1975–76 Boston Celtics season

1975–76 Boston Celtics season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachTom Heinsohn
General managerRed Auerbach
ArenaBoston Garden
Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record54–28 (.659)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Suns 4–2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWBZ-TV, WATR
RadioWBZ Radio, WTIC
< 1974–75 1976–77 >

The 1975–76 Boston Celtics season was their 30th in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and concluded with their 13th championship, defeating the Phoenix Suns in six games in the 1976 NBA Finals to win their 13th NBA Championship. The Celtics also won their division for the 5th consecutive season, and made their 14th finals appearance. This championship would be ranked 11th in the easiest paths to an NBA Finals championship by HoopsHype in 2024 due to the record of the team they played against in the championship match.[1]

Offseason

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College

Roster

1975–76 Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G 42 Anderson, Jerome 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1953-10-09 West Virginia
C 34 Ard, Jim 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1948-09-19 Cincinnati
F 31 Boswell, Tom 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1953-10-02 South Carolina
C 18 Cowens, Dave 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1948-10-25 Florida State
F 17 Havlicek, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1940-04-08 Ohio State
F 33 Kuberski, Steve 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1947-11-06 Bradley
F 30 McDonald, Glenn 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1952-03-18 Long Beach State
F 19 Nelson, Don 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1940-05-15 Iowa
G 11 Scott, Charlie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1948-12-15 North Carolina
F 32 Searcy, Ed 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1952-04-17 St. John's
F 35 Silas, Paul 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1943-07-12 Creighton
G 27 Stacom, Kevin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1951-09-04 Providence
G 10 White, Jo Jo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1946-11-16 Kansas
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Regular season and postseason recap

The Celtics lost Don Chaney to the American Basketball Association before the 1975–76 season. To fill the gap in the backcourt they traded Paul Westphal to the Phoenix Suns for Charlie Scott, who had averaged more than 20 points in each of the previous three seasons. Despite an uncharacteristically weak bench, the Celtics finished in first place in their division and the second best record in the NBA this season. Boston earned a shot at another NBA title by defeating the Buffalo Braves and then the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.

Boston's opponents in the 1976 NBA Finals were the Phoenix Suns, who had posted a 42–40 regular-season record. The Team in Green was the oddsmakers' choice in the contest. The Celtics took the first two games at Boston Garden, but the Suns came back to win games 3 and 4 on their home court. Game 5 ranks among the all-time thrillers in NBA history. The Suns trailed by 5 points with less than a minute left on the clock, but Westphal made up the deficit almost single-handedly, sending the game into a first overtime period, which ended in a tie.

John Havlicek's basket with 2 seconds remaining in double overtime gave the Celtics a one-point lead, which Boston stretched to two points after sinking a technical foul. Then the Suns' Garfield Heard hit a last-second basket to send the contest into a third overtime. The longest game in NBA history finally ended, after three extra periods, with the Celtics winning 128–126. Two days later Boston captured yet another NBA championship, the 13th in franchise history.

Season standings

Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics 54 28 .659 – 31–10 23–18 13–8
x-Philadelphia 76ers 46 36 .561 8 34–7 12–29 9–12
x-Buffalo Braves 46 36 .561 8 28–14 18–22 10–11
New York Knicks 38 44 .463 16 24–17 14–27 10–11
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Boston Celtics 54 28 .659 –
2 y-Cleveland Cavaliers 49 33 .598 5
3 x-Washington Bullets 48 34 .585 6
4 x-Philadelphia 76ers 46 36 .561 8
5 x-Buffalo Braves 46 36 .561 8
6 Houston Rockets 40 42 .488 14
7 New York Knicks 38 44 .463 16
8 New Orleans Jazz 38 44 .463 16
9 Atlanta Hawks 29 53 .354 25

Record vs. opponents

1975–76 NBA records
Team ATL BOS BUF CHI CLE DET GSW HOU KCK LAL MIL NOJ NYK PHI PHO POR SEA WAS
Atlanta – 2–3 2–3 2–2 2–5 1–3 2–2 2–5 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–4 3–2 2–3 0–4 2–2 1–3 1–5
Boston 3–2 – 4–3 2–2 3–2 4–0 2–2 4–1 2–2 4–0 2–2 4–1 5–2 4–3 4–0 2–2 2–2 3–2
Buffalo 3–2 3–4 – 3–1 3–2 1–3 1–3 3–2 4–0 2–2 3–1 4–1 4–3 3–4 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–3
Chicago 2–2 2–2 1–3 – 0–4 3–4 1–4 1–3 1–6 3–2 3–4 2–2 0–4 0–4 2–3 1–4 2–3 0–4
Cleveland 5–2 2–3 2–3 4–0 – 2–2 1–3 2–4 1–3 2–2 4–0 4–3 3–2 3–2 3–1 4–0 3–1 4–2
Detroit 3–1 0–4 3–1 4–3 2–2 – 0–5 2–2 5–2 1–4 3–4 1–3 3–1 1–3 1–4 2–3 3–2 2–2
Golden State 2–2 2–2 3–1 4–1 3–1 5–0 – 2–2 4–1 5–2 5–0 2–2 4–0 3–1 4–2 4–2 4–3 3–1
Houston 5–2 1–4 2–3 3–1 4–2 2–2 2–2 – 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–4 3–2 3–2 0–4 3–1 2–2 3–4
Kansas City 2–2 2–2 0–4 6–1 3–1 2–5 1–4 2–2 – 2–3 2–5 1–3 1–3 1–3 3–2 0–5 2–3 1–3
Los Angeles 3–1 0–4 2–2 2–3 2–2 4–1 2–5 3–1 3–2 – 2–3 3–1 3–1 2–2 2–4 3–4 3–3 1–3
Milwaukee 2–2 2–2 1–3 4–3 0–4 4–3 0–5 2–2 5–2 3–2 – 2–2 2–2 2–2 3–2 2–3 2–3 2–2
New Orleans 4–2 1–4 1–4 2–2 3–4 3–1 2–2 4–2 3–1 1–3 2–2 – 2–3 1–4 1–3 3–1 1–3 4–3
New York 2–3 2–5 3–4 4–0 2–3 1–3 0–4 2–3 3–1 1–3 2–2 3–2 – 5–2 2–2 3–1 0–4 3–2
Philadelphia 3–2 3–4 4–3 4–0 2–3 3–1 1–3 2–3 3–1 2–2 2–2 4–1 2–5 – 3–1 4–0 2–2 2–3
Phoenix 4–0 0–4 1–3 3–2 1–3 4–1 2–4 4–0 2–3 4–2 2–3 3–1 2–2 1–3 – 5–2 4–3 0–4
Portland 2–2 2–2 2–2 4–1 0–4 3–2 2–4 1–3 5–0 4–3 3–2 1–3 1–3 0–4 2–5 – 3–3 2–2
Seattle 3–1 2–2 2–2 3–2 1–3 2–3 3–4 2–2 3–2 3–3 3–2 3–1 4–0 2–2 3–4 3–3 – 1–3
Washington 5–1 2–3 3–2 4–0 2–4 2–2 1–3 4–3 3–1 3–1 2–2 3–4 2–3 3–2 4–0 2–2 3–1 —

