American Basketball Association 1974/75
The 1974-75 ABA season was the American Basketball Association's eighth season . The season began on October 18, 1974. 10 teams took part in the game. Each team played 84 games. The four best in each division qualified for the playoffs. The season ended on May 22, 1975 with the ABA Championship. The Kentucky Colonels defeated the Indiana Pacers in the finals , becoming ABA champions for the first time.
Season Notes
- The Carolina Cougars moved to St. Louis , Missouri , and played as Spirits of St. Louis .
- After a change of ownership, the Memphis Tams were renamed Memphis Sounds .
- The Denver Rockets were renamed the Denver Nuggets .
- The ABA teams won 16 of the 23 friendly matches against NBA teams prior to the season.
- The ABA All-Star Game took place in San Antonio on January 28, 1975 .
- Before the end of the season, the league took over the business of the San Diego Conquistadors .
- The Virginia Squires finished the season with the worst result in league history (15:69).
- In a playoff for first place in the Eastern Division, the Kentucky Colonels defeated the New York Nets 108-99.
Awards
- ABA Most Valuable Player: Julius Erving (New York) and George McGinnis , Indiana
- ABA Rookie of the Year: Marvin Barnes (St. Louis)
- ABA Coach of the Year: Larry Brown (Denver)
- ABA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player: Freddie Lewis (St. Louis)
- ABA Executive of the Year: Carl Scheer , Denver
ABA All-League Team
| Item | First team | Second team |
|---|---|---|
| F. | George McGinnis, Indiana | Marvin Barnes, St. Louis |
| F. | Julius Erving, New York | George Gervin , San Antonio |
| C. | Artis Gilmore , Kentucky | Swen Nater , San Antonio |
| G | Ron Boone , Utah | Brian Taylor , New York |
| G | Mack Calvin , Carolina | James Silas , San Antonio |
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 | Kentucky Colonels (1) | 58 | 26th | .690 | - |
| 2 | New York Nets (2) | 58 | 26th | .690 | - |
| 3 | Spirits of St. Louis (3) | 32 | 52 | .381 | 26th |
| 4th | Memphis Sounds (4) | 27 | 57 | .321 | 31 |
| 5 | Virginia Squires | 15th | 69 | .179 | 43 |
| Western Division | |||||
| # | team | S. | N | PCT | P |
| 1 | Denver Nuggets (1) | 65 | 19th | .774 | - |
| 2 | San Antonio Spurs (2) | 51 | 33 | .607 | 14th |
| 3 | Indiana Pacers (3) | 45 | 39 | .536 | 20th |
| 4th | Utah Stars (4) | 38 | 46 | .452 | 27 |
| 5 | San Diego Conquistadors | 31 | 53 | .369 | 34 |
Playoffs 1975
The play-off rounds were played in the best-of-seven format.
| Division semifinal | Division Final | ABA Championship | |||||||||||
| E1 | Kentucky Colonels | 4th | |||||||||||
| E4 | Memphis sounds | 1 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Kentucky Colonels | 4th | |||||||||||
| E3 | Spirits of St. Louis | 1 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Spirits of St. Louis | 4th | |||||||||||
| E2 | New York Nets | 1 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Kentucky Colonels | 4th | |||||||||||
| W3 | Indiana Pacers | 1 | |||||||||||
| W2 | San Antonio Spurs | 2 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Indiana Pacers | 4th | |||||||||||
| W3 | Indiana Pacers | 4th | |||||||||||
| W1 | Denver nuggets | 2 | |||||||||||
| W4 | Utah stars | 2 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Denver nuggets | 4th | |||||||||||
ABA Finals 1975
| game | date | Home team | Away team | Result | was standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 13th | Kentucky | Indiana | 120: 94 | 1-0 |
| 2 | May 15 | Kentucky | Indiana | 95:93 | 2-0 |
| 3 | 17th of May | Indiana | Kentucky | 101: 109 | 0: 3 |
| 4th | May 19th | Indiana | Kentucky | 94:86 | 1: 3 |
| 5 | May 22 | Kentucky | Indiana | 110: 105 | 4: 1 |
- Artis Gilmore of the Kentucky Colonels was named Most Valuable Player of the ABA Finals.