1975 NBA Finals

The 1975 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1974–75 NBA season of the National Basketball Association. The Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors (48–34) played against the Eastern Conference champion Washington Bullets (60–22) for the championship. The series was played under a best-of-seven format. The underdog Warriors won in four games, sweeping the heavily-favored Bullets to take the title. Warriors small forward Rick Barry was named as the series MVP.

The Warriors' home games were played at the Cow Palace in Daly City (near San Francisco) due to scheduling conflicts at their normal home court of Oakland Arena during the week of May 19–26. In addition, an odd scheduling format had to be used because Golden State could not secure the Cow Palace for Memorial Day Weekend (May 24–26). A Sports Illustrated article about the series reported that Washington, which held home court advantage, was given the option of a 1-2-2-1-1 scheduling format due to Golden State's problems or, if they wished, opening on the road and then having Games 2, 3, and 4 at home. Washington opted for the 1-2-2-1-1 format not out of a sense of fairness, but because they wanted to open the series at home.^[1]

The series is notable as it was the first championship game or series in any of the four North American major professional sports leagues to feature two African American head coaches or managers, as Al Attles coached the Warriors and K. C. Jones coached the Bullets.^[2] On a lesser note, it was the first time that the NBA ever scheduled a game to be played in the month of June (Game 7 was scheduled for Monday Night, June 2). The first June game ever to be actually played, however, would have to wait until the following year.

Background

Series Summary

Golden State Warriors defeated Washington Bullets, 4 games to 0.^[3]

Game 1

Opting to open the series at home, the Bullets built a 14-point lead at the half over the Warriors at the Capital Centre. The Warriors began to storm back, with Phil Smith coming off the bench to score 20 points in 31 minutes of playing time, as Golden State took the first game, 101–95.

Game 2

Instead of their familiar Oakland Coliseum Arena, the Warriors were forced to play their first two scheduled home games of the series at the nearby Cow Palace (the Oakland facility being unavailable). The Bullets jumped to an early 13-point lead, but Golden State battled back, led by 36 points from Rick Barry, to take a 92–91 lead in the closing seconds. Washington got the ball back with six seconds left but missed two shots and now were down 2–0.

Game 3

Rick Barry poured in 38 points and backup center George Johnson had 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench to help the Warriors to a key Game 3 109–101 win.

Two major factors enabling the Warriors to take an insurmountable lead were the defensive play of the seemingly undersized Jamaal Wilkes on Bullets' power forward Elvin Hayes and the play of the Warrior bench. In three games, Hayes had only 29 points and the Warriors' bench players had outscored the Bullets' reserves 115-53.

Game 4

Back at home, the Bullets seemed to be on their way to staving off an unexpected sweep by the underdog Warriors, leading by 14 points early on. Bullets forward Mike Riordan was assigned to guard Barry, who had killed the Bullets in the series up to that point by averaging 35 points a game. Riordan played Barry very physically, arousing the ire of Warriors' coach Al Attles. Midway through the first quarter, Barry went on a drive to the basket and was fouled hard from behind by Riordan. Barry reacted with a shove, but Attles bolted onto the court and initiated a fight of his own with Riordan, thereby protecting his star player from an ejection and getting ejected himself. The remainder of the game was directed by assistant coach Joe Roberts.

After the brawl, Barry immediately went on a scoring tear, but had to endure boos and taunts from the Capital Centre crowd. His performance, along with the Warriors' pressure defense, brought them back and guard Butch Beard scored the last seven points of the game, including two free throws to make the final score 96–95.

Aftermath

The Washington Bullets would re-appear in the NBA Finals in 1978 and 1979 against the Seattle SuperSonics, with a series win in seven games and a series loss in five games respectively.

The Golden State Warriors would win their next championship 40 years later in 2015 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games, ending the longest drought between championships in NBA history.

Team rosters

Golden State Warriors

Golden State Warriors roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From F 7001240000000000000♠24 Barry, Rick 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Miami (FL) G 7001210000000000000♠21 Beard, Butch 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Louisville G 7001220000000000000♠22 Bracey, Steve 7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Tulsa F 7001320000000000000♠32 Bridges, Bill 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Kansas F 7001400000000000000♠40 Dickey, Derrek 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Cincinnati G 7001150000000000000♠15 Dudley, Charles 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Washington G 7001100000000000000♠10 Johnson, Charles 7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) California C 7001520000000000000♠52 Johnson, George 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Dillard G 7001230000000000000♠23 Mullins, Jeff 7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Duke C 7001440000000000000♠44 Ray, Clifford 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Oklahoma G 7001200000000000000♠20 Smith, Phil 7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) San Francisco F 7001410000000000000♠41 Wilkes, Jamaal 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) UCLA	Head coach Al Attles (North Carolina A&T) Assistant coach(es) Joe Roberts (Ohio State) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

See also

• 1975 NBA Playoffs
• 1974-75 NBA season

External links

• Game 2 from nbatube.com

References