The NBA Time Machine: 1977

#	Team	Player
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	Houston Rockets Chicago Bulls Kansas City Kings Detroit Pistons Portland Trail Blazers Buffalo Braves Milwaukee Bucks Golden State Warriors Atlanta Hawks *Phoenix Suns*	John Lucas Scott May Richard Washington Leon Douglas Wally Walker Adrian Dantley Quinn Buckner Robert Parish Armond Hill *Ron Lee*

Players

Date	Player	Team	Action	Destination	Stats
September 10, 1976	Tiny Archibald	Kansas City Kings	Traded	New York Nets	(24.8p/2.7r/7.9a)
December 9, 1976	Bob McAdoo	Buffalo Braves	Traded	New York Knicks	*(23.7p/13.2r/3.3a)*

Other Personnel

Date	Person	Team	Action	Stats
June 30, 1976	Coach Doug Moe	San Antonio Spurs	Hired	Record: 44-38
July 13, 1976	Coach Bill Sharman	Los Angeles Lakers	Reassigned	Record: n/a
July 17, 1976	Coach Hubie Brown	Atlanta Hawks	Hired	Record: 31-51
July 13, 1976	Coach Jerry West	Los Angeles Lakers	Hired	Record: 53-29
May 28, 1976	Coach Ed Badger	Chicago Bulls	Hired	Record: 44-38
August 28, 1976	Coach Larry Costello	Milwaukee Bucks	Resigned	Record: 3-15
August 28, 1976	Coach Don Nelson	Milwaukee Bucks	Hired	Record: 27-37
December 14, 1976	Coach Butch Van Breda Kolff	New Orleans Jazz	Fired	Record: 14-12
December 16, 1976	Coach Elgin Baylor	New Orleans Jazz	Hired	Record: 21-35
January 25, 1977	*Coach Tates Locke*	Buffalo Braves	*Fired*	Record: 16-30
January 25, 1977	*Coach Bob MacKinnon*	Buffalo Braves	Appointed (Interim)	Record: 3-4
February 16, 1977	*Coach Joe Mullaney*	Buffalo Braves	Appointed (Interim)	Record: 11-18
March 9, 1977	Coach Willis Reed	New York Knicks	Hired	Record: n/a
May 4, 1977	Coach Bill Russell	Seattle Supersonics	Resigned	Record: 40-42
May 13, 1977	Coach Bob Hopkins	Seattle Supersonics	Hired	Record: n/a

Retirements

Player	Team(s)	Notable Accomplishments
Archie Clark	Los Angeles Lakers Philadelphia 76ers Capital Bullets Seattle SuperSonics *Detroit Pistons*	2x All-NBA 1x All-Star
*Billy Cunningham*	Philadelphia 76ers	1x Champion 4x All-NBA 4x All-Star 1966 All-Rookie Team
Connie Hawkins	Phoenix Suns Los Angeles Lakers Atlanta Hawks	1x All-NBA 4x All-Star
Jeff Mullins	St. Louis Hawks Golden State Warriors	1x Champion 3x All-Star
Geoff Petrie	Portland Trail Blazers	2x All-Star 1971 Rookie of the Year 1971 All-Rookie Team
Jerry Sloan	Baltimore Bullets Chicago Bulls	2x All-Star 6x All-Defensive
Jimmy Walker	*Detroit Pistons* Houston Rockets Kansas City Kings	2x All-Star

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*	Pete Maravich (31.1) Billy Knight (26.6) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26.2) David Thompson (25.9) Bob McAdoo (25.8)
*RPG*	Bill Walton (14.4) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13.3) Moses Malone (13.1) Artis Gilmore (13) Bob McAdoo (12.9)
*APG*	*Don Buse (8.5)* *Slick Watts (8)* Norm Van Lier (7.8) *Kevin Porter (7.3)* *Tom Henderson (6.9)*
*SPG*	*Don Buse (3.5)* *Brian Taylor (2.8)* Slick Watts (2.7) *Quinn Buckner (2.4)* *Mike Gale (2.3)*
*BPG*	*Bill Walton (3.2)* *Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (3.2)* Elvin Hayes (2.7) *Artis Gilmore (2.5)* *Caldwell Jones (2.4)*
*FG%*	*Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (57%)* *Mitch Kupchak (57%)* *Bobby Jones (57%)* *George Gervin (54%)* *Bob Lanier (53%)*
*FT%*	Ernie DiGregorio (94%) Rick Barry (91%) Calvin Murphy (88%) Mike Newlin (88%) Fred Brown (88%)

Playoffs

First Round

East / Boston Celtics beat San Antonio Spurs, 2-0

Facing off were the defending champions and a new face in the league. The Celtics’ experience was a large advantage, but they had an underwhelming year – forty-four wins was all they could muster, an even total to San Antonio.

Ultimately, Boston’s depth won the matchup. George Gervin’s heavy-lifting for the Spurs came in the form of inefficient volume scoring, something Jo Jo White of the Celtics could muster with respectable shooting splits. The guard averaged a career high thirty-one points per game in this round.

