1977 NBA Finals

North America basketball championship January 2024 NBA 1977 Philadelphia 76ers Gene Shue 2 Portland Trail Blazers Jack Ramsay 4 May 22 – June 5 Bill Walton(Portland Trail Blazers) 76ers:Doug Collins (2024)Julius Erving (1993)George McGinnis (2017)Trail Blazers:Bill Walton (1993)Coaches:Jack Ramsay (1992)Officials:Darell Garretson (2016)Earl Strom (1995) 76ers defeated Rockets, 4–2 Trail Blazers defeated Lakers, 4–0 The 1977 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1976–77 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers played against the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers, with the 76ers holding home-court advantage. Their four regular season meetings had been split evenly, 2–2, with neither side winning away from home. The series was played under a best-of-seven format. The Trail Blazers overcame a two-games-to-none series deficit to defeat the 76ers in six games, winning their first (and still only) championship in franchise history. This was the first NBA Finals in which the winning team was presented the Larry O'Brien Trophy. The 1976–77 NBA season started with the ABA–NBA merger. Portland had benefited from the resulting ABA dispersal draft as they acquired Spirits of St. Louis power forward Maurice Lucas to partner with Bill Walton, and Philadelphia had signed ABA All-Star and 3-time ABA MVP Julius "Dr. J" Erving, who had taken the New York Nets to the ABA title the previous year. In the 1977 NBA Finals, five of the ten starting players were former ABA players (Julius Erving, Caldwell Jones, George McGinnis, Dave Twardzik, and Maurice Lucas).Pluto Terry https://archive.org/details/looseballsshortw00plut Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association Simon & Schuster 1990 978-1-4165-4061-8 435–436 registration While it was no surprise that Philadelphia had made it to the championship series, having posted the best record in the Eastern Conference (50–32), Portland's appearance in the finals was a mild surprise.January 2026 Portland had joined the league in 1970 and it was making its playoff debut in its seventh season as the third best team in the Western Conference (49–33). It was also making its Finals debut after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in four close games in the Western Conference finals to make this the second straight NBA Finals with at least one team making their first Finals appearance. The series started 2–0 in favor of Philadelphia, but Portland rebounded in the next four games to become the second team to overcome a 2–0 deficit to win the Finals since the Boston Celtics in 1969 and the first to do so with four straight wins. The 1976-77 Trail Blazers were the last team to accomplish this feat until the Miami Heat did so in 2006. Background The Portland Trail Blazers franchise entered the NBA as an expansion team in 1970, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Buffalo Braves. Like most expansion teams, the Trail Blazers struggled, but in 1974, hope was on the way.January 2026 Superstar center Bill Walton, who led UCLA to an 86–4 record and two national titles in three years, was drafted first overall by the Trail Blazers in the 1974 NBA draft. The Trail Blazers missed the playoffs the next two seasons as Walton struggled with injuries, but continued to add key pieces, such as Dave Twardzik, Lloyd Neal, Lionel Hollins, and Maurice Lucas. In 1976, Jack Ramsay was hired as head coach, and with a fully healthy Walton, Portland made the playoffs for the first time in the 1976–77 season, winning 49 games. The 3rd seeded Blazers would defeat the Chicago Bulls in three games, the Denver Nuggets in six games, and then shockingly swept league MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals. The Philadelphia 76ers made it back to the playoffs in 1976, after missing the previous four years, which included a league-worst nine wins in the 1972–73 season. They acquired former ABA All-Star Julius Erving, late of the New York Nets, in the offseason. The 76ers won 50 games for the first time since 1969, defeated the defending champion Boston Celtics in a tough seven-game series, then advanced to the finals for the first time since 1967 by ousting the Houston Rockets in six games. Jack Ramsay was a Philadelphia native and a former coach of the 