The 1973 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 1972-1973 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion

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 ...

defeating the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels, four games to three in the ABA Finals.

Notable events

The teams with the three best records in the ABA that year failed to win the championship. The Carolina Cougars had the league's best record at 57-27 (.679), one game ahead of the Kentucky Colonels (56-28, .667) in the Eastern Division. The

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 t ...

won the Western Division with a record of 55-29 (.655), four games ahead of the

, who won the league championship after posting a regular season record of 51-33 (.607).Remember the ABA: 1972-73 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results
The Pacers became the first team to win a third ABA championship. The Colonels became the first team to lose two separate ABA championship series. The series also marked the second time in three years that the Colonels lost the ABA finals 4 games to 3; the same happened at the end of the

1971 ABA Playoffs The 1971 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1970-71 ABA season, 1970-1971 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division (ABA), Western Division champion Utah Stars defeating the Eastern D ...

against the

. Two years after the 1973 finals the Colonels and Pacers would meet again at the end of the 1975 ABA Playoffs with the Colonels winning the championship series. The Pacers'

George McGinnis George F. McGinnis (born August 10, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted into the ABA from Indiana ...

was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs.

Western Division

Champion:

Division Semifinals (1)

vs. (4)

San Diego Conquistadors The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

: ''Stars win series 4-0'' *Game 1 @ Utah: Utah 107, San Diego 93 *Game 2 @ Utah: Utah 103, San Diego 92 *Game 3 @ San Diego: Utah 97, San Diego 96 *Game 4 @ San Diego: Utah 120, San Diego 98 (2)

vs. (3)

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 ...

: ''Pacers win series 4-1'' *Game 1 @ Indiana: Indiana 114, Denver 91 *Game 2 @ Indiana: Indiana 106, Denver 93 *Game 3 @ Denver: Denver 105, Indiana 94 *Game 4 @ Denver: Indiana 97, Denver 95 *Game 5 @ Indiana: Indiana 121, Denver 107 Division Finals (1)

vs. (2)

: ''Pacers win series 4-2'' *Game 1 @ Utah: Utah 124, Indiana 107 *Game 2 @ Utah: Indiana 116, Utah 110 *Game 3 @ Indiana: Indiana 118, Utah 108 *Game 4 @ Indiana: Utah 104, Indiana 103 *Game 5 @ Utah: Indiana 104, Utah 102 *Game 6 @ Indiana: Indiana 107, Utah 98

Eastern Division

Champion: Kentucky Colonels Division Semifinals (1) Carolina Cougars vs. (4)

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, ...

: ''Cougars win series 4-1'' *Game 1 @ Carolina: Carolina 104, New York 96 *Game 2 @ Carolina: New York 114, Carolina 111 *Game 3 @ New York: Carolina 101, New York 91 *Game 4 @ New York: Carolina 112, New York 108 *Game 5 @ Carolina: Carolina 136, New York 113 (2) Kentucky Colonels vs. (3)

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, ...

: ''Colonels win series 4-1'' *Game 1 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 129, Virginia 101 *Game 2 @ Kentucky: Virginia 109, Kentucky 94 *Game 3 @ Virginia: Kentucky 115, Virginia 113 *Game 4 @ Virginia: Kentucky 108, Virginia 90 *Game 5 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 114, Virginia 103 Division Finals (1) Carolina Cougars vs. (2) Kentucky Colonels: ''Colonels win series 4-3'' *Game 1 @ Carolina: Kentucky 113, Carolina 103 *Game 2 @ Carolina: Carolina 125, Kentucky 105 *Game 3 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 108, Carolina 94 *Game 4 @ Kentucky: Carolina 102, Kentucky 91 *Game 5 @ Carolina: Carolina 112, Kentucky 107 *Game 6 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 119, Carolina 100 *Game 7 @ Carolina: Kentucky 107, Carolina 96

ABA Finals

(2) Kentucky Colonels VS. (2)

: ''Pacers win series 4-3'' *Game 1 (Apr 28) @ Kentucky: Indiana 111, Kentucky 107 *Game 2 (Apr 30) @ Kentucky: Kentucky 114, Indiana 102 *Game 3 (May 3) @ Indiana: Kentucky 92, Indiana 88 *Game 4 (May 5) @ Indiana: Indiana 90, Kentucky 86 *Game 5 (May 8) @ Kentucky: Indiana 89, Kentucky 86 *Game 6 (May 10) @ Indiana: Kentucky 109, Indiana 93 *Game 7 (May 12) @ Kentucky: Indiana 88, Kentucky 81

References

External links

RememberTheABA.com page on 1973 ABA playoffs
{{Indiana Pacers 1972–73 ABA Champions

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