1975 ABA playoffs

Basketball competition August 2023 ABA playoffs 1975 1974–75 April 5 – May 22, 1975 8 Kentucky Colonels 1 Indiana Pacers Denver Nuggets Spirits of St. Louis 1974 1976 The 1975 ABA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1974–75 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels defeating the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers in the ABA Finals in five games. Background The Kentucky Colonels won 22 of their final 25 regular season games to catch the New York Nets for a share of first place in the Eastern Division. The Colonels won their last ten regular season games. They also went 13–3 in the ABA playoffs. Because the Colonels and Nets tied for first place in the Eastern Division, a special one game playoff was played to determine the division champion (and therefore the #1 seed). The Colonels hosted the game and defeated the Nets 108–99 on April 4, 1975.Playoff For Nets, Colonels https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/04/archives/playoff-for-nets-colonels-nets-finish-in-tie-for-first-place.html The New York Times Associated Press December 6, 2018 April 4, 1975New York Nets at Kentucky Colonels Box Score, April 4, 1975 https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/197504040KEN.html Basketball-Reference.com December 6, 2018 The Memphis Sounds' Eastern Division 111–99 semifinal loss on the road to the Kentucky Colonels on April 13, 1975, was the final game played by the Sounds. After the season they moved to Maryland and became the Baltimore Claws. The first round win by the Spirits of St. Louis over the New York Nets was the biggest upset of the playoffs. Not only had the Spirits finished 26 games behind the Nets in the regular season, they had also lost all 11 regular season matchups to the Nets, and by an average of 17.3 points per game. But after losing the opener of the series to stretch the losing streak to 12, the Spirits rolled off four wins in a row to claim the series. The 1975 ABA Finals marked the second time in three years that the Kentucky Colonels and Indiana Pacers met in the ABA championship series. The Pacers edged the Colonels 4 games to 3 at the end of the 1973 ABA Playoffs. 16,622 fans attended the final playoff game of the season in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, as the Kentucky Colonels defeated the Indiana Pacers 110–105 to win the ABA Championship. Artis Gilmore was named Most Valuable Player of the 1975 ABA Playoffs. In Game 3, he recorded 28 rebounds while in the clinching Game 5 he had 28 points and 31 rebounds. The 1975 Kentucky Colonels were the final team to win an ABA Championship but not move on to the NBA later. Bracket Division Semifinals Division Finals ABA Finals Western Division Eastern Division 1 Denver Nuggets 4 4 Utah Stars 2 3 Indiana Pacers 4 2 San Antonio Spurs 2 1 Kentucky Colonels 4 4 Memphis Sounds 1 3 Spirits of St. Louis 4 2 New York Nets 1 1 Denver Nuggets 3 3 Indiana Pacers 4 1 Kentucky Colonels 4 3 Spirits of St. Louis 1 W3 Indiana Pacers 1 E1 Kentucky Colonels 4 Eastern Division Tiebreaker Game #eee March 29 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky New York Nets 99 Kentucky Colonels 108 Box score 22–30 30–33 29–24 18–21 Julius Erving 34 Artis Gilmore 28 Larry Kenon 9 Artis Gilmore 33 Brian Taylor 5 Louie Dampier 10 13,672 Kentucky wins Division tiebreaker With the division on the line (along with a pot of $25,000 for the winner of the division), Artis Gilmore practically willed the Colonels to victory, leading the team in scoring with 28 points while having 33 rebounds, which actually was more than the entire Nets team had (30). New York suffered with the