The1977 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 13, 1977, atMECCA Arena inMilwaukee, home of theMilwaukee Bucks. This was the 27th edition of theNBA All-Star Game, and the first to be played after theABA-NBA merger.^[1] It was the first time the NBA All-Star Game was played on a Sunday afternoon after the previous 26 games had been played in the evening.^[2]

The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 125–124.Julius Erving, in his firstNBA All-Star Game, was awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy by league commissionerLarry O'Brien, becoming only the second player to win the award despite losing.^[3]

Larry Brown andGene Shue were selected as the West and East head coach, respectively.

TheEastern Conference team was coached byGene Shue, head coach of thePhiladelphia 76ers who had a 33–20 record on February 13.^[4] This was Shue's second time coaching in an all-star game. TheWestern Conference team was coached by future hall-of-famerLarry Brown, head coach of theDenver Nuggets who had a 34–19 record on February 13.^[5] This was Brown's first time coaching in an all-star game.

The starting players were voted on by the fans, and seven reserves for each team were selected by their respective coaches.^[6] Twelve formerABA players, includingJulius Erving of thePhiladelphia 76ers, participated in the game.^[1] The Eastern Conference team played ten future hall-of-famers includingBob McAdoo,Julius Erving,George McGinnis,Rudy Tomjanovich (inducted as a coach),Pete Maravich,John Havlicek,Jo Jo White,Earl Monroe,George Gervin, andElvin Hayes. The Western Conference Team played seven future hall-of-famers includingKareem Abdul-Jabbar,Rick Barry,Paul Westphal,David Thompson,Bob Lanier,Bobby Jones, andDan Issel.

Despite being selected as a reserve,Los Angeles Lakers player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the West team in scoring with 21 points. This was Abdul-Jabbar's eighth appearance in the all-star game. Another Western Conference player, Paul Westphal, was an honorable mention scoring 20 points in his first of five consecutive appearances in the all-star game. On the Eastern team, Julius Erving and Bob McAdoo of theBuffalo Braves dominated their team's scoring, each recording 30 points. This was McAdoo's fourth all-star appearance, and Erving's first of eleven consecutive all-star appearances.

Notable player selections that did not play due to injury were, on the Western side, future hall-of-famerBill Walton of thePortland Trail Blazers, and, on the Eastern side, future hall-of-famerDave Cowens of theBoston Celtics.^[7] Walton would be replaced byDon Buse of theIndiana Pacers, and Cowens would be replaced byPhil Chenier of theWashington Bullets. Walton would return that season to lead the Blazers, with the help of all-star teammateMaurice Lucas, to a1977 NBA Finals victory over the 76ers, who were led by all-stars Julius Erving,George McGinnis, andDoug Collins.

Julius Erving set the tone early, helping the East to a 34–23 lead over the West going into the second quarter. At half-time the West had only shaved the lead by a point with the score sitting at 58–68 in favor of the East. However, in the third quarter the West scored 39 points and stymied the Easts offense limiting them to only 21 points. Going into the fourth quarter with the West favoring the East 97–89,Bob McAdoo of the East produced a flurry of offense scoring 14 points in the period.^[8] The boost brought the East back to within one point of the West with a chance to score in the closing seconds of the game. The East never got their final shot of asPaul Westphal stole the ball from West guardPete Maravich who passed it downcourt to teammateRick Barry who ran the clock out giving the West the one-point win.^[9]

• Halftime— East, 68–58
• Third Quarter— West, 97–89
• Officials:Earl Strom and Lee Jones
• Attendance: 10,938.

• The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. Villard Books. 1994. p. 249.ISBN 0-679-43293-0.
• "1977 NBA All-Star Game". Basketball Reference.Archived from the original on August 2, 2008. RetrievedJuly 17, 2008.

• Organized events in Milwaukee
• NBA All-Star Game
• 1976–77 NBA season
• 1977 in sports in Wisconsin

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