | .524 | 16 | 31–10 | 12–29 | 12–14 |
| x-Phoenix Suns | 42 | 40 | .512 | 17 | 27–14 | 15–26 | 15–11 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 40 | 42 | .488 | 19 | 31–11 | 9–31 | 10–16 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 37 | 45 | .451 | 22 | 25–15 | 12–30 | 11–15 |
By conference
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Boston Celtics | 54 | 28 | .659 | – |
| 2 | y-Cleveland Cavaliers | 49 | 33 | .598 | 5 |
| 3 | x-Washington Bullets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 6 |
| 4 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 46 | 36 | .561 | 8 |
| 5 | x-Buffalo Braves | 46 | 36 | .561 | 8 |
| 6 | Houston Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 14 |
| 7 | New York Knicks | 38 | 44 | .463 | 16 |
| 8 | New Orleans Jazz | 38 | 44 | .463 | 16 |
| 9 | Atlanta Hawks | 29 | 53 | .354 | 25 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Golden State Warriors | 59 | 23 | .720 | – |
| 2 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 43 | 39 | .524 | 16 |
| 3 | x-Phoenix Suns | 42 | 40 | .512 | 17 |
| 4 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 38 | 44 | .463 | 21 |
| 5 | x-Detroit Pistons | 36 | 46 | .439 | 23 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Lakers | 40 | 42 | .488 | 19 |
| 7 | Portland Trail Blazers | 37 | 45 | .451 | 22 |
| 8 | Kansas City Kings | 31 | 51 | .378 | 28 |
| 9 | Chicago Bulls | 24 | 58 | .293 | 35 |
Notes
- z, y – division champions
- x – clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Philadelphia | 1 | E5 | Buffalo | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| E5 | Buffalo | 2 | Eastern Conference | E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||
| E2 | Cleveland* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Washington | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Cleveland* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Phoenix | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Milwaukee* | 1 | W5 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| W5 | Detroit | 2 | Western Conference | W1 | Golden State* | 3 | |||||||||||||
| W3 | Phoenix | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Phoenix | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Seattle | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
Statistics leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Bob McAdoo | Buffalo Braves | 31.1 |
| Rebounds per game | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Los Angeles Lakers | 16.9 |
| Assists per game | Slick Watts | Seattle SuperSonics | 8.1 |
| Steals per game | Slick Watts | Seattle SuperSonics | 3.18 |
| Blocks per game | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Los Angeles Lakers | 4.12 |
| FG% | Wes Unseld | Washington Bullets | .561 |
| FT% | Rick Barry | Golden State Warriors | .923 |
NBA awards
- Most Valuable Player: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
- Rookie of the Year: Alvan Adams, Phoenix Suns
- Coach of the Year: Bill Fitch, Cleveland Cavaliers
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References
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