The 1975 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1974–75 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels defeating the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers in the ABA Finals in five games.

Background

The Kentucky Colonels won 22 of their final 25 regular season games to catch the New York Nets for a share of first place in the Eastern Division. The Colonels won their last ten regular season games. They also went 13–3 in the ABA playoffs.

Because the Colonels and Nets tied for first place in the Eastern Division, a special one game playoff was played to determine the conference champion. The Colonels hosted the game and defeated the Nets 108–99 on April 4, 1975.[1][2]

The Memphis Sounds' Eastern Division 111–99 semifinal loss on the road to the Kentucky Colonels on April 13, 1975, was the final game played by the Sounds. After the season they moved to Maryland and became the Baltimore Claws.

The first round win by the Spirits of St. Louis over the New York Nets was the biggest upset of the playoffs. Not only had the Spirits finished 26 games behind the Nets in the regular season, they had also lost all 11 regular season matchups to the Nets, and by an average of 17.3 points per game. But after losing the opener of the series to stretch the losing streak to 12, the Spirits rolled off four wins in a row to claim the series.

The 1975 ABA Finals marked the second time in three years that the Kentucky Colonels and Indiana Pacers met in the ABA championship series. The Pacers edged the Colonels 4 games to 3 at the end of the 1973 ABA Playoffs.

16,622 fans attended the final playoff game of the season in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, as the Kentucky Colonels defeated the Indiana Pacers 110–105 to win the ABA Championship.

Artis Gilmore was named Most Valuable Player of the 1975 ABA Playoffs. In Game 3, he recorded 28 rebounds while in the clinching Game 5 he had 28 points and 31 rebounds.

The 1975 Kentucky Colonels were the final team to win an ABA Championship but not move on to the NBA later.

Bracket

Division Semifinals Division Finals ABA Finals
         
1 Denver Nuggets 4
4 Utah Stars 2
1 Denver Nuggets 3
Western Division
3 Indiana Pacers 4
3 Indiana Pacers 4
2 San Antonio Spurs 2
W3 Indiana Pacers 1
E1 Kentucky Colonels 4
1 Kentucky Colonels 4
4 Memphis Sounds 1
1 Kentucky Colonels 4
Eastern Division
3 Spirits of St. Louis 1
3 Spirits of St. Louis 4
2 New York Nets 1

Division Semifinals

Eastern Division Semifinals

(1) Kentucky Colonels vs. (4) Memphis Sounds

April 6
Memphis Sounds 91, Kentucky Colonels 98
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Kentucky leads series, 1–0
April 8
Memphis Sounds 105, Kentucky Colonels 119
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Kentucky leads series, 2–0
April 10
Kentucky Colonels 101, Memphis Sounds 80
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Kentucky leads series, 3–0
April 11
Kentucky Colonels 93, Memphis Sounds 107
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Kentucky leads series, 3–1
April 13
Memphis Sounds 99, Kentucky Colonels 111
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Kentucky wins series, 4–1

(2) New York Nets vs. (3) Spirits of St. Louis

April 6
Spirits of St. Louis 105, New York Nets 111
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
New York leads series, 1–0
April 9
Spirits of St. Louis 115, New York Nets 97
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 1–1
April 11
New York Nets 108, Spirits of St. Louis 113
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
St. Louis leads series, 2–1
April 13
New York Nets 89, Spirits of St. Louis 100
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
St. Louis leads series, 3–1
April 15
Spirits of St. Louis 108, New York Nets 107
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
St. Louis wins series, 4–1

Western Division Semifinals

(1) Denver Nuggets vs. (4) Utah Stars

Nuggets win series 4–2

April 6
Utah Stars 107, Denver Nuggets 122
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
leads series, –
April 7
Utah Stars 120, Denver Nuggets 126
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Denver leads series, 2–0
April 9
Denver Nuggets 108, Utah Stars 122
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Denver leads series, 2–1
April 11
Denver Nuggets 110, Utah Stars 132
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 2–2
April 12
Utah Stars 119, Denver Nuggets 130
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Denver leads series, 3–2
April 14
Denver Nuggets 115, Utah Stars 113
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
wins series, 4–2

