1971–72 ABA season

The 1971–72 ABA season was the fifth season of the American Basketball Association. The Indiana Pacers won the championship, defeating the New York Nets, 4 games to 2, in the ABA Finals.

1971–72 ABA season
League	American Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	October 13, 1971 – May 20, 1972
Games	84
Teams	11
Regular season
Top seed	Kentucky Colonels
Season MVP	Artis Gilmore (Kentucky)
Top scorer	Dan Issel (Kentucky)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	New York Nets
Eastern runners-up	Virginia Squires
Western champions	Indiana Pacers
Western runners-up	Utah Stars
Finals
Champions	Indiana Pacers
Runners-up	New York Nets

With the signing of players such as rookie centers Artis Gilmore and Jim McDaniels in the offseason, the league looked to shift perceptions that it was a "guard league" without much height. For the first time in the league's history, no franchise moved to a different state from the previous season. The only name change involved the Dallas Chaparrals, who were able to secure a lease in Dallas for the season and were renamed from the previous season's Texas Chaparrals. This season also saw the team with the best record in ABA history with the Kentucky Colonels holding a 68–16 record, but they would be upset in the first round by the New York Nets, who finished in third place in the Eastern Division.

Coaching changes

Offseason
Team	1970–71 coach	1971–72 coach
Carolina Cougars	Jerry Steele	Tom Meschery
Dallas Chaparrals	Bill Blakeley	Tom Nissalke
Denver Rockets	Stan Albeck	Alex Hannum
Kentucky Colonels	Frank Ramsey	Joe Mullaney
Utah Stars	Bill Sharman	LaDell Anderson
In-season
Team	Outgoing coach	Incoming coach
Pittsburgh Condors	Jack McMahon	Mark Binstein

Teams

1971–72 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
	New York Nets	West Hempstead, New York Uniondale, New York	Island Garden Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum	5,200 13,571
	Pittsburgh Condors	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Civic Arena	12,580
	The Floridians	Miami Beach, Florida Tampa, Florida St. Petersburg, Florida Jacksonville, Florida West Palm Beach, Florida	Miami Beach Convention Center Curtis Hixon Hall Bayfront Arena Jacksonville Coliseum West Palm Beach Auditorium	15,000 7,000 7,500 11,000 5,000
	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	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
	Indiana Pacers	Indianapolis, Indiana	Indiana State Fair Coliseum	10,000
	Memphis Pros	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	10,085
	Utah Stars	Salt Lake City, Utah	Salt Palace	12,166

Map of teams

Carolina

Kentucky

New York

Pittsburgh

Floridians

Virginia

Dallas

Denver

Indiana

Memphis

Utah

Eastern Division Western Division

Final standings

Eastern Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Kentucky Colonels *	68	16	.810	—
Virginia Squires *	45	39	.536	23
New York Nets *	44	40	.524	24
The Floridians *	36	48	.429	32
Carolina Cougars	35	49	.417	33
Pittsburgh Condors	25	59	.298	43

Western Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Utah Stars *	60	24	.714	—
Indiana Pacers *	47	37	.560	13
Dallas Chaparrals *	42	42	.500	18
Denver Rockets *	34	50	.405	26
Memphis Pros	26	58	.310	34

Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team

Bold – ABA champions

Playoffs

See also: 1972 ABA playoffs

Awards and honors

Artis Gilmore (Kentucky) was named ABA MVP and ROTY

• ABA Most Valuable Player Award: Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels
• Rookie of the Year: Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels
• Coach of the Year: Tom Nissalke, Dallas Chaparrals
• Playoffs MVP: Freddie Lewis, Indiana Pacers
• All-Star Game MVP: Dan Issel, Kentucky Colonels
• All-ABA First Team
  • Dan Issel, Kentucky Colonels (1st First Team selection, 2nd overall selection)
  • Rick Barry, New York Nets (4th selection)
  • Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels
  • Donnie Freeman, Dallas Chaparrals (1st First Team selection, 4th overall selection)
  • Bill Melchionni, New York Nets
• All-ABA Second Team
  • Willie Wise, Utah Stars
  • Julius Erving, Virginia Squires
  • Zelmo Beaty, Utah Stars (2nd selection)
  • Ralph Simpson, Denver Rockets
  • Charlie Scott, Virginia Squires
• All-ABA Rookie Team
  • Julius Erving, Virginia Squires
  • Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels
  • George McGinnis, Indiana Pacers
  • Johnny Neumann, Memphis Pros
  • John Roche, New York Nets

References

Season summary on Basketball Reference