1976–77 NBA season

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1976–77 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Number of teams	22
TV partner(s)	CBS
Regular season
Season MVP	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (L.A. Lakers)
Top scorer	Pete Maravich (New Orleans)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Philadelphia 76ers
Eastern runners-up	Houston Rockets
Western champions	Portland Trail Blazers
Western runners-up	Los Angeles Lakers
Finals
Finals champions	Portland Trail Blazers
Runners-up	Philadelphia 76ers
Finals MVP	Bill Walton (Portland)
NBA seasons
← 1975–76 1977–78 →

The 1976–77 NBA season was the 31st season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Portland Trail Blazers winning the NBA Championship, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.

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 NBA Playoffs were expanded from 5 teams per conference to 6.
The 1977 NBA All-Star Game was played at The Mecca in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 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.^[1]
The Portland Trail Blazers won the championship in the first year that they appeared in the playoffs. They also become the second team in history (after the 1969 Celtics) to win the NBA Finals after dropping the first two games.

Atlantic Division v t e	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 Division v t e	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 Division v t e	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 Division v t e	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

Notes


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	3.5
Blocks per game	Bill Walton	Portland Trail Blazers	3.2
FG%	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Los Angeles Lakers	.579
FT%	Ernie DiGregorio	Buffalo Braves	.945

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