1975–76 NBA season

Notable occurrences

• 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, with the Eastern Conference beating the Western Conference 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.
• The New Orleans Jazz moved into the cavernous Louisiana Superdome after splitting their inaugural season between two inadequate facilities, the Loyola University Fieldhouse and New Orleans Municipal Auditorium.
• The Houston Rockets play their inaugural season in The Summit.
• Game 4 of the NBA Finals was first game ever played in the month of June.
• 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.
• Dick Bavetta began his Hall of Fame officiating career, replacing the retired Mendy Rudolph, who suffered a blood clot in his lung during a 1975 playoff game and became an analyst for CBS Sports. Bavetta went on to set the record for most games officiated with 2,635 by the time he retired in 2014.
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the League MVP with his new team, the Los Angeles Lakers, despite missing the playoffs.

  Final standings

By division

By conference

• z, y – division champions
• x – clinched playoff spot

  Statistics leaders

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
• NBA All-Star Game MVP: Dave Bing
• All-NBA First Team:
• *Rick Barry, Golden State Warriors
• *George McGinnis, Philadelphia 76ers
• *Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
• *Nate Archibald, Kansas City Kings
• *Pete Maravich, New Orleans Jazz
• All-NBA Second Team:
• *Elvin Hayes, Washington Bullets
• *John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
• *Dave Cowens, Boston Celtics
• *Randy Smith, Buffalo Braves
• *Phil Smith, Golden State Warriors
• All-NBA Rookie Team:
• *Joe Meriweather, Houston Rockets
• *Alvan Adams, Phoenix Suns
• *Lionel Hollins, Portland Trail Blazers
• *John Shumate, Phoenix Suns/Buffalo Braves
• *Gus Williams, Golden State Warriors
• NBA All-Defensive First Team:
• *Paul Silas, Boston Celtics
• *John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
• *Dave Cowens, Boston Celtics
• *Norm Van Lier, Chicago Bulls
• *Slick Watts, Seattle SuperSonics
• NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
• *Jim Brewer, Cleveland Cavaliers
• *Jamaal Wilkes, Golden State Warriors
• *Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
• *Jim Cleamons, Cleveland Cavaliers
• *Phil Smith, Golden State Warriors