The 1974–75 Denver Nuggets season was the franchise's eighth season in its existence and its first as the Nuggets after previously going by the Rockets (initially to advertise a business related to the team's original ownership group) up until this point in time. The Denver franchise chose the Nuggets as their new name to rebrand themselves to on August 7, 1974 following a "Name That Team" contest partially as a means to honor the original Denver Nuggets team that first existed in the last season of the National Basketball League (a precursor to the modern-day NBA alongside the Basketball Association of America) and the first proper season of the National Basketball Association before leaving it alongside three other teams to create a short-lived rivaling professional basketball league of their own and partially because they wanted to avoid any conflicts relating to the NBA team that holds the Rockets name in the Houston Rockets (formerly San Diego Rockets) once a transfer into the NBA was made official. The new logo that the team revealed not long afterward also showcased the debut of "Maxie the Miner", a cartoony figure of a miner that discovered an ABA basketball being in stark contrast to the original Nuggets team's logo showcasing a generic-looking miner discovering golden nuggets in a pan that would stick around with the team years after the ABA-NBA merger officially happened. This was also the first season where the team was coached by Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown following the team's disappointing finish from the previous season, as well as their last season playing at the Denver Auditorium Arena. The Nuggets were ranked first in points per game this season under Larry Brown's coaching system (118.7 ppg). They also had the best record in the ABA at 65–19 for their first division title in five years. Denver would get through the first round with a 4–2 series win over the Utah Stars in what turned out to be their final ABA Playoff appearance ever; this would also be the franchise's first playoff series win since 1970 back when the franchise went by the original Denver Rockets name (which also was the only other time Denver won a playoff series before this point in time). However, they lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Western Division Finals in seven games, failing to reach the ABA Finals for the first time in franchise history during this season.
ABA Draft
Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality College 1 4 Fly Williams SG United States Austin Peay State 2 14 Frank Kendrick SF United States Purdue 3 23 Mike Sojourner PF/C United States Utah 4 34 Coniel Norman SG United States Arizona 5 43 Bernard Hardin F United States New Mexico 6 54 Luther Burden SG United States Utah 7 63 Eric Money PG United States Arizona 8 74 Larry Fogle SG United States Canisius College 9 83 Tony Byers G United States Wake Forest 10 94 Roscoe Pondexter F United States Long Beach State All of the Nuggets' selections were made back when they were originally known as the Denver Rockets. This table does not include the "ABA Draft of NBA Players" done immediately afterward.
ABA Draft of NBA Players Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality College NBA Team 1 3 Nate Thurmond PF/C United States Bowling Green State Golden State Warriors 2 14 Tom Van Arsdale SG/SF United States Indiana Philadelphia 76ers 3 23 Don Adams SF United States Northwestern Detroit Pistons 4 34 Rick Adelman PG United States Loyola University ofLos Angeles Chicago Bulls 5 43 Lou Hudson SG/SF United States Minnesota Atlanta Hawks The "ABA Draft of NBA Players" that was done on April 17, 1974 (back when the Nuggets were still the Rockets at the time) happened immediately after the actual ABA Draft done for this season was concluded on that day. None of the five players drafted by Denver would report to the soon-to-be-rebranded Nuggets this season, though Don Adams would later play in the ABA this season, but it would be for the Spirits of St. Louis (who had been rebranded themselves from the Carolina Cougars name they used during that same period of time) near the end of the season instead of the Nuggets themselves. Following this draft's conclusion, Nate Thurmond, Rick Adelman, and Lou Hudson would eventually become members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, though Adelman would make it for his services as a head coach more than anything else.
Roster
Standings Eastern Division + Team W L PCT. GB Kentucky Colonels 5826.690 - New York Nets 5826.690 - Spirits of St. Louis 3252.381 26 Memphis Sounds 2757.321 31 Virginia Squires 1569.179 43
Western Division + Team W L PCT. GB Denver Nuggets 65 19 .774 - San Antonio Spurs 5133.607 14 Indiana Pacers 45 39 .536 20 Utah Stars 38 46 .452 27 San Diego Conquistadors 31 53 .369 34
Game log 1974-75 Denver Rockets Schedule and Results | Basketball-Reference.com
Stats Rk Player Age G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% 2P 2PA 2P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS1Ralph Simpson258234.98.516.8.5050.00.1.0838.516.6.5093.74.9.7541.33.54.85.42.00.23.82.620.62Mack Calvin277433.36.513.5.4850.00.2.1886.513.2.4906.47.2.8960.52.42.87.71.90.13.82.819.53Bobby Jones238432.26.310.4.6040.00.0.0006.310.4.6052.23.2.6952.75.58.23.62.01.82.83.114.84Mike Green238131.67.313.5.5420.00.0.0007.313.5.5442.83.8.7383.55.89.21.21.02.12.53.317.45Fatty Taylor287626.63.37.7.4280.10.3.2863.27.4.4341.72.3.7501.11.82.94.42.30.23.33.18.46Dave Robisch258422.64.79.3.5030.00.0.0004.79.3.5043.64.1.8791.94.16.01.80.50.61.32.413.07Byron Beck308421.64.68.9.5150.00.0.0004.68.9.5161.01.2.8351.52.64.11.30.70.20.93.210.18Jan van Breda Kolff238419.51.84.1.4530.00.0.0001.84.0.4572.12.5.8391.42.84.32.20.60.51.52.05.89Claude Terry257014.12.85.2.5300.10.4.4002.64.8.5401.01.3.7610.81.22.01.60.50.01.11.26.710Patrick McFarland237013.52.96.1.4720.00.2.1252.85.8.4850.70.9.7880.51.21.71.70.70.11.50.96.511Donald Washington22508.81.63.7.4320.00.0.0001.63.6.4360.81.1.6790.81.01.80.60.20.41.01.83.91974-75 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com
ABA Playoffs ABA Western Semifinals Game Date Location Score Record Attendance 1 April 6 Denver 122–107 1–0 7,200 2 April 7 Denver 126–120 2–0 7,298 3 April 9 Utah 108–122 2–1 5,694 4 April 11 Utah 110–132 2–2 9,106 5 April 12 Denver 130–119 3–2 7,498 6 April 14 Utah 115–113 4–2 8,448 Nuggets win series, 4–2
ABA Western Division finals Game Date Location Score Record Attendance 1 April 20 Denver 131–128 1–0 7,444 2 April 22 Denver 124–131 1–1 7,491 3 April 24 Indiana 112–118 1–2 15,496 4 April 25 Indiana 126–109 2–2 17,389 5 April 27 Denver 90–109 2–3 7,483 6 April 30 Indiana 104–99 3–3 17,421 7 May 3 Denver 96–104 3–4 7,401 Nuggets lose series, 4–3
Awards and honors League leaders Field goal percentage: Bobby Jones Free throw percentage: Mack Calvin Assists per game:Mack Calvin Offensive Rating: Dave Robisch
All-ABA Teams Mack Calvin - 1st Team
All-Defensive Team Bobby Jones
All-Rookie Team Bobby Jones
ABA All-Stars Mack Calvin Mike Green Ralph Simpson1974-75 ABA Season Summary | Basketball-Reference.com
References