1975–76 NBA season

30th NBA season

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Sports season

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)
NBA seasons

← 1974–75

1976–77 →

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.

## Notable occurrences

[edit]

* Larry O'Brien begins his tenure as the league's third commissioner.[1]
* The 1976 NBA All-Star Game was played at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, with the Eastern Conference beating the Western Conference 123–109.[2] Dave Bing of the Washington Bullets wins the game's MVP award.[2]
* 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.
* It was the first season for Darryl Dawkins, World B. Free, and Kobe Bryant's dad Joe Bryant.
* 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.

Coaching changes  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

[edit]

### By division

[edit]

Atlantic Division

* v
* t
* e

|  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB  |  Home  |  Road  |  Div

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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

Central Division

* v
* t
* e

|  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB  |  Home  |  Road  |  Div

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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

Midwest Division

* v
* t
* e

|  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB  |  Home  |  Road  |  Div

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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

Pacific Division

* v
* t
* e

|  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB  |  Home  |  Road  |  Div

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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

[edit]

#  |

Eastern Conference

* v
* t
* e

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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
#  |

Western Conference

* v
* t
* e

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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

[edit]

Main article: 1976 NBA playoffs

| First Round | | | Conference Semifinals | | | Conference Finals | | | NBA Finals |

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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 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

[edit]

Category | Player | Team | Stat

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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

[edit]

* 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

* All-NBA First Team:
* F – Rick Barry, Golden State Warriors
* F – George McGinnis, Philadelphia 76ers
* C – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
* G – Nate Archibald, Kansas City Kings
* G – Pete Maravich, New Orleans Jazz

* All-NBA Second Team:
* F – Elvin Hayes, Washington Bullets
* F – John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
* C – Dave Cowens, Boston Celtics
* G – Randy Smith, Buffalo Braves
* G – Phil Smith, Golden State Warriors

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* NBA All-Rookie Team:
* Joe Meriweather, Houston Rockets
* Alvan Adams, Phoenix Suns
* Lionel Hollins, Portland Trail Blazers
* John Shumate, Phoenix Suns/Buffalo Braves
* Gus Williams, Golden State Warriors

* NBA All-Defensive First Team:
* Paul Silas, Boston Celtics
* John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
* Dave Cowens, Boston Celtics
* Norm Van Lier, Chicago Bulls
* Slick Watts, Seattle SuperSonics

* NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
* Jim Brewer, Cleveland Cavaliers
* Jamaal Wilkes, Golden State Warriors
* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
* Jim Cleamons, Cleveland Cavaliers
* Phil Smith, Golden State Warriors

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## See also

[edit]

* 1976 NBA Finals
* 1976 NBA playoffs
* 1975–76 ABA season
* List of NBA regular season records

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Goldaper, Sam (April 29, 1975). "N.B.A. Picks O'Brien As New Commissioner O'Brien to Head N.B.A". The New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
2. ^ a b "Bing MVP, East wins". The Southern Illinoisan. February 4, 1976. p. 19. Retrieved January 30, 2024 - via NewspaperArchive.

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* v
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* e

1975–76 NBA season by team

* 1975 NBA draft
* All-Star Game
* Playoffs
* Finals
* Transactions

Eastern|

| Atlantic|

* Boston
* Buffalo
* New York
* Philadelphia

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Central|

* Atlanta
* Cleveland
* Houston
* New Orleans
* Washington

Western|

| Midwest|

* Chicago
* Detroit
* Kansas City
* Milwaukee

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Pacific|

* Golden State
* Los Angeles
* Phoenix
* Portland
* Seattle

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[ W ]: Games won
*[ L ]: Games lost
*[ PCT ]: Winning percentage
*[ GB ]: Games behind
*[ Home ]: Home record
*[ Road ]: Road record
*[ Div ]: Division record