The 1972–73 ABA season was the sixth season of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

. The

Pittsburgh Condors The Pittsburgh Condors were a professional basketball team in the original American Basketball Association (ABA). Originally called the Pittsburgh Pipers, they were a charter franchise of the ABA and captured the first league title. The team pla ...

and Miami Floridians had folded, leaving the league with nine teams. However, the ABA decided to (for the first and only time) award an expansion franchise to Dr. Leonard Bloom (President and CEO of the United States Capital Corporation) for $1 million to play in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, named the San Diego Conquistadors (however due to a feud they did not play in San Diego Sports Arena, instead playing at Peterson Gym). Subsequently, this meant that the Memphis Tams (formerly the Memphis Pros) would move to the Eastern Division. Once again, the best regular season team did not win the ABA Finals, with 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

(who had the 4th best record), led by playoff MVP

George McGinnis George F. McGinnis (August 12, 1950 – December 14, 2023) was an American professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball ...

, winning the ABA championship, 4 games to 3 over the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were an American professional basketball team based in Louisville, Kentucky. They competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1967 to 1976. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonels. The Colo ...

Teams

Map of teams

Final standings

Eastern Division

Western Division

Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team Bold – ABA champions

Playoffs

Awards and honors

* ABA Most Valuable Player Award:

Billy Cunningham William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid for his leaping and record-setting rebounding abilities. He spent a total of 17 seasons with the NBA' ...

Carolina Cougars The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...

* Rookie of the Year: Brian Taylor,

New York Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

* Coach of the Year: Larry Brown, Carolina Cougars * Playoffs MVP:

* All-Star Game MVP:

Warren Jabali Warren Jabali (born Warren Edward Armstrong; August 29, 1946 – July 13, 2012) was an American basketball player. He played professionally in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1968 to 1975. Early career Jabali changed his name whi ...

Denver Rockets Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of ...

* Executive of the Year: Carl Scheer, Carolina Cougars *All-ABA First Team **

, Carolina Cougars **

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 ...

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 ...

(1st First Team selection, 2nd overall selection) ** Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels (2nd selection) ** Jimmy Jones,

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 ...

, Denver Rockets *All-ABA Second Team **

, Indiana Pacers ** Dan Issel, Kentucky Colonels (2nd Second Team selection, 3rd overall selection) **

Mel Daniels Melvin Joe Daniels (July 20, 1944 – October 30, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Minnesota Muskies, Indiana Pacers, and Memphis Sounds, and in the National Bas ...

, Indiana Pacers (1st Second Team selection, 5th overall selection) ** Ralph Simpson, Denver Rockets (2nd selection) ** Mack Calvin, Carolina Cougars (1st Second Team selection, 2nd overall selection) *All-Defensive Team (beginning with this season) ** Joe Caldwell,

** Mike Gale,

** Julius Keye, Denver Rockets ** Roland Taylor, Virginia Squires ** Willie Wise, Utah Stars *All-Rookie Team ** Jim Chones, New York Nets ** George Gervin, Virginia Squires ** James Silas, Dallas Chaparrals ** Brian Taylor, New York Nets ** Dennis Wuycik, Carolina Cougars

References

Season summary on Basketball Reference
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