1976–77 NBA season

Infobox sports season
title =1976–77 NBA season
league =National Basketball Association
sport =Basketball
TV =CBS
season =Regular season
season_champ =Portland Trail Blazers
MVP =flagicon|USA Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (L.A. Lakers)
MVP_link =NBA MVP
top_scorer =flagicon|USA Pete Maravich (New Orleans)
playoffs =Playoffs
playoffs_link =1977 NBA Playoffs
conf1 =Eastern
conf1_link =Eastern Conference (NBA)
conf1_champ =Philadelphia 76ers
conf1_runner-up =Houston Rockets
conf2 =Western
conf2_link =Western Conference (NBA)
conf2_champ =Portland Trail Blazers
conf2_runner-up =Los Angeles Lakers
finals =Finals
finals_link =1977 NBA Finals
finals_champ =Portland Trail Blazers
finals_runner-up =Philadelphia 76ers
finals_MVP =flagicon|USA Bill Walton (Portland)
finals_MVP_link =NBA Finals MVP
seasonslist =List of NBA seasons
seasonslistnames =NBA
prevseason_link =1975–76 NBA season
prevseason_year =1975–76
nextseason_link =1977–78 NBA season
nextseason_year =1977–78The 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 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_NBA_Draft#ABA_Dispersal_Draft|ABA dispersal draft] .
*The NBA Playoffs are 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.
*The Portland Trail Blazers win a championship in the first year that they appear in the playoffs. In addition, they also become the second team in history (after the 1969 Celtics) to win the NBA Finals after dropping the first two games.

Final standings

Eastern Conference

C - NBA Champions

1976-77 NBA Stats Leaders

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
*All-NBA First Team:
**Pete Maravich, New Orleans Jazz
**Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
**David Thompson, Denver Nuggets
**Paul Westphal, Phoenix Suns
**Elvin Hayes, Washington Bullets
*All-NBA Rookie Team:
**John Lucas, Houston Rockets
**Mitch Kupchak, Washington Bullets
**Scott May, Chicago Bulls
**Adrian Dantley, Buffalo Braves
**Ron Lee, Phoenix Suns
*NBA All-Defensive First Team:
**Bobby Jones, Denver Nuggets
**E.C. Coleman, New Orleans Jazz
**Bill Walton, Portland Trail Blazers
**Don Buse, Indiana Pacers
**Norm Van Lier, Chicago Bulls
*NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
**Jim Brewer, Cleveland Cavaliers
**Jamaal Wilkes, Golden State Warriors
**Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
**Brian Taylor, Kansas City Kings
**Don Chaney, Los Angeles Lakers

"Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on [http://www.nba.com NBA.com] "

ee also