East / Washington Bullets beat Cleveland Cavaliers, 2-1

A year after being upset at the hands of the infamous “Miracle at Richfield” team, Washington returned with a vengeance. There was a refusal to let former mistakes haunt their current aspirations.

Phil Chenier scored a statement thirty-eight points in the victorious home opener, only for Cleveland to respond with a series-tying win of their own. The Bullets’ hero in Game 3 was the young guard Tom Henderson – his thirty-one points was good enough for a nail-biting win.

West / Golden State Warriors beat Detroit Pistons, 2-1

Golden State and Detroit had just faced off in the previous postseason, but it occurred even sooner this time. With superstar Bob Lanier back from injury, the Pistons’ chances were very much tangible – his worth was expressed through a twenty-eight point, seventeen rebound performance in Game 1 that granted Detroit a lead.

The Warriors were now required to respond on the road, and eventually forced a tiebreaker thanks to a big Phil Smith showing. In Game 3, a fight between the Pistons’ Eric Money and Warriors’ Charles Dudley created a long-lasting brawl between coaches and fans, but Dudley won in the end. His Warriors avoided elimination after a big outing from Rick Barry – his thirty-five points slightly edged out Lanier’s thirty-three, which was the primary force behind such a comeback victory.

West / Portland Trail Blazers beat Chicago Bulls, 2-1

Now under the lead of former ABA superstar Artis Gilmore, the Bulls yearned for some success against a young – but hungry – Blazers squad. Now a couple years removed from their days of Conference Finals appearances, it was a position they wanted to return to. A scorching hot fourteen-of-seventeen shooting night from Portland’s Maurice Lucas made that aspiration all the more difficult.

A combined eighty-two points from Gilmore, Mickey Johnson, and Wilbur Holland was the key to a narrow Bulls win in Game 2. An injury to Holland in the early stages of Game 3 hurt Chicago’s morale, which influenced a loss. Everyone in Portland’s starting lineup also scored in double digits, which was too overpowering for their opponent.

Semifinals

East / Houston Rockets beat Washington Bullets, 4-2

The battle of these Central Division clubs was, for once, not in Washington’s favor. Houston had proven to be the slightly more composed team throughout the season, even beating the Bullets in three of their four regular season matchups.

After losing Game 1, the Rockets found a new breakthrough in the second match. The twenty-one year old Moses Malone, who was acquired via the ABA dispersal draft, dropped thirty-one points and grabbed twenty-six rebounds in an overtime victory. Coach of the Year Tom Nissalke then made a conscious effort to involve him in the offense more – he averaged eighteen points over the remaining four games.

Alongside Rudy Tomjanovich and Calvin Murphy, the promising center led the Rockets to three straight wins to close out the series.

East / Philadelphia 76ers beat Boston Celtics, 4-3

This historic rivalry was being pumped with new life, now revitalized with the introduction of Julius Erving to Philadelphia. The last time the 76ers and Celtics met in the playoffs, it was Billy Cunningham and Hal Greer going to war with John Havlicek and Bill Russell – now, it was Havlicek with Dave Cowens and Jo Jo White.

In Game 1, White hit a buzzer beater to give the Celtics a much-appreciated victory. However, Boston’s perimeter defenders had no answer for Julius Erving. Alongside the likes of Doug Collins and Steve Mix, the 76ers coasted to a 3-2 lead. White saved Boston’s season on the Garden homecourt, dropping forty points to overshadow Collins’ thirty-two.

This gave the green team a fighting chance, but they could not capitalize. An ugly Game 7 – where the only scorer above seventeen points was an inefficient World B. Free – ultimately finished in Philly’s favor.

West / Los Angeles Lakers beat Golden State Warriors, 4-3

This inter-state duel was all about Los Angeles. The Warriors seemed ill-equipped to contain Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and their depth wasn’t necessarily superior in this situation either. That wasn’t a deterrent to their play at home, though – the series was split 2-2 after four games, with not a single road victory acquired on both sides. Rick Barry and Abdul-Jabbar were going to war, averaging thirty and thirty-four points per game over this stretch, respectively.

Despite Abdul-Jabbar scoring over forty in the next two matches, the Warriors still managed to take their home game to schedule Game 7. The five-time M.V.P. handled business in the comforts of L.A. with a ridiculous 36/26/4 stat-line, accompanying five steals as well. With Golden State’s two best players in Barry and Phil Smith struggling, their chances at success flattened. The Lakers were now slated for their first Conference Finals since the Jerry West-Wilt Chamberlain era.

West / Portland Trail Blazers beat Denver Nuggets, 4-2

The head-to-head encounter between these two northwestern teams was a perfect example of how far the league had come nationally. Two smaller markets, who had both compiled great records, had to battle with hopes of eventually winning their first NBA championship.

Portland’s shocking one-point win in Denver was a big advantage moving forward, as they ultimately settled with a 3-1 lead. Their defensive aptitude was on full display, often forcing either David Thompson or Dan Issel to perform without the other’s production. The Nuggets duo managed to collectively deliver in Game 5, but it was too late.

