1975–76 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1975–76 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the sixth season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This season marked their first winning record, their first division title, their first playoffs appearances and their first conference finals in history. The season is referred to as the "Miracle at Richfield" season for this reason, and helped propel local interest in the Cavaliers as almost every playoff game was sold-out and regular game attendance would rise in the coming seasons.

1975–76 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Division champions
Head coach	Bill Fitch
Arena	Coliseum at Richfield
Results
Record	49–33 (.598)
Place	Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Conference Finals (eliminated 2–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WEWS-TV
Radio	WWWE
< 1974–75 1976–77 >

Roster

1975–76 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From PF 52 Jim Brewer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951-12-03 Minnesota SG 34 Austin Carr 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1948-03-10 Notre Dame F/C 22 Jim Chones 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1949-11-30 Marquette PG 35 Jim Cleamons 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1949-09-13 Ohio State SF 23 Rowland Garrett 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1950-07-16 Florida State PF 24 John Lambert 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1953-01-14 USC SF 20 Campy Russell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1952-01-12 Michigan G/F 7 Bingo Smith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1946-02-26 Tulsa G/F 10 Dick Snyder 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1944-02-01 Davidson C 42 Nate Thurmond 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1941-07-25 Bowling Green PG 14 Foots Walker 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1951-05-21 West Georgia C 44 Luke Witte 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1950-10-19 Ohio State

Head coach Bill Fitch Assistant(s) Jimmy Rodgers Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Cleveland Cavaliers	49	33	.598	–	29–12	20–21	15–11
x-Washington Bullets	48	34	.585	1	31–10	17–24	14–12
Houston Rockets	40	42	.488	9	27–13	13–29	14–12
New Orleans Jazz	38	44	.463	11	22–19	16–25	15–11
Atlanta Hawks	29	53	.354	20	20–21	9–32	7–19

#	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

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 Total: 49–33 (Home: 29–12; Road: 20–21)
October: 1–2 (home: 1–1; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 23, 1975 Golden State 2 October 25, 1975 @ New York 3 October 30, 1975 Chicago
November: 6–9 (home: 1–5; road: 5–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 4 November 1, 1975 New Orleans 5 November 4, 1975 @ Washington 6 November 6, 1975 8:05 PM EST @ Atlanta W 113–108 Snyder (25) The Omni 3,761 2–4 7 November 7, 1975 @ New Orleans 8 November 8, 1975 @ Houston 9 November 11, 1975 @ Golden State 10 November 14, 1975 @ Seattle 11 November 15, 1975 @ Portland 12 November 18, 1975 Houston 13 November 20, 1975 Buffalo 14 November 22, 1975 @ New York 15 November 23, 1975 Boston 16 November 25, 1975 @ Chicago 17 November 27, 1975 Kansas City 18 November 29, 1975 Seattle
December: 11–4 (home: 6–1; road: 5–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 19 December 2, 1975 Portland 20 December 4, 1975 @ Kansas City 21 December 5, 1975 @ Buffalo 22 December 9, 1975 @ Philadelphia 23 December 11, 1975 New York 24 December 12, 1975 @ Milwaukee 25 December 13, 1975 New Orleans 26 December 16, 1975 @ Los Angeles 27 December 17, 1975 @ Seattle 28 December 19, 1975 @ Phoenix 29 December 21, 1975 Los Angeles 30 December 26, 1975 8:00 PM EST Atlanta L 97–98 Russell, Walker (17) Coliseum at Richfield 19,832 15–15 31 December 27, 1975 @ Washington 32 December 28, 1975 Buffalo 33 December 30, 1975 Kansas City
January: 9–6 (home: 7–2; road: 2–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 34 January 2, 1976 @ Philadelphia 35 January 3, 1976 Detroit 36 January 7, 1976 @ Detroit 37 January 8, 1976 Philadelphia 38 January 10, 1976 8:05 PM EST @ Atlanta W 106–100 Russell (18) The Omni 5,766 20–18 39 January 11, 1976 Washington 40 January 14, 1976 @ Washington 41 January 15, 1976 8:00 PM EST Atlanta L 91–98 Smith (30) Coliseum at Richfield 8,364 21–20 42 January 17, 1976 Phoenix 43 January 20, 1976 Boston 44 January 22, 1976 Seattle 45 January 24, 1976 Milwaukee 46 January 27, 1976 Detroit 47 January 28, 1976 @ Houston 48 January 30, 1976 @ Chicago
February: 9–2 (home: 5–0; road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 49 February 1, 1976 @ New Orleans All-Star Break 50 February 6, 1976 @ Philadelphia 51 February 8, 1976 Washington 52 February 12, 1976 Chicago 53 February 13, 1976 @ Milwaukee 54 February 14, 1976 @ Buffalo 55 February 17, 1976 8:00 PM EST Atlanta W 112–92 Russell (23) Coliseum at Richfield 10,417 33–22 56 February 19, 1976 Portland 57 February 22, 1976 Houston 58 February 23, 1976 @ Houston 59 February 25, 1976 @ Detroit 60 February 29, 1976 @ Los Angeles
March: 9–7 (home: 6–2; road: 3–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 61 March 3, 1976 @ Phoenix 62 March 5, 1976 @ Portland 63 March 6, 1976 @ Golden State 64 March 11, 1976 Golden State 65 March 13, 1976 Phoenix 66 March 16, 1976 Los Angeles 67 March 18, 1976 Philadelphia 68 March 19, 1976 @ New Orleans 69 March 20, 1976 8:05 PM EST @ Atlanta W 113–108 Chones, Cleamons (20) The Omni 3,761 41–28 70 March 21, 1976 Washington 71 March 25, 1976 Buffalo 72 March 26, 1976 @ Boston 73 March 27, 1976 Milwaukee 74 March 30, 1976 Houston 75 March 31, 1976 @ New Orleans
April: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 76 April 1, 1976 Boston 77 April 3, 1976 @ Kansas City 78 April 4, 1976 3:00 PM EST Atlanta W 120–92 Carr (27) Coliseum at Richfield 8,439 46–32 79 April 6, 1976 @ Boston 80 April 8, 1976 New Orleans 81 April 10, 1976 New York 82 April 11, 1976 @ New York
1975–76 schedule

