# 1976–77 NBA season

The 1976–77 NBA season was the 31st season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Portland Trail Blazers winning their first NBA Championship in franchise history, beating the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the NBA Finals.
Prior to the season, the NBA merged with its primary rival league, the American Basketball Association (ABA). Four ABA teams joined the NBA, all four of which are still in the league today: the San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, and New York Nets. The Nets became the New Jersey Nets the following season, and now play as the Brooklyn Nets. With these additions, the NBA expanded from eighteen teams to twenty-two.

## Notable occurrences

* The NBA's rival league, the American Basketball Association, joined with the NBA in the ABA–NBA merger. Four ABA franchises joined the NBA: the New York Nets, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Denver Nuggets. The other ABA teams had folded prior to the merger, except for the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis, both of whose players were picked up by NBA teams in the ABA dispersal draft.
* The league adopts a balanced schedule. Each team plays 19 of the 21 other clubs four times each, while playing two from the opposite conference three times each. This scheduling format remains in place for 1977-78 and 1978-79.
* The NBA Playoffs were expanded from 5 teams per conference to 6, resulting in division winners getting a first round bye.
* The 1977 NBA All-Star Game was played at The MECCA in Milwaukee, with the West beating the East 125–124. Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers (one of the new arrivals from the ABA) wins the game's MVP award.
* 5 of the 10 All-Star starters and 10 of the 24 All-Star participants were former ABA players, and former ABA players filled 4 of the 10 slots on the All-NBA first and second teams. Five former ABA players competed in the NBA Finals: the Philadelphia 76ers' Julius Erving, George McGinnis and Caldwell Jones, and the Portland Trail Blazers' Maurice Lucas and Dave Twardzik.
* The Portland Trail Blazers made their first playoff appearance, winning their first and, to date, only NBA Championship. They also become the second team in history (after the 1969 Celtics) to win the NBA Finals after dropping the first two games.
* This season saw the introducing of new championship trophy which would later become known as the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy replacing the Walter A. Brown Trophy
Coaching changes :
| Offseason |||
| Team | 1975–76 coach | 1976–77 coach |
| Atlanta Hawks | Bumper Tormohlen | Hubie Brown |
| Buffalo Braves | Jack Ramsay | Tates Locke |
| Chicago Bulls | Dick Motta | Ed Badger |
| Houston Rockets | Johnny Egan | Tom Nissalke |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Bill Sharman | Jerry West |
| Portland Trail Blazers | Lenny Wilkens | Jack Ramsay |
| Washington Bullets | K. C. Jones | Dick Motta |
| In-season |||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| Buffalo Braves | Tates Locke Bob MacKinnon (interim) | Joe Mullaney (interim) |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Larry Costello | Don Nelson |
| New Orleans Jazz | Butch Van Breda Kolff | Elgin Baylor |

## Teams

1976-77 National Basketball Association :
| Eastern Conference |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Atlantic | Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 13,909 |
| Atlantic | Buffalo Braves | Buffalo, New York | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | 15,280 |
| Atlantic | New York Knicks | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 19,812 |
| Atlantic | New York Nets ^ | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Coliseum | 14,890 |
| Atlantic | Philadelphia 76ers | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | The Spectrum | 18,176 |
| Central | Atlanta Hawks | Atlanta, Georgia | Omni Coliseum | 16,378 |
| Central | Cleveland Cavaliers | Richfield, Ohio | Richfield Coliseum | 20,900 |
| Central | Houston Rockets | Houston, Texas | The Summit | 16,285 |
| Central | New Orleans Jazz | New Orleans, Louisiana | Louisiana Superdome | 55,675 |
| Central | San Antonio Spurs ^ | San Antonio, Texas | HemisFair Arena | 16,057 |
| Central | Washington Bullets | Landover, Maryland | Capital Centre | 18,756 |
| Western Conference |||||
| Midwest | Chicago Bulls | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Stadium | 18,676 |
| Midwest | Denver Nuggets ^ | Denver, Colorado | McNichols Sports Arena | 17,171 |
| Midwest | Detroit Pistons | Detroit, Michigan | Cobo Arena | 12,191 |
| Midwest | Indiana Pacers ^ | Indianapolis, Indiana | Market Square Arena | 17,171 |
| Midwest | Kansas City Kings | Kansas City, Missouri | Kemper Arena | 16,700 |
| Midwest | Milwaukee Bucks | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | MECCA Arena | 10,783 |
| Pacific | Golden State Warriors | Oakland, California | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 13,155 |
| Pacific | Los Angeles Lakers | Inglewood, California | The Forum | 17,505 |
| Pacific | Phoenix Suns | Phoenix, Arizona | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 14,870 |
| Pacific | Portland Trail Blazers | Portland, Oregon | Memorial Coliseum | 12,888 |
| Pacific | Seattle SuperSonics | Seattle, Washington | Seattle Center Coliseum | 14,098 |
* Team merged from ABA ^

