1973–74 ABA season

The 1973–74 ABA season was the seventh season of the American Basketball Association. The New York Nets won the ABA championship, 4 games to 1 over the Utah Stars.

1973–74 ABA season
League	American Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	October 10, 1973 – May 10, 1974
Number of games	84
Number of teams	10
Regular season
Top seed	New York Nets
Season MVP	Julius Erving (New York)
Top scorer	Julius Erving (New York)
Finals
Champions	New York Nets
Runners-up	Utah Stars

Only one franchise move occurred from the previous season, and it stayed in state. The Dallas Chaparrals were purchased by Angelo Drossos and were moved to San Antonio and renamed the San Antonio Spurs.

Teams

1973-74 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
	Kentucky Colonels	Louisville, Kentucky	Freedom Hall	16,664
	Memphis Tams	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	10,085
	New York Nets	Uniondale, New York	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum	13,571
	Virginia Squires	Old Dominion University Fieldhouse Hampton Coliseum Richmond Arena Salem Civic Center Roanoke Civic Center	Norfolk, Virginia Hampton, Virginia Richmond, Virginia Salem, Virginia Roanoke, Virginia	5,200 9,777 6,000 6,820 9,828
Western	Denver Rockets	Denver, Colorado	Denver Auditorium Arena	6,841
	Indiana Pacers	Indianapolis, Indiana	Indiana State Fair Coliseum	10,000
	San Antonio Spurs	San Antonio, Texas	Hemisfair Arena	10,146
	San Diego Conquistadors	San Diego, California	Golden Hall	3,200
	Utah Stars	Salt Lake City, Utah	Salt Palace	12,166

Map of teams

Carolina

Kentucky

Memphis

New York

Virginia

Denver

Indiana

San Antonio

San Diego

Utah

Eastern Division Western Division

Final standings

Eastern Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
New York Nets *	55	29	.655	—
Kentucky Colonels *	53	31	.631	2
Carolina Cougars *	47	37	.560	8
Virginia Squires *	28	56	.333	27
Memphis Tams	21	63	.250	34

Western Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Utah Stars *	51	33	.607	—
Indiana Pacers *	46	38	.548	5
San Antonio Spurs *	45	39	.536	6
San Diego Conquistadors *	37	47	.440	14
Denver Rockets *	37	47	.440	14

Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team (the Conquistadors and the Rockets played a one-game playoff to settle the tie for the final playoff spot, which the Conquistadors won)

Bold – ABA champions

Regular season

Julius Erving was named league MVP with 49 votes to Artis Gilmore's nine votes.^[1]

Playoffs

See also: 1974 ABA playoffs

Awards and honors

Julius "Dr. J" Erving (New York) won the ABA MVP

• ABA Most Valuable Player Award: Julius Erving, New York Nets
• Rookie of the Year: Swen Nater, San Antonio Spurs^[2]
• Coach of the Year: Babe McCarthy, Kentucky Colonels & Joe Mullaney, Utah Stars
• Playoffs MVP: Julius Erving, New York Nets
• All-Star Game MVP: Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels^[3]
• Executive of the Year: Jack Ankerson, San Antonio Spurs
• All-ABA First Team
  • Julius Erving, New York Nets (2nd First Team selection, 3rd overall selection)
  • George McGinnis, Indiana Pacers (1st First Team selection, 2nd overall selection)
  • Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels (3rd selection)
  • Jimmy Jones, Utah Stars (3rd selection)
  • Mack Calvin, Carolina Cougars (2nd First Team selection, 3rd overall selection)
• All-ABA Second Team
  • Dan Issel, Kentucky Colonels (3rd Second Team selection, 4th overall selection)
  • Willie Wise, Utah Stars (2nd selection)
  • Swen Nater, San Antonio Spurs
  • Ron Boone, Utah Stars
  • Louie Dampier, Kentucky Colonels (4th selection)
• All-Defensive Team
  • Mike Gale (2nd selection), Kentucky Colonels
  • Artis Gilmore (2nd selection), Kentucky Colonels
  • Julius Keye (2nd selection), Denver Rockets
  • Ted McClain, Carolina Cougars
  • Roland Taylor, Virginia Squires
  • Willie Wise (2nd selection), Utah Stars
• All-Rookie Team
  • Mike Green, Denver Rockets
  • Larry Kenon, New York Nets
  • Bo Lamar, San Diego Conquistadors
  • Swen Nater, Virginia Squires (traded to the San Antonio Spurs in November 1973)
  • John Williamson, New York Nets