| 1975–76 ABA season | |
|---|---|
| League | American Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | October 24, 1975 – May 13, 1976 |
| Games | 84 |
| Teams | 9 (later 8 & 7) |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Denver Nuggets |
| SeasonMVP | Julius Erving (New York) |
| Top scorer | Julius Erving (New York) |
| Finals | |
| Champions | New York Nets |
| Runners-up | Denver Nuggets |
| ABA seasons | |
The1975–76 ABA season was the ninth and final season of theAmerican Basketball Association. The shot clock was changed from 30 to 24 seconds in order to match the system that was utilized by theNBA. Former NBA playerDave DeBusschere was the league's newest commissioner after Tedd Munchak resigned, ultimately being its seventh and last one. This was also the only season that did not finish the season with the East-West division setup, as it was ultimately abandoned after theUtah Stars folded operations, being the third team to do so during the season. The NBA would later adopt the ABA's three-point shot, starting withthe 1979–80 season, initially as a gimmick before making it a more permanent fixture to their league.
Prior to the start of the season, theMemphis Sounds relocated toBaltimore,Maryland, and briefly became the Baltimore Hustlers,[1] then theBaltimore Claws. The Claws folded during the preseason in October after playing three exhibition games.[2] TheSan Diego Conquistadors were replaced for the 1975–76 season by theSan Diego Sails, but folded in November,[3] followed by theUtah Stars in early December.[4] TheVirginia Squires folded in May following the end of the regular season, but before the conclusion of the1976 ABA Playoffs,[5] due to them being unable to make a $75,000 league assessment (and $125,000 in back pay for their players) one month before league merger talks with the NBA began.
The1976 ABA All-Star Game saw the first placeDenver Nuggets come from behind to defeat the ABA All Stars 144–138 in Denver. The game saw the first everSlam Dunk Contest, won byJulius Erving.
With the conclusion of the season, the June 1976ABA-NBA merger saw theDenver Nuggets,Indiana Pacers,New York Nets, andSan Antonio Spurs join theNBA, while theKentucky Colonels andSpirits of St. Louis accepted deals to fold. The deal accepted by the Spirits' owners,Ozzie and Daniel Silna, would turn out to be quite lucrative, as they agreed to receive aseventh of the television revenue generated by each of the four newly added franchises in perpetuity.
On April 19, 1976, the final ABA MVP award was given toJulius Erving. Erving received 32-of-35 votes from the media voting, with Bobby Jones, David Thompson, and James Silas garnering the remaining votes. Erving had won the scoring title (averaging 29.3 points per game) while averaging 11 rebounds a game (5th), and field goal percentage (.517, 8th best). He was the third pro basketball player to win three straight league MVPs afterBill Russell andWilt Chamberlain.[6]
| 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 champions
The1976 ABA Playoffs opened with the Kentucky Colonels defeating the Indiana Pacers 2 games to 1 in the quarterfinals. The Colonels then lost a seven-game semifinal series to the #1 seeded Denver Nuggets, 4 games to 3. The other semifinal saw the New York Nets outlast the San Antonio Spurs 4 games to 3. In the finals the Nets beat the Nuggets, 4 games to 2.