79ers from 1968–1972. Road to the Finals 1977 NBA playoffs Portland Trail Blazers (Western Conference champion) Philadelphia 76ers (Eastern Conference champion)POR3rd seed in the West, 5th best league recordRegular seasonPHI1st seed in the East, 2nd best league recordDefeated the (6) Chicago Bulls, 2–1First roundEarned first-round byeDefeated the (2) Denver Nuggets, 4–2Conference semifinalsDefeated the (4) Boston Celtics, 4–3Defeated the (1) Los Angeles Lakers, 4–0Conference finalsDefeated the (2) Houston Rockets, 4–2 Regular season series Both teams split the four-game series, each won by the home team. #fff November 5, 1976 Philadelphia 76ers 104 Portland Trail Blazers |score2=146 Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon December 11, 1976 Portland Trail Blazers 107 Philadelphia 76ers |score2=108 The Spectrum, Philadelphia March 1, 1977 Philadelphia 76ers 107 Portland Trail Blazers |score2=108 Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon #fff March 27, 1977 Portland Trail Blazers 116 Philadelphia 76ers |score2=128 The Spectrum, Philadelphia Team rosters Portland Trail Blazers Portland Trail Blazers 1976–77 10 Corky Calhoun F 6 7 210 Pennsylvania 16 Johnny Davis basketball, born 1955 G 6 2 170 Dayton 3 Herm Gilliam G 6 3 190 Purdue 30 Bob Gross F 6 6 200 Long Beach State 14 Lionel Hollins G 6 3 185 Arizona State 34 Robin Jones basketball F/C 6 9 225 Saint Louis 20 Maurice Lucas F 6 9 215 Marquette 36 Lloyd Neal F 6 7 225 Tennessee State 15 Larry Steele F 6 5 180 Kentucky 13 Dave Twardzik G 6 1 175 Old Dominion 42 Wally Walker F 6 7 190 Virginia 32 Bill Walton C 6 11 210 UCLA Jack Ramsay Philadelphia 76ers Philadelphia 76ers 1976–77 10 Henry Bibby G 6 1 185 UCLA USA 23 Joe Bryant F 6 9 185 La Salle USA 42 Harvey Catchings F/C 6 10 218 Hardin–Simmons USA 20 Doug Collins basketball G 6 6 180 Illinois State USA 53 Darryl Dawkins C 6 11 251 Maynard Evans HS (FL) USA 10 Mike Dunleavy Mike Dunleavy Sr. G 6 3 180 South Carolina USA 6 Julius Erving F 6 7 210 UMass USA 21 Lloyd Free World B. Free G 6 2 185 Guilford USA 25 Terry Furlow G 6 4 190 Michigan State USA 11 Caldwell Jones C 6 11 217 Albany State USA 30 George McGinnis F 6 8 235 Indiana USA 50 Steve Mix F 6 7 215 Toledo USA Gene Shue Series summary Game Date Home team Result Road team Game 1 May 22 Philadelphia 76ers 107–101 (1–0) Portland Trail Blazers Game 2 May 26 Philadelphia 76ers 107–89 (2–0) Portland Trail Blazers Game 3 May 29 Portland Trail Blazers 129–107 (1–2) Philadelphia 76ers Game 4 May 31 Portland Trail Blazers 130–98 (2–2) Philadelphia 76ers Game 5 June 3 Philadelphia 76ers 104–110 (2–3) Portland Trail Blazers Game 6 June 5 Portland Trail Blazers 109–107 (4–2) Philadelphia 76ers Trail Blazers win series 4–2 Game summaries Game 1 #eee May 22 Recap/Box Portland Trail Blazers 101 Philadelphia 76ers 107 25–27 28–28 25–31 23–21 Walton 28 Walton 20 Hollins, Davis 6 each Erving 33 C. Jones 11 Collins 6 Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 18,276 Strom, Vanak Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 Game 1 started with a Dr. J windmill slam dunk off the opening tip, and never got much better for the Blazers, who committed 34 turnovers. Erving scored 33 points and Doug Collins had 30, as the 76ers won 107–101. Walton finished with 28 points and 20 rebounds. Game 2 #eee May 26 Recap/Box Portland Trail Blazers 89 Philadelphia 76ers 107 26–31 17–30 21–20 25–26 Walton 17 Walton 16 Gross 4 Collins 27 C. Jones 14 Bibby 11 Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 18,276 Joe Gushue, Richie Powers Philadelphia leads series, 2–0 Game 2 was an easy 107–89 win for the 76ers, who at one point scored 14 points in under 3 minutes. In the final 5 minutes, however, Philadelphia's Darryl Dawkins and Portland's Bob Gross both went up for a rebound and wrestled each other to the floor. Dawkins and Gross squared off and both benches cleared, including the coaches. In the middle of the fray, Maurice Lucas, in an act of team unity and in support of Gross, slapped Dawkins from behind and challenged him. Dawkins and Lucas were ejected, and Doug Collins needed four stitches after he caught a punch from Dawkins that had missed its target. Dawkins and Lucas were each fined 2,500 1977 yes. This brawl is commonly looked upon as the turning point in this series, as the Blazers