departure of Billy Paultz with a groin injury that sent him off to the bench for Willie Sojourner, who Gilmore stated didn't have the confidence to take the "outside jump shot so you can back off him and be in a good position for the rebound." Julius Erving scored 34 points to lead the Nets in scoring while followed by John Williamson, who scored 29. The Colonels, who had trailed by four games to New York two weeks ago before winning nine in a row to close out the regular season, were now champions of the division.https://newspaperarchive.com/middlesboro-daily-news-apr-05-1975-p-2/ Gilmore Powers Colonels Win In Playoff for ABA East Crown Middlesboro Daily News UPI Bob Weston April 5, 1975 Division Semifinals Eastern Division Semifinals (1) Kentucky Colonels vs. (4) Memphis Sounds #eee April 6 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Memphis Sounds 91 Kentucky Colonels 98 Box score 23–28 25–24 19–22 24–24 George Carter 22 Artis Gilmore 25 Tom Owens 14 Artis Gilmore 20 Chuck Williams 6 Louie Dampier 10 4,107 Kentucky leads series, 1–0 April 8 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Memphis Sounds 105 Kentucky Colonels 119 Box score 24–30 19–30 26–30 36–29 Carter, Williams 21 each Louie Dampier 23 Tom Owens 9 Artis Gilmore 12 Chuck Williams 5 Dampier, McClain 8 each 4,787 Kentucky leads series, 2–0 #eee April 10 Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee Kentucky Colonels 101 Memphis Sounds 80 Box score 17–18 29–18 26–18 29–26 Dan Issel 21 Tom Owens 33 Artis Gilmore 9 Tom Owens 12 Ted McClain 5 Chuck Williams 5 5,415 Kentucky leads series, 3–0 April 11 Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee Kentucky Colonels 93 Memphis Sounds 107 Box score 20–27 19–26 31–26 23–28 Dan Issel 26 Stew Johnson 25 Artis Gilmore 12 Johnson, Carter 11 Louie Dampier 7 Chuck Williams 14 4,771 Kentucky leads series, 3–1 #eee April 13 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Memphis Sounds 99 Kentucky Colonels 111 Box score 18–26 26–33 24–26 31–26 George Carter 26 Artis Gilmore 31 Tom Owens 17 Artis Gilmore 20 George Carter 6 Louie Dampier 6 3,543 Kentucky wins series, 4–1 (2) New York Nets vs. (3) Spirits of St. Louis #eee April 6 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York Spirits of St. Louis 105 New York Nets 111 Box score 35–21 19–28 27–28 24–34 Marvin Barnes 41 Julius Erving 32 Marvin Barnes 12 Larry Kenon 13 Adams, Barr 6 each Erving, Melchionni 6 each 11,607 New York leads series, 1–0 April 9 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York Spirits of St. Louis 115 New York Nets 97 Box score 29–20 24–18 35–23 27–36 Marvin Barnes 37 Larry Kenon 28 Maurice Lucas 21 Larry Kenon 12 Maurice Lucas 7 Bill Melchionni 7 10,621 Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 11 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri New York Nets 108 Spirits of St. Louis 113 Box score 27–22 23–26 23–28 35–37 Julius Erving 30 Marvin Barnes 35 Larry Kenon 14 Maurice Lucas 18 Julius Erving 6 Mike Barr 7 Ed Middleton, Ed Rush 6,199 St. Louis leads series, 2–1 April 13 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri New York Nets 89 Spirits of St. Louis 100 Box score 26–24 22–26 21–22 20–28 Julius Erving 35 Marvin Barnes 23 Larry Kenon 16 Marvin Barnes 20 Bill Melchionni 6 Maurice Lucas 6 7,719 St. Louis leads series, 3–1 #eee April 15 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York New York Nets 108 Spirits of St. Louis 107 Box score 20–30 26–30 25–21 37–26 Freddie Lewis 29 Julius Erving 34 Marvin Barnes 14 Billy Paultz 14 Mike Barr 5 Bill Melchionni 11 9,664 St. Louis wins series, 4–1 Trailing by one late, the Spirits forced a turnover by Julius Erving