| ||||||||||
| Dates | May 18–25 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MVP | Rick Barry (Golden State Warriors) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Warriors: Rick Barry (1987) Jamaal Wilkes (2012) Bullets: Elvin Hayes (1990) Wes Unseld (1988) Coaches: K.C. Jones (1989, player) Al Attles (2019) Officials: Darell Garretson (2016) Earl Strom (1995) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Bullets defeated Celtics, 4–2 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Warriors defeated Bulls, 4–3 | |||||||||
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.[1][2]
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.[3]
The series is notable as it was the first championship game or series in any of the major U.S. professional sports leagues to feature two black head coaches or managers, as Al Attles coached the Warriors and K.C. Jones coached the Bullets.[4]
- ^ "The Warriors Were Bulletproof | Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com". vault.si.com. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Times, Leonard Kopbett Special to The New York (May 26, 1975). "Warriors Capture Title on 4-0 Sweep". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ "Legends of Basketball – Where Are They Now?". Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved May 4, 2008.
- ^ "Fun facts about the 1975 NBA Finals, the Warriors' last trip to title series | Sports Illustrated". www.si.com. Retrieved June 24, 2022.