The NBA Time Machine: 1976

#	Team	Player
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	Atlanta Hawks Los Angeles Lakers Atlanta Hawks *Phoenix Suns* *Philadelphia 76ers* Portland Trail Blazers New Orleans Jazz Los Angeles Lakers New York Knicks Kansas City Kings	David Thompson+ Dave Meyers Marvin Webster+ *Alvan Adams* *Darryl Dawkins* Lionel Hollins Rich Kelley Junior Bridgeman Gene Short Bill Robinzine

Players

Date	Player	Team	Action	Destination	Stats
June 16, 1975	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Milwaukee Bucks	Traded	Los Angeles Lakers	(30p/14r/3.3b)
July 10, 1975	George McGinnis	Indiana Pacers (ABA)	Signed	Philadelphia 76ers	*(29.8p/14.3r/6.3a)*
August 28, 1975	Dave Bing	Detroit Pistons	Traded	Washington Bullets	(19p/3.6r/7.7a)
August 28, 1975	Kevin Porter	Washington Bullets	Traded	Detroit Pistons	(11.6p/8a/1.9s)
October 24, 1975	Spencer Haywood	Seattle SuperSonics	Traded	New York Knicks	(22.4p/9.3r/1.6b)

Other Personnel

Date	Person	Team	Action	Stats
January 26, 1976	Coach Ray Scott	Detroit Pistons	Fired	Record: 17-25
January 26, 1976	Coach Herb Brown	Detroit Pistons	Hired	Record: 19-21
March 30, 1976	Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons	Atlanta Hawks	Fired	Record: 28-46
March 30, 1976	Coach Gene Tormohlen	Atlanta Hawks	Appointed (Interim)	Record: 1-7
April 20, 1976	Coach Johnny Egan	Houston Rockets	Fired	Record: 40-42
April 20, 1976	Coach Tom Nissalke	Houston Rockets	Hired	Record: n/a
May 3, 1976	*Coach Jack Ramsay*	Buffalo Braves	*Fired*	Record: 46-36
May 6, 1976	*Coach Tates Locke*	Buffalo Braves	Hired	Record: n/a
May 7, 1976	Coach K.C. Jones	Washington Bullets	Fired	*Record: 48-34*
May 28, 1976	Coach Dick Motta	Chicago Bulls	Resigned	Record: 24-58
May 28, 1976	Coach Dick Motta	Washington Bullets	Hired	*Record: n/a*
June 1, 1976	Coach Lenny Wilkens	Portland Trail Blazers	Fired	*Record: 37-45*
June 1, 1976	Coach Jack Ramsay	Portland Trail Blazers	Hired	*Record: n/a*

Retirements

Player	Team(s)	Notable Accomplishments
Zelmo Beaty	Atlanta Hawks Los Angeles Lakers	2x All-Star 1963 All-Rookie Team
*Walt Bellamy*	Baltimore Bullets New York Knicks *Detroit Pistons* Atlanta Hawks New Orleans Jazz	4x All-Star 1962 Rookie of the Year 1962 All-Rookie Team
Bill Bridges	Atlanta Hawks Philadelphia 76ers Los Angeles Lakers Golden State Warriors	1x Champion 3x All-Star 2x All-Defensive
*Bob Kauffman*	Seattle SuperSonics Chicago Bulls Buffalo Braves Atlanta Hawks	3x All-Star
*Don Kojis*	Baltimore Bullets *Detroit Pistons* Chicago Bulls San Diego Rockets Seattle SuperSonics Kansas City-Omaha Kings	2x All-Star
Chet Walker	Philadelphia 76ers Chicago Bulls	1x Champion 7x All-Star 1963 All-Rookie Team
Lenny Wilkens	St. Louis Hawks Seattle SuperSonics Cleveland Cavaliers Portland Trail Blazers	9x All-Star 1x All-Star Game MVP 1x Assists Leader

League Leaders

Key

PPG – points per game
RPG – rebounds per game
APG – assists per game
SPG – steals per game
BPG – blocks per game
FG% – field goal percentage (percentage of shots that hit)
FT% – free throw percentage (percentage of foul shots that hit)