unified and showed the Sixers that they wouldn't be humiliated.January 2026 Game 3 #eee May 29 Recap/Box Philadelphia 76ers 107 Portland Trail Blazers 129 21–34 32–26 29–27 25–42 Erving 28 McGinnis 12 Erving 5 Lucas 27 Walton 18 Walton 9 Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon 12,923 O'Donnell, Garretson Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 The series moved to Portland for the next two games, and game 3 got underway following a few tense moments as Lucas approached the Philadelphia bench before the game and offered his hand in friendship to Dawkins and the 76ers. The Blazers offense took charge of the game and posted a 42-point fourth quarter to win 129–107. The turning point came early in the fourth with the score 91–87, when Walton tipped in an alley-oop pass from Bob Gross over Darryl Dawkins, who knocked him to the floor. Dave Twardzik then stole the Sixers' ensuing inbounds pass and found Walton, who was back on his feet, for another alley-oop dunk. Lucas had 27 points and 12 rebounds, and Walton contributed 20 points, 18 rebounds, and 9 assists. Game 4 #eee May 31 Recap Philadelphia 76ers 98 Portland Trail Blazers 130 16–29 30–28 21–41 31–32 Erving 24 Dawkins 11 Mix 4 Hollins 25 Walton 13 Walton 7 Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon 12,913 Sokol, Murphy Series tied, 2–2 Philadelphia attempted to use George McGinnis and Caldwell Jones on the inside for Game 4, but Walton had other ideas, going on a shot-blocking frenzy. Portland quickly led the game by 17 points and never looked back, scoring 41 points in the third quarter, despite Walton committing his fifth foul midway through the third and being on the bench for most of the second half. They won by a score of 130–98, with the 32 point win being the largest margin of victory in a Finals game 4 until 2024.https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/bJhQt Stathead June 9, 2026 For single games, in the NBA/BAA, round is Finals, in series Game 4, sorted by descending Points. Game 5 #eee June 3 Recap Portland Trail Blazers 110 Philadelphia 76ers 104 22–15 23–26 40–25 25–38 Gross 25 Walton 24 Davis 8 Erving 37 Jones 13 Erving 7 Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 18,276 Strom, Garretson Portland leads series, 3–2 Game 5 returned to Philadelphia with the series tied 2–2. Philadelphia spent much of the first half fouling the Blazers, racking up 22 personal fouls and sending the half-time score into the 40s. The Blazers added another 40 points to their total in the third quarter, and with a little over 8 minutes left in the game, Portland led 91–69. Erving rallied his team late in the fourth, scoring 37 points himself, but the Sixers ultimately lost 110–104. Portland set numerous rebounding records for its team, 59 (48 defensive, team record) in all which stood until 1985, 24 (20 defensive, another team record) of which belonged to Walton alone; his team record still stands. Game 6 #eee June 5 Recap Philadelphia 76ers 107 Portland Trail Blazers 109 27–27 28–40 27–24 25–18 Erving 40 McGinnis 16 Erving 8 Gross 24 Walton 23 Walton 7 Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon 12,951 Powers, O'Donnell Portland wins the series, 4–2 right Philadelphia ball.Five seconds to go...Free will inbound.Here we go.The inbound to McGinnis.Drives, stops, pumps, shoots, short, no good!AND THE GAME IS OVER! THE GAME IS OVER! Bill Schonely Blazers' play-by-play radio announcerJune 5, 1977 Portland, now leading the series 3–2, arrived back home for Game 6 in the middle of the night to a crowd of 5,000 fans waiting at the airport. With just 48 minutes separating the Blazers from their first championship, "Blazermania" had gripped the city. Philadelphia kept the game close throughout the first quarter, but were down by 15 at halftime after the Blazers netted 40 points in the second quarter. Erving tried in vain to force a Game 7 for his team, scoring 40 points, but Bill Walton's 20 points, 23 rebounds, 7 assists and 8 blocks kept the game in Portland's favor. The last play of the game took place with Philadelphia inbounding the ball with five seconds left, down just two points. Philadelphia's George McGinnis missed the game-tying jump shot, but all other nine players swarmed to position themselves to get the rebound. Portland's Bill Walton