1969–70 ABA season

3rd edition of the ABA Championship August 2023 1969–70 ABA season American Basketball Association Basketball October 17, 1969 – May 25, 1970 84 11 Regular season Indiana Pacers Spencer Haywood (Denver) ABA MVP Spencer Haywood (Denver) Playoffs 1970 ABA playoffs Eastern Indiana Pacers Kentucky Colonels Western Los Angeles Stars Denver Rockets Finals 1970 ABA Playoffs Indiana Pacers Los Angeles Stars List of ABA seasons ABA 1968–69 ABA season 1968–69 1970–71 ABA season 1970–71 The 1969–70 ABA season was the third season of the American Basketball Association. Prior to the start of the season, the Minnesota Pipers moved back to Pittsburgh, the Oakland Oaks moved to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Caps and the Houston Mavericks moved to North Carolina and became the Carolina Cougars. For the regular-season, the schedule was increased from 78 to 84 games per team. The season ended with the Indiana Pacers capturing their first ABA Championship. By April of 1970, rumblings of a merger were reported in the press, with one reported offer having the league pay $11 million in indemnities while agreeing to move the Washington franchise out of its location. The NBA Players Association was felt to be an obstacle for any plans of a merger, as they had voted to strike in the event of such a merger. As it turned out, the merger would not occur until many years later with only a fraction of the ABA's teams making it in the final merger.Sam Goldaper https://www.nytimes.com/1970/04/12/archives/aba-and-nba-nearing-merger-newer-league-would-pay-indemnity-of.html A.B.A. AND N.B.A. NEARING MERGER The New York Times April 12, 1970 April 9, 2025 Spencer Haywood, a rookie from the University of Detroit, led the ABA in scoring (30.0 ppg) and rebounding (19.5 rpg) for the Denver Rockets. Haywood was professional basketball's first "hardship case", leaving college after his sophomore season. The NBA prohibited him from declaring for its draft, and he signed with the Rockets instead, leading them to the Western Division championship. +Coaching changesOffseason Team 1968–69 coach 1969–70 coach Carolina Cougars Jim Weaver Bones McKinney Denver Rockets Bob Bass John McLendon New York Nets Max Zaslofsky York Larese Pittsburgh Pipers Gus Young John Clark Washington Caps Alex Hannum Al BianchiIn-season Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach Dallas Chaparrals Cliff Hagan Max Williams Denver Rockets John McLendon Joe Belmont Miami Floridians Jim Pollard Harold Blitman Pittsburgh Pipers John Clark Buddy Jeannette Teams 1969–70 American Basketball Association Division Team City Arena Capacity Eastern Carolina Cougars Greensboro, North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina Raleigh, North Carolina Greensboro Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum Dorton Arena 15,000 9,605 7,610 Indiana Pacers Indianapolis, Indiana Indiana State Fair Coliseum 10,000 Kentucky Colonels Louisville, Kentucky Louisville Convention Center 6,000 Miami Floridians Miami, Florida Dinner Key Auditorium Miami-Dade Junior College North Gym 6,900 N/A New York Nets West Hempstead, New York Island Garden 5,200 Pittsburgh Pipers Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Civic Arena 12,580 Western Dallas Chaparrals University Park, Texas Dallas, Texas Moody Coliseum Dallas Memorial Auditorium 8,998 9,815 Denver Rockets Denver, Colorado Denver Auditorium Arena 6,841 Los Angeles Stars Los Angeles, California Los Angeles Sports Arena 14,795 New Orleans Buccaneers New Orleans, Louisiana Loyola Field