1975–76 Kentucky Colonels season

ABA basketball team season April 2026 break up into paragraphs to address the wall of text August 2023 Kentucky Colonels ABA 1976 46 38 2nd 4th Hubie Brown Freedom Hall ABA Semifinals(lost to the Nuggets 3–4) WHAS 11 WHAS 1 The 1975–76 Kentucky Colonels season was the ninth and final season for what were to be the defending champions of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Before this season was about to begin for Kentucky, the Colonels noticed that two of the ABA's strongest teams outside of themselves, the Denver Nuggets and New York Nets, wanted to have the Colonels join them in their pursuit to leave the ABA instead and join the NBA early; despite the risks involved with staying put, team owner John Y. Brown Jr. decided to stay put with the ABA out of what was perceived to be as loyalty to the league, with the Nuggets and Nets' plans to leave the ABA early being foiled by the ruling of the judge that was preceding over their case claiming that even two ABA teams joining the NBA like they had intended to do would still technically count as a merger between leagues. Due to the team letting go of longtime star player Dan Issel for cost-saving measures before the season began, this season saw the defending champion Kentucky Colonels finish in fourth place in the ABA, which was good enough to see them be the last team with a winning record to make it to the 1976 ABA Playoffs, but not quite good enough to avoid a trip to the quarterfinals first. Luckily for them, the Colonels would defeat the Indiana Pacers 2 games to 1 in what ultimately became the final playoff match of two longtime rivals in the ABA during the first round of the 1976 ABA Playoffs. However, despite their best efforts possible, the Colonels would end up losing to the regular season champion Denver Nuggets 4 games to 3 in the ABA Semifinals in what officially became the Colonels' final games ever played in franchise history. Despite being considered one of the strongest teams in the ABA and being thought of as a shoo-in for entry into the National Basketball Association (NBA), especially since they were one of two teams alongside the Indiana Pacers to remain where they were at and stick with the team name they had throughout the ABA's entire existence alongside play in every ABA Playoff event by this point in time, the 1975–76 season would prove to be the Colonels' last as a team, as Kentucky joined the Spirits of St. Louis as one of the two ABA teams to survive the entire season (as well as became the only playoff team from that season) to be left out of the 1976 ABA-NBA merger due to the NBA wanting only four of the ABA's strongest teams to join their league instead of five or even all six of the remaining teams left in the ABA by this time (despite the Virginia Squires surviving the regular season, they were forced to fold operations a month before the merger commenced due to the Squires failing to make a $75,000 league assessment payment alongside $120,000 in back pay for their players) and the Chicago Bulls desperately wanting to add center Artis Gilmore onto their roster, among other viable reasons that the Bulls saw them keeping the Colonels out of the NBA. Offseason ABA Draft 1975 ABA draft Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality College 1 11 Jimmie Baker PF USA United States Hawaii 3 22 Allen Murphy SG USA United States Kentucky 3 31 Eric Fernsten PF/C USA United States San Francisco 4 41 John Laskowski SG USA United States Indiana 5 51 Charles Cleveland SG USA United States Alabama 6 61 Mike Rozenski F USA United States Saint Mary's College of California 7 71 Randy Meister C USA United States Penn State 8 81 Lou Silver SF/PF USA United StatesISR Israel Harvard The selection of Lou Silver can be considered the last pick ever made in ABA draft history.http://www.basketballreference.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1975&lg=a https://web.archive.org/web/20150407162440/http://www.basketballreference.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1975&lg=A 1975 ABA draft April 7, 2015 Preseason transactions Prior to the season, ABA Commissioner Dave DeBusschere, urged on by Colonels owner John Y. Brown, Jr., challenged the NBA to a world championship series between the ABA champion Kentucky Colonels and NBA champion Golden State Warriors in which the winner would get $1 million. NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy promptly declined.Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160121123136/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/KentuckyMaterial/ColonelsYearly.html 2016-01-21 Star center Dan Issel was sold to the Baltimore Claws for $500,000, and soon ended up with the Denver Nuggets.Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160121123136/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/KentuckyMaterial/ColonelsYearly.html 2016-01-21 Gene Rhodes was named vice president of operations and David Vance was named general manager.Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160121123136/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/KentuckyMaterial/ColonelsYearly.html 2016-01-21 Preseason exhibition games Like most ABA teams, the Colonels played several preseason exhibition games against NBA opponents. The Colonels opened up the season's ABA vs. NBA action on October 1, 1975, in Cincinnati, Ohio, against the NBA's Chicago Bulls. The Colonels beat the Bulls 95–86.All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20091028154556/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html 2009-10-28 Three nights later on October 4, 1975, the Colonels met the NBA's New York Knicks at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Louie Dampier scored 23 for the Colonels but New York's Earl Monroe led all scorers with 26 as the Knicks won 107–102.All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20091028154556/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html 2009-10-28 The next night the Colonels returned to Cincinnati to host the Detroit Pistons. Bob Lanier led the Pistons with 17 points but Artis Gilmore had 22 and Travis Grant added 17 and the game winning score, a jump shot with 4 seconds left in game, to lead Kentucky to a 114–113 victory.All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20091028154556/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html 2009-10-28 On October 8, 1975, the reigning champions of the ABA and NBA met at Freedom Hall in Louisville. 8,806 fans turned out to see the Golden State Warriors face the Colonels. Marv Roberts scored 20 points and former ABA player Rick Barry was held to 9 points on 3 of 11 shooting from the floor, including an airball with 31 seconds left in the game. Artis Gilmore had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Colonels to a 93–90 victory against the NBA champions.All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20091028154556/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html 2009-10-28 Two nights later on October 10, 1975, the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks visited Louisville and lost to the Colonels 96–91.All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20091028154556/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html 2009-10-28 On October 12, 1975, the Kentucky Colonels traveled to Michigan to face the Detroit Pistons again. The game went to overtime. Despite Bird Averitt's 21 points the Pistons won the overtime game, 115–107.All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20091028154556/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html 2009-10-28 Two nights later on October 14, 1975, the NBA's Buffalo Braves came to Louisville and were defeated by the Colonels, 120–116.All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20091028154556/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html 2009-10-28 On October 17, 1975, the Philadelphia 76ers traveled to Cincinnati to face the Colonels. Former ABA player George McGinnis had 25 points but so did Artis Gilmore. Kentucky won, 112–110.All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20091028154556/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html 2009-10-28 Two nights later on October 19, 1975, the Colonels hosted the Washington Bullets in Lexington, Kentucky. Led by Artis Gilmore's 23 points, the Colonels won 121–111. This was the penultimate ABA-NBA matchup; two nights later in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Utah Stars 106–101.All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20091028154556/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html 2009-10-28 Overall in the 1975-76 preseason the ABA went 30–18 against NBA teams.All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20091028154556/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html 2009-10-28 Roster Kentucky Colonels 1975–76 #0E3386 #FFFFFF #CC3433 #FFFFFF 14 Bird Averitt SG 6 1 170 July 22, 1952 Pepperdine 32 Jimmie Baker PF basketball 6 9 220 December 25, 1953 Hawaii 21 Jimmy Dan Conner SG 6 4 190 March 20, 1953 Kentucky 10 Louie Dampier PG 6 0 170 November 20, 1944 Kentucky 53 Artis Gilmore C 7 2 240 September 21, 1949 Jacksonville University 5 Travis Grant SF 6 7 215 January 1, 1950 Kentucky State University 3 Caldwell Jones C 6 11 217 August 4, 1950 Albany State University 22 Wil Jones basketball, born 1947 SF 6 8 205 February 27, 1947 Albany State University 43 Kevin Joyce basketball SG 6 3 190 June 27, 1951 South Carolina 25 Maurice Lucas PF 6 9 215 February 18, 1952 Marquette 24 Ted McClain SG 6 1 180 August 30, 1946 Tennessee State 45 Jim McDaniels C 6 11 228 April 2, 1948 Western Kentucky 20 Allen Murphy SG 6 5 190 July 15, 1952 Louisville 31 Johnny Neumann SG 6 6 200 September 11, 1951 Ole Miss 25 Tom Owens C 6 10 215 June 28, 1949 South Carolina 31 Marv Roberts SF 6 8 200 January 29, 1950 Utah State University 42 Ron Thomas basketball PF 6 6 215 November 19, 1950 Louisville 5 Jan van Breda Kolff SF 6 7 195 December 16, 1951 Vanderbilt Hubie Brown https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/KEN/1976.html Regular season Season standings + Team W L PCT. GB Denver Nuggets * 60 24 .714 — New York Nets * 55 29 .655 5 San Antonio Spurs * 50 34 .595 10 Kentucky Colonels * 46 38 .548 14 Indiana Pacers * 39 45 .464 21 Spirits of St. Louis 35 49 .417 25 Virginia Squires † 15 68 .181 44 San Diego Sails † 3 8 .273 — Utah Stars † 4 12 .250 — Baltimore Claws † 0 0 .000 — Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team † did not survive the end of the season.Bold – ABA champions1975-76 ABA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com Game log Kentucky Colonels 1976 #0E3386 #FFFFFF Kentucky Colonels November #0E3386 #FFFFFF yes y y |- || || || || || || || |- Kentucky Colonels December #0E3386 #FFFFFF y y |- || || || || || || || |- Kentucky Colonels January #0E3386 #FFFFFF y y |- || || || || || || || |- Kentucky Colonels February #0E3386 #FFFFFF y y |- || || || || || || || |- |- Kentucky Colonels March #0E3386 #FFFFFF y y |- || || || || || || || |- |- Kentucky Colonels April #0E3386 #FFFFFF y y |- atl 1976 https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/KEN/1976_games.html Month by Month October 1975 January 2011 November 1975 January 2011 December 1975 January 2011 January 1976 January 2011 February 1976 January 2011 March 1976 January 2011 ABA Playoffs ABA Quarterfinalshttp://www.remembertheaba.com/PlayoffPages/1976Playoffs.html 1975-76 ABA Regular Season Standings Remembertheaba.com 2016-07-03 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20101129194323/http://remembertheaba.com/PlayoffPages/1976Playoffs.html 2010-11-29 Game Date Opponent Score Attendance Record 1 April 8 Indiana W 120–109 3,288 1–0 2 April 10 @ Indiana L 95–109 5,850 1–1 3 April 12 Indiana W 100–99 5,267 2–1 Colonels win series, 2–1 ABA Semifinals Game Date Opponent Score Attendance Record 1 April 15 @ Denver L 107–110 15,234 0–1 2 April 17 @ Denver W 138–119 16,384 1–1 3 April 19 Denver W 126–114 9,644 2–1 4 April 21 Denver L 106–108 11,444 2–2 5 April 22 @ Denver L 117–127 17,068 2–3 6 April 25 Denver W 119–115 (OT) 6,312 3–3 7 April 28 @ Denver L 110–133 18,821 4–3 Colonels lose series, 4–3 The Colonels would end up becoming the only ABA team to play in the 1976 ABA Playoffs to not make it to the NBA following the ABA-NBA merger. Player statistics Legend 22em GP: Games played GS: Games started MPG: Minutes per game FG%: Field goal percentage 3FG%: 3-point field goal percentage FT%: Free throw percentage RPG: Rebounds per game APG: Assists per game SPG: Steals per game BPG: Blocks per game PPG: Points per game Season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG ABA Playoffs January 2011 Awards and records Awards Artis Gilmore, 1976 ABA All-Star GameKentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160121123136/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/KentuckyMaterial/ColonelsYearly.html 2016-01-21 Artis Gilmore, All-ABA First TeamKentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160121123136/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/KentuckyMaterial/ColonelsYearly.html 2016-01-21 Artis Gilmore, ABA All-Defensive TeamKentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160121123136/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/KentuckyMaterial/ColonelsYearly.html 2016-01-21 Records On December 18, 1975, the Colonels had their smallest crowd ever, 2,761, for a 115–102 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.1975-76 Game Log, RememberTheABA.com On April 28, 1976, the Colonels were the opponent, in the ABA Semifinals, when the Denver Nuggets set their franchise's attendance record, with 18,821 present for the Nuggets' 133–110 win in Game 7.1975-76 Game Log, RememberTheABA.com Transactions Dan Issel sold to Baltimore Claws for $500,000, preseasonKentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160121123136/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/KentuckyMaterial/ColonelsYearly.html 2016-01-21 Caldwell Jones purchased from the San Diego Sails, November 14, 1975Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160121123136/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/KentuckyMaterial/ColonelsYearly.html 2016-01-21 Caldwell Jones traded to the Spirits of St. Louis for Maurice Lucas, December 17, 1975Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160121123136/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/KentuckyMaterial/ColonelsYearly.html 2016-01-21 Marv Roberts traded to the Virginia Squires for Johnny Neumann and Jan van Breda Kolff, January 17, 1976Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160121123136/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/KentuckyMaterial/ColonelsYearly.html 2016-01-21 Ted McClain sold to the New York Nets for $150,000, February 15, 1976Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160121123136/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/KentuckyMaterial/ColonelsYearly.html 2016-01-21 Aftermath With the conclusion of the 1975–76 ABA season, negotiations to finalize the ABA-NBA merger began. On June 17, 1976, Colonels owner John Y. Brown Jr. agreed to fold the Colonels in exchange for $3 million from the ABA teams entering the NBA. The Colonels' players were put into a dispersal draft along with the players from the Spirits of St. Louis. The Chicago Bulls took Artis Gilmore for $1.1 million; the Portland Trail Blazers took Maurice Lucas for $300,000; the Buffalo Braves took Bird Averitt for $125,000; the Indiana Pacers took Wil Jones for $50,000; the New York Nets took Jan Van Breda Kolff for $60,000 and the San Antonio Spurs took Louie Dampier for $20,000. Brown took the money he received for the Colonels and used part of it to purchase the NBA's Buffalo Braves, which he later parlayed into ownership of the Boston Celtics.Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160121123136/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/KentuckyMaterial/ColonelsYearly.html 2016-01-21 References 2 Colonels on Basketball Reference External links RememberTheABA.com 1975–76 regular season and playoff results RememberTheABA.com Kentucky Colonels page RememberTheABA.com 1975–76 game by game results Kentucky Category:Kentucky Colonels seasons Kentucky Colonels, 1975-76 Kentucky Colonels, 1975-76 Category:1975 in Louisville, Kentucky Category:1976 in Louisville, Kentucky