1977 NBA All-Star Game

1977 NBA All-Star Game

1 2 3 4 Total West 23 35 39 28 125 East 34 34 21 35 124
Date	February 13, 1977
Arena	MECCA Arena
City	Milwaukee
MVP	Julius Erving
Attendance	10,938
Network	CBS
Announcers	Brent Musburger and Billy Cunningham
NBA All-Star Game
<  1976 1978  >

The 1977 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 13, 1977, at MECCA Arena in Milwaukee, home of the Milwaukee Bucks. This was the 27th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and the first to be played after the ABA-NBA merger. ^[1] It was the first time the NBA All-Star Game was played on a Sunday afternoon after the previous 26 games had been played in the evening. ^[2]

The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 125–124. Julius Erving, in his first NBA All-Star Game, was awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy by league commissioner Larry O'Brien, becoming only the second player to win the award despite losing. ^[3]

All-Star Game

Coaches

Larry Brown and Gene Shue were selected as the West and East head coach, respectively.

The Eastern Conference team was coached by Gene Shue, head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers who had a 33–20 record on February 13. ^[4] This was Shue's second time coaching in an all-star game. The Western Conference team was coached by future hall-of-famer Larry Brown, head coach of the Denver Nuggets who had a 34–19 record on February 13. ^[5] This was Brown's first time coaching in an all-star game.

Players

MVP Julius Erving circa 1976

The starting players were voted on by the fans, and seven reserves for each team were selected by their respective coaches. ^[6] Twelve former ABA players, including Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers, participated in the game. ^[1] The Eastern Conference team played ten future hall-of-famers including Bob McAdoo, Julius Erving, George McGinnis, Rudy Tomjanovich (inducted as a coach), Pete Maravich, John Havlicek, Jo Jo White, Earl Monroe, George Gervin, and Elvin Hayes. The Western Conference Team played seven future hall-of-famers including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Barry, Paul Westphal, David Thompson, Bob Lanier, Bobby Jones, and Dan Issel.

Despite being selected as a reserve, Los Angeles Laker player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the West team in scoring with 21 points. This was Abdul-Jabbar's eighth appearance in the all-star game. Another Western Conference player, Paul Westphal, was an honorable mention scoring 20 points in his first of five consecutive appearances in the all-star game. On the Eastern team, Julius Erving and Bob McAdoo of the Buffalo Braves dominated their team's scoring, each recording 30 points. This was McAdoo's fourth all-star appearance, and Erving's first of eleven consecutive all-star appearances.

Notable player selections that did not play due to injury were, on the Western side, future hall-of-famer Bill Walton of the Portland Trail Blazers, and, on the Eastern side, future hall-of-famer Dave Cowens of the Boston Celtics. ^[7] Walton would be replaced by Don Buse of the Indiana Pacers, and Cowens would be replaced by Phil Chenier of the Washington Bullets. Walton would return that season to lead the Blazers, with the help of all-star teammate Maurice Lucas, to a 1977 NBA Finals victory over the 76ers, who were led by all-stars Julius Erving, George McGinnis, and Doug Collins.

Roster

Eastern Conference All-Stars Pos Player Team No. of selections Votes Starters G Pete Maravich New Orleans Jazz 3rd 235,541 [3] G Doug Collins Philadelphia 76ers 2nd 125,173 [3] F Julius Erving Philadelphia 76ers 1st 310,517 [3] F George McGinnis Philadelphia 76ers 2nd 244,829 [3] C Bob McAdoo Buffalo Braves 4th 277,943 [3] Reserves G Jo Jo White Boston Celtics 7th 75,552 [3] G Earl Monroe New York Knicks 4th — G Phil Chenier Washington Bullets 3rd — F Rudy Tomjanovich Houston Rockets 4th — F John Havlicek Boston Celtics 12th 187,610 [3] F George Gervin San Antonio Spurs 1st 128,130 [3] F Elvin Hayes Washington Bullets 9th 65,963 [3] Head coach: Gene Shue (Philadelphia 76ers)

Western Conference All-Stars Pos Player Team No. of selections Votes Starters G Paul Westphal Phoenix Suns 1st 163,173 [3] G Norm Van Lier Chicago Bulls 3rd 134,411 [3] F David Thompson Denver Nuggets 1st 319,047 [3] F Rick Barry Golden State Warriors 7th 179,453 [3] C Dan Issel Denver Nuggets 1st 182,585 [3] Reserves G Phil Smith Golden State Warriors 2nd 66,616 [3] G Don Buse Indiana Pacers 1st 94,376 [3] F Bobby Jones Denver Nuggets 1st 164,892 [3] F Billy Knight Indiana Pacers 1st 103,903 [3] F Maurice Lucas Portland Trail Blazers 1st 102,624 [3] C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Los Angeles Lakers 8th 146,426 [3] C Bob Lanier Detroit Pistons 5th 70,700 [3] Head coach: Larry Brown (Denver Nuggets)

Recap

Western Conference guard Paul Westphal circa 1975.