Denver’s offense was putrid in the crucial sixth match – nobody scored over seventeen points and the ball movement was asinine. This was news to the ears of Portland’s roster, who dismantled their foe en route to another success story.

Conference Finals

East / Philadelphia 76ers beat Houston Rockets, 4-2

Two of the league’s most explosive groups met in the Eastern Conference Finals, which was huge for pull and ratings. It was also expected to be competitive, given their similar records.

A nice aspect of Houston’s offense is that they had multiple players ready to explode on any given night. The issue, however, was that the 76ers prevented them from doing so in tandem – if Moses Malone put in work, it was Calvin Murphy that was nowhere to be found. And perhaps Rudy Tomjanovich could contribute, but not without a pathetic five-point outing from Malone.

These inconsistencies led Philadelphia to a 3-1 result, although they could not complete the gentleman’s sweep in Game 5. During the sixth contest, John Lucas of the Rockets delivered a game-tying goal. It looked possible for his Houston club to survive, but his play was ruled a charging foul. It was a call met with some controversy, but decisions had been made – the 76ers were going back to the Finals for the first time in a decade.

West / Portland Trail Blazers beat Los Angeles Lakers, 4-0

The Trail Blazers were heavy underdogs going into the Western Conference Finals. Los Angeles was perceived as a more talented and well-constructed team with the superior superstar, which was a fair argument – Portland couldn’t care less about such narratives, though.

Their motto of “team over player” ensured success, as balanced scoring performances consistently outplayed the Lakers’ strategy of feeding Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at all costs. The Los Angeles superstar performed well, but still saw his team drop two consecutive games at home in jaw-dropping fashion. They were now headed north with their backs against the wall, forced to respond in enemy territory.

Bill Walton and Abdul-Jabbar had a battle for the ages in Game 3. The latter put together a 21/20/7 stat-line with a whopping eight blocks, and the former was one assist short of a triple-double. Portland’s inevitable success was perhaps summarized by one play this game – a vicious dunk on Abdul-Jabbar by the young Walton, which was more than enough to energize an electrifying crowd that could not sit down.

In Game 4, the Lakers’ production was unsatisfactory – double-digit scoring from every Trail Blazers starter was the nail in the coffin for a series sweep that not one person expected.

Finals

Portland Trail Blazers beat Philadelphia 76ers, 4-2
The merger truly changed the league’s dynamic. Now at the biggest stage was a franchise reaching the Finals in its first playoff run, hoping to achieve the unexpected. On the other end was a fiery 76ers team that wanted to deliver their city its first championship since 1967, following the lead of media favorite Julius Erving. Philadelphia looked incredibly confident in their first two home games, picking up a quick 2-0 lead behind the play of Erving and Doug Collins. During the second match, Maurice Lucas fought Darryl Dawkins of the 76ers, only enraging Portland more. They were trapped in the worst situation possible, a factor that Bill Walton saw as motivation. He dropped a near triple-double in Game 3 to characterize a big victory, and his Blazers won another a couple nights later – this time by thirty-two points. Philadelphia’s biggest weakness was slowly being exposed – their lack of consistent outside shooting, which Portland exploited with greater defensive intensity around the rim. Despite a huge thirty-seven point performance from Erving in Game 5, the 76ers lost at home and got handed their first series deficit since the start of the Semifinals. It was now imperative that they show out on the road. Yet another superstar-level showing from Erving was meaningless in the sixth match, where the Blazers delivered their signature yet again – double-digit scoring from every starter. They managed to win by a narrow two points, earning the city of Portland its first major sports title. This Trail Blazers team was the first since the 1969 Boston Celtics to win a Finals series after being down 2-0.
*The* Portland Trail Blazers win the 1977 NBA championship! Bill Walton *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
Adrian Dantley	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Bill Walton	*Tom Nissalke*

All-NBA

All-NBA First Team	All-NBA Second Team
Paul Westphal Pete Maravich David Thompson Elvin Hayes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Jo Jo White George Gervin Julius Erving George McGinnis Bill Walton

All-Defensive

All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive Second Team
Norm Van Lier Don Buse E.C. Coleman Bobby Jones Bill Walton	Brian Taylor Don Chaney Jamaal Wilkes Jim Brewer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

All-Stars

Eastern All-Stars	Western All-Stars
Phil Chenier (IR) Doug Collins Dave Cowens Julius Erving* George Gervin *John Havlicek* Elvin Hayes Pete Maravich Bob McAdoo George McGinnis *Earl Monroe* Rudy Tomjanovich *Jo Jo White*	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rick Barry Don Buse (IR) Dan Issel Bobby Jones Billy Knight Bob Lanier Maurice Lucas Phil Smith David Thompson Norm Van Lier Bill Walton Paul Westphal
*West beats East, 125-124*

All-Rookie

All-Rookie Team
Adrian Dantley Ron Lee John Lucas Mitch Kupchak Scott May