Summary
The NBA added expansion franchises in Buffalo, Cleveland, and Portland, for a total of 17 teams. That brought a new format: Four divisions, two in each of the conferences.
The playoff format also changed. In the first round, the first-place team in one division played the second-place team from the other division in the same conference, with the winners meeting in the conference finals.
The previous year, the Milwaukee Bucks had landed the biggest prize of the college draft, 7-foot-2 Lew Alcindor from UCLA. Before the 1970-71 season, they acquired Oscar Robertson from the Cincinnati Royals.
The 32-year-old guard and the 23-year-old center formed an almost unbeatable combination. Although they were in the league's toughest division, the Bucks won 66 games, including a record 20 in a row, and lost only two games in three playoff rounds, culminating with a 4-0 sweep of the Baltimore Bullets in the championship series. It was only the second finals sweep in NBA history.
Alcindor led the league in scoring, was second in field goal percentage and third in rebounding. He won the regular-season and championship Most Valuable Player awards.
