The 1975–76 ABA season was the ninth and final 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 shot clock was changed from 30 to 24 seconds in order to match the system that was utilized by 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 ...

. Former NBA player

Dave DeBusschere David Albert DeBusschere (October 16, 1940 – May 14, 2003) was an American professional basketball player and coach, and professional baseball player. He played for the Chicago White Sox of MLB in 1962 and 1963 and in the NBA for the Detroit Pi ...

was the league's newest commissioner after Tedd Munchak resigned, ultimately being its seventh and last one. This was also the only season that did not finish the season with the East-West division setup, as it was ultimately abandoned after 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 to ...

folded operations, being the third team to do so during the season. The NBA would later adopt the ABA's three-point shot, starting with the 1979–80 season, initially as a gimmick before making it a more permanent fixture to their league. Prior to the start of the season, the

Memphis Sounds The Memphis Sounds were an American professional sports franchise that played in Memphis, Tennessee from 1970 until 1975 as a member of the American Basketball Association. The team was first founded as the New Orleans Buccaneers in 1967. Known d ...

relocated to

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, and briefly became the Baltimore Hustlers, then the Baltimore Claws. The Claws folded during the preseason in October after playing three exhibition games. The San Diego Conquistadors were replaced for the 1975–76 season by the San Diego Sails, but folded in November, followed by the

in early December. 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 ...

folded in May following the end of the regular season, but before the conclusion of the 1976 ABA Playoffs, due to them being unable to make a $75,000 league assessment one month before league merger talks with the NBA began. The 1976 ABA All-Star Game saw the first place

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 ...

come from behind to defeat the ABA All Stars 144–138 in Denver. The game saw the first ever Slam Dunk Contest, won by

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 ...

. With the conclusion of the season, the June 1976 ABA-NBA merger saw 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 ...

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 ...

, and

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

join the

, while 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 ...

and Spirits of St. Louis accepted deals to fold. The deal accepted by the Spirits' owners, Ozzie and Daniel Silna, would turn out to be quite lucrative, as they agreed to receive a seventh of the television revenue generated by each of the four newly added franchises in perpetuity.

Teams

Map of teams

Regular season

On April 19, 1976, the final ABA MVP award was given to

. Erving received 32-of-35 votes from the media voting, with Bobby Jones, David Thompson, and James Silas garnering the remaining votes. Erving had won the scoring title (averaging 29.3 points per game) while averaging 11 rebounds a game (5th), and field goal percentage (.517, 8th best). He was the third pro basketball player to win three straight league MVPs after

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played Center (basketball), center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was t ...

and

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 ...

Final standings

Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team
† did not survive the end of the season. Bold – ABA champions

Playoffs

The 1976 ABA Playoffs opened with the Kentucky Colonels defeating the Indiana Pacers 2 games to 1 in the quarterfinals. The Colonels then lost a seven-game semifinal series to the #1 seeded Denver Nuggets, 4 games to 3. The other semifinal saw the New York Nets outlast the San Antonio Spurs 4 games to 3. In the finals the Nets beat the Nuggets, 4 games to 2.

Awards and honors

* ABA Most Valuable Player Award:

, New York Nets (3rd selection) * Rookie of the Year: David Thompson, Denver Nuggets * Coach of the Year: Larry Brown, Denver Nuggets (3rd selection) * Playoffs MVP:

, New York Nets (2nd selection) * All-Star Game MVP: David Thompson, Denver Nuggets * Executive of the Year: Carl Scheer, Denver Nuggets (3rd selection) *All-ABA First Team **

, New York Nets (4th First Team selection, 5th overall selection) **

Billy Knight William R. Knight (born June 9, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Playing with the Indiana Pacers in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and later the National Basketball Association (NBA), he ...

, Indiana Pacers ** Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels (5th selection) ** James Silas, San Antonio Spurs (1st First Team selection, 2nd overall selection) ** Ralph Simpson, Denver Nuggets (1st First Team selection, 3rd overall selection) *All-ABA Second Team ** David Thompson, Denver Nuggets ** Bobby Jones, Denver Nuggets ** Dan Issel, Denver Nuggets (4th Second Team selection, 5th overall selection) ** Don Buse, Indiana Pacers ** George Gervin, San Antonio Spurs (2nd selection) *All-Defensive Team ** Don Buse (2nd selection), Indiana Pacers **

, New York Nets ** Artis Gilmore (4th selection), Kentucky Colonels ** Bobby Jones (2nd selection), Denver Nuggets ** Brian Taylor (2nd selection), New York Nets *All-Rookie Team **

Luther Burden Luther Dean "Ticky" Burden (February 28, 1953 – October 29, 2015) was an American National Basketball Association, NBA and American Basketball Association, ABA basketball player. High school Born in Haines City, Florida, Burden attended Alba ...

, Virginia Squires **

M. L. Carr Michael Leon Carr (born January 9, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA), and former head coach and General Manager of the Boston Celtics. ...

, Spirits of St. Louis ** Kim Hughes, New York Nets **

Mark Olberding Mark Allen Olberding (born April 21, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player born in Melrose, Minnesota. A 6'8" forward from the University of Minnesota, Olberding played 12 seasons (1975–1987) in the American Basketb ...

, San Diego Sails & San Antonio Spurs ** David Thompson, Denver Nuggets

References

Season summary on Basketball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:1975-76 ABA season ABA season American Basketball Association seasons