House 6,500 Washington Caps Washington, D.C. Washington Coliseum 7,000 Map of teams left 10px Eastern Division 10px Western Division 850 650 425 0 450 North America 1100 North America 36.06 -79.83 Red pog.svg 80 right Carolina #ffe North America 39.83 -86.14 Red pog.svg 80 left Indiana #ffe North America 38.25 -85.76 Red pog.svg 80 left Kentucky #ffe North America 25.73 -80.24 Red pog.svg 80 right Miami #ffe North America 40.71 -73.66 Red pog.svg 80 right New York #ffe North America 40.44 -79.99 Red pog.svg 80 left Pittsburgh #ffe North America 32.77 -96.80 Blue pog.svg 80 left Dallas #ffe North America 39.74 -105.00 Blue pog.svg 80 left Denver #ffe North America 34.01 -118.29 Blue pog.svg 80 left Los Angeles #ffe North America 29.94 -90.12 Blue pog.svg 80 left New Orleans #ffe North America 38.91 -77.00 Blue pog.svg 80 right Washington #ffe Final standings Eastern Division + Team W L PCT. GB Indiana Pacers * 59 25 .702 — Kentucky Colonels * 45 39 .536 14.0 Carolina Cougars * 42 42 .500 17.0 New York Nets * 39 45 .464 20.0 Pittsburgh Pipers 29 55 .345 30.0 Miami Floridians 23 61 .274 36.0 Western Division + Team W L PCT. GB Denver Rockets * 51 33 .607 — Dallas Chaparrals * 45 39 .536 6.0 Washington Caps * 44 40 .524 7.0 Los Angeles Stars * 43 41 .512 8.0 New Orleans Buccaneers 42 42 .500 9.0 Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team Bold – ABA champions Regular season On April 10, 1970, the Indiana Pacers would score a league record-high 177 points in a 177–135 win over the Pittsburgh Pipers at home.https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/197004120INA.html Pittsburgh Pipers at Indiana Pacers Box Score, April 12, 1970 Sports Reference October 19, 2026 As of 2025, it remains the highest-scoring effort the Pacers have ever had either in the ABA or the NBA (with their most recent highest-scoring game in the NBA occurring on March 27, 2025, with a 162–109 blowout win over the Washington WizardsTrister Noah March 27, 2025 https://www.nba.com/game/0022401061 Pacers Rout Wizards 162–109 for Most Points in NBA Franchise History and Most Allowed by Washington National Basketball Association Associated Press October 19, 2026). On April 28, 1970, Spencer Haywood was named ABA MVP.https://newspaperarchive.com/greeley-daily-tribune-apr-28-1970-p-22/ Spencer Haywood Wins MVP Award Associated Press Greeley Daily Tribune April 28, 1970 April 9, 2025 Playoffs 1970 ABA playoffs Awards and honors thumb|upright|Spencer Haywood (Denver) was named ABA MVP and ROTY thumb|upright|Mel Daniels (right) was named All-ABA First Team ABA Most Valuable Player Award: Spencer Haywood, Denver Rockets Rookie of the Year: Spencer Haywood, Denver Rockets Coach of the Year: Bill Sharman, Los Angeles Stars and Joe Belmont, Denver Rockets Playoffs MVP: Roger Brown, Indiana Pacers All-Star Game MVP: Spencer Haywood, Denver Rockets All-ABA First Team Rick Barry, Washington Caps (2nd selection) Spencer Haywood, Denver Rockets Mel Daniels, Indiana Pacers (3rd selection) Bob Verga, Carolina Cougars Larry Jones, Denver Rockets (3rd selection) All-ABA Second Team Roger Brown, Indiana Pacers (2nd selection) Bob Netolicky, Indiana Pacers Red Robbins, New Orleans Buccaneers (2nd selection) Louie Dampier, Kentucky Colonels (3rd selection) Donnie Freeman, Miami Floridians (2nd selection) All-ABA Rookie Team Mike Barrett, Washington Caps John Brisker, Pittsburgh Pipers Mack Calvin, Los Angeles Stars Spencer Haywood, Denver Rockets Willie Wise, Los Angeles Stars Finals Sports 1970 ABA Finals References Season summary on Basketball Reference ABA