Stat	Leaders
*PPG*	Bob McAdoo (31.1) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27.7) Pete Maravich (25.9) Tiny Archibald (24.8) Fred Brown (23.1)
*RPG*	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (16.9) Dave Cowens (16) Wes Unseld (13.3) Paul Silas (12.7) Sam Lacey (12.6)
*APG*	*Slick Watts (8.1)* *Tiny Archibald (7.9)* Calvin Murphy (7.3) *Norm Van Lier (6.6)* *Rick Barry (6.1)*
*SPG*	*Slick Watts (3.2)* *Paul Westphal (2.6)* George McGinnis (2.6) *Rick Barry (2.5)* *Chris Ford (2.2)*
*BPG*	*Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (4.1)* *Elmore Smith (3.1)* Elvin Hayes (2.5) *Harvey Catchings (2.2)* *George Johnson (2.1)*
*FG%*	*Wes Unseld (56%)* *John Shumate (56%)* *Jim McMillian (53%)* *Bob Lanier (53%)* *Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (52%)*
*FT%*	Rick Barry (92%) Calvin Murphy (90%) Cazzie Russell (89%) Bill Bradley (87%) Fred Brown (86%)

Playoffs

First Round

East / Buffalo Braves beat Philadelphia 76ers, 2-1

The Braves and 76ers were incredibly even on paper – they finished with the same regular season record, although Philadelphia had the upper hand in their earlier matchups. Both teams had two definitive stars, one of each being an M.V.P. candidate – it was expected to be incredibly competitive for a first round series.

Predictions were indeed correct, as the two split wins behind big games from Bob McAdoo and George McGinnis, respectively. The tiebreaker was an overtime must-see, where McAdoo dropped thirty-four points and pulled down twenty-two rebounds – his counterpart McGinnis had a much worse outing, fouling out with fifteen points on the board.

The Braves eventually won by one point, securing yet another Semifinals appearance.

West / Detroit Pistons beat Milwaukee Bucks, 2-1

These two young midwestern teams had low expectations, but high aspirations – Detroit was chasing their first Conference Finals berth in fourteen seasons, and Milwaukee wanted to assert themselves as a legitimate force without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Both games were high-scoring wins for the home teams, with Bob Lanier putting on a show in Game 2 with thirty-five points. Game 3 was back in Milwaukee, but such an environment was irrelevant to Detroit – they upset the Bucks behind Lanier and Curtis Rowe, which confirmed a Semifinals matchup against the dominant Golden State Warriors.

Semifinals

East / Boston Celtics beat Buffalo Braves, 4-2

This was the second meeting in three years between these two clubs – the last was during Boston’s 1974 championship run. The Celtics’ main focus was to contain McAdoo better than they had last time – they did an okay job, as the former M.V.P. scored sixteen and forty points in the first two matches, respectively.

His inconsistencies continued, but the Braves eventually went back to Boston Garden tied in spite of a Dave Cowens 29/26/8 performance. They had a horrible outing on both ends in Game 5, as Cowens and Paul Silas thoroughly controlled the pace. A toasty thirty-one points from Charlie Scott was the final barricade in Buffalo’s path to the Conference Finals.

East / Cleveland Cavaliers beat Washington Bullets, 4-3

Cleveland was a new face in the playoff race, and it was difficult to assess how menacing they truly were. Cavaliers personnel had cruised through the regular season, but they had zero post-season experience. Meanwhile, the Bullets, while partially known for folding under pressure, had a more talented and seasoned squad.

Washington ran away with a road victory in Game 1, but a game winning jumpshot from Bingo Smith tied the series 1-1. Game 3 was an ugly slugfest, with nobody scoring over seventeen points – Cleveland took that match as well, only to fall short to the Bullets afterwards thanks to a flaming hot night from sixth man Clem Haskins. The Cavaliers’ Jim Cleamons was terrible in the fifth match, but remained clutch as he tipped in the final shot for the game winner – the feisty Cleveland team now led 3-2, and could close out the series with force.