## Final standings
### By division

| Atlantic Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Philadelphia 76ers | 50 | 32 | .610 | – | 32–9 | 18–23 | 11–5 |
| x-Boston Celtics | 44 | 38 | .537 | 6 | 28–13 | 16–25 | 9–7 |
| New York Knicks | 40 | 42 | .488 | 10 | 26–15 | 14–27 | 8–8 |
| Buffalo Braves | 30 | 52 | .366 | 20 | 23–18 | 7–34 | 6–10 |
| New York Nets | 22 | 60 | .268 | 28 | 10–31 | 12–29 | 6–10 |
| Central Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Houston Rockets | 49 | 33 | .598 | – | 34–7 | 15–26 | 13–7 |
| x-Washington Bullets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 1 | 32–9 | 16–25 | 11–9 |
| x-San Antonio Spurs | 44 | 38 | .537 | 5 | 31–10 | 13–28 | 9–11 |
| x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 43 | 39 | .524 | 6 | 29–12 | 14–27 | 8–12 |
| New Orleans Jazz | 35 | 47 | .427 | 14 | 26–15 | 9–32 | 10–10 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 51 | .378 | 18 | 19–22 | 12–29 | 9–11 |
| Midwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Denver Nuggets | 50 | 32 | .610 | – | 36–5 | 14–27 | 15–5 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 44 | 38 | .537 | 6 | 30–11 | 14–27 | 12–8 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 44 | 38 | .537 | 6 | 31–10 | 13–28 | 10–10 |
| Kansas City Kings | 40 | 42 | .488 | 10 | 28–13 | 12–29 | 7–13 |
| Indiana Pacers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 14 | 25–16 | 11–30 | 9–11 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 30 | 52 | .366 | 20 | 24–17 | 6–35 | 7–13 |
| Pacific Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 53 | 29 | .646 | – | 37–4 | 16–25 | 11–5 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 49 | 33 | .598 | 4 | 35–6 | 14–27 | 10–6 |
| x-Golden State Warriors | 46 | 36 | .561 | 7 | 29–12 | 17–24 | 8–8 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 40 | 42 | .488 | 13 | 27–14 | 13–28 | 6–10 |
| Phoenix Suns | 34 | 48 | .415 | 19 | 26–15 | 8–33 | 5–11 |

### By conference

| # | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Philadelphia 76ers | 50 | 32 | .610 | – |
| 2 | y-Houston Rockets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 1 |
| 3 | x-Washington Bullets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 2 |
| 4 | x-Boston Celtics | 44 | 38 | .537 | 6 |
| 5 | x-San Antonio Spurs | 44 | 38 | .537 | 6 |
| 6 | x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 43 | 39 | .524 | 7 |
| 7 | New York Knicks | 40 | 42 | .488 | 10 |
| 8 | New Orleans Jazz | 35 | 47 | .427 | 15 |
| 9 | Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 51 | .378 | 19 |
| 10 | Buffalo Braves | 30 | 52 | .366 | 20 |
| 11 | New York Nets | 22 | 60 | .268 | 28 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Los Angeles Lakers | 53 | 29 | .646 | – |
| 2 | y-Denver Nuggets | 50 | 32 | .610 | 3 |
| 3 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 49 | 33 | .598 | 4 |
| 4 | x-Golden State Warriors | 46 | 36 | .561 | 7 |
| 5 | x-Detroit Pistons | 44 | 38 | .537 | 9 |
| 6 | x-Chicago Bulls | 44 | 38 | .537 | 9 |
| 7 | Kansas City Kings | 40 | 42 | .488 | 13 |
| 8 | Seattle SuperSonics | 40 | 42 | .488 | 13 |
| 9 | Indiana Pacers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 17 |
| 10 | Phoenix Suns | 34 | 48 | .415 | 19 |
| 11 | Milwaukee Bucks | 30 | 52 | .366 | 23 |
Notes
* z, y – division champions
* x – clinched playoff spot

## Playoffs

| First Round | First Round | First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals |
| | | | E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Boston | 2 | E4 | Boston | 3 | | | | | | |
| E5 | San Antonio | 0 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 | | | |
| | | | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Houston* | 2 | | | |
| | | | E3 | Washington | 2 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Washington | 2 | E2 | Houston* | 4 | | | | | | |
| E6 | Cleveland | 1 | | | | | | | E1 | Philadelphia* | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | W3 | Portland | 4 |
| | | | W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Golden State | 2 | W4 | Golden State | 3 | | | | | | |
| W5 | Detroit | 1 | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Los Angeles* | 0 | | | |
| | | | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W3 | Portland | 4 | | | |
| | | | W3 | Portland | 4 | | | | | | |
| W3 | Portland | 2 | W2 | Denver* | 2 | | | | | | |
| W6 | Chicago | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage

## Statistics leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| Points per game | Pete Maravich | New Orleans Jazz | 31.6 |
| Rebounds per game | Bill Walton | Portland Trail Blazers | 14.4 |
| Assists per game | Don Buse | Indiana Pacers | 8.5 |
| Steals per game | Don Buse | Indiana Pacers | 3.47 |
| Blocks per game | Bill Walton | Portland Trail Blazers | 3.25 |
| FG% | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Los Angeles Lakers | .579 |
| FT% | Ernie DiGregorio | Buffalo Braves | .945 |

## NBA awards

* Most Valuable Player: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
* Rookie of the Year: Adrian Dantley, Buffalo Braves
* Coach of the Year: Tom Nissalke, Houston Rockets