and Freddie Lewis caught a pass to then shoot a 20-foot shot that went with time expiring to give the Spirits the win and end the series.Pluto Terry 1990 Loose Balls Simon & Schuster 370 978-1-4165-4061-8 Western Division Semifinals (1) Denver Nuggets vs. (4) Utah Stars #eee April 6 Denver Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado Utah Stars 107 Denver Nuggets 122 Box score 23–25 28–28 26–34 30–35 Randy Denton 26 Ralph Simpson 20 Moses Malone 19 Mike Green 8 Al Smith 7 Taylor, Terry 6 7,200 Denver leads series, 1–0 April 7 Denver Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado Utah Stars 120 Denver Nuggets 126 Box score 29–31 26–25 42–33 23–37 Ron Boone 29 Ralph Simpson 28 Randy Denton 16 Mike Green 19 Al Smith 9 Simpson, Taylor 6 each 7,298 Denver leads series, 2–0 #eee April 9 Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah Denver Nuggets 108 Utah Stars 122 Box score 32–33 27–32 28–31 21–26 Jones, Calvin, Robisch 17 each Moses Malone 30 Mike Green 9 Moses Malone 32 Jones, Simpson, Taylor, Terry 3 each John Roche 9 5,694 Denver leads series, 2–1 April 11 Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah Denver Nuggets 110 Utah Stars 132 Box score 20–38 22–31 33–34 35–29 Dave Robisch 16 Ron Boone 30 Robisch, van Breda Kolff 8 each Moses Malone 17 Mack Calvin 7 John Roche 12 9,106 Series tied, 2–2 #eee April 12 Denver Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado Utah Stars 119 Denver Nuggets 130 Box score 33–36 20–31 31–33 35–30 John Roche 27 Dave Robisch 22 Randy Denton 12 Green, Simpson 7 each John Roche 8 Mack Calvin 10 7,498 Denver leads series, 3–2 April 14 Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah Denver Nuggets 115 Utah Stars 113 Box score 23–20 22–27 39–37 31–29 Ralph Simpson 28 Ron Boone 33 Mike Green 11 Moses Malone 15 Ralph Simpson 4 John Roche 9 8,448 Denver wins series, 4–2 (2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Indiana Pacers #eee April 5 HemisFair Arena, San Antonio, Texas Indiana Pacers 122 San Antonio Spurs 119 Box score 25–27 32–26 24–30 26–24 15–12 George McGinnis 32 James Silas 25 George McGinnis 20 George Gervin 23 George McGinnis 7 James Silas 13 8,529 Indiana leads series, 1–0 April 7 HemisFair Arena, San Antonio, Texas Indiana Pacers 98 San Antonio Spurs 93 Box score 12–23 28–20 32–25 26–25 George McGinnis 33 George Gervin 38 Len Elmore 16 Swen Nater 20 McGinnis, Buse 7 each James Silas 7 7,643 Indiana leads series, 2–0 #eee April 10 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana San Antonio Spurs 103 Indiana Pacers 113 Box score 28–32 26–24 20–24 23–17 6–16 George Gervin 37 George McGinnis 42 Swen Nater 14 George McGinnis 24 James Silas 11 George McGinnis 9 12,217 Indiana leads series, 3–0 April 12 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana San Antonio Spurs 110 Indiana Pacers 109 Box score 31–24 27–26 26–31 26–28 George Gervin 29 George McGinnis 51 Swen Nater 22 George McGinnis 17 James Silas 10 George McGinnis 10 17,389 Ed Middleton, John Vanak Indiana leads series, 3–1 The Spurs held dominion over the game (trailing just once) but needed late heroics to stave off elimination. San Antonio led by eight at halftime and even led 68–59 four minutes into the third quarter. But Indiana went on a 10–2 run in two minutes to trail by just one before the teams traded points to make it 84–81 San Antonio before the final quarter started. McGinnis tied the game for the first time with a layup at 91–91 while Billy Knight tied the game again with 4:37 to go at 99–99. With little time remaining, McGinnis was fouled and made his free throws to give Indiana the lead at 109–108. He then had a chance to make a shot to increase