five and won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. The Lakers won 60 games in the 1972–73 season, and took another Pacific Division title. Wilt Chamberlain, playing in his final season, again led the league in rebounding and set the still standing NBA record for field-goal percentage at 72.7%. The team defeated the Chicago Bulls in seven games in the conference semifinals, then the Golden State Warriors in five in the Western Division Finals. They played the New York Knicks in the 1973 NBA Finals. Los Angeles took the first game by three points, but New York won the series in five games. 1973–1979: Building "Showtime" During the 1973–74 season, the team was hampered by the loss of West, who played only 31 games before his legs gave out. Goodrich, averaging 25.3 points, helped the team to a late-season surge. Trailing the Golden State Warriors by three games with seven left to play, the Lakers rallied to finish 47–35 and win the Pacific Division. They made the playoffs but managed just one win against Milwaukee in the conference semifinals. Following the season, West retired due to contract disagreements with Cooke, and filed a suit for unpaid back wages. After missing the playoffs in the 1974–75 season, the Lakers acquired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had won three league MVPs by that time. Abdul-Jabbar wanted out of Milwaukee, demanding a trade to either New York or Los Angeles. He was traded for Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Junior Bridgeman, and Dave Meyers. Abdul-Jabbar had his fourth MVP season in 1975–76, leading the league in rebounding, blocked shots, and minutes played. The Lakers struggled in January, going 3–10, and finished out of the playoffs at 40–42. West and Cooke settled their differences—and the former Laker's lawsuit—and Cooke hired him to replace Sharman as the team's coach. West became upset, however, when Cooke refused to spend the money necessary to acquire forward Julius Erving, who the Nets were selling. Behind another MVP season from Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles won the Pacific Division, finishing the 1976–77 season a league-best 53–29. They defeated the Warriors in a seven-game series to open the postseason before being swept by Portland in the Western Conference Finals. During the off-season, Los Angeles picked up Jamaal Wilkes from Golden State and signed first-round draft pick Norm Nixon. In the first two minutes of the first game of the 1977–78 season, Abdul-Jabbar punched Bucks