1968–69 ABA season

The 1968–69 ABA season was the second season for the American Basketball Association. Two teams relocated: Minnesota Muskies became the Miami Floridians, while the Pittsburgh Pipers moved to Minnesota and became the Minnesota Pipers. Two others relocated within their territory, with the Anaheim Amigos becoming the Los Angeles Stars and the New Jersey Americans became the New York Nets. These moves to perceived better locations, alongside the arrival of Rick Barry to play with the Oakland Oaks, led the league having optimism for its second season.^[1] The season ended with the Oakland Oaks capturing the first ABA championship. Months later, the Oaks elected to relocate to Washington, D.C. with the purchase of the team by Earl Foreman.

1968–69 ABA season
League	American Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	October 18, 1968 – May 7, 1969
Number of games	78
Number of teams	11
Regular season
Top seed	Oakland Oaks
Season MVP	Mel Daniels (Indiana)
Top scorer	Larry Jones (Denver)
Finals
Champions	Oakland Oaks
Runners-up	Indiana Pacers

Teams

1968-69 American Basketball Association
Division	Team	City	Arena	Capacity
Eastern	Indiana Pacers	Indianapolis, Indiana	Indiana State Fair Coliseum	10,000
	Kentucky Colonels	Louisville, Kentucky	Louisville Convention Center	6,000
	Miami Floridians	Miami Beach, Florida	Miami Beach Convention Center	15,000
	Minnesota Pipers	Bloomington, Minnesota	Metropolitan Sports Center	15,000
	New York Nets	Commack, New York	Long Island Arena	6,000
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
	Houston Mavericks	Houston, Texas	Sam Houston Coliseum	9,200
	Los Angeles Stars	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Sports Arena	14,795
	New Orleans Buccaneers	New Orleans, Louisiana	Loyola Field House	6,500
	Oakland Oaks	Oakland, California	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	13,502

Map of teams

Indiana

Kentucky

Miami

Minnesota

New York

Dallas

Denver

Houston

Los Angeles

New Orleans

Oakland

Eastern Division Western Division

Regular season

On April 5, 1969, prior to the ABA Playoffs, Mel Daniels was named ABA Most Valuable Player, with the margin being reported as being two votes over Connie Hawkins (others to receive votes were Larry Jones, James Jones, Rick Barry, Don Freeman, Warren Armstrong, Louie Dampier, Roger Brown, and Doug Moe).^[2]

Final standings

Eastern Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Indiana Pacers *	44	34	.564	—
Miami Floridians *	43	35	.551	1
Kentucky Colonels *	42	36	.538	2
Minnesota Pipers *	36	42	.462	8
New York Nets	17	61	.218	27

Western Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Oakland Oaks *	60	18	.769	—
New Orleans Buccaneers *	46	32	.590	14
Denver Rockets *	44	34	.564	16
Dallas Chaparrals *	41	37	.526	19
Los Angeles Stars	33	45	.423	27
Houston Mavericks	23	55	.295	37

Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team

Bold – ABA champions

Playoffs

Main article: 1969 ABA Playoffs

The Oakland Oaks beat the Indiana Pacers 4-1 to win the ABA Championship.

Awards and honors

Warren Jabali (Oakland) won the 1968–69 ABA Playoffs MVP

Rick Barry (Oakland) was named All-ABA First Team

• ABA Most Valuable Player Award: Mel Daniels, Indiana Pacers
• Rookie of the Year: Warren Jabali, Oakland Oaks
• Coach of the Year: Alex Hannum, Oakland Oaks
• Playoffs MVP: Warren Jabali, Oakland Oaks
• All-Star Game MVP: John Beasley, Dallas Chaparrals
• All-ABA First Team
  • Connie Hawkins, Minnesota Pipers (2nd selection)
  • Rick Barry, Oakland Oaks
  • Mel Daniels, Indiana Pacers (2nd selection)
  • Jimmy Jones, New Orleans Buccaneers
  • Larry Jones, Denver Rockets (2nd selection)
• All-ABA Second Team
  • John Beasley, Dallas Chaparrals (2nd selection)
  • Doug Moe, Oakland Oaks (1st Second Team selection, 2nd overall selection)
  • Red Robbins, New Orleans Buccaneers
  • Donnie Freeman, Miami Floridians
  • Louie Dampier, Kentucky Colonels
• All-Rookie Team
  • Ron Boone, Dallas Chaparrals
  • Warren Jabali, Oakland Oaks
  • Larry Miller, Los Angeles Stars
  • Gene Moore, Kentucky Colonels
  • Walter Piatkowski, Denver Rockets

See also

• Sports portal

• 1969 ABA Playoffs