• The NBA's rival league, the
American Basketball Association, joined with the NBA in the
ABA–NBA merger. Four ABA franchises joined the NBA: the
New York Nets, the
Indiana Pacers, the
San Antonio Spurs, and the
Denver Nuggets. The other ABA teams had folded prior to the merger, except for the
Kentucky Colonels and
Spirits of St. Louis, both of whose players were picked up by NBA teams in the
1976 ABA dispersal draft. • The league adopts a balanced schedule. Each team plays 19 of the 21 other clubs four times each, while playing two from the opposite conference three times each. This scheduling format remains in place for 1977-78 and 1978-79. • The
NBA Playoffs were expanded from 5 teams per conference to 6, resulting in division winners getting a first round bye. • The
1977 NBA All-Star Game was played at
The MECCA in
Milwaukee, with the West beating the East 125–124.
Julius Erving of the
Philadelphia 76ers (one of the new arrivals from the ABA) wins the game's MVP award. • 5 of the 10 All-Star starters and 10 of the 24 All-Star participants were former ABA players, and former ABA players filled 4 of the 10 slots on the All-NBA first and second teams. Five former ABA players competed in the NBA Finals: the Philadelphia 76ers' Julius Erving,
George McGinnis and
Caldwell Jones, and the Portland Trail Blazers'
Maurice Lucas and
Dave Twardzik. • The
Portland Trail Blazers made their first playoff appearance, winning their first and, to date, only NBA championship. They also become the second team in history (after the 1969 Celtics) to win the NBA Finals after dropping the first two games. • This season saw the introducing of new championship trophy which would later become known as the
Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy replacing the
Walter A. Brown Trophy ==Final standings==