| 1969–70 ABA season | |
|---|---|
| League | American Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | October 17, 1969 – May 25, 1970 |
| Games | 84 |
| Teams | 11 |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Indiana Pacers |
| SeasonMVP | Spencer Haywood (Denver) |
| Top scorer | Spencer Haywood (Denver) |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Indiana Pacers |
| Runners-up | Los Angeles Stars |
| ABA seasons | |
The1969–70 ABA season was the third season of theAmerican Basketball Association. Prior to the start of the season, theMinnesota Pipers moved back to Pittsburgh, theOakland Oaks moved to Washington, D.C., and became theWashington Caps and theHouston Mavericks moved toNorth Carolina and became theCarolina Cougars. For the regular-season, the schedule was increased from 78 to 84 games per team. The season ended with theIndiana Pacers capturing their first ABA Championship.
By April of 1970, rumblings of a merger were reported in the press, with one reported offer having the league pay $11 million in indemnities while agreeing to move the Washington franchise out of its location. The NBA Players Association was felt to be an obstacle for any plans of a merger, as they had voted to strike in the event of such a merger. As it turned out, the merger would not occur until many years later with only a fraction of the ABA's teams making it in the final merger.[1]
Spencer Haywood, a rookie from theUniversity of Detroit, led the ABA in scoring (30.0 ppg) and rebounding (19.5 rpg) for theDenver Rockets. Haywood was professional basketball's first "hardship case", leaving college after his sophomore season. The NBA prohibited him from declaring for its draft, and he signed with the Rockets instead, leading them to the Western Division championship.
| 1969-70 American Basketball Association | ||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Carolina Cougars | Greensboro,North Carolina Charlotte,North Carolina Raleigh,North Carolina | Greensboro Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum Dorton Arena | 15,000 9,605 7,610 |
| Indiana Pacers | Indianapolis,Indiana | Indiana State Fair Coliseum | 10,000 | |
| Kentucky Colonels | Louisville,Kentucky | Louisville Convention Center | 6,000 | |
| Miami Floridians | Miami,Florida | Dinner Key Auditorium Miami-Dade Junior College North Gym | 6,900 N/A | |
| New York Nets | West Hempstead,New York | Island Garden | 5,200 | |
| Pittsburgh Pipers | Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania | Civic Arena | 12,580 | |
| Western | Dallas Chaparrals | University Park,Texas Dallas,Texas | Moody Coliseum Dallas Memorial Auditorium | 8,998 9,815 |
| Denver Rockets | Denver,Colorado | Denver Auditorium Arena | 6,841 | |
| Los Angeles Stars | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles Sports Arena | 14,795 | |
| New Orleans Buccaneers | New Orleans,Louisiana | Loyola Field House | 6,500 | |
| Washington Caps | Washington,D.C. | Washington Coliseum | 7,000 | |
| Team | W | L | PCT. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana Pacers * | 59 | 25 | .702 | — |
| Kentucky Colonels * | 45 | 39 | .536 | 14.0 |
| Carolina Cougars * | 42 | 42 | .500 | 17.0 |
| New York Nets * | 39 | 45 | .464 | 20.0 |
| Pittsburgh Pipers | 29 | 55 | .345 | 30.0 |
| Miami Floridians | 23 | 61 | .274 | 36.0 |
| Team | W | L | PCT. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver Rockets * | 51 | 33 | .607 | — |
| Dallas Chaparrals * | 45 | 39 | .536 | 6.0 |
| Washington Caps * | 44 | 40 | .524 | 7.0 |
| Los Angeles Stars * | 43 | 41 | .512 | 8.0 |
| New Orleans Buccaneers | 42 | 42 | .500 | 9.0 |
Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team
Bold – ABA champions
On April 10, 1970, theIndiana Pacers would score a league record-high 177 points in a 177–135 win over thePittsburgh Pipers at home.[2] As of 2025, it remains the highest-scoring effort the Pacers have ever had either in the ABA or theNBA (with their most recent highest-scoring game in the NBA occurring on March 27, 2025 with a 162–109 blowout win over theWashington Wizards[3]). On April 28, 1970,Spencer Haywood was named ABA MVP.[4]
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