List of ABA champions

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The American Basketball Association (ABA) Finals were the championship series of the ABA, a professional basketball league, in which two teams played each other for the title. The ABA was formed in the fall of 1967, and the first ABA Finals were played at the end of the league's first season in the spring of 1968. [1] [2] The league ceased operations in 1976 with the ABA–NBA merger and four teams from the ABA continued play in the National Basketball Association. [3]

Contents

All ABA Finals were in best-of-seven format and were contested between the winners of the Eastern Division and the Western Division finals. The only teams to win the championship more than once were the Indiana Pacers and the New York Nets. The Indiana Pacers initially played in the ABA Finals in 1969, which they lost to the Oakland Oaks, but they won the championship the next year against the Los Angeles Stars. [4] [5] They won in the ABA Finals again in 1972, their first after moving to the Western Division, against the New York Nets and won their final ABA championship against the Kentucky Colonels in 1973. [6] [7] The New York Nets won their first championship in 1974 against the Utah Stars, and their second against the Denver Nuggets in 1976. [8] [9]

The last ABA Finals were in 1976, after which the ABA–NBA merger took place; three of the four teams that continued into the NBA made it to or won the ABA Finals. [3]

Usa edcp location map.svg
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Nets
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Stars*
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Pacers
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Pipers*
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Colonels*
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Oaks*
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Location of ABA Champions # titles: 1-white 2-blue 3-green *denotes did not join NBA

Key

BoldWinning team of the ABA Finals
†Had or tied for the best regular season record for that season
Team (X)Denotes the number of times the team has won

Champions

BoldWinning team of the ABA Championship
ItalicsTeam with home-court advantage
YearWestern ChampionCoachResultEastern ChampionCoachReference
1968 New Orleans Buccaneers (1, 0–1) Babe McCarthy 3–4 Pittsburgh Pipers (1, 1–0) Vince Cazzetta [2]
1969 Oakland Oaks (1, 1–0) Alex Hannum 4–1 Indiana Pacers (1, 0–1) Bobby Leonard [4]
1970 Los Angeles Stars (1, 0–1) Bill Sharman 2–4 Indiana Pacers (2, 1–1) Bobby Leonard [5]
1971 Utah Stars (2, 1–1) Bill Sharman 4–3 Kentucky Colonels (1, 0–1) Frank Ramsey [10]
1972 Indiana Pacers (2) [a] (3, 2–1) Bobby Leonard 4–2 New York Nets (1, 0–1) Lou Carnesecca [6]
1973 Indiana Pacers (3) (4, 3–1) Bobby Leonard 4–3 Kentucky Colonels (2, 0–2) Joe Mullaney [7]
1974 Utah Stars (3, 1–2) Joe Mullaney 1–4 New York Nets (2, 1–1) Kevin Loughery [8]
1975 Indiana Pacers (5, 3–2) Bobby Leonard 1–4 Kentucky Colonels (3, 1–2) Hubie Brown [11]

With the ABA cut down to seven teams by the middle of its final season, the league abandoned divisional play.

YearHigher seedCoachResultLower seedCoachReference
1976 Denver Nuggets (1, 0–1) Larry Brown 2–4 New York Nets (2) (3, 2–1) Kevin Loughery [9]

Results by teams

TeamsFinals
appearances		ChampionshipsRunners-upYears wonYears runners-up
Indiana Pacers 5321970, 1972, 19731969, 1975
New York Nets 3211974, 19761972
Kentucky Colonels 31219751971, 1973
Los Angeles / Utah Stars 31219711970, 1974
Oakland Oaks 1101969—
Pittsburgh Pipers 1101968—
Denver Nuggets 101—1976
New Orleans Buccaneers 101—1968

Notes

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "1967–68 ABA Regular Season Standings". RemembertheABA.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  2. 1 2 Sports Reference LLC. "1968 ABA Playoff Summary". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  3. 1 2 "ABA History – The Original American Basketball Association". InsideHoops.com. 2004-02-12. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  4. 1 2 Sports Reference LLC. "1969 ABA Playoff Summary". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  5. 1 2 Sports Reference LLC. "1970 ABA Playoff Summary". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  6. 1 2 Sports Reference LLC. "1972 ABA Playoff Summary". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  7. 1 2 Sports Reference LLC. "1973 ABA Playoff Summary". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  8. 1 2 Sports Reference LLC. "1974 ABA Playoff Summary". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  9. 1 2 Sports Reference LLC. "1976 ABA Playoff Summary". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  10. ↑ Sports Reference LLC. "1971 ABA Playoff Summary". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  11. ↑ Sports Reference LLC. "1975 ABA Playoff Summary". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  12. ↑ "Year by Year with the Pacers". National Basketball Association. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
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