Playoffs

1976 playoff game log
Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 13 Washington L 95–100 Jim Chones (23) Campy Russell (11) Jim Cleamons (8) Richfield Coliseum 19,974 0–1 2 April 15 @ Washington W 80–79 Bingo Smith (17) Nate Thurmond (10) Bingo Smith (4) Capital Centre 17,988 1–1 3 April 17 Washington W 88–76 Smith, Carr (17) Jim Brewer (12) Jim Brewer (6) Richfield Coliseum 21,061 2–1 4 April 21 @ Washington L 98–109 Campy Russell (22) Jim Brewer (10) Foots Walker (6) Capital Centre 17,542 2–2 5 April 22 Washington W 92–91 Dick Snyder (26) Jim Brewer (12) Cleamons, Snyder (4) Richfield Coliseum 21,312 3–2 6 April 25 @ Washington L 98–102 (OT) Austin Carr (27) Jim Brewer (12) Cleamons, Carr (5) Capital Centre 19,035 3–3 7 April 29 Washington W 87–85 Dick Snyder (23) Jim Brewer (16) Jim Cleamons (6) Richfield Coliseum 21,564 4–3
Conference Finals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 5 @ Boston L 99–111 Snyder, Russell (21) Nate Thurmond (16) Jim Cleamons (6) Boston Garden 14,264 0–1 2 May 9 @ Boston L 89–94 Snyder, Smith (16) Jim Brewer (9) Foots Walker (6) Boston Garden 12,098 0–2 3 May 11 Boston W 83–78 Jim Cleamons (18) Jim Brewer (15) Nate Thurmond (6) Richfield Coliseum 21,564 1–2 4 May 14 Boston W 106–87 Bingo Smith (27) Jim Brewer (11) Jim Cleamons (8) Richfield Coliseum 21,564 2–2 5 May 16 @ Boston L 94–99 Jim Cleamons (18) Nate Thurmond (10) Cleamons, Smith (4) Boston Garden 12,951 2–3 6 May 18 Boston L 87–94 Austin Carr (26) Nate Thurmond (14) Thurmond, Cleamons (5) Richfield Coliseum 21,564 2–4
1976 schedule

Games 5 and 7 in the conference semifinal were both won by the Cavaliers on last-second shots. Jim Cleamons hit a layup as time expired in Game 5 and Dick Snyder hit a shot with four seconds left to win Game 7.

Awards and records

• Bill Fitch, NBA Coach of the Year
• Jim Cleamons, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Jim Brewer, NBA All-Defensive Second Team