The 1976 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1975–76 season. The tournament concluded with the New York Nets defeating the Denver Nuggets four games to two in the ABA Finals.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 8 – May 13, 1976 |
| Season | 1975–76 |
| Teams | 5 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | New York Nets (2nd title) |
| Runner-up | Denver Nuggets |
| Semifinalists | |
This was the final year of the ABA. The ABA-NBA merger took place on June 17, 1976. Thus the final game in ABA history was played on May 13, 1976, when the New York Nets defeated the Denver Nuggets 112–106 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
As there were no divisions in the regular season, the playoffs involved five teams, with a first-round best-of-three series played between the fourth-place Kentucky Colonels and fifth-place Indiana Pacers; Kentucky won the series, 2 games to 1.
Notable events
editJulius Erving of the New York Nets was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs. He won that distinction previously in 1974 and became the only player in ABA history to repeat as the MVP of the league playoffs.
On April 28, 1976, the Kentucky Colonels lost the seventh game of their series with the Denver Nuggets. The loss marked the final game for the Colonels and the final game for any ABA team that did not proceed into the NBA with the ABA-NBA merger.
During halftime of Game 3 of the ABA Finals, league commissioner Dave DeBusschere called a news conference to announce the state of the league, which terminated the Virginia Squires franchise for failure to meet obligations of payment, although the Squires made a request to try and raise the $100,000 needed to keep the franchise alive before 4:00 pm CST on May 10, although the team ultimately folded. The league also made plans to potentially allow the Spirits of St. Louis to move to Salt Lake City if the league did in fact go to an eight-team league for 1977 while "still thinking about [a] merger".[1]
The Nuggets and the Nets met in the championship series after posting the two best regular season records in the league. The Nets' victory over the Nuggets marked the last time that a professional basketball team from the New York area won a championship title until the 2024 WNBA Finals, when the New York Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx in five games to win their first title.
With their 4–3 loss in their opening round matchup with the New York Nets, the San Antonio Spurs concluded their ABA tenure without ever winning a single ABA playoff series. Since joining the NBA, the Spurs have won five NBA championships, starting with their 1999 victory over the #8 seed New York Knicks during the 1998–99 NBA season. The Pacers became the second ABA team to make the NBA Finals in 2000, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nets, by then playing in New Jersey, reached the Finals in 2002 and 2003, where they lost each time, including losing to the Spurs in the only Finals to date with two former ABA teams. The Nuggets became the last of the four ABA teams to reach the NBA Finals, doing so in 2023. They ultimately became the second ABA team to win an NBA title with their victory over the Miami Heat in five games.
Bracket
edit| Quarterfinals | Semi-Finals | Championship Series | ||||||||||||
| # 1 | Denver Nuggets | 4 | ||||||||||||
| # 4 | Kentucky Colonels | 3 | ||||||||||||
| # 4 | Kentucky Colonels | 2 | ||||||||||||
| # 5 | Indiana Pacers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| # 1 | Denver Nuggets | 2 | ||||||||||||
| # 2 | New York Nets | 4 | ||||||||||||
| # 2 | New York Nets | 4 | ||||||||||||
| # 3 | San Antonio Spurs | 3 | ||||||||||||
First Round: Kentucky Colonels vs. Indiana Pacers
edit(1) Denver Nuggets, (2) New York Nets, (3) San Antonio Spurs have division Quarterfinals byes.