Fifty-two combined points from Elvin Hayes and Phil Chenier prevented that possibility, setting the stage for a thrilling Game 7. In what was described as the defining moment in the “Miracle at Richfield” – which fans retrospectively named this Cavaliers season – Dick Snyder of Cleveland hit a shot with four seconds left. This was the dagger that manifested a trip to the Conference Finals in their first ever post-season run.

Such a competitive series garnered the interest of many Ohio locals, which cemented the Cavaliers as a must-see local team. Meanwhile, Washington had some serious decisions to make – they had now been swept in the Finals and embarrassed in the first round for back-to-back respective years, and questions arose about whether they could seriously contend with that core.

West / Golden State Warriors beat Detroit Pistons, 4-2

The Warriors and Pistons had some light, largely undocumented history. The two franchises had not met in the post-season since 1956, where Golden State – then based in Philadelphia – gentleman’s swept the Fort Wayne Pistons in the Finals. Several cores, ups, and downs later, they were now scheduled for what was perceived as a lop-sided Semifinals duel.

The teams won one game each on their respective homecourts, largely bolstered by the play of Phil Smith and Bob Lanier. Detroit could not muster a road win in Game 5 – their starting lineup was absolutely pathetic, with all three of their top scorers coming off of the bench. Perhaps even more problematic was their inability to force a tiebreaker at home in Game 6 – Golden State’s Phil Smith delivered thirty-seven points and seven assists, upholding his crew’s dreams of a repeat championship run.

West / Phoenix Suns beat Seattle SuperSonics, 4-2

This full-on west coast series was expected to be seriously competitive, as neither team was considered better than slightly above-average. Fred Brown was absolutely nuclear in the first two games, averaging thirty-nine points over that span and leading Seattle to one victory. His barrages continued, but the SuperSonics ended up down 1-3 a week later.

It was imperative that they stave off elimination with a victory at home, a request they fulfilled. The entire starting lineup filled the stat sheet to force a Game 6, now looking to repeat that effort in Phoenix. A balanced team performance from the Suns – including a near triple-double from Alvan Adams – overpowered Seattle as they completed the first playoff series win in franchise history.

Conference Finals

East / Boston Celtics beat Cleveland Cavaliers, 4-2

The Cavaliers’ miracle run continued, with their next roadblock being the powerhouse Celtics. This would be no easy battle for them – the Bullets’ lack of composure was exploitable, but Boston had proven championship DNA. That was on full display in the first two games, as they dismantled Cleveland en route to a 2-0 lead. In the comfort of their turf, the Cavaliers put together two defensive masterclasses to tie the series – their grit could not be underestimated.

Dave Cowens ensured the Celtics had a lead heading into the Game 6 at Richfield, where his teammates joined him in a definitive series closer. Cleveland deserved significant praise for the heart they put on display – that didn’t change the fact that Boston was now headed to their second Finals in three years, though.

West / Phoenix Suns beat Golden State Warriors, 4-3

Golden State was overwhelmingly favored in this series – not only did they hold a significant regular season edge over Phoenix, but they were the defending champions with homecourt advantage. The Suns were arguably a tad deeper, but had no stars on the level of Rick Barry.

Neither team could hold a lead, ending matters 2-2 by the fifth game. The Warriors delivered a statement win at home in a sixteen-point blowout – Phoenix’s bench was significantly better than that of their opponent, but Gar Heard and Ricky Sobers played terribly. A one-point win made up for their mistakes in Game 6, surprisingly forcing a tiebreaker.

It had seemed that the Suns had the same unwavering will to win that defined the Warriors during their title run a year ago.

Only a few minutes into Game 7, tensions arose as Barry was repeatedly punched by Sobers, leading to the Golden State star being jumped by multiple Suns players. After reviewing film and seeing that none of his teammates even attempted to help him, Barry was livid – he proceeded to ice himself out for the majority of the game, blatantly refusing to shoot in favorable situations.

