1969–70 Denver Rockets season

ABA professional basketball team season August 2023 March 2026 Denver Rockets Denver Nuggets ABA J. William RingsbyDonald W. Ringsby 1970 yes 51 33 Western 1 John McLendonJoe Belmont Denver Auditorium Arena KOA ABA Western Division finals(lost to Stars 1–4) ROC The 1969–70 ABA season was the Rockets' third season. They ended up with a 51–33 record. Out of the 11 teams that played in the ABA that season the Rockets had the highest rating in simple rating system and offensive rating. Their 4-3 first round series win over the short-lived Washington Caps franchise would be their first playoff series win in franchise history, as well as their only playoff series win that they had while under their original Rockets name. They would also have a shot of making it to their first ABA Finals Championship series later that year, but they would surprisingly falter to the Los Angeles Stars (who had not only anticipated another losing season on their ends, but also entered the 1970 ABA Playoffs rather unexpectedly on their ends and had surprisingly upset the Dallas Chaparrals earlier on in the first round) in five games there. They would not win another playoff series until 1975, by which time they would change their team name from the Rockets to the modern-day iteration of the Denver Nuggets, which they still remain as to this very day. Roster Denver Rockets 1969–70 #E13C32 #FFFFFF #000000 #E13C32 14 Cliff Anderson SG 6 2 200 September 7, 1944 Saint Joseph's University 40 Byron Beck C 6 9 225 January 25, 1945 University of Denver 14 Jeffrey Congdon PG 6 1 180 October 17, 1943 Brigham Young University 22 Julian Hammond SF 6 5 205 May 27, 1943 University of Tulsa 24 Spencer Haywood PF 6 8 225 April 22, 1949 University of Detroit Mercy 32 Larry Jones basketball PG 6 2 180 September 22, 1942 University of Toledo 52 Julius Keye C 6 10 200 September 5, 1946 Alcorn State University 19 Lonnie Lynn SF 6 7 215 May 24, 1943 Wilberforce University 34 Walter Piatkowski PF 6 8 220 June 11, 1945 Bowling Green State University 11 Floyd Theard PG 6 1 170 September 5, 1944 Kentucky State University 50 Dwight Waller F 6 6 220 October 5, 1945 Tennessee State University 44 Ben Warley SF 6 5 200 September 4, 1936 Tennessee State University 54 Greg Wittman PF 6 8 210 May 10, 1947 Western Carolina University 42 Lonnie Wright SG 6 2 205 January 23, 1944 Colorado State University John McLendon / Joe Belmont https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DNR/1970.html<noinclude> Season standings Eastern Division Eastern DivisionWLPCTGBIndiana Pacers *5925.702 -Kentucky Colonels *4539.53614.0Carolina Cougars *4242.50017.0New York Nets *3945.46420.0Pittsburgh Pipers2955.34530.0Miami Floridians2361.27436.0 Western Division Western DivisionWLPCTGBDenver Rockets *5133.607 -Dallas Chaparrals *4539.5366.0Washington Caps *4440.5247.0Los Angeles Stars *4341.5128.0New Orleans Buccaneers4242.5009.0 Asterisk Denotes playoff team Game log 1969-70 Denver Rockets Schedule and Results | Basketball-Reference.com Statistics RkPlayerAgeGMPFGFGAFG%3P3PA3P%2P2PA2P%FTFTAFT%ORBDRBTRBASTTOVPFPTS1Spencer Haywood2084 45.311.723.8.4930.00.1.00011.723.7.4966.58.4.7766.313.119.52.3 3.02.630.02Larry Jones2775 40.48.319.2.4340.52.2.2487.817.0.4587.79.8.7911.93.35.25.7 3.23.024.93Byron Beck2579 31.15.610.6.5230.00.0.0005.610.6.5241.72.2.7873.26.59.71.4 1.73.712.94Jeffrey Congdon2683 29.73.69.3.3860.82.1.3542.87.2.3951.82.3.7860.62.22.85.4 2.52.59.85Lonnie Wright2679 28.35.012.1.4130.72.4.2804.39.6.4471.52.2.6910.62.12.71.9 1.23.512.26Julian Hammond2669 26.84.89.6.4980.00.0.0004.89.6.4992.43.5.6953.03.96.81.6 2.32.712.07Julius Keye2377 21.33.28.0.3960.00.1.0003.27.9.4011.52.5.6012.44.46.90.6 1.32.77.98Walter Piatkowski2474 17.62.97.2.4020.10.7.2202.86.6.4211.01.3.7681.42.03.40.6 1.02.47.09Floyd Theard2525 16.21.64.5.3450.00.0.0001.64.5.3480.71.1.6430.31.72.01.8 1.82.03.810Dwight Waller247 12.41.43.4.4170.00.1.0001.43.3.4351.32.7.4742.33.15.40.6 2.31.74.111Lonnie Lynn2612 11.71.73.8.4350.00.0 1.73.8.4350.71.0.6671.32.94.20.3 0.61.54.012Ben Warley3342 11.31.44.0.3530.41.4.2591.12.7.4021.41.8.7630.62.02.60.7 0.92.34.613Greg Wittman2250 9.11.64.1.3920.10.3.2351.53.7.4060.61.2.5420.61.42.00.3 0.71.73.914Cliff Anderson253 7.30.71.3.5000.00.00.71.3.5000.72.0.3330.31.01.31.3 1.01.02.0 1969-70 ABA Season Summary | Basketball-Reference.com ABA Playoffs ABA Western Division Semifinals vs. Washington Capitalshttp://www.remembertheaba.com/PlayoffPages/1970Playoffs.html Remember the ABA: 1969-70 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results Game Date Location Score Record Attendance 1 April 17 Denver 130–111 1–0 9,822 2 April 18 Denver 143–133 2–0 9,889 3 April 19 Washington 120–125 2–1 1,748 4 April 22 Washington 114–131 2–2 5,497 5 April 23 Denver 132–110 3–2 7,141 6 April 25 Washington 111–116 3–3 3,186 7 April 28 Denver 143–119 4–3 9,893 Rockets win series, 4–3 ABA Division Finals Game Date Location Score Record Attendance 1 April 30 Denver 123–113 (OT) 1–0 7,071 2 May 1 Denver 105–114 1–1 7,187 3 May 4 Los Angeles 113–119 1–2 4,468 4 May 5 Los Angeles 110–114 1–3 3,432 5 May 9 Denver 107–109 1–4 6,401 Rockets lose series, 4–1 Awards and records ABA All-Star: Larry Jones, Spencer Haywoodbasketball-reference.com 1970 ABA All-Star Game https://www.basketball-reference.com/allstar/ABA_1970.html 2008-07-13 https://web.archive.org/web/20080709024030/http://www.basketball-reference.com/allstar/ABA_1970.html 9 July 2008 live ABA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player: Spencer Haywood ABA Most Valuable Player: Spencer Haywood ABA Coach of the Year Award: Joe Belmont ABA All-League Team: Spencer Haywood, Larry JonesRemember the ABA: Year-to-Year Postseason Awards https://web.archive.org/web/20101224223628/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/Awards.html December 24, 2010 Spencer Haywood: 986 field goals (Nuggets single-season franchise record) References Category:Denver Nuggets seasons Denver Denver Rockets Denver Rockets