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, Pennsylvania, with the East beating the West 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.
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.
Final standings[]
Eastern Conference[]
Atlantic Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Boston Celtics C
54
28
.659
-
Buffalo Braves
46
36
.561
8
Philadelphia 76ers
46
36
.561
8
New York Knicks
38
44
.463
16
Central Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Cleveland Cavaliers
49
33
.598
-
Washington Bullets
48
34
.585
1
Houston Rockets
40
42
.488
9
New Orleans Jazz
38
44
.463
11
Atlanta Hawks
29
53
.354
20
Western Conference[]
Midwest Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Milwaukee Bucks
38
44
.463
-
Detroit Pistons
36
46
.439
2
Kansas City Kings
31
51
.378
7
Chicago Bulls
24
58
.293
14
Pacific Division
Team
W
L
PCT.
GB
Golden State Warriors
59
23
.720
-
Seattle SuperSonics
43
39
.524
16
Phoenix Suns
42
40
.512
17
Los Angeles Lakers
40
42
.488
19
Portland Trail Blazers
37
45
.451
22
C - NBA Champions
Statistics leaders[]
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
3.2
Blocks per game
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Los Angeles Lakers
4.1
FG%
Wes Unseld
Washington Bullets
.561
FT%
Rick Barry
Golden State Warriors
.923
NBA Awards[]
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
