1977
Reigning belt holder: Julius Erving
NBA Champion: Portland Trailblazers
MVP: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Finals MVP: Bill Walton
Scoring champ: Pete Maravich (31.1)
PER champ: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27.8)
The candidates:
Julius Erving: With the ABA finally dead and buried, it was finally time for the most exciting player of the 70's to make his NBA debiut at 26, ironically alongside fellow ABA superstar George McGinnis on the Sixers. The senior circuit proved a much stiffer competition for the doctor, as his ppg plummeted to 21.6, with strong but un-ABA numbers of 8.5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks on 50% shooting made him an all-star but not an MVP candidate, nor did he make the all-NBA first team. However, Dr. J's impact on winning games was indisputable. The Sixers leaped from 4th in the east in 1976 to first in 1977 with Erving taking the reigns. After leading the Sixers to a 2nd round 4-3 win against the defending champion celtics, Erving upped his average to 28, 6 and 6 against Moses Malone and the Rockets in the eastern conference finals, including 34 points on the road in houston for the clincher to send Philly back to the finals for the first time in 10 years. Solid favorites on paper against a perceived 1-man show in the Blazers, Dr. J dominated early, averaging 27ppg on 58% shooting as the Sixers won the first two games. Then it all fell apart. Humiliated in Portland in both games 3 and 4, The Sixers found themselves suddenly reeling. Back to the wall, Dr. J gave it his ABA best, scoring 37 points at home in game 5 and 40 in game 6 at Portland. Sadly, it wasn't enough as the sixers lost both games by thin margins. Despite the meltdown, Erving had a tremendous finals, averaging over 30 points on 54% shooting for the series.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Finally comfortable in his new LA digs, the reigning league MVP had a repeat performance in 1977. Averaging 26.2 points on a league-leading 57.9 FG% finishing 2nd in rebounds with 13.3 and blocks with 3.2, Kareem also remained an elite defender, finishing 1st team all-defense. And for the first time in years, his team actually started responding to his effort with inspired play. Carrying a pedestrian Lakers squad to 53 wins and a first place finish in the west, Kareem was a shoe-in for his 5th league MVP in 8 seasons. Kareem celebrated his first playoff berth in 3 seasons by skewering Rick Barry's Warriors like a stuck pig, torching them for 40+ points four times in six game, averaging roughly 38 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks in a 4-2 Lakers win. Kareem's post-Milwaukee jinx hadn't run out yet, though. Facing a galvanized Portland team suddenly running on all cylinders, The Lakers were run off the court at home in game 1 and Portland carried the momentum through the next 3 games, winning each one by small margins in crunch time with superior chemistry. Despite averaging over 30 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks for the series, Kareem's cinderella season came to a sudden halt as the Lakers were swept out of the conference finals.
Bill Walton: The #1 pick in 1974 by the Blazers, the heir apparent to Kareem fell flat on his face, racking up a laundry list of injuries. This included the 1977 season, where he was sidelined for 17 games, but when he played, he was at his best. Finally showing the all-around gifts that made him a college legend, Walton led the NBA in both rebounds (14.4) and blocks (3.2), while adding 18.6ppg on 52.8% shooting. The Blazers, just 5-12 in games he didn't play, were 44-21 when he did, good enough for Portland's first ever playoff berth. Walton had a field day in the postseason against the transplanted ABA powerhouse Denver Nuggets, averaging 17.5 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks in a 4-2 series win, including a 19/16/10 triple double in game 2. Though he was easily outscored by Kareem in the conference finals, Walton continued being a transcendent hub center, posting averages of roughly 19 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks in a 4-game sweep, two of which he finished 1 assist shy of a triple double. The Finals would prove to be big red's career pinnacle. Thoroughly outgunned by a loaded Sixers team, Walton rebounded from two early losses by posting 20 points, 18 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 blocks in a must-win game 3, and 20 points, 24 rebounds, 7 assists and 8 blocks in a dominating performance in game 6, which the Blazers won by a single basket to claim their first NBA title. Walton, with series averages of 18.5 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists and 3.7 blocks, received his recognition in the form of the Finals MVP trophy.
Pete Maravich: Another college legend struggling to make his mark on the pro game, Pistol Pete was not beleaguered by injuries like Walton, but rather obscurity. Toiling away on a mediocre Hawks team with terrible chemistry, Maravich was thrown a life preserver when his hometown New Orleans Jazz traded a package of players and draft picks for him. Unfortunately, that left the cupboard bare, and the Jazz struggled. Maravich's 1-man show hit its zenith in 1977, as he made a mockery out of perimeter defenders. Averaging a league-high 31.1ppg to go along with 5 assists and 5 rebounds, he scored 50+ on four separate occasions. Against Walt Frazier and the Knicks, he exploded, scoring 68 points on 26/43 shooting, at the time the highest scoring game for a guard in NBA history. Despite failing yet again to make the postseason on a dreadful 35-win Jazz team, he was nonetheless recognized as a member of the all-NBA first team as well as a 3rd place finish behing Kareem and Walton in the vote for league MVP.
