1969–70 ABA season

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1969–70 ABA season
League American Basketball Association
Sport Basketball
DurationOctober 17, 1969 – May 25, 1970
Number of games84
Number of teams11
Regular season
Top seed Indiana Pacers
Season MVP Spencer Haywood (Denver)
Top scorerSpencer Haywood (Denver)
Finals
Champions Indiana Pacers
  Runners-up Los Angeles Stars
ABA seasons

The 1969–70 ABA season was the third season of the American Basketball Association. Prior to the start of the season, the Minnesota Pipers moved back to Pittsburgh, the Oakland Oaks moved to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Caps and the Houston Mavericks moved to North Carolina and became the Carolina Cougars. For the regular-season, the schedule was increased from 78 to 84 games per team. The season ended with the Indiana Pacers capturing their first ABA Championship.

Contents

By April of 1970, rumblings of a merger were reported in the press, with one reported offer having the league pay $11 million in indemnities while agreeing to move the Washington franchise out of its location. The NBA Players Association was felt to be a stumbling block for any plans of a merger, as they had voted to strike in the event of such a merger. As it turned out, the merger would not occur until many years later. [1] Spencer Haywood, a rookie from the University of Detroit, led the ABA in scoring (30.0 ppg) and rebounding (19.5 rpg) for the Denver Rockets. Haywood was professional basketball's first "hardship case", leaving college after his sophomore season. The NBA prohibited him from declaring for its draft, and he signed with the Rockets instead, leading them to the Western Division championship.

Teams

1969-70 American Basketball Association
DivisionTeamCityArenaCapacity
Eastern Carolina Cougars Greensboro, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina 		Greensboro Coliseum
Charlotte Coliseum
Dorton Arena 		15,000
9,605
7,610
Indiana Pacers Indianapolis, Indiana Indiana State Fair Coliseum 10,000
Kentucky Colonels Louisville, Kentucky Louisville Convention Center 6,000
Miami Floridians Miami, Florida Dinner Key Auditorium
Miami-Dade Junior College North Gym 		6,900
N/A
New York Nets West Hempstead, New York Island Garden 5,200
Pittsburgh Pipers Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Civic Arena 12,580
Western Dallas Chaparrals University Park, Texas
Dallas, Texas 		Moody Coliseum
Dallas Memorial Auditorium 		8,998
9,815
Denver Rockets Denver, Colorado Denver Auditorium Arena 6,841
Los Angeles Stars Los Angeles, California Los Angeles Sports Arena 14,795
New Orleans Buccaneers New Orleans, Louisiana Loyola Field House 6,500
Washington Caps Washington, D.C. Washington Coliseum 7,000

Map of teams

Red pog.svg Eastern Division Blue pog.svg Western Division

Final standings

Eastern Division

TeamWLPCT.GB
Indiana Pacers *5925.702—
Kentucky Colonels *4539.53614.0
Carolina Cougars *4242.50017.0
New York Nets *3945.46420.0
Pittsburgh Pipers 2955.34530.0
Miami Floridians 2361.27436.0

Western Division

TeamWLPCT.GB
Denver Rockets *5133.607—
Dallas Chaparrals *4539.5366.0
Washington Caps *4440.5247.0
Los Angeles Stars *4341.5128.0
New Orleans Buccaneers 4242.5009.0

Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team

Bold – ABA champions

Playoffs

Awards and honors

Spencer Haywood (Denver) was named ABA MVP and ROTY Spencer Haywood at Nellis (cropped).jpg
Spencer Haywood (Denver) was named ABA MVP and ROTY
Mel Daniels (right) was named All-ABA First Team Willie Wise and Mel Daniels.jpeg
Mel Daniels (right) was named All-ABA First Team

Finals

References

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