April 8
|
| Indiana Pacers 109, Kentucky Colonels 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–41, 26–21, 31–31, 32–27 | ||
| Pts: Billy Knight 43 Rebs: Darnell Hillman 13 Asts: Darnell Hillman 5 |
Pts: Artis Gilmore 25 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 17 Asts: Averitt, Dampier 10 each | |
| Kentucky leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 10
|
| Kentucky Colonels 95, Indiana Pacers 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–23, 18–24, 29–30, 23–32 | ||
| Pts: Artis Gilmore 26 Rebs: Maurice Lucas 14 Asts: Bird Averitt 6 |
Pts: Billy Knight 28 Rebs: Knight, Hillman 11 each Asts: Don Buse 12 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 12
|
| Indiana Pacers 99, Kentucky Colonels 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 11–26, 25–22, 35–22, 28–30 | ||
| Pts: Billy Knight 30 Rebs: Knight, Robisch 9 each Asts: Don Buse 9 |
Pts: Artis Gilmore 27 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 16 Asts: Jan van Breda Kolff 6 | |
| Kentucky wins series, 2–1 | ||
Semifinals
edit(1) Denver Nuggets vs. (4) Kentucky Colonels
editApril 15
|
| Kentucky Colonels 107, Denver Nuggets 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–28, 31–30, 21–25, 28–27 | ||
| Pts: Lucas, Gilmore 26 each Rebs: Artis Gilmore 19 Asts: Louie Dampier 8 |
Pts: Ralph Simpson 24 Rebs: Bobby Jones 9 Asts: Dan Issel 7 | |
| Denver leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 17
|
| Kentucky Colonels 138, Denver Nuggets 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–39, 34–28, 33–26, 36–26 | ||
| Pts: Louie Dampier 26 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 12 Asts: Bird Averitt 9 |
Pts: Dan Issel 24 Rebs: Dan Issel 13 Asts: Chuck Williams 5 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 19
|
| Denver Nuggets 114, Kentucky Colonels 126 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–26, 25–29, 34–33, 28–38 | ||
| Pts: David Thompson 29 Rebs: Bobby Jones 10 Asts: David Thompson 5 |
Pts: Bird Averitt 40 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 16 Asts: Bird Averitt 7 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 21
|
| Denver Nuggets 108, Kentucky Colonels 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–35, 23–16, 29–25, 30–30 | ||
| Pts: Ralph Simpson 26 Rebs: Bobby Jones 18 Asts: Bobby Jones 5 |
Pts: Artis Gilmore 22 Rebs: Maurice Lucas 19 Asts: Louie Dampier 6 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 22
|
| Kentucky Colonels 117, Denver Nuggets 127 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–25, 26–29, 23–39, 36–34 | ||
| Pts: Artis Gilmore 26 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 12 Asts: Louie Dampier 14 |
Pts: David Thompson 34 Rebs: Dan Issel 13 Asts: Ralph Simpson 6 | |
| Denver leads series 3–2 | ||
April 25
|
| Denver Nuggets 115, Kentucky Colonels 119 (2OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–24, 27–31, 19–23, 27–19, Overtime: 10–10, 8–12 | ||
| Pts: Ralph Simpson 35 Rebs: Dan Issel 18 Asts: Ralph Simpson 6 |
Pts: Bird Averitt 34 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 26 Asts: Louie Dampier 11 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
Wracked with tonsilitis and a high temperature that had affected him for a week, Bird Averitt rose to the occasion and scored 34 points to force a Game 7 for the Colonels. Averitt scored two field goals in the last 1:20 of regulation to help send the game to overtime with a score of 97-97. Ralph Simpson forced double overtime when he scored a bank shot to tie it at 107 for Denver with 28 seconds to go. In the second overtime, with the score 117-115 for Kentucky and less than 30 seconds remaining, Wil Jones drove down the lane and scored two points to increase the lead to four before a misguided inbound pass by Byron Beck soon led to the end of the game.[2] This was the only ABA postseason game to last two overtimes and as it turned out, it was also the last Colonels game played in Kentucky.
April 28
|
| Kentucky Colonels 110, Denver Nuggets 133 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 30–30, 26–37, 28–39 | ||
| Pts: Maurice Lucas 23 Rebs: Maurice Lucas 15 Asts: Louie Dampier 11 |
Pts: David Thompson 40 Rebs: Dan Issel 12 Asts: Ralph Simpson 14 | |
| Denver wins series 4–3 | ||
(2) New York Nets vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
editApril 9
|
| San Antonio Spurs 101, New York Nets 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–33, 32–37, 28–27, 23–19 | ||
| Pts: George Gervin 30 Rebs: Paultz, Gale 7 each Asts: George Karl 4 |
Pts: Julius Erving 31 Rebs: Tim Bassett 14 Asts: Brian Taylor 4 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 11
|
| San Antonio Spurs 105, New York Nets 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 29–16, 26–21, 30–19 | ||
| Pts: Larry Kenon 30 Rebs: Billy Paultz 18 Asts: Mike Gale 13 |
Pts: Julius Erving 27 Rebs: Skinner, Bassett, Hughes 10 each Asts: Erving, Jones, Skinner 3 each | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 14
|
| New York Nets 103, San Antonio Spurs 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–21, 22–27, 20–27, 30–36 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 31 Rebs: Julius Erving 10 Asts: Julius Erving 8 |