the lead, but Swen Nater got the rebound to set up the inbound for San Antonio. George Gervin hit a 20-foot shot from behind the key to pull San Antonio ahead with less than five seconds remaining. McGinnis tried to drive a layup in heavy traffic, but the ball bounced over the edge for Nater to pick off and kill the rest of the clock. George Gervin led the Spurs in scoring with 29 while Swen Nater had 22 rebounds. George McGinnis powered the Pacers with a triple-double of 51 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds. It was the first and only 50-point triple double in NBA/ABA playoff history for 42 years.December 14, 2023 Pacers legend McGinnis dead at 73 https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/14/pacers-legend-mc-ginnis-dead-at-73 December 23, 2023 Manila Bulletin en December 23, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231223160523/https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/14/pacers-legend-mc-ginnis-dead-at-73 live https://newspaperarchive.com/anderson-sunday-herald-apr-13-1975-p-23/ Jim Bailey Big Mac Gets 51, But Pacers Nipped Anderson Sunday Herald April 13, 1975 #eee April 14 HemisFair Arena, San Antonio, Texas Indiana Pacers 117 San Antonio Spurs 123 Box score 29–37 32–30 22–26 34–30 George McGinnis 40 George Gervin 42 George McGinnis 14 George Gervin 17 George McGinnis 8 James Silas 13 10,986 Indiana leads series, 3–2 April 16 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana San Antonio Spurs 100 Indiana Pacers 115 Box score 29–28 21–36 24–24 26–27 George Gervin 34 Billy Knight 33 Swen Nater 19 George McGinnis 23 Swen Nater 6 George McGinnis 14 15,675 Indiana wins series, 4–2 Division Finals Western Division Finals (1) Denver Nuggets vs. (3) Indiana Pacers #eee April 20 Denver Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado Indiana Pacers 128 Denver Nuggets 131 Box score 28–34 29–31 33–28 38–28 George McGinnis 39 Ralph Simpson 29 George McGinnis 22 Mike Green 13 McGinnis, Joyce 8 each Mack Calvin 9 7,444 Denver leads series, 1–0 April 22 Denver Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado Indiana Pacers 131 Denver Nuggets 124 Box score 25–26 41–28 25–28 40–42 Billy Knight 44 Ralph Simpson 29 Darnell Hillman 14 Mike Green 10 George McGinnis 9 Ralph Simpson 8 7,491 Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 24 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana Denver Nuggets 112 Indiana Pacers 118 Box score 36–29 27–30 30–25 19–34 Ralph Simpson 30 George McGinnis 33 Dave Robisch 12 George McGinnis 21 Ralph Simpson 7 George McGinnis 14 15,496 Indiana leads series, 2–1 April 25 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana Denver Nuggets 126 Indiana Pacers 109 Box score 31–29 30–35 33–20 32–25 Mike Green 32 Darnell Hillman 34 Bobby Jones 20 George McGinnis 10 Ralph Simpson 8 McGinnis, Knight 8 each 17,389 Series tied, 2–2 #eee April 27 Denver Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado Indiana Pacers 109 Denver Nuggets 90 Box score 22–22 32–26 25–29 30–13 George McGinnis 33 Mike Green 20 Billy Knight 10 Bobby Jones 10 Don Buse 5 Ralph Simpson 8 7,483 Indiana leads series, 3–2 April 30 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana Denver Nuggets 104 Indiana Pacers 99 Box score 25–24 19–22 36–31 24–22 Mike Green 31 George McGinnis 26 Bobby Jones 11 George McGinnis 14 Jones, Calvin, Simpson, Beck 3 each George McGinnis 10 17,421 Series tied, 3–3 #eee May 3 Denver Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado Denver Nuggets 96 Indiana Pacers 104 Box score 20–24 33–25 25–28 26–19 George McGinnis 40 Bobby Jones 20 George McGinnis 23 Bobby Jones 15 George McGinnis 8 Ralph Simpson 6 7,401 