The1974 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of theAmerican Basketball Association's1973–74 season. The tournament concluded with theEastern Division championNew York Nets defeating theWestern Division championUtah Stars, four games to one in theABA Finals.

A one-game playoff was held to determine the fourth-place finisher in the Western Division because theSan Diego Conquistadors andDenver Rockets had both tied for fourth place during the regular season. The game was played on March 29, 1974, with the Conquistadors posting a 131–111 win at Denver.

TheCarolina Cougars played their final game on April 8, 1974, losing at home to theKentucky Colonels 128–119 in the last game of their Eastern Division semifinal series, which the Colonels swept 4 games to none. The Cougars played in the remaining two seasons of the ABA as theSpirits of St. Louis and were one of only two teams (the Colonels being the other) remaining during theABA-NBA merger to not enter the NBA.

TheNew York Nets andUtah Stars won the Eastern Division and Western Division, respectively, in both the regular season and the playoffs.^[1]

The New York Nets became the first team since the 1969-1970Indiana Pacers to win the ABA championship after posting the league's best regular season record.

Julius Erving of theNew York Nets was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs. He won that distinction again in 1976 and became the only player in ABA history to repeat as the MVP of the league playoffs.

With a barrage of shots that saw San Diego shoot 60% from the field and rookieBo Lamar score 40 points, the Conquistadors vanquished the Rockets to get the fourth spot. They connected from 15 of their first 20 shots to get a 37-29 lead after one quarter and never looked back, as Denver could only narrow it to eight points in the second quarter before San Diego rolled to a 19-point lead at halftime, with Lamar scoring 17 points in the first half to go with Stu Johnson's 22 (with six more in the second half). Denver had the dubious distinction of having lost both ABA Tiebreaker Games ever played on the court to determine a playoff team.^[2]

The Pacers trailed 42-29 at halftime, earning a record for least points in a half that they did with 8-of-33 shooting. Late in the third quarter,George McGinnis scored ten points to go along with 12 by Roger Brown to get the Pacers close as the final quarter loomed. The two teams were tied at 64 with 9:47 to go in a tight defensive battle that saw Indiana outshot in total field goals (27-of-78 to San Antonio's 31-of-74). With the score 72-69 and under six minutes to go, Brown sunk a three-pointer to give the Pacers a six-point lead that they managed to pull away for the remaining minutes. The Pacers received plenty of free throws, scoring 30 from 43 shots while San Antonio went 17-of-25.^[3]

With the game tied,Julius Erving hit a 15-foot shot at the buzzer to deliver a victory for New York. It is believed to be the first ABA buzzer-beater playoff shot in history.^[4]

The Nets completed their dominant run (winning 12 of their 14 playoff games) with 23 points byLarry Kenon.^[5]

• RememberTheABA.com page on 1974 ABA playoffs
• Basketball-Reference.com's 1974 ABA Playoffs page