The 1972 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the
American Basketball Association's
1971–1972 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion
Indiana Pacers defeating the Eastern Division champion
New York Nets
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* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
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, four games to two in the 1972 ABA Finals.
Notable events
The
Kentucky Colonels, despite finishing the season with the best record in the history of the ABA (68-16, .810), winning 8 of 11 regular season games against the
New York Nets
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New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
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* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
and finishing 24 games ahead of the Nets in the regular season standings, lost their first round series to the Nets.
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 ...
played their final game on April 6, 1972, losing at home in their Eastern Division semifinal series to 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, ...
115-106. The Squires swept the series 4 games to none behind rookie
Julius Erving
Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...
who grabbed at least seventeen rebounds in three of those four games. On June 13, 1972, the league bought the Floridians and disbanded the team.
The
Indiana Pacers became the first team to win a second ABA championship.
Freddie Lewis
Frederick L. Lewis (born July 1, 1943) is a retired American basketball player. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA). He is the only player to start his career in the NBA ...
of the Pacers was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs.
This was the first season in which two future
NBA teams met for the ABA Championship. This only happened one other time in the league's history, during its final year in 1976 when the
Denver Nuggets edged past the Colonels 4-3 to meet the Nets in the ABA championship series.
Five of the seven playoff series ended in final games in which the home team lost.
Western Division
Champion:
Indiana Pacers
Division Semifinals
(1)
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 ...
vs. (3)
Dallas Chaparrals
The Dallas Chaparrals were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The team moved to San Antonio, Texas for the 1973–74 season and were renamed the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs joined the National Basketball Association ...
:
''Stars win series 4-0''
*Game 1 @ Utah: Utah 106, Dallas 96
*Game 2 @ Utah: Utah 113, Dallas 107
*Game 3 @ Dallas: Utah 96, Dallas 89
*Game 4 @ Dallas: Utah 103, Dallas 99
(2)
Indiana Pacers vs. (4)
Denver Rockets
Denver () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States#State capital, capital, and List of municipalities in Colorado#, most populous city of th ...
:
''Pacers win series 4-3''
*Game 1 @ Indiana: Indiana 102, Denver 96
*Game 2 @ Indiana: Denver 106, Indiana 105
*Game 3 @ Denver: Indiana 122, Denver 120
*Game 4 @ Denver: Denver 112, Indiana 96
*Game 5 @ Indiana: Indiana 91, Denver 79
*Game 6 @ Denver: Denver 106, Indiana 99
*Game 7 @ Indiana: Indiana 91, Denver 89
Division Finals
(1)
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 ...
vs. (2)
Indiana Pacers:
''Pacers win series 4-3''
*Game 1 @ Utah: Utah 108, Indiana 100
*Game 2 @ Utah: Utah 117, Indiana 109
*Game 3 @ Indiana: Indiana 116, Utah 111
*Game 4 @ Indiana: Indiana 118, Utah 108
*Game 5 @ Utah: Utah 139, Indiana 130
*Game 6 @ Indiana: Indiana 105, Utah 99
*Game 7 @ Utah: Indiana 117, Utah 113
Eastern Division
Champion:
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, ...
Division Semifinals
(1)
Kentucky Colonels 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, ...
:
''Nets win series 4-2''
*Game 1 @ Kentucky: New York 122, Kentucky 108
*Game 2 @ Kentucky: New York 105, Kentucky 90
*Game 3 @ New York: Kentucky 105, New York 99
*Game 4 @ New York: New York 100, Kentucky 92
*Game 5 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 109, New York 93
*Game 6 @ New York: New York 101, Kentucky 96
(2)
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, ...
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 ...
:
''Squires win series 4-0''
*Game 1 @ Virginia: Virginia 114, Florida 107
*Game 2 @ Virginia: Virginia 125, Florida 100
*Game 3 @ Florida: Virginia 118, Florida 113
*Game 4 @ Florida: Virginia 115, Florida 106
Division Finals
(1)
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, ...
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, ...
:
''Nets win series 4-3''
*Game 1 @ Virginia: Virginia 138, New York 91
*Game 2 @ Virginia: Virginia 115, New York 106
*Game 3 @ New York: New York 119, Virginia 117
*Game 4 @ New York: New York 118, Virginia 107
*Game 5 @ Virginia: Virginia 116, New York 107
*Game 6 @ New York: New York 146, Virginia 136
*Game 7 @ Virginia: New York 94, Virginia 88
ABA Finals
(2)
Indiana Pacers 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, ...
:
''Pacers win series 4-2''
*Game 1 (May 6) @ Indiana: Indiana 124, New York 103
*Game 2 (May 9) @ Indiana: New York 117, Indiana 115
*Game 3 (May 12) @ New York: Indiana 114, New York 108
*Game 4 (May 15) @ New York: New York 110, Indiana 105
*Game 5 (May 18) @ Indiana: Indiana 100, New York 99
*Game 6 (May 20) @ New York: Indiana 108, New York 105
External links
RememberTheABA.com page on 1972 ABA playoffs
{{DEFAULTSORT:1972 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 eit ...
American Basketball Association playoffs