1976–77 Indiana Pacers season

1976–77 Indiana Pacers season
Head coachBobby Leonard
ArenaMarket Square Arena
Results
Record36–46 (.439)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Midwest)
Conference: 9th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWTTV
RadioWIBC
< 1975–76 1977–78 >

The 1976–77 NBA season was Indiana's first season in the NBA and tenth season as a franchise.[1]

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1976 ABA Dispersal Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 8 Wil Jones† PF  United States Albany State

†In the 1976 ABA Dispersal Draft, ABA and NBA teams selected players that were on the Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits of St. Louis, the two ABA teams that were not included in the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. Wil Jones was a member of the Kentucky Colonels during the 1975–76 ABA season. Because the Pacers were in the ABA before the merger, they did not have any picks in the 1976 NBA draft.

Roster

Indiana Pacers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
SG 21 Anderson, Jerome 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) West Virginia
PF 9 Bennett, Mel 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Pittsburgh
PG 10 Buse, Don 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Evansville
C 41 Elmore, Len 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Maryland
SG 44 Flynn, Mike 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Kentucky
SF 24 Green, Steve 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Indiana
F 20 Hillman, Darnell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) San José State
PF 22 Jones, Wil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Albany State
SF 25 Knight, Billy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Pittsburgh
C 40 Robisch, Dave 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Kansas
PF 32 Roundfield, Dan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Central Michigan
SG 23 Williamson, John 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) New Mexico State
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season

Buoyed by the sensational playmaking of Don Buse and scoring of Billy Knight, The Pacers hovered around the .500 mark for much of the first half of their inaugural NBA season but a lack of depth and a few injuries blunted the Pacers progress. The Pacers were significantly hampered by injuries to center, Len Elmore, who missed all but six games.

Season standings

Midwest Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Denver Nuggets 50 32 .610 – 36–5 14–27 15–5
x-Detroit Pistons 44 38 .537 6 30–11 14–27 12–8
x-Chicago Bulls 44 38 .537 6 31–10 13–28 10–10
Kansas City Kings 40 42 .488 10 28–13 12–29 7–13
Indiana Pacers 36 46 .439 14 25–16 11–30 9–11
Milwaukee Bucks 30 52 .366 20 24–17 6–35 7–13
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Los Angeles Lakers 53 29 .646 –
2 y-Denver Nuggets 50 32 .610 3
3 x-Portland Trail Blazers 49 33 .598 4
4 x-Golden State Warriors 46 36 .561 7
5 x-Detroit Pistons 44 38 .537 9
6 x-Chicago Bulls 44 38 .537 9
7 Kansas City Kings 40 42 .488 13
8 Seattle SuperSonics 40 42 .488 13
9 Indiana Pacers 36 46 .439 17
10 Phoenix Suns 34 48 .415 19
11 Milwaukee Bucks 30 52 .366 23
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1976–77 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS BUF CHI CLE DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NOJ NYK NYN PHI PHO POR SAS SEA WAS
Atlanta — 0–4 4–0 2–2 2–2 2–2 0–4 0–4 1–3 0–4 1–2 2–2 2–2 1–3 1–3 3–1 1–3 0–4 3–1 4–0 1–2 1–3
Boston 4–0 — 3–1 2–2 1–3 3–1 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–2 3–1 2–1 3–1 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 2–2 1–3 4–0 2–2 0–4
Buffalo 0–4 1–3 — 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 0–3 1–3 1–3 0–3 1–3 3–1 3–1 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 0–4 3–1 0–4
Chicago 2–2 2–2 3–1 — 3–1 1–3 2–2 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–1 4–0 2–2 2–1 2–2 2–2 0–4 3–1 2–2 1–2
Cleveland 2–2 3–1 2–2 1–3 — 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–3 2–1 3–1 2–2 4–0 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 2–1 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3
Denver 2–2 1–3 2–2 3–1 2–2 — 3–1 2–2 3–0 3–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 1–3 3–1 2–2 1–2 4–0 2–2
Detroit 4–0 2–2 1–3 2–2 3–1 1–3 — 3–1 2–2 2–2 4–0 1–3 3–1 3–1 1–2 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 1–2 1–3 1–3
Golden State 4–0 3–1 3–0 2–2 2–2 2–2 1–3 — 2–1 4–0 1–3 2–2 1–3 1–3 1–3 3–1 3–1 4–0 1–3 2–2 1–3 3–1
Houston 3–1 2–2 3–1 3–1 3–1 0–3 2–2 1–2 — 4–0 2–2 2–2 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 1–3 3–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 3–1
Indiana 4–0 2–1 3–1 2–2 1–2 1–3 2–2 0–4 0–4 — 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–2 2–2 4–0 2–2 2–2 0–4 2–2 2–2 0–4
Kansas City 2–1 1–3 3–0 2–2 1–3 1–3 0–4 3–1 2–2 2–2 — 1–3 2–2 2–2 4–0 4–0 1–3 3–1 2–2 1–3 1–3 2–2
Los Angeles 2–2 1–2 3–1 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–1 — 3–1 3–0 1–3 4–0 2–2 3–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 4–0
Milwaukee 2–2 1–3 1–3 1–3 0–4 1–3 1–3 3–1 1–3 2–2 2–2 1–3 — 1–2 1–3 3–1 1–2 1–3 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–3
New Orleans 3–1 2–2 1–3 0–4 2–2 1–3 1–3 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 0–3 2–1 — 3–1 2–2 0–4 3–1 2–2 1–3 1–3 2–2
N.Y. Knicks 3–1 2–2 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 2–1 3–1 2–2 2–2 0–4 3–1 3–1 1–3 — 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–3 1–3 1–2 2–2
N.Y. Nets 1–3 1–3 2–2 1–2 1–3 1–3 1–3 1–3 2–2 0–4 0–4 0–4 1–3 2–2 2–2 — 1–3 2–2 0–3 1–3 1–3 1–3
Philadelphia 3–1 3–1 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–1 2–2 1–3 3–1 2–2 3–1 2–2 2–1 4–0 3–1 3–1 — 1–2 2–2 1–3 2–2 3–1
Phoenix 4–0 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–2 1–3 2–2 0–4 1–3 2–2 1–3 1–3 3–1 1–3 2–2 2–2 2–1 — 1–3 1–3 3–1 1–3
Portland 1–3 3–1 3–1 4–0 2–2 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 4–0 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–0 2–2 3–1 — 2–2 3–1 1–2
San Antonio 0–4 0–4 4–0 1–3 2–2 2–1 2–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–3 3–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 2–2 — 3–1 2–2
Seattle 2–1 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–3 0–4 3–1 3–1 1–3 2–2 3–1 1–3 3–1 3–1 2–1 3–1 2–2 1–3 1–3 1–3 — 3–1
Washington 3–1 4–0 4–0 2–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–3 4–0 2–2 0–4 3–1 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 3–1 2–1 2–2 1–3 —

