American Basketball Association 1969-70
The 1969–70 ABA season marked the American Basketball Association's third season . The season began on October 17, 1969. Eleven teams took part in the game. Each team played 84 games. The four best in each division qualified for the playoffs. On May 25, 1970 the season ended with the ABA Championship. The Indiana Pacers defeated the Los Angeles Stars in the finals and became champions of the ABA for the first time.
Season Notes
- The reigning champions Oakland Oaks had to be sold to Washington, DC because of a loan cancellation , where the team played as Washington Caps .
- Although Washington was in the east of the United States, you had to compete in the Western Division. The team played one of its home games in Mexico City .
- The Houston Mavericks moved to North Carolina , where they competed as the Carolina Cougars as a regional team. They also switched divisions, from west to east. Therefore the Western Division had only five teams, the Eastern Division six.
- The Minnesota Pipers moved back to Pittsburgh , where they played in 1967/68.
- John McLendon of the Denver Rockets became the first African American coach in the ABA.
- The ABA All-Star Game took place on January 24, 1970 in Indianapolis .
- The owners of the ABA decided to merge with the NBA , but were thwarted by a lawsuit by 14 NBA players.
- The league takes over the business of the Miami Floridians before the end of the season .
Awards
- ABA Most Valuable Player: Spencer Haywood (Denver)
- ABA Rookie of the Year: Spencer Haywood (Denver)
- ABA Coach of the Year: Bill Sharman (Los Angeles) and Joe Belmont (Denver)
- ABA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player: Spencer Haywood (Denver)
ABA All-League Team
Item | First team | Second team |
---|---|---|
F. | Spencer Haywood, Denver | Roger Brown , Indiana |
F. | Rick Barry , Washington | Bob Netolicky , Indiana |
C. | Mel Daniels , Indiana | Red Robbins , New Orleans |
G | Larry Jones , Denver | Donnie Freeman , Miami |
G | Bob Verga , Carolina | Louie Dampier , Kentucky |
Final results
S = wins, N = defeats, PCT = percentage of wins, P = deficit on division leaders
The placements in the seed lists of the respective division playoffs are listed in brackets.
Eastern Division | |||||
# | team | S. | N | PCT | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Indiana Pacers (1) | 59 | 25th | .702 | - |
2 | Kentucky Colonels (2) | 45 | 39 | .536 | 14th |
3 | Carolina Cougars (3) | 42 | 42 | .500 | 17th |
4th | New York Nets (4) | 39 | 45 | .464 | 20th |
5 | Pittsburgh Pipers | 29 | 55 | .345 | 30th |
6th | Miami Floridians | 23 | 61 | .274 | 36 |
Western Division | |||||
# | team | S. | N | PCT | P |
1 | Denver Rockets (1) | 51 | 33 | .607 | - |
2 | Dallas Chaparrals (2) | 45 | 39 | .536 | 6th |
3 | Washington Caps (3) | 44 | 40 | .524 | 7th |
4th | Los Angeles Stars (4) | 44 | 40 | .524 | 8th |
5 | New Orleans Buccaneers | 42 | 42 | .500 | 9 |
Playoffs 1970
The play-off rounds were played in the best-of-seven format.
Division semifinal | Division Final | ABA Championship | |||||||||||
E1 | Indiana Pacers | 4th | |||||||||||
E3 | Carolina Cougars | 0 | |||||||||||
E1 | Indiana Pacers | 4th | |||||||||||
E2 | Kentucky Colonels | 1 | |||||||||||
E4 | New York Nets | 3 | |||||||||||
E2 | Kentucky Colonels | 4th | |||||||||||
E1 | Indiana Pacers | 4th | |||||||||||
W4 | Los Angeles Stars | 2 | |||||||||||
W2 | Dallas Chaparrals | 2 | |||||||||||
W4 | Los Angeles Stars | 4th | |||||||||||
W4 | Los Angeles Stars | 4th | |||||||||||
W1 | Denver Rockets | 1 | |||||||||||
W3 | Washington Capitals | 3 | |||||||||||
W1 | Denver Rockets | 4th |
ABA Finals 1970
game | date | Home team | Away team | Result | was standing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | May 15 | Indiana | los Angeles | 109: 93 | 1-0 |
2 | 17th of May | Indiana | los Angeles | 114: 111 | 2-0 |
3 | May 18 | los Angeles | Indiana | 109: 106 | 1: 2 |
4th | May 19th | los Angeles | Indiana | 120: 142 | 1: 3 |
5 | 23. May | Indiana | los Angeles | 113: 117 | 3: 2 |
6th | 25. May | los Angeles | Indiana | 107: 111 | 2: 4 |
- Indiana Pacers' Roger Brown was named Most Valuable Player of the ABA Finals.