Who Won The 1971 Nba Championship?
The 1971 NBA Championship was won by the Milwaukee Bucks, led by star player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Bucks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals, 4 games to 3.
The 1971 NBA Championship
The 1971 NBA playoffs were the concluding playoffs of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) 25th season. The playoffs were played from April 5 to May 13, with the Eastern Conference and Western Conference champions each winning four games to advance to the NBA Finals.
The teams
The 1971 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s 1970-71 season, and the conclusion of the season’s playoffs. The Western Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Eastern Conference and defending NBA champion Baltimore Bullets 4 games to 0. It was the Bucks’ first NBA title. The series was played from April 11 to 19, 1971.
The game
The 1971 NBA Championship was the 25th edition of the NBA Finals, a best-of-seven series between the Eastern Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks and the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers. The Bucks were led by two-time MVP Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who were in their fifth and third year in the league respectively. The Lakers were led by Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Gail Goodrich; all four players had been All-Stars at some point in their careers.
The series was played under a format that had recently been adopted by the NBA: each team would play five games on its own homecourt before returning to a neutral site for the sixth and seventh games. As such, Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 were played at the Forum in Inglewood, California; Games 3, 4, and 5 were played at Milwaukee Arena.
The Bucks easily won Game 1 thanks to Robertson’s 27 points (on 12-of-19 shooting) and 10 assists; Abdul-Jabbar added 19 points (on 8-of-12 shooting), 15 rebounds, and four blocks. Chamberlain was ineffective for much of Game 1 due to foul trouble—he finished with just eight points (on 4-of-10 shooting) and eight rebounds in 24 minutes—and fouled out late in the fourth quarter. The Lakers bounced back in Game 2 behind Chamberlain’s 33 points (on 13-of-21 shooting), 14 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks; West added 30 points (on 12-of-22 shooting). Baylor also contributed 28 points (on 11-of-21 shooting) as the Lakers evened the series with a 108–103 victory.
The Aftermath
On May 8th, 1971, the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA Championship. This was the first and only time that the Bucks have won the title. The team was led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was named the Finals MVP. The win was a huge upset, as the Los Angeles Lakers were the heavy favourites to win the title.
The reaction
The Los Angeles Lakers won the 1971 NBA Championship, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. The win marked the franchise’s first NBA Championship, and the first for a team from Los Angeles.
The win was met with great rejoicing from Lakers fans, who had been waiting for a championship for decades. The city of Los Angeles held a parade to celebrate the team’s victory, which was attended by an estimated 200,000 people. The Lakers were hailed as heroes, and their achievement was celebrated by fans across the country.
The win was also met with some criticism, as some felt that the Lakers had not played well enough to deserve the title. Nonetheless, the team’s accomplishment was hailed as a great moment in basketball history.
The legacy
The 1971 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 1970–71 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Western Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Eastern Conference champion Baltimore Bullets 4 games to 0. The title was the first for the Bucks, who gained their revenge from last year’s Finals loss to the Bullets. center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named as Finals MVP, averaging 31.7 points per game during the series.
