1971–72 ABA season

August 2023 1971–72 ABA season American Basketball Association Basketball October 13, 1971 – May 20, 1972 84 11 Regular season Kentucky Colonels Artis Gilmore (Kentucky) ABA MVP Dan Issel (Kentucky) Playoffs 1972 ABA playoffs Eastern New York Nets Virginia Squires Western Indiana Pacers Utah Stars Finals 1972 ABA Playoffs Indiana Pacers New York Nets List of ABA seasons ABA 1970–71 ABA season 1970–71 1972–73 ABA season 1972–73 The 1971–72 ABA season was the fifth season of the American Basketball Association. The Indiana Pacers won the championship, defeating the New York Nets, 4 games to 2, in the ABA Finals. With the signing of players such as rookie centers Artis Gilmore and Jim McDaniels in the offseason, the ABA looked to shift the widely held perception that it was a guard-oriented league that paid little if any attention to defense.https://www.nytimes.com/1971/10/03/archives/aba-clubs-standing-much-taller.html A.B.A. Clubs Standing Much Taller The New York Times October 3, 1971 Goldaper Sam For the first time in the league's history, no franchise moved to a different state from the previous season. The only name change involved the Dallas Chaparrals, who were able to secure a lease in Dallas for the season and were renamed from the previous season's Texas Chaparrals. The postseason produced one of the greatest upsets in professional basketball history. In round one, Rick Barry and the New York Nets beat the heavily favored Kentucky Colonels in six games. Behind All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Dan Issel and league MVP Artis Gilmore, the Colonels rolled to the Western Division title with a 68–16 record, the best mark in league history. At 44-40, The Nets finished a distant third in the division, 24 games behind the leaders. +Coaching changesOffseason Team 1970–71 coach 1971–72 coach Carolina Cougars Jerry Steele Tom Meschery Dallas Chaparrals Bill Blakeley Tom Nissalke Denver Rockets Stan Albeck Alex Hannum Kentucky Colonels Frank Ramsey Joe Mullaney Utah Stars Bill Sharman LaDell AndersonIn-season Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach Pittsburgh Condors Jack McMahon Mark Binstein Teams 1971–72 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 Kentucky Colonels Louisville, Kentucky Freedom Hall 16,664 New York Nets West Hempstead, New York Uniondale, New York Island Garden Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,200 13,571 Pittsburgh Condors Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Civic Arena 12,580 The Floridians Miami Beach, Florida Tampa, Florida St. Petersburg, Florida Jacksonville, Florida West Palm Beach, Florida Miami Beach Convention Center Curtis Hixon Hall Bayfront Arena Jacksonville Coliseum West Palm Beach Auditorium 15,000 7,000 7,500 11,000 5,000 Virginia Squires Old Dominion University Fieldhouse Hampton Coliseum Richmond Arena Salem Civic Center Roanoke Civic Center Norfolk, Virginia Hampton, Virginia Richmond, Virginia Salem, Virginia Roanoke, Virginia 5,200 9,777 6,000 6,820 9,828 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 Indiana Pacers Indianapolis, Indiana Indiana State Fair Coliseum 10,000 Memphis Pros Memphis, Tennessee Mid-South Coliseum 10,085 Utah Stars Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Palace 12,166 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 38.20 -85.74 Red pog.svg 80 left Kentucky #ffe North America 40.72 -73.59 Red pog.svg 80 right New York #ffe North America 40.44 -79.99 Red pog.svg 80 right Pittsburgh #ffe North America 25.79 -80.13 Red pog.svg 80 right Floridians #ffe North America 36.88 -76.31 Red pog.svg 80 right Virginia #ffe North America 32.77 -96.80 Blue pog.svg 80 left Dallas #ffe North America 39.74 -105.00 Blue pog.svg 80 right Denver #ffe North America 39.83 -86.14 Blue pog.svg 80 left Indiana #ffe North America 35.12 -89.98 Blue pog.svg 80 left Memphis #ffe North America 40.77 -111.90 Blue pog.svg 80 left Utah #ffe Final standings Eastern Division + Team W L PCT. GB Kentucky Colonels * 68 16 .810 — Virginia Squires * 45 39 .536 23 New York Nets * 44 40 .524 24 The Floridians * 36 48 .429 32 Carolina Cougars 35 49 .417 33 Pittsburgh Condors 25 59 .298 43 Western Division + Team W L PCT. GB Utah Stars * 60 24 .714 — Indiana Pacers * 47 37 .560 13 Dallas Chaparrals * 42 42 .500 18 Denver Rockets * 34 50 .405 26 Memphis Pros 26 58 .310 34 Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team Bold – ABA champions Playoffs 1972 ABA playoffs Awards and honors thumb|upright|Artis Gilmore (Kentucky) was named ABA MVP and ROTY ABA Most Valuable Player Award: Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels Rookie of the Year: Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels Coach of the Year: Tom Nissalke, Dallas Chaparrals Playoffs MVP: Freddie Lewis, Indiana Pacers All-Star Game MVP: Dan Issel, Kentucky Colonels All-ABA First Team Dan Issel, Kentucky Colonels (1st First Team selection, 2nd overall selection) Rick Barry, New York Nets (4th selection) Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels Donnie Freeman, Dallas Chaparrals (1st First Team selection, 4th overall selection) Bill Melchionni, New York Nets All-ABA Second Team Willie Wise, Utah Stars Julius Erving, Virginia Squires Zelmo Beaty, Utah Stars (2nd selection) Ralph Simpson, Denver Rockets Charlie Scott, Virginia Squires All-ABA Rookie Team Julius Erving, Virginia Squires Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels George McGinnis, Indiana Pacers Johnny Neumann, Memphis Pros John Roche, New York Nets References Sports Season summary on Basketball Reference ABA