1975–76 NBA 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)

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

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.
Game 4 of the NBA Finals was first game ever played in the month of June.
Arguably the greatest NBA game ever played occurred in Game 5 of the NBA Finals when the Celtics and the Suns went into triple-overtime before the Celtics prevailed 128-126. 17 years later, the Suns would be involved in another triple-overtime Finals game.
This was the final season before the NBA-ABA merger.
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 won the League MVP with his new team, the Los Angeles Lakers, despite missing the playoffs.

Atlantic 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

Central Division	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

Midwest Division	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

Pacific Division	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

Notes


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

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
NBA All-Star Game MVP: Dave Bing
All-NBA First Team:
- Rick Barry, Golden State Warriors
- George McGinnis, Philadelphia 76ers
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
- Nate Archibald, Kansas City Kings
- Pete Maravich, New Orleans Jazz
All-NBA Second Team:
- Elvin Hayes, Washington Bullets
- John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
- Dave Cowens, Boston Celtics
- Randy Smith, Buffalo Braves
- Phil Smith, Golden State Warriors
All-NBA Rookie Team:
NBA All-Defensive First Team:
NBA All-Defensive Second Team:

Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com

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