(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Indiana Pacers

April 5
Indiana Pacers 122, San Antonio Spurs 119 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 25–27, 32–26, 24–30, 26–24, Overtime: 15–12
Indiana leads series, 1–0
April 7
Indiana Pacers 98, San Antonio Spurs 93
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Indiana leads series, 2–0
April 10
San Antonio Spurs 103, Indiana Pacers 113 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 28–32, 26–24, 20–24, 23–17, Overtime: 6–16
Indiana leads series, 3–0
April 12
San Antonio Spurs 110, Indiana Pacers 109
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Indiana leads series, 3–1
April 14
Indiana Pacers 117, San Antonio Spurs 123
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Indiana leads series, 3–2
April 16
San Antonio Spurs 100, Indiana Pacers 115
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Indiana wins series, 4–2

Division Finals

Western Division Finals

(1) Denver Nuggets vs. (3) Indiana Pacers

April 20
Indiana Pacers 128, Denver Nuggets 131
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Denver leads series, 1–0
April 22
Indiana Pacers 131, Denver Nuggets 124
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 1–1
April 24
Denver Nuggets 112, Indiana Pacers 118
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Indiana leads series, 2–1
April 25
Denver Nuggets 126, Indiana Pacers 109
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 2–2
April 27
Indiana Pacers 109, Denver Nuggets 90
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Indiana leads series, 3–2
April 30
Denver Nuggets 104, Indiana Pacers 99
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 3–3
May 3
Indiana Pacers 104, Denver Nuggets 96
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Indiana wins series, 4–3

Eastern Division Finals

(1) Kentucky Colonels vs. (3) Spirits of St. Louis

April 21
Spirits of St. Louis 109, Kentucky Colonels 112
Scoring by quarter: 28–22, 30–30, 23–34, 28–26
Pts: Freddie Lewis 35
Rebs: Maurice Lucas 19
Asts: Lucas, Adams 6 each		 Pts: Louie Dampier 27
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 17
Asts: Louie Dampier 15
Kentucky leads series, 1–0
Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 6,612
April 23
Spirits of St. Louis 103, Kentucky Colonels 108
Scoring by quarter: 27–32, 20–22, 23–28, 33–26
Pts: Marvin Barnes 43
Rebs: Marvin Barnes 17
Asts: Maurice Lucas 6		 Pts: Ted McClain 24
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 15
Asts: Louie Dampier 8
Kentucky leads series, 2–0
Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 8,422
April 25
Kentucky Colonels 97, Spirits of St. Louis 103
Scoring by quarter: 24–34, 25–19, 25–27, 23–23
Pts: Dan Issel 31
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 18
Asts: Louie Dampier 9		 Pts: Freddie Lewis 32
Rebs: Maurice Lucas 20
Asts: Don Adams 7
Kentucky leads series, 2–1
St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 10,142
April 27
Kentucky Colonels 117, Spirits of St. Louis 98
Scoring by quarter: 30–31, 30–27, 26–27, 31–13
Pts: Artis Gilmore 33
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 16
Asts: Ted McClain 11		 Pts: Marvin Barnes 24
Rebs: Maurice Lucas 19
Asts: Lucas, Barr 5 each
Kentucky leads series, 3–1
St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 11,688
Referees: Ed Rush, Jess Kersey
April 28
Spirits of St. Louis 103, Kentucky Colonels 123
Scoring by quarter: 27–33, 19–24, 36–37, 21–29
Pts: Marvin Barnes 35
Rebs: Maurice Lucas 11
Asts: Mike Barr 5		 Pts: Artis Gilmore 29
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 20
Asts: Louie Dampier 12
Kentucky wins series, 4–1
Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 8,726

ABA Finals: (E1) Kentucky Colonels vs. (W3) Indiana Pacers

May 13
Indiana Pacers 94, Kentucky Colonels 120
Scoring by quarter: 21–27, 24–29, 28–27, 21–37
Pts: George McGinnis 35
Rebs: George McGinnis 12
Asts: George McGinnis 9		 Pts: Artis Gilmore 26
Rebs: Dan Issel 19