Reigning belt holder: Julius Erving
NBA Champion: Portland Trailblazers
MVP: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Finals MVP: Bill Walton
Scoring champ: Pete Maravich (31.1)
PER champ: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27.8)
The candidates:
Julius Erving: With the ABA finally dead and buried, it was finally time for the most exciting player of the 70's to make his NBA debiut at 26, ironically alongside fellow ABA superstar George McGinnis on the Sixers. The senior circuit proved a much stiffer competition for the doctor, as his ppg plummeted to 21.6, with strong but un-ABA numbers of 8.5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks on 50% shooting made him an all-star but not an MVP candidate, nor did he make the all-NBA first team. However, Dr. J's impact on winning games was indisputable. The Sixers leaped from 4th in the east in 1976 to first in 1977 with Erving taking the reigns. After leading the Sixers to a 2nd round 4-3 win against the defending champion celtics, Erving upped his average to 28, 6 and 6 against Moses Malone and the Rockets in the eastern conference finals, including 34 points on the road in houston for the clincher to send Philly back to the finals for the first time in 10 years. Solid favorites on paper against a perceived 1-man show in the Blazers, Dr. J dominated early, averaging 27ppg on 58% shooting as the Sixers won the first two games. Then it all fell apart. Humiliated in Portland in both games 3 and 4, The Sixers found themselves suddenly reeling. Back to the wall, Dr. J gave it his ABA best, scoring 37 points at home in game 5 and 40 in game 6 at Portland. Sadly, it wasn't enough as the sixers lost both games by thin margins. Despite the meltdown, Erving had a tremendous finals, averaging over 30 points on 54% shooting for the series.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Finally comfortable in his new LA digs, the reigning league MVP had a repeat performance in 1977. Averaging 26.2 points on a league-leading 57.9 FG% finishing 2nd in rebounds with 13.3 and blocks with 3.2, Kareem also remained an elite defender, finishing 1st team all-defense. And for the first time in years, his team actually started responding to his effort with inspired play. Carrying a pedestrian Lakers squad to 53 wins and a first place finish in the west, Kareem was a shoe-in for his 5th league MVP in 8 seasons. Kareem celebrated his first playoff berth in 3 seasons by skewering Rick Barry's Warriors like a stuck pig, torching them for 40+ points four times in six game, averaging roughly 38 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks in a 4-2 Lakers win. Kareem's post-Milwaukee jinx hadn't run out yet, though. Facing a galvanized Portland team suddenly running on all cylinders, The Lakers were run off the court at home in game 1 and Portland carried the momentum through the next 3 games, winning each one by small margins in crunch time with superior chemistry. Despite averaging over 30 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks for the series, Kareem's cinderella season came to a sudden halt as the Lakers were swept out of the conference finals.
Bill Walton: The #1 pick in 1974 by the Blazers, the heir apparent to Kareem fell flat on his face, racking up a laundry list of injuries. This included the 1977 season, where he was sidelined for 17 games, but when he played, he was at his best. Finally showing the all-around gifts that made him a college legend, Walton led the NBA in both rebounds (14.4) and blocks (3.2), while adding 18.6ppg on 52.8% shooting. The Blazers, just 5-12 in games he didn't play, were 44-21 when he did, good enough for Portland's first ever playoff berth. Walton had a field day in the postseason against the transplanted ABA powerhouse Denver Nuggets, averaging 17.5 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks in a 4-2 series win, including a 19/16/10 triple double in game 2. Though he was easily outscored by Kareem in the conference finals, Walton continued being a transcendent hub center, posting averages of roughly 19 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks in a 4-game sweep, two of which he finished 1 assist shy of a triple double. The Finals would prove to be big red's career pinnacle. Thoroughly outgunned by a loaded Sixers team, Walton rebounded from two early losses by posting 20 points, 18 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 blocks in a must-win game 3, and 20 points, 24 rebounds, 7 assists and 8 blocks in a dominating performance in game 6, which the Blazers won by a single basket to claim their first NBA title. Walton, with series averages of 18.5 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists and 3.7 blocks, received his recognition in the form of the Finals MVP trophy.
Pete Maravich: Another college legend struggling to make his mark on the pro game, Pistol Pete was not beleaguered by injuries like Walton, but rather obscurity. Toiling away on a mediocre Hawks team with terrible chemistry, Maravich was thrown a life preserver when his hometown New Orleans Jazz traded a package of players and draft picks for him. Unfortunately, that left the cupboard bare, and the Jazz struggled. Maravich's 1-man show hit its zenith in 1977, as he made a mockery out of perimeter defenders. Averaging a league-high 31.1ppg to go along with 5 assists and 5 rebounds, he scored 50+ on four separate occasions. Against Walt Frazier and the Knicks, he exploded, scoring 68 points on 26/43 shooting, at the time the highest scoring game for a guard in NBA history. Despite failing yet again to make the postseason on a dreadful 35-win Jazz team, he was nonetheless recognized as a member of the all-NBA first team as well as a 3rd place finish behing Kareem and Walton in the vote for league MVP.
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