Indiana wins series, 4–3 Eastern Division Finals (1) Kentucky Colonels vs. (3) Spirits of St. Louis #eee April 21 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Spirits of St. Louis 109 Kentucky Colonels 112 Box score 28–22 30–30 23–34 28–26 Freddie Lewis 35 Louie Dampier 27 Maurice Lucas 19 Artis Gilmore 17 Lucas, Adams 6 each Louie Dampier 15 6,612 Kentucky leads series, 1–0 April 23 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Spirits of St. Louis 103 Kentucky Colonels 108 Box score 27–32 20–22 23–28 33–26 Marvin Barnes 43 Ted McClain 24 Marvin Barnes 17 Artis Gilmore 15 Maurice Lucas 6 Louie Dampier 8 8,422 Kentucky leads series, 2–0 #eee April 25 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri Kentucky Colonels 97 Spirits of St. Louis 103 Box score 24–34 25–19 25–27 23–23 Dan Issel 31 Freddie Lewis 32 Artis Gilmore 18 Maurice Lucas 20 Louie Dampier 9 Don Adams 7 10,142 Kentucky leads series, 2–1 April 27 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri Kentucky Colonels 117 Spirits of St. Louis 98 Box score 30–31 30–27 26–27 31–13 Artis Gilmore 33 Marvin Barnes 24 Artis Gilmore 16 Maurice Lucas 19 Ted McClain 11 Lucas, Barr 5 each 11,688 Ed Rush, Jess Kersey Kentucky leads series, 3–1 St. Louis led by ten in the second quarter but Freddie Lewis suffered a sprained ankle that knocked him out of the game and the series as Kentucky rallied back to take a 3–1 series lead.Pluto Terry 1990 Loose Balls Simon & Schuster 371 978-1-4165-4061-8 #eee April 28 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Spirits of St. Louis 103 Kentucky Colonels 123 Box score 27–33 19–24 36–37 21–29 Marvin Barnes 35 Artis Gilmore 29 Maurice Lucas 11 Artis Gilmore 20 Mike Barr 5 Louie Dampier 12 8,726 Kentucky wins series, 4–1 ABA Finals: (E1) Kentucky Colonels vs. (W3) Indiana Pacers #eee May 13 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Indiana Pacers 94 Kentucky Colonels 120 Box score 21–27 24–29 28–27 21–37 George McGinnis 35 Artis Gilmore 26 George McGinnis 12 Dan Issel 19 George McGinnis 9 Jones, McClain 6 each 14,368 Kentucky leads series, 1–0 Strangely, due to Freedom Hall likely already being booked, the ABA Finals was delayed for several days, which led to both teams in the Pacers (10 days) and Colonels (14 days) being considerably relaxed. In tune to ABA promotional wizardry, select Pacers fans even took interest of a package deal that offered a ticket, food and drink to go with bus transportation down Interstate 65 to Louisville for just $17.50.NBA's Playoff Gap Can't Match That of Pacers-Colonels | Indiana Pacers NBA.com https://www.nba.com/pacers/nbas-playoff-gap-cant-match-pacers-colonels Kentucky played with domination over Indiana, holding them to 37 percent shooting and outscoring 37-21 while the bench held firm even when Artis Gilmore was taken out for a time after getting his fifth foul. On the promotional side, the Pacers being held to under 100 points meant a free hamburger for every person to have bought a ticket (14,368).https://newspaperarchive.com/anderson-herald-may-14-1975-p-6/ Dave Soverly Kentucky Sidetracks Indiana Pacers' Bid Anderson Herald May 14, 1975 May 15 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Indiana Pacers 93 Kentucky Colonels 95 Box score 19–27 31–18 18–26 25–24 George McGinnis 30 Dan Issel 22 George McGinnis 16 Artis Gilmore 15 Don Buse 7 Roberts, Dampier, Jones 4 each 13,212 Ed Rush, Norm Drucker Kentucky leads series, 2–0 A rough first quarter (missing 16 shots) for Indiana meant that the Colonels had an early lead in the first half, but the Pacers went on a 23–8 run to lead by five at halftime. The Colonels eventually narrowed the lead down by the