The 1971–72 ABA season was the fifth season of the American Basketball Association. The Indiana Pacers won the championship, defeating the New York Nets, 4 games to 2, in the ABA Finals.
With the signing of players such as rookie centers Artis Gilmore and Jim McDaniels in the offseason, the ABA looked to shift the widely held perception that it was a guard-oriented league that paid little if any attention to defense. For the first time in the league's history, no franchise moved to a different state from the previous season. The only name change involved the Dallas Chaparrals, who were able to secure a lease in Dallas for the season and were renamed from the previous season's Texas Chaparrals.
The postseason produced one of the greatest upsets in professional basketball history. In round one, Rick Barry and the New York Nets beat the heavily favored Kentucky Colonels in six games. Behind All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Dan Issel and league MVP Artis Gilmore, the Colonels rolled to the Western Division title with a 68–16 record, the best mark in league history. At 44-40, The Nets finished a distant third in the division, 24 games behind the leaders.
+Coaching changesOffseason Team 1970–71 coach 1971–72 coach Carolina Cougars Jerry Steele Tom Meschery Dallas Chaparrals Bill Blakeley Tom Nissalke Denver Rockets Stan Albeck Alex Hannum Kentucky Colonels Frank Ramsey Joe Mullaney Utah Stars Bill Sharman LaDell AndersonIn-season Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach Pittsburgh Condors Jack McMahon Mark Binstein
Teams 1971–72 American Basketball Association Division Team City Arena Capacity Eastern Carolina Cougars Greensboro, North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina Raleigh, North Carolina Greensboro Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum Dorton Arena 15,000 9,605 7,610 Kentucky Colonels Louisville, Kentucky Freedom Hall 16,664 New York Nets West Hempstead, New York Uniondale, New York Island Garden Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,200 13,571 Pittsburgh Condors Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Civic Arena 12,580 The Floridians Miami Beach, Florida Tampa, Florida St. Petersburg, Florida Jacksonville, Florida West Palm Beach, Florida Miami Beach Convention Center Curtis Hixon Hall Bayfront Arena Jacksonville Coliseum West Palm Beach Auditorium 15,000 7,000 7,500 11,000 5,000 Virginia Squires Old Dominion University Fieldhouse Hampton Coliseum Richmond Arena Salem Civic Center Roanoke Civic Center Norfolk, Virginia Hampton, Virginia Richmond, Virginia Salem, Virginia Roanoke, Virginia 5,200 9,777 6,000 6,820 9,828 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 Indiana Pacers Indianapolis, Indiana Indiana State Fair Coliseum 10,000 Memphis Pros Memphis, Tennessee Mid-South Coliseum 10,085 Utah Stars Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Palace 12,166
Map of teams
Final standings
Eastern Division + Team W L PCT. GB Kentucky Colonels * 68 16 .810 — Virginia Squires * 45 39 .536 23 New York Nets * 44 40 .524 24 The Floridians * 36 48 .429 32 Carolina Cougars 35 49 .417 33 Pittsburgh Condors 25 59 .298 43
Western Division + Team W L PCT. GB Utah Stars * 60 24 .714 — Indiana Pacers * 47 37 .560 13 Dallas Chaparrals * 42 42 .500 18 Denver Rockets * 34 50 .405 26 Memphis Pros 26 58 .310 34 Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team
Bold – ABA champions
Playoffs
Awards and honors
ABA Most Valuable Player Award: Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels Rookie of the Year: Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels Coach of the Year: Tom Nissalke, Dallas Chaparrals Playoffs MVP: Freddie Lewis, Indiana Pacers All-Star Game MVP: Dan Issel, Kentucky Colonels All-ABA First Team Dan Issel, Kentucky Colonels (1st First Team selection, 2nd overall selection) Rick Barry, New York Nets (4th selection) Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels Donnie Freeman, Dallas Chaparrals (1st First Team selection, 4th overall selection) Bill Melchionni, New York Nets All-ABA Second Team Willie Wise, Utah Stars Julius Erving, Virginia Squires Zelmo Beaty, Utah Stars (2nd selection) Ralph Simpson, Denver Rockets Charlie Scott, Virginia Squires All-ABA Rookie Team Julius Erving, Virginia Squires Artis Gilmore, Kentucky Colonels George McGinnis, Indiana Pacers Johnny Neumann, Memphis Pros John Roche, New York Nets
References
Season summary on Basketball Reference