He still led the team in scoring, but his nineteen field goal attempts fell far below his average for the series. While quick to deny allegations that he threw the game, the shift in energy was very obvious. Phoenix capitalized on a stagnant Warriors offense in the second half, clinching their very first Finals appearance.

Such a shameless act of pettiness from Barry did nothing to help his already poor reputation – this was very much Golden State’s game to lose.

Finals

Boston Celtics beat Phoenix Suns, 4-2
An interesting story defined this year’s Finals – the Celtics were fighting for Banner Thirteen, while Phoenix wanted to chase their very first title. Most understandably favored the Celtics to win, given their combination of experience, depth, and star power. Much like every other series they played this year, wins were split in the first four games. Afterwards came what was undeniably the greatest game in NBA history. To start things off, John Havlicek returned to the Celtics’ starting lineup after reprising his sixth man role with injury woes. Such a triumphant announcement energized fans in Boston Garden, beginning the loudest night of the year. Boston broke an all-time playoff record by scoring thirty-six points in the first quarter, eventually leading by sixteen at halftime. The environment was largely in their control, but the Suns ramped up their intensity on both ends to mount a comeback. Havlicek was held scoreless for the majority of the second half, and Phoenix outscored their foes 50-34 in that period to force an overtime. Controversy followed the officials, as Boston’s Paul Silas called a timeout with none left. Referee Richie Powers seemed to purposely ignore his request, saving the team from a technical foul. This could have given the Suns an immediate advantage, but they were instead propelled beyond regulation. Neither team could build a lead in the overtime period, and another questionable moment occurred as the game clock did not start counting down during Havlicek’s failed attempt at a game winner. This gave him an unnecessary amount of time to shoot. In the second overtime, Paul Westphal made a clutch steal that eventually put Phoenix up one point. Havlicek responded with a running, one-handed bank shot that seemingly won Boston the game, but the clock was once again incorrectly managed. Fans rushed onto the floor in excitement, but responded in fury once they realized their team *wasn’t done yet* – one Celtics fan attacked a referee, and Paul Westphal frantically requested a timeout his team did not have. The technical foul was assessed this time around, putting Boston up two points. In shocking fashion, Phoenix’s Gar Heard hit a fadeaway jump shot to send the game into a third overtime. The Celtics managed to ultimately pull away, taking a 3-2 series lead after the most electrifying match basketball had ever seen. Game 6 was far less interesting, with Dave Cowens dropping twenty-one points and grabbing seventeen rebounds to finish the NBA’s thirtieth season. Number thirteen for the green team.
*The* Boston Celtics win the 1976 NBA championship! Jo Jo White *was named the Finals Most Valuable Player.*

Awards

Notes
Name(s) under the “All-Stars” section with an asterisk (*) were listed as the MVP of the All-Star Game that year. Those with “(IR)” next to their name were chosen to replace an injured star.

Major Awards

Rookie of the Year	MVP	Finals MVP	Coach of the Year
Alvan Adams	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	*Jo Jo White*	Bill Fitch

All-NBA

All-NBA First Team	All-NBA Second Team
Tiny Archibald Pete Maravich Rick Barry George McGinnis Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Randy Smith Phil Smith John Havlicek Elvin Hayes Dave Cowens

All-Defensive

All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive Second Team
*Slick Watts* Norm Van Lier John Havlicek Paul Silas *Dave Cowens*	Jim Cleamons Phil Smith Jamaal Wilkes Jim Brewer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

All-Stars

Eastern All-Stars	Western All-Stars
Dave Bing* Doug Collins Dave Cowens John Drew *Walt Frazier* *John Havlicek* Elvin Hayes *Bob McAdoo* George McGinnis Randy Smith Rudy Tomjanovich *Jo Jo White*	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Alvan Adams Tiny Archibald Rick Barry Fred Brown Bob Dandridge *Curtis Rowe* Phil Smith Norm Van Lier Scott Wedman Jamaal Wilkes *Brian Winters*
*East beats West, 123-109*

All-Rookie

All-Rookie Team
Alvan Adams Lionel Hollins Joe Meriweather John Shumate *Gus Williams*