end of the third quarter to three and even led by six in the final quarter before the two teams tightened. The game was tied at 93 on a George McGinnis shot with 46 seconds to play. With twelve seconds remaining, a Pacer turnover gave the Colonels the ball. Louie Dampier got the ball to Dan Issel, who then got the ball to Artis Gilmore to get the inside shot to give Kentucky the lead. Billy Keller tried a desperation shot from 40 feet out that had gone in, but the referees ruled that the shot was released after the buzzer while the Pacers contended that the clock did not start in time. The Pacers filed a protest with the league asking for a replay.https://newspaperarchive.com/anderson-herald-may-16-1975-p-15/ Kentucky Wins Battle Of Clock With Pacers Anderson Herald Dave Soverly May 16, 1975 #eee May 17 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana Kentucky Colonels 109 Indiana Pacers 101 Box score 31–30 25–21 17–30 36–20 Artis Gilmore 41 Billy Knight 28 Artis Gilmore 28 Billy Knight 12 Ted McClain 7 Knight, Buse 5 each 17,388 Ed Middleton, John Vanak Kentucky leads series, 3–0 A 41-point performance by Artis Gilmore lifted the Colonels to victory after being down by eight to start the final quarter (with a 92–83 game with eight minutes to go). Dan Issel scored seven straight points to cut the deficit before Louie Dampier tied it on a three and Gilmore hit a layup to pull the Colonels ahead as they held on for the final three minutes.https://newspaperarchive.com/anderson-sunday-herald-may-18-1975-p-21/ Gilmore's 41 Puts Indiana Down With 3-0 Count Jim Bailey Anderson Sunday Herald May 18, 1975 May 19 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana Kentucky Colonels 112 Indiana Pacers 121 Box score 18–19 26–22 25–26 17–27 Dan Issel 26 George McGinnis 22 Artis Gilmore 18 George McGinnis 21 Louie Dampier 6 George McGinnis 6 14,589 Ed Rush, Norm Drucker Kentucky leads series, 3–1 Prior to the game, the request to replay Game 2 was denied by the league. The Pacers, facing elimination, managed to turn a 73–72 lead with nine minutes to go into an insurmountable one with shots from Billy Keller and others to go up 82–76 with six minutes to go.https://newspaperarchive.com/anderson-herald-may-20-1975-p-6/ Pacers Get Split; Trail 3-1 Jim Bailey Anderson Herald May 20, 1975 #eee May 22 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Indiana Pacers 105 Kentucky Colonels 110 Box score 29–29 19–25 28–26 29–30 Billy Knight 40 Artis Gilmore 28 McGinnis, Elmore 11 each Artis Gilmore 31 George McGinnis 9 Louie Dampier 12 16,622 *Jack Madden John Vanak Kentucky wins series, 4–1 After eight years of frustration (which saw them hire seven head coaches) and two prior losses in the ABA Finals, the Colonels closed out Game 5 with a victory (their 22nd in the last 25 games combined) to win the championship. Indiana had the lead just two times as Kentucky controlled the game despite not leading by more than nine at any point, doing so with a fastbreak offense that did not waver. The Pacers did threaten late by narrowing it to 100–97 with 3:19 to go, but Marv Robers and McClain made quick baskets to keep a steady lead. Gilmore shot two free throws with under twenty seconds to go to fully clinch the victory.https://newspaperarchive.com/anderson-herald-may-23-1975-p-13/ Rick Voss Jeff Evans Colonels Win First ABA Crown Anderson Herald May 20, 1975 Ted McClain had fifteen steals and Artis Gilmore had 31 rebounds, each being league records for a postseason game. The Game 5 victory is the first (and so far only) time a team from the commonwealth of Kentucky has won a professional championship.https://www.kentucky.