1970–71 NBA season

1970–71 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	October 13, 1970 – March 23, 1971 March 24–April 19, 1971 (Playoffs) April 21–30, 1971 (Finals)
Number of games	82
Number of teams	17
TV partner(s)	ABC
Draft
Top draft pick	Bob Lanier
Picked by	Detroit Pistons
Regular season
Top seed	Milwaukee Bucks
Season MVP	Lew Alcindor (Milwaukee)
Top scorer	Lew Alcindor (Milwaukee)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Baltimore Bullets
Eastern runners-up	New York Knicks
Western champions	Milwaukee Bucks
Western runners-up	Los Angeles Lakers
Finals
Champions	Milwaukee Bucks
Finals MVP	Lew Alcindor (Milwaukee)
NBA seasons
← 1969–70 1971–72 →

The 1970–71 NBA season was the 25th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Milwaukee Bucks winning the NBA Championship, beating the Baltimore Bullets 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. Three new teams made their debut: the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Buffalo Braves.

Notable occurrences[]

• The NBA expanded to 17 teams as the Portland Trail Blazers, Buffalo Braves, and Cleveland Cavaliers began play. For the first time, the league was divided into Conferences (East and West), each with two divisions. The Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks were shifted from the old Eastern Division to the Western Conference's Midwest Division, and the Atlanta Hawks were switched from the Western Division to the Eastern Conference's Central Division.
• The 1971 NBA All-Star Game was played at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California, with the West beating the East 108–107. Lenny Wilkens of the Seattle SuperSonics won the game's MVP award.
• The Rookie of the Year award was shared by two players for the first time in league history. They were Dave Cowens of the Boston Celtics and Geoff Petrie of the Portland Trail Blazers.
• In only their third year of existence, the Bucks won the NBA Championship, sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in four straight games. This was the first NBA finals to feature none of the NBA's foundation franchises; the Bullets franchise had joined the NBA as the Chicago Packers in 1961, and the Bucks franchise had joined in 1968. It was also the first NBA finals since 1956 to feature neither Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain.

Coaching changes

Offseason
Team	1969–70 coach	1970–71 coach
Buffalo Braves	Expansion	Dolph Schayes
Cleveland Cavaliers	Expansion	Bill Fitch
Portland Trail Blazers	Expansion	Rolland Todd
San Francisco Warriors	George C. Lee	Al Attles
In-season
Team	Outgoing coach	Incoming coach
N/A

Final standings[]

By division[]

Atlantic Division v t	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-New York Knicks	52	30	.634	–	32–9	19–20	1–1	10–6
x-Philadelphia 76ers	47	35	.573	5	24–15	21–18	2–2	10–6
Boston Celtics	44	38	.537	8	25–14	18–22	1–2	8–8
Buffalo Braves	22	60	.268	30	14–23	6–30	2–7	2–10

Central Division v t	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Baltimore Bullets	42	40	.512	–	24–13	16–25	2–2	10–6
x-Atlanta Hawks	36	46	.439	6	21–20	14–26	1–0	9–7
Cincinnati Royals	33	49	.402	9	17–16	11–28	5–5	16–6
Cleveland Cavaliers	15	67	.183	27	11–30	2–37	2–0	1–13

Midwest Division v t	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	66	16	.805	–	34–2	28–13	4–1	14–4
x-Chicago Bulls	51	31	.622	15	30–11	17–19	4–1	7–11
Phoenix Suns	48	34	.585	18	27–14	19–20	2–0	9–9
Detroit Pistons	45	37	.549	21	24–17	20–19	1–1	6–12

Pacific Division v t	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	48	34	.585	–	30–11	17–22	1–1	15–7
x-San Francisco Warriors	41	41	.500	7	20–18	19–21	2–2	12–10
San Diego Rockets	40	42	.488	8	24–15	15–26	1–1	14–8
Seattle SuperSonics	38	44	.463	10	27–13	11–30	0–1	10–14
Portland Trail Blazers	29	53	.354	19	18–21	9–26	2–6	3–15

By conference[]

#	Eastern Conference v t
	Team	W	L	PCT
1	z-New York Knicks	52	30	.634
2	y-Baltimore Bullets	42	40	.512
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	47	35	.573
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	36	46	.439
5	Boston Celtics	44	38	.537
6	Cincinnati Royals	33	49	.402
7	Buffalo Braves	22	60	.268
8	Cleveland Cavaliers	15	67	.183

#	Western Conference v t
	Team	W	L	PCT
1	z-Milwaukee Bucks	66	16	.805
2	y-Los Angeles Lakers	48	34	.585
3	x-Chicago Bulls	51	31	.622
4	x-San Francisco Warriors	41	41	.500
5	Phoenix Suns	48	34	.585
6	Detroit Pistons	45	37	.549
7	San Diego Rockets	40	42	.488
8	Seattle SuperSonics	38	44	.463
9	Portland Trail Blazers	29	53	.354

Notes

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

Playoffs[]

Conference Semifinals

Conference Finals

NBA Finals

A1

New York*

4

C2

Atlanta

1

A1

New York*

3

Eastern Conference

C1

Baltimore*

4

C1

Baltimore*

4

A2

Philadelphia

3

C1

Baltimore*

0

M1

Milwaukee*

4

M1

Milwaukee*

4

P2

San Francisco

1

M1

Milwaukee*

4

Western Conference

P1

Los Angeles*

1

P1

Los Angeles*

4

M2

Chicago

3

* Division winner
Bold Series winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage

Statistics leaders[]

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points per game	Lew Alcindor	Milwaukee Bucks	31.7
Rebounds per game	Wilt Chamberlain	Los Angeles Lakers	18.2
Assists per game	Norm Van Lier	Cincinnati Royals	10.1
FG%	Johnny Green	Cincinnati Royals	.587
FT%	Chet Walker	Chicago Bulls	.859

NBA awards[]

• Most Valuable Player: Lew Alcindor, Milwaukee Bucks
• Co-Rookies of the Year: Geoff Petrie, Portland Trail Blazers and Dave Cowens, Boston Celtics
• Coach of the Year: Dick Motta, Chicago Bulls

See also[]

• 1971 NBA Finals
• 1971 NBA Playoffs
• 1970–71 ABA season

References[]

Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com

External links[]

• Sports Illustrated: (Oct. 26, 1970) Big O Joins Lew in Milwaukee
• Sports Illustrated: (Feb. 8, 1971) Knicks-Bucks Preview of the Playoffs
• Sports Illustrated: (April 19, 1971) Knicks vs Bucks
• Sports Illustrated: (May 10, 1971) Oscar and the Bucks are No. 1
• Milwaukee Bucks: Looking Back At The 1971 NBA Finals
• NBA.com article about the 1970-71 season