Game log

1975–76 game log
October: 3–0 (home: 3–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 October 24 Houston W 109–94 Boston Garden 1–0
2 October 29 Golden State W 115–106 Boston Garden 2–0
3 October 31 Portland W 112–94 Boston Garden 3–0
November : 6–6 (home: 3–3; road: 3–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
4 November 1 @ Chicago L 82–84 Chicago Stadium 3–1
5 November 5 Buffalo W 105–95 Boston Garden 4–1
6 November 7 @ Milwaukee L 101–104 Dave Cowens (28) MECCA Arena 4–2
7 November 8 @ Detroit W 118–104 Cobo Arena 5–2
8 November 11 Atlanta L 91–100 Jo Jo White (24) Hartford Civic Center 5–3
9 November 13 @ Washington L 107–110 Capital Centre 5–4
10 November 14 Philadelphia L 109–119 Boston Garden 5–5
11 November 15 @ Buffalo W 112–110 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 6–5
12 November 21 New York W 110–101 Boston Garden 7–5
13 November 23 @ Cleveland W 105–90 Richfield Coliseum 8–5
14 November 26 Seattle L 109–110 Boston Garden 8–6
15 November 28 Atlanta W 114–107 Boston Garden 9–6
1975–76 schedule

Playoffs

1976 playoff game log
Conference Semifinals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 21 Buffalo W 107–98 Dave Cowens (30) Dave Cowens (17) Jo Jo White (8) Boston Garden
13,919 		1–0
2 April 23 Buffalo W 101–96 Dave Cowens (27) Dave Cowens (18) Charlie Scott (6) Boston Garden
15,320 		2–0
3 April 25 @ Buffalo L 93–98 Jo Jo White (26) Dave Cowens (14) Charlie Scott (7) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
12,079 		2–1
4 April 28 @ Buffalo L 122–124 Dave Cowens (29) Dave Cowens (26) Jo Jo White (11) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
16,193 		2–2
5 April 30 Buffalo W 99–88 Dave Cowens (30) Paul Silas (22) Jo Jo White (6) Boston Garden
15,320 		3–2
6 May 2 @ Buffalo W 104–100 Jo Jo White (23) Paul Silas (18) Charlie Scott (8) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
16,261 		4–2
Conference Finals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 May 5 Cleveland W 111–99 John Havlicek (26) Dave Cowens (12) Dave Cowens (7) Boston Garden
14,264 		1–0
2 May 9 Cleveland W 94–89 Jo Jo White (24) Paul Silas (19) three players tied (4) Boston Garden
12,098 		2–0
3 May 11 @ Cleveland L 78–83 Jo Jo White (22) Paul Silas (21) Jo Jo White (7) Richfield Coliseum
21,564 		2–1
4 May 14 @ Cleveland L 87–106 Jo Jo White (23) Dave Cowens (18) Dave Cowens (4) Richfield Coliseum
21,564 		2–2
5 May 16 Cleveland W 99–94 Dave Cowens (26) Paul Silas (13) Dave Cowens (6) Boston Garden
12,951 		3–2
6 May 18 @ Cleveland W 94–87 Jo Jo White (29) Dave Cowens (18) White, Cowens (5) Richfield Coliseum
21,564 		4–2
NBA Finals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 May 23 Phoenix W 98–87 Dave Cowens (25) Dave Cowens (21) Dave Cowens (10) Boston Garden
15,320 		1–0
2 May 27 Phoenix W 105–90 John Havlicek (23) Paul Silas (17) Jo Jo White (9) Boston Garden
15,320 		2–0
3 May 30 @ Phoenix L 98–105 Jo Jo White (24) Dave Cowens (17) Charlie Scott (5) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
12,284 		2–1
4 June 2 @ Phoenix L 107–109 Jo Jo White (25) Paul Silas (14) Jo Jo White (5) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
13,306 		2–2
5 June 4 Phoenix W 128–126 (3OT) Jo Jo White (33) Dave Cowens (19) Jo Jo White (9) Boston Garden
15,320 		3–2
6 June 6 @ Phoenix W 87–80 Charlie Scott (25) Dave Cowens (17) Jo Jo White (6) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
13,306 		4–2
1976 schedule

References

  1. ^ "Ranking the easiest paths to an NBA title ever". June 18, 2024.