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player POS GP GS MP REB AST STL BLK PTS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Darnell Hillman C 82 2,302 693 166 95 106 879 28.1 8.5 2.0 1.2 1.3 10.7
Don Buse PG 81 2,947 270 685 281 16 646 36.4 3.3 8.5 3.5 .2 8.0
Wil Jones PF 80 2,709 604 189 102 80 1,042 33.9 7.6 2.4 1.3 1.0 13.0
Dave Robisch C 80 1,966 554 158 55 37 951 24.6 6.9 2.0 .7 .5 11.9
Billy Knight SF 78 3,117 582 260 117 19 2,075 40.0 7.5 3.3 1.5 .2 26.6
Mike Flynn SG 73 1,324 187 179 57 6 601 18.1 2.6 2.5 .8 .1 8.2
Steve Green SF 70 918 177 46 46 12 450 13.1 2.5 .7 .7 .2 6.4
Mel Bennett PF 67 911 237 70 37 33 314 13.6 3.5 1.0 .6 .5 4.7
Dan Roundfield PF 61 1,645 518 69 61 131 848 27.0 8.5 1.1 1.0 2.1 13.9
Freddie Lewis PG 32 552 47 56 18 2 224 17.3 1.5 1.8 .6 .1 7.0
John Williamson† SG 30 1,055 74 111 48 7 620 35.2 2.5 3.7 1.6 .2 20.7
Jerome Anderson SG 27 164 12 10 6 2 66 6.1 .4 .4 .2 .1 2.4
Len Elmore C 6 46 15 2 0 4 18 7.7 2.5 .3 .0 .7 3.0
Darrell Elston SG 5 40 6 2 1 0 5 8.0 1.2 .4 .2 .0 1.0
Rudy Hackett† PF 5 38 10 3 0 1 12 7.6 2.0 .6 .0 .2 2.4
Clyde Mayes† PF 2 21 7 3 0 2 7 10.5 3.5 1.5 .0 1.0 3.5
  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Pacers only.

Awards and records

References

  1. ^ 1976–77 Indiana Pacers