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mark-story/article242875996.html On its 45th anniversary, Dan Issel relives 'the highlight of my basketball career' Mark Story Lexington Herald-Leader May 21, 2020 https://newspaperarchive.com/corbin-times-tribune-may-23-1975-p-2/ Colonels Capture First ABA Crown Corbin Times Tribune Associated Press May 23, 1975https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/23/archives/colonels-win-title-in-aba-colonels-defeat-pacers-take-first-aba.html Sam Goldaper Colonels Win Title in A.B.A. The New York Times May 23, 1975 Along with both head coaches (Hubie Brown and Bobby Leonard), five players in the series have since been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: Louie Dampier, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Roger Brown, and George McGinnis. George McGinnis finished his postseason run with 581 points scored in eighteen total games, setting a new record for most points scored in a postseason by any basketball player. In addition to being the most scored for an ABA postseason, it was not surpassed by any player until Larry Bird in the 1984 postseason.https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/pts_season_p.html NBA & ABA Single Season Playoff Leaders and Records for Points McGinnis was the first and only NBA/ABA player to lead the entire postseason in points, assists, and rebounds until Nikola Jokić accomplished the feat in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.Wright Michael C. June 13, 2023 Nikola Jokic's resume after winning 2023 Finals MVP https://www.nba.com/news/finals-mvp-resume-nikola-jokic-2023 June 15, 2023 NBA.com en October 7, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231007174801/https://www.nba.com/news/finals-mvp-resume-nikola-jokic-2023 live The Colonels issued a challenge to the NBA champion Golden State Warriors and even offered money, but the NBA refused. True to the word of team co-owner Ellie Brown, the Colonel championship ring was inscribed with "World Champions" on the front.https://newspaperarchive.com/corbin-times-tribune-may-29-1975-p-2/ Brown Offers Million Guarantee For Series Corbin Times Tribune Associated Press May 29, 1975Remember the ABA: Kentucky Colonels Fan Memories (Page 2) https://web.archive.org/web/20241222193559/http://www.remembertheaba.com/FanMemories/Colonels_Fan_Memories2.html 2024-12-22 Statistical leaders Category Total AveragePlayer Team Total Player Team Avg. Games played Points George McGinnis Indiana Pacers 581 George Gervin San Antonio Spurs 34.0 6 Rebounds George McGinnis Indiana Pacers 286 Artis Gilmore Kentucky Colonels 17.6 15 Assists George McGinnis Indiana Pacers 148 James Silas San Antonio Spurs 10.0 6 Steals Don Buse Indiana Pacers 45 Don Buse Indiana Pacers 2.5 18 Blocks Len Elmore Indiana Pacers 39 Billy Paultz New York Nets 3.2 5 Total leaders Points George McGinnis - 581 Billy Knight - 434 Artis Gilmore - 362 Marvin Barnes - 308 Dan Issel - 304 Rebounds George McGinnis - 286 Artis Gilmore - 264 Billy Knight - 160 Maurice Lucas - 147 Len Elmore - 145 Assists George McGinnis - 148 Louie Dampier - 113 Ted McClain - 87 Don Buse - 80 Ralph Simpson - 74 Minutes Billy Knight - 763 George McGinnis - 731 Artis Gilmore - 679 Louie Dampier - 604 Kevin Joyce - 593 References External links RememberTheABA.com page on 1975 ABA playoffs Basketball-Reference.com's 1975 ABA Playoffs page RememberTheABA.com page on 1975 ABA playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers Playoffs Category:American Basketball Association playoffs Category:Basketball competitions in Louisville, Kentucky Category:Basketball competitions in Indianapolis ABA Category:1975 in Louisville, Kentucky