1975–76 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 1975–76 NBA season was the 76ers 27th season in the NBA and 13th season in Philadelphia.^[1] The Philadelphia 76ers posted a 46–36 regular-season record, and returned to the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 1971, ending a string of four consecutive losing seasons. The team had acquired forward George McGinnis from the ABA's Indiana Pacers, and also drafted shooting guard Lloyd Free (later changed name to World B. Free). The Sixers, however, lost to the Buffalo Braves, two games to one in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. This season would also be the last as a player for Billy Cunningham, who suffered an injury early in the season.

1975–76 Philadelphia 76ers season
Head coach	Gene Shue
General manager	Pat Williams
Arena	The Spectrum
Results
Record	46–36 (.561)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 4th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Braves 1–2)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WKBS-TV
Radio	WCAU
< 1974–75 1976–77 >

NBA draft

Main article: 1975 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	5	Darryl Dawkins	C	United States
2	23	World B. Free	SG	United States	Guilford
3	39	Jimmie Baker	F	United States	Hawaiʻi
3	41	Charles Cleveland	SG	United States	Alabama
4	59	Louis Dunbar	F	United States	Houston
5	77	Ken Tyler		United States	Gonzaga
6	95	Ken Alston		United States	Valdosta State
7	113	Mike Flynn	G	United States	Kentucky
8	131	Freeman Blade	G	United States	MSU Billings
9	148	Larry Harralson		United States	Drake
10	164	Rick Reed		United States	Azusa Pacific

Roster

Philadelphia 76ers roster

• v
• t
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Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From PF 23 Joe Bryant 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1954-10-19 La Salle PG 3 Fred Carter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1945-02-14 Mount St. Mary's C 42 Harvey Catchings 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1951-09-02 Hardin–Simmons SG 20 Doug Collins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1951-07-28 Illinois State SF 32 Billy Cunningham  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1943-06-03 North Carolina C 53 Darryl Dawkins 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 251 lb (114 kg) 1957-01-11 Maynard Evans HS (FL) PF 25 Leroy Ellis 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1940-03-10 St. John's SG 21 Lloyd Free 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1953-12-09 Guilford C 34 Clyde Lee 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1944-03-14 Vanderbilt PF 30 George McGinnis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1950-08-12 Indiana SF 50 Steve Mix 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1947-12-30 Toledo PG 22 Connie Norman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1953-09-24 Arizona

Head coach Gene Shue Assistant(s) Jack McMahon Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	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 v t e
	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

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

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	—

Playoffs

1976 playoff game log
First Round: 1–2 (home: 0–2; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 15 Buffalo L 89–95 Fred Carter (30) George McGinnis (15) George McGinnis (4) Spectrum 14,352 0–1 2 April 16 @ Buffalo W 131–106 George McGinnis (34) George McGinnis (11) Fred Carter (6) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 12,049 1–1 3 April 18 Buffalo L 123–124 (OT) Fred Carter (32) George McGinnis (15) Fred Carter (6) Spectrum 13,087 1–2
1976 schedule

Awards and records

• George McGinnis, All-NBA First Team, NBA All-Star
• Doug Collins, NBA All-Star