Julius Erving set the tone early, helping the East to a 34–23 lead over the West going into the second quarter. At half-time the West had only shaved the lead by a point with the score sitting at 58–68 in favor of the East. However, in the third quarter the West scored 39 points and stymied the Easts offense limiting them to only 21 points. Going into the fourth quarter with the West favoring the East 97–89, Bob McAdoo of the East produced a flurry of offense scoring 14 points in the period. ^[8] The boost brought the East back to within one point of the West with a chance to score in the closing seconds of the game. The East never got their final shot of as Paul Westphal stole the ball from West guard Pete Maravich who passed it downcourt to teammate Rick Barry who ran the clock out giving the West the one-point win. ^[9]

Eastern Conference

Player, Team	MIN	FGM	FGA	FTM	FTA	REB	AST	BLK	PFS	PTS
Bob McAdoo, BUF	38	13	23	4	4	10	2	1	3	30
Julius Erving, PHI	30	12	20	6	6	12	3	1	2	30
George McGinnis, PHI	26	2	9	0	2	7	2	0	3	4
Rudy Tomjanovich, HOU	22	3	9	0	0	10	1	1	1	6
Pete Maravich, NO	21	5	13	0	0	0	4	0	1	10
Doug Collins, PHI	21	3	6	2	2	2	6	0	2	8
John Havlicek, BOS	17	2	5	0	0	1	1	0	1	4
Jo Jo White, BOS	15	5	7	0	0	1	2	0	0	10
Earl Monroe, NY	15	2	7	0	0	0	3	0	1	4
Phil Chenier, WAS	12	3	6	0	0	1	1	0	0	6
George Gervin, SA	12	0	6	0	0	1	0	1	1	0
Elvin Hayes, WAS	11	6	6	0	0	2	1	0	5	12
Dave Cowens, BOS (injured)
Totals	240	56	117	12	14	47	26	4	20	124

Western Conference

Player, Team	MIN	FGM	FGA	FTM	FTA	REB	AST	BLK	PFS	PTS
Paul Westphal, PHO	31	10	16	0	0	1	6	2	2	20
Rick Barry, GS	29	7	16	4	4	4	8	0	1	18
David Thompson, DEN	29	7	9	4	6	7	3	0	3	18
Phil Smith, GS	28	6	13	1	2	6	8	0	3	13
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LA	23	8	14	5	6	4	2	1	1	21
Bob Lanier, DET	20	7	8	3	3	10	4	1	3	17
Don Buse, IND	19	2	4	0	0	2	5	0	0	4
Bobby Jones, DEN	14	1	4	0	0	0	3	1	0	2
Norm Van Lier, CHI	14	1	3	0	0	1	1	0	2	2
Billy Knight, IND	12	1	5	2	2	5	0	0	0	4
Maurice Lucas, POR	11	3	9	0	0	4	2	1	2	6
Dan Issel, DEN	10	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Bill Walton, POR (injured)
Totals	240	53	104	19	23	45	42	6	17	125

Score by periods

Score by Periods:	1	2	3	4	Final
East	34	34	21	35	124
West	23	35	39	28	125

• Halftime— East, 68–58
• Third Quarter— West, 97–89
• Officials: Earl Strom and Lee Jones
• Attendance: 10,938.

References

1. "1977 NBA All-Star recap". www.nba.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
2. "1977 NBA-ALL STAR EVENT MILWAUKEE | justallstar.com". Just All Stars. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
3. "1977 NBA All-Star Game Voting". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
4. "1976-77 Philadelphia 76ers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
5. "1976-77 Denver Nuggets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
6. "History of NBA All-Star selection process, roster and format changes". www.nba.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
7. "1977 NBA All-Star Game: Box Score, MVP and Information". www.landofbasketball.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
8. Ballantini, Brett (March 2002). "Westphal might whine, but it was Doc's time. (Flashback: The 1977 NBA All-Star Game)". Basketball Digest. Vol. 29, no. 5. pp. 18–.
9. 1977 NBA All-Star Game , retrieved February 11, 2022

Sources

• The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. Villard Books. 1994. p. 249. ISBN   0-679-43293-0.
• "1977 NBA All-Star Game". Basketball Reference. Archived from the original on August 2, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2008.