The1975–76 New York Nets season was the ninth and final season ofAmerican Basketball Associationbasketball for the franchise, which saw them first play as the New Jersey Americans in their inaugural season before later playing the rest of their years in the league inLong Island as the New York Nets. Before the season began properly (specifically over a week after the1975 ABA draft came and went), tragedy would strike with the team as beloved small forwardWendell Ladner was one of 113 fatalities (out of 124 total people) found in theEastern Air Lines Flight 66, with him being identified by his championship ring with the Nets from the1973–74 season as well as being the only ABA player to die during their career while in the league.^[1][2][3] After the tragic event, the Nets would dedicate the upcoming season to Ladner, with them later honoring him in future years as well. Also before the season began, the Nets andDenver Nuggets attempted to jump ship from the ABA to theNational Basketball Association (NBA) early (with them wanting theKentucky Colonels to join them since they saw each other as the strongest ABA teams left over by that point in time), but the judges preceding in their case informed them to stay in the ABA for at least one more season first due to the notion that even having two ABA teams join the NBA like that would still technically count as a merger happening between leagues. By the end of the season, the Nets were the second-best team in the league behind only the Nuggets (who finished with a league-best 60–24 record), having them easily earn a spot in the1976 ABA Playoffs, with the Nets unofficially being the final Eastern Division winners of the final ABA season in the process had the ABA not gotten rid of divisions entirely following the folding of theUtah Stars. The Nets won what would be their second and final ABA Championship by first beating theSan Antonio Spurs 4–3 in the semifinal round before beating the Nuggets 4–2 in the championship round. By the end of the season, the Nets would join theDenver Nuggets,San Antonio Spurs, andIndiana Pacers as the final four surviving ABA teams from theABA-NBA merger to make it to the NBA, though the Nets would suffer the biggest consequences of the four teams once they finally entered the NBA properly due to them encroaching up onto theNew York Knicks' territory as a new nearby, almost cityside rivaling organization (with the Nets playing in the Long Island area at the time) that the Knicks' ownership group was apprehensive of for the longest time.

Round	Pick	Player	Position(s)	Nationality	College
1	9	John Lucas II	PG	United States	Maryland
2	19	George Bucci	SG	United States	Manhattan College
3	29	Leon Douglas	C	United States	Alabama
4	39	Bob Guyette	PF	United States	Kentucky
5	49	Darryl Brown	PF/C	United States	Fordham
6	59	Mike Mitchell	SF	United States	Auburn
7	69	Wayne Croft	PF	United States	Clemson
8	79	John Lambert	PF/C	United States	USC

On October 4, 1975, the Nets played their first exhibition game of the season, facing theWashington Bullets of theNBA in the Capital Center inLandover, Maryland.Julius Erving scored 36 points to lead the Nets, but the Bullets managed a one-point victory, 109–108.

The Nets faced theNew York Knicks on October 8 inUniondale, New York. The Nets prevailed, 110–104.

On October 11 the Nets ventured toBuffalo, New York, to face theBuffalo Braves on the Braves' home court. 15,000 fans attended the game. Erving was held to 16 points, but the Nets won by a large margin, 109–83.

The Nets traveled toNew Haven, Connecticut, on October 14 to play the Washington Bullets for the second time in the preseason. The Nets avenged their loss of ten days earlier, winning 122–114.

The very next day, on October 15, theGolden State Warriors took the court against the Nets in Uniondale. Erving led the Nets with 43 points butRick Barry had 49 for Golden State as the Warriors won, 119–114.

Two days later the Nets traveled to Seton Hall for a rematch with the Buffalo Braves on October 17. The Nets won again, 117–97.

The next day, October 18, saw the Nets play their final ABA vs. NBA exhibition game as they took the court atMadison Square Garden to again face their in-state rivals from the NBA, the New York Knicks. Julius Erving scored 33 points and hit a jump shot at the buzzer to win the game for the Nets, 103–101.^[4]

The Nets finished their ABA tenure with a record of 15 wins and 9 losses against NBA teams in exhibition games. The Nets went 2–0 against the NBA before the 1971–72 season, 0–3 before 1972–73, 4–1 prior to the1973–74 campaign, 4–3 before the 1974–75 season and 5–2 before the 1975–76 season. Overall, the ABA went 79–76 in the interleague matchups, faring poorly at first but going 62–34 in the last three years of the league.^[5]

Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team
† did not survive the end of the season.
Bold – ABA champions^[6]

^[7]

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Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; STL= Steals; REB = Rebounds; ASST = Assists; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points

^[8]

Semifinals vs.San Antonio Spurs

Nets win series, 4–3

ABA Finals vs.Denver Nuggets

Nets win series, 4–2

This is, to date, the last championship the Nets have won in professional basketball. This would also be the last playoff series ever done in the ABA.

• Julius Erving, ABA Finals MVP

• New York Nets on Basketball Reference

• 1975–76 ABA season
• Brooklyn Nets seasons
• 1975 in sports in New York (state)
• 1976 in sports in New York (state)
• American Basketball Association championship seasons
• Sports in Hempstead, New York

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