The season ended with the Portland Trail Blazers winning their first NBA Championship in franchise history, beating the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the NBA Finals.
The NBA's rival league, the American Basketball Association, joined with the NBA in the ABA–NBA merger. Four ABA franchises joined the NBA: the New York Nets, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Denver Nuggets. The other ABA teams had folded prior to the merger, except for the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis, both of whose players were picked up by NBA teams in the ABA dispersal draft.
The NBA Playoffs were expanded from 5 teams per conference to 6, resulting in division winners getting a first round bye.