American Basketball Association 1972-73
The 1972-73 ABA season marked the American Basketball Association's sixth season . The season began on October 12, 1972. Ten teams took part in the game. Each team played 84 games. The four best in each division qualified for the playoffs. On May 12, 1973 the season ended with the ABA Championship. The Indiana Pacers defeated the Kentucky Colonels in the finals and were thus champions of the ABA for the third time.
Season Notes
- Before the season, the Pittsburgh Condors and The Floridians were dissolved from the league and the players distributed by means of a draft.
- The San Diego Conquistadors were the first and only expansion team in the ABA.
- After a change of ownership, the Memphis Pros were now called Memphis Tams . They were now competing in the Eastern Division.
- The NBA teams won 27 of the 35 friendly matches against ABA teams prior to the season.
- Mel Daniels and Roger Brown of the Indiana Pacers were the first players to reach 10,000 points.
- The Virginia Squires set a record for the most points in a game with 155 points against the Denver Rockets . This did not last long, however, as the league canceled the game and scored 2-0 for Virginia, as the trainer of the Rockets, Alex Hannum , instructed his players at half time to foul any squire who tried to throw.
- The ABA All-Star Game took place on February 6, 1973 in Salt Lake City , Utah .
- Julius Erving (Virginia) led the league on points. (31.9 per game)
Awards
- ABA Most Valuable Player: Billy Cunningham (Carolina)
- ABA Rookie of the Year: Brian Taylor (New York)
- ABA Coach of the Year: Larry Brown (Carolina)
- ABA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player: Warren Jabali (Denver)
- ABA Executive of the Year: Carl Scheer , Carolina
ABA All-League Team
Item | First team | Second team |
---|---|---|
F. | Billy Cunningham, Carolina | George McGinnis , Indiana |
F. | Julius Erving, Virginia | Dan Issel , Kentucky |
C. | Artis Gilmore , Kentucky | Mel Daniels , Indiana |
G | Jimmy Jones , Utah | Ralph Simpson , Denver |
G | Warren Jabali, Denver | Mack Calvin , Carolina |
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 | Carolina Cougars (1) | 57 | 27 | .679 | - |
2 | Kentucky Colonels (2) | 56 | 28 | .667 | 1 |
3 | Virginia Squires (3) | 42 | 42 | .500 | 15th |
4th | New York Nets (4) | 30th | 54 | .357 | 27 |
5 | Memphis Tams | 24 | 60 | .286 | 33 |
Western Division | |||||
# | team | S. | N | PCT | P |
1 | Utah Stars (1) | 55 | 29 | .655 | - |
2 | Indiana Pacers (2) | 51 | 33 | .607 | 4th |
3 | Denver Rockets (3) | 47 | 37 | .560 | 8th |
4th | San Diego Conquistadors (4) | 30th | 54 | .357 | 25th |
5 | Dallas Chaparrals | 28 | 56 | .333 | 27 |
Playoffs 1973
The play-off rounds were played in the best-of-seven format.
Division semifinal | Division Final | ABA Championship | |||||||||||
E1 | Carolina Cougars | 4th | |||||||||||
E4 | New York Nets | 1 | |||||||||||
E1 | Carolina Cougars | 3 | |||||||||||
E2 | Kentucky Colonels | 4th | |||||||||||
E3 | Virginia Squires | 1 | |||||||||||
E2 | Kentucky Colonels | 4th | |||||||||||
E2 | Kentucky Colonels | 3 | |||||||||||
W2 | Indiana Pacers | 4th | |||||||||||
W2 | Indiana Pacers | 4th | |||||||||||
W3 | Denver Rockets | 1 | |||||||||||
W2 | Indiana Pacers | 4th | |||||||||||
W1 | Utah stars | 2 | |||||||||||
W4 | San Diego Conquistadors | 0 | |||||||||||
W1 | Utah stars | 4th |
ABA Finals 1973
game | date | Home team | Away team | Result | was standing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | April 28 | Kentucky | Indiana | 107: 111 (nV) | 0: 1 |
2 | April, 30th | Kentucky | Indiana | 114: 102 | 1: 1 |
3 | May 3rd | Indiana | Kentucky | 88:92 | 1: 2 |
4th | 5th of May | Indiana | Kentucky | 90:86 | 2: 2 |
5 | 8th of May | Kentucky | Indiana | 86:89 | 2: 3 |
6th | 10th of May | Indiana | Kentucky | 93: 109 | 3: 3 |
7th | 12th of May | Kentucky | Indiana | 81:88 | 3: 4 |
- Indiana Pacers' George McGinnis was named ABA Finals Most Valuable Player.
- The Indiana Pacers were the first ABA team to defend their title.