reached over all of them and slapped the ball up the court with two seconds left, and the clock expired for a heart-stopping 109–107 Portland win. The crowd stormed onto the court in a celebratory frenzy. Walton was named finals MVP and was called "an inspiration" by the defeated Julius Erving. Maurice Lucas later said of Walton's post-game thrown jersey that was sent into the rushing crowd of fans, "if I had caught the shirt, I would have eaten it. Bill's my hero." 180px|thumb|Finals MVP Bill Walton and Trail Blazers head coach Jack Ramsay holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Portland was awarded two trophies for winning the NBA Championship: The Walter A. Brown Trophy, which was kept by the winning team for only a year until the next NBA Finals; and a newly designed trophy later to be known as the Larry O'Brien Trophy which was now to be kept by the winning team with a new one produced at every NBA Finals since. The Walter A. Brown Trophy was retired shortly after this game.May 2026 Notes Game 6 in Portland was originally scheduled to start at 10:30a.m. PT (1:30p.m. ET) on Sunday morning, because CBS wanted to accommodate a golf telecast of the Kemper OpenJune 5, 1977 GM Fights With CBS For Start 1-B Longview News-Journal UPI Longview, Texas https://www.newspapers.com/article/longview-news-journal-gm-fights-with-cbs/126633150/ June 18, 2023 newspapers.com July 4, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230704015224/https://www.newspapers.com/article/longview-news-journal-gm-fights-with-cbs/126633150/ live —such scheduling had been used in the 1976 NBA Finals, for Game 3 played in Phoenix. However, the NBA refused and CBS agreed to a noon start. Despite the fact that this was the Finals' clinching game, CBS cut away from their NBA coverage very quickly after the game ended, skipping the trophy presentation in the Portland locker room to instead televise the golf tournament. The only known footage of the trophy presentation was of Blazers head coach Jack Ramsay voicing his opinion about Bill Walton's performance in the NBA Finals. I've never coached a better player. I've never coached a better competitor. And I've never coached a better person than Bill Walton. Aftermath The 1977-78 Blazers started with 50 wins in their first 60 games, but due to Bill Walton's foot injury they only managed to go 8–14 the rest of the way.Off on a Wrong Foot - Sports Illustrated This would be Walton's last season with the club, as he sat out the 1978-79 season and then was signed by the San Diego Clippers. As of , this remains Portland’s only NBA championship. The Trail Blazers would return to the NBA Finals in 1990, but they would fall to the Detroit Pistons in five games. They also returned to the Finals in 1992, but lost to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in six games, becoming the second victim of the first Bulls three-peat from 1991 to 1993. The 76ers returned to the NBA Finals in 1980 and 1982, but lost both to the Magic Johnson-led Los Angeles Lakers in six games. They would win their next and most recent championship in 1983 over the aforementioned Lakers in a sweep. 1977 Portland reserve guard Johnny Davis later coached the 76ers for one ill-fated season in 1996–97. See also 1977 NBA playoffs 1976–77 NBA season References Further reading Love Matt Red Hot and Rollin': A Retrospection of the Portland Trail Blazers' 1976–77 NBA Championship Season Nestucca Spit Press 2007 978-0-9744364-8-7 Pacific City, Oregon External links Portland Trail Blazers Playoff Records NBA History: Walton, Lucas Ignite 'Blazermania' 1977 NBA Season Summary – Basketball-Reference.com May 30, 2017 1977 NBA Finals Look Back: Philadelphia 76ers vs Portland Trail Blazers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W785m6afU4g live https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/W785m6afU4g December 21, 2021 NBA.com YouTube Category:NBA Finals Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals Category:Basketball competitions in Portland, Oregon Category:1977 in Portland, Oregon Category:Basketball competitions in Philadelphia Category:1977 in Philadelphia Category:May 1977 sports events in the United States Category:June 1977 sports events in the United States Category:1977 in sports in Oregon Category:1977 in sports in Pennsylvania