The 1974–75 San Diego Conquistadors season was the third and final full season of play for the Conquistadors in 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 ...

. While the team was finally was able to play in the

San Diego Sports Arena Pechanga Arena is an indoor arena in San Diego, California. Opened in 1966, it is an example of New Formalism architecture and has been designated by the City of San Diego as a historic resource. The arena has been home to numerous athletic team ...

due to the franchise being able to resolve something with proprietor Peter Graham by this time, the Conquistadors still floundered both on the court and in the box office, with

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...

having left the team's coaching staff after the previous season due to his increasing lack of care in being a head coach without playing basketball on his end. They finished fifth in points per game at 109.9, but dead last in points allowed at 115.5 per game. One of the most notable games they played was against the

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 ...

in a quadruple-overtime game on

February 14 It is observed in most countries as Valentine's Day. Events Pre-1600 * 748 – Abbasid Revolution#Persian phase, Abbasid Revolution: The Kaysanites Shia#History, Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad ...

, winning what would become the highest-scoring game in ABA history in a 176–166 final score (which would be the highest-scoring professional basketball game overall (either in the ABA or NBA) until the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

won a 186–184 triple-overtime game over the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

on December 13, 1983). A victory over 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 ...

(the worst team of the entire ABA not just during this season, but arguably all time in terms of seasons completed at this time) on March 12 turned out to be their last, as they would lose 11 straight games to end the season, finishing the Western Division dead last and failing to make it to the

1975 ABA Playoffs The 1975 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1974–75 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels defeating the Western Division champion Indiana Pace ...

by 7 games. After this season ended, Frank Goldberg (who formerly held ownership interest in the

) bought the San Diego Conquistadors, assuming the $2 million in team debt that was held at that point in time. Goldberg soon renamed the team for the upcoming season, with the team now becoming the San Diego Sails for what would have later become the ABA's final season of play. However, the Sails would ultimately fold only 11 games into that brief season of theirs.

ABA Draft

The alternating draft picks after the third round relates to them tying the

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 ...

(now

) in terms of records last season. Also, this draft table does not include the "ABA Draft of NBA Players" done immediately afterward.

ABA Draft of NBA Players

The "ABA Draft of NBA Players" that was done on April 17, 1974 happened immediately after the actual ABA Draft done for this season was concluded on that day. None of the five players drafted by the Conquistadors would report to the team this season, though Connie Hawkins previously played a couple of seasons with the formerly existing Pittsburgh/Minnesota Pipers before being unbanned by the

(with his prior banning relating to alleged involvement with Jack Molinas in the 1961 NCAA University Division men's basketball gambling scandal during his freshman year at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

when he didn't play college basketball whatsoever there) and signing a deal with that league's

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

in 1969.

Roster

Final standings

Western Division

Awards and honors

1975 ABA All-Star Game selection (game played on January 28, 1975) *

Caldwell Jones Caldwell "Pops" Jones Jr. (August 4, 1950 – September 21, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. Jones was drafted out of Albany State College by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 14th pick in the 1973 NBA draft. He played thre ...

References

External links

RememberTheABA.com 1974–75 regular season and playoff results

{{DEFAULTSORT:1974-75 San Diego Conquistadors season San Diego Conquistadors San Diego Conquistadors San Diego Conquistadors, 1974-75 San Diego Conquistadors, 1974-75