Pts: Larry Kenon 28 Rebs: Larry Kenon 16 Asts: Mike Gale 11 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 18
|
| New York Nets 110, San Antonio Spurs 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–25, 28–35, 28–28, 30–20 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 35 Rebs: Julius Erving 14 Asts: Kim Hughes 7 |
Pts: Paultz, Gervin 28 each Rebs: Billy Paultz 12 Asts: Billy Paultz 5 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 19
|
| San Antonio Spurs 108, New York Nets 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–27, 24–30, 26–28, 25–25 | ||
| Pts: Larry Kenon 27 Rebs: Larry Kenon 12 Asts: Mike Gale 8 |
Pts: Julius Erving 32 Rebs: Tim Bassett 12 Asts: Julius Erving 6 | |
| New York leads series 3–2 | ||
April 21
|
| New York Nets 105, San Antonio Spurs 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–29, 21–23, 27–29, 30–25 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 41 Rebs: Tim Bassett 15 Asts: Brian Taylor 6 |
Pts: George Gervin 37 Rebs: Larry Kenon 18 Asts: Gale, Paultz 5 each | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 24
|
| San Antonio Spurs 114, New York Nets 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 31–31, 28–29, 33–37 | ||
| Pts: George Gervin 31 Rebs: Larry Kenon 11 Asts: Mike Gale 6 |
Pts: Julius Erving 28 Rebs: Julius Erving 18 Asts: Julius Erving 8 | |
| New York wins series 4–3 | ||
ABA Finals: New York Nets vs. Denver Nuggets
editMay 1
|
| New York Nets 120, Denver Nuggets 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–31, 26–27, 32–26, 30–34 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 45 Rebs: Julius Erving 12 Asts: Brian Taylor 5 |
Pts: David Thompson 30 Rebs: Marvin Webster 18 Asts: Ralph Simpson 9 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
Behind a record crowd for a playoff game in league history (19,034), the Nets managed to outrebound the Nuggets and score with Erving ready to pounce, as he scored 18 of New York's final 24 points in the last 7:24 of the game. After Marvin Webster had managed to tie the game at 118 on a putback with four seconds remaining, the Nets went to Erving to try and get a shot, and while he wanted the baseline to drive to the hoop, he was cut off by Denver defender Bobby Jones into trying a shot from 20-feet out that he stated was one where he "just let it fly" that went into the net at the buzzer to give New York the win. It was the last ever buzzer-beater shot ever recorded in the ABA.[3][4]
May 4
|
| New York Nets 121, Denver Nuggets 127 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–29, 25–22, 31–34, 40–42 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 48 Rebs: Julius Erving 14 Asts: Julius Erving 8 |
Pts: Ralph Simpson 25 Rebs: Dan Issel 14 Asts: Ralph Simpson 9 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
A new record for ABA crowds was set with 19,107 watching as the Nuggets struck back with a busy fourth quarter to hold off New York, with Denver seeing a 12-point lead shrivel to four with 1:26 to go before Denver pulled away at the end; each team shot over 60% in the final quarter and scored 82 combined points, a pro playoff record. Ralph Simpson led the scoring for Denver while playing all but two minutes due to a lack of bench with 25 points on the day. Julius Erving scored 48 points, which included 25 in the final quarter, which was reported at the time as the most point scored by one player in a quarter for a pro basketball playoff game (his 37 points scored in the second half is believed to also have been a record at the time).[5][6]
May 6
|
| Denver Nuggets 111, New York Nets 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 21–25, 32–29, 32–38 | ||
| Pts: David Thompson 32 Rebs: Dan Issel 13 Asts: Chuck Williams 5 |
Pts: Julius Erving 31 Rebs: Tim Bassett 12 Asts: Julius Erving 4 | |
| New York leads series, 2–1 | ||
Julius Erving scored eight points in the final two minutes of the game, starting by giving the Nets a 111-108 lead before David Thompson soon tied the game. Erving scored a backhand layup with 31 seconds to go before a key foul changed the course of the game when Thompson was charged with an offensive foul by John Vanak with 23 seconds remaining and Rich Jones trying to defend Thompson. Erving sealed the game up with two subsequent free throws and then scored the last points of the game with a dunk following a Nets steal that gave him 31 points on the night as the Nets took the lead in the series; Thompson was quoted as saying this was the first time he broke down in a locker room following a game.[7]
May 8
|
| Denver Nuggets 112, New York Nets 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–29, 23–32, 25–28, 30–32 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 26 Rebs: Dan Issel 15 Asts: David Thompson 5 |
Pts: Julius Erving 34 Rebs: Julius Erving 15 Asts: Julius Erving 6 | |
| New York leads series, 3–1 | ||
A dominant Erving, combined with 23 points from Brian Taylor to get out of a slump, helped the Nets dominate the Nuggets after a slow first quarter while Jim Eakins came off the bench to score 13 of his 17 points in the second half, where at one point New York led by over 15 with three minutes to go.[8][9]
