The 1971 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

's 1970-1971 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving to ...

defeating the Eastern Division champion

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

, four games to three in the ABA finals.

Notable events

There was a one-game playoff for fourth place in the Western Division because the

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and

Denver Rockets Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

had tied with regular season records of 30-54. The game was played on April 1 and the Chaparrals won 115-109. This was the first season in ABA history in which the team with the best regular season record did not win the ABA championship. The

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

had the league's best record during this season at 58-26 (.690), putting them one game ahead of the eventual league champion

in the Western Division. This was the first season in ABA history in which neither regular season division champion made it to the ABA finals. The second place Utah Stars represented the West while the

, second place in the East behind the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

, met them in the finals. Game 3 of the Eastern Finals saw 287 total points scored. This was the most points scored in any ABA playoff game, and would be the most points scored in a playoff game in either the NBA or ABA until 1992. 13,260 fans attended Game Seven of the ABA championship series between the Utah Stars and Kentucky Colonels at the

Salt Palace The Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center, more commonly known as the Salt Palace, is a convention center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Named after Utah's 11th governor, Calvin L. Rampton, the name "Salt Palace" was previously used by two ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

on May 18, 1971. After the Stars won 131-121 the fans stormed the floor and mobbed the court for twenty minutes.

Willie Wise Willie M. Wise (born March 3, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. After a successful ABA tenure, which eventually resulted in him making the ABA All-Time Team, Wise’s NBA career was ended prematurely by a knee injury. ...

and

Zelmo Beaty Zelmo "Big Z" Beaty ( ; October 25, 1939 – August 27, 2013) was an American basketball player. He played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and four in the rival American Basketball Association (ABA). A three-time ABA A ...

rode off the floor carried upon the shoulders of Utah fans.Remember the ABA: Utah Stars
Zelmo Beaty was named Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs.

Western Division

Champion:

Division Semifinals (1)

vs. (3)

Memphis Pros Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memphis ...

: ''Pacers win series 4-0'' *Game 1 @ Indiana: Indiana 114, Memphis 98 *Game 2 @ Indiana: Indiana 106, Memphis 104 *Game 3 @ Memphis: Indiana 91, Memphis 90 *Game 4 @ Memphis: Indiana 102, Memphis 101 (2)

vs. (4)

: ''Stars win series 4-0'' *Game 1 @ Utah: Utah 125, Texas 115 *Game 2 @ Utah: Utah 137, Texas 107 *Game 3 @ Texas: Utah 113, Texas 101 *Game 4 @ Texas: Utah 128, Texas 107 Division Finals (1)

vs. (2)

: ''Stars win series 4-3'' *Game 1 @ Indiana: Utah 120, Indiana 118 *Game 2 @ Indiana: Indiana 120, Utah 107 *Game 3 @ Utah: Utah 121, Indiana 108 *Game 4 @ Utah: Utah 126, Indiana 99 *Game 5 @ Indiana: Indiana 127, Utah 109 *Game 6 @ Utah: Indiana 105, Utah 102 *Game 7 @ Indiana: Utah 108, Indiana 101

Eastern Division

Champion:

Division Semifinals (1)

vs. (3)

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

: ''Squires win series 4-2'' *Game 1 @ Virginia: Virginia 113, New York 105 *Game 2 @ Virginia: Virginia 114, New York 108 *Game 3 @ New York: New York 135, Virginia 131 *Game 4 @ New York: New York 130, Virginia 127 *Game 5 @ Virginia: Virginia 127, New York 124 *Game 6 @ New York: Virginia 118, New York 114 (2)

vs. (4)

The Floridians ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

: ''Colonels win series 4-2'' *Game 1 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 116, Florida 112 *Game 2 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 120, Florida 110 *Game 3 @ Florida: Florida 120, Kentucky 102 *Game 4 @ Florida: Florida 129, Kentucky 117 *Game 5 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 118, Florida 101 *Game 6 @ Florida: Kentucky 112, Florida 103 Division Finals (1)

vs. (2)

: ''Colonels win series 4-2'' *Game 1 @ Virginia: Kentucky 136, Virginia 132 *Game 2 @ Virginia: Virginia 142, Kentucky 122 *Game 3 @ Kentucky: Virginia 150, Kentucky 137 *Game 4 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 128, Virginia 110 *Game 5 @ Virginia: Kentucky 117, Virginia 105 *Game 6 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 129, Virginia 117

ABA Finals

(2)

VS. (2)

: ''Stars win series 4-3'' *Game 1 (May 3) @ Utah: Utah 136, Kentucky 117 *Game 2 (May 5) @ Utah: Utah 138, Kentucky 125 *Game 3 (May 7) @ Kentucky: Kentucky 116, Utah 110 *Game 4 (May 8) @ Kentucky: Kentucky 129, Utah 125 *Game 5 (May 12) @ Utah: Utah 137, Kentucky 127 *Game 6 (May 15) @ Kentucky: Kentucky 105, Utah 102 *Game 7 (May 18) @ Utah: Utah 131, Kentucky 121

References

External links

RememberTheABA.com page on 1971 ABA playoffs
{{DEFAULTSORT:1971 Aba Playoffs

Playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

American Basketball Association playoffs