May 11
|
| New York Nets 110, Denver Nuggets 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–27, 22–20, 20–42, 37–29 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 37 Rebs: Julius Erving 15 Asts: Julius Erving 5 |
Pts: Ralph Simpson 21 Rebs: Dan Issel 11 Asts: Chuck Williams 5 | |
| New York leads series, 3–2 | ||
Earlier in the day, the Virginia Squires had folded operations due to them making a failed pay assessment of $75,000 to the ABA alongside them failing to reimburse their own players with $120,000 in back pay, thus leaving the ABA with only six competing teams left by the end of the playoffs. However, since the Squires didn't even play in the ABA Playoffs that year, the ABA resumed their championship series as planned. The Nets, being poised to clinch the championship, led by 16 points with five minutes left to go in the second quarter, but Denver utilized a late push to narrow it to a six-point deficit at halftime before outshooting and outscoring the Nets with accurate shooting (13-of-19) to score 42 points in the third quarter; Chuck Williams and David Thompson scored 19 combined points in the quarter as Denver forced a Game 6 back in Uniondale.[10]
May 13
|
| Denver Nuggets 106, New York Nets 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–23, 30–22, 34–33, 14–34 | ||
| Pts: David Thompson 42 Rebs: Dan Issel 20 Asts: Towe, Jones 5 each |
Pts: Julius Erving 31 Rebs: Julius Erving 19 Asts: Julius Erving 5 | |
| New York wins series, 4–2 | ||
New York trailed by 22 points late in the third quarter before mounting a run by blitzing full‐court press called "Yellow" by head coach Kevin Loughery. The Nets rallied back to win, with John Williamson's jump shot with less than three minutes remaining giving New York a 106–104 lead that they held on to win the last ABA game ever played. As of 2024, it is the last championship for the franchise. The Nets would not reach another championship final of any kind until 2002 while the Nuggets did not reach a final until 2023.[11][12] With his prior championship in 1974, Kevin Loughery became the second ABA coach to win multiple championships as a coach, joining Bobby Leonard.
New York received $95,000 ($25,000 for their 2nd place finish and $70,000 for the playoffs) while Denver received $81,000. The championship trophy awarded to the Nets was the same silver trophy they won in 1974, as the new $800 silver bowl planned to be presented to the champion was stolen from league commissioner Dave DeBusschere the previous week.
Denver had three members of its team make the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: Dan Issel (1993), David Thompson (1996),and Bobby Jones (2019), along with their head coach Larry Brown (2002), while New York saw Julius Erving inducted (1993).[13]
Statistical leaders
edit| Category | Total | Average | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Total | Player | Team | Avg. | Games played | |
| Points | Julius Erving | New York Nets | 451 | Julius Erving | New York Nets | 34.7 | 13 |
| Rebounds | George McGinnis | Indiana Pacers | 164 | Artis Gilmore | Kentucky Colonels | 15.2 | 10 |
| Assists | Louie Dampier | Kentucky Colonels | 77 | Don Buse | Indiana Pacers | 8.7 | 3 |
| Steals | Brian Taylor | New York Nets | 26 | Mike Gale | San Antonio Spurs | 3.4 | 7 |
| Blocks | Artis Gilmore | Kentucky Colonels | 36 | Artis Gilmore | Kentucky Colonels | 3.6 | 10 |
Total leaders
edit|
Points
Rebounds
|
Assists
Minutes
|
References
edit- ^ "Nets take 2-1 lead". Southern Illinoisan. Associated Press. May 7, 1976. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ Clark, Mike (April 26, 1976). "Kentucky Colonels Win Over Denver". Corbin Times Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/buzzer-beaters-aba.html
- ^ Mossman, John (May 3, 1976). "Doc Erving Gives Nuggets Headache, Gives Nets Lead in ABA Championships". Daily Sitka Sentinel. Associated Press. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ "Net Gain: Confidence At Denver". Kittanning Simpson Leader-Times. UPI. May 5, 1976. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ "Dr. J amazing but Nets Lose". Auburn Citizen. Associated Press. May 5, 1976. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ "Nets take 2-1 lead". Southern Illinoisan. Associated Press. May 7, 1976. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ "Nets romp, take 3-1 lead". San Antonio Express News. Associated Press. May 9, 1976. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ "Dr. J Leads Nets to another win". Daily Review. UPI. May 9, 1976. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ "Nuggets rally against Nets, 118-110 to avoid playoff elimination at home". Saranac Lake Adirondack Daily Enterprise. UPI. May 12, 1976. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ "Bedlam in Broadcasting: Remembering the Chaos of Julius Erving Slicing up the Nuggets". June 6, 2023.
- ^ "Nets Attribute A.B.A. Victory to Loughery's 'Yellow Press'". The New York Times. May 15, 1976.
- ^ Ganguli, Tania (June 12, 2023). "The Nuggets Almost Won a Title in 1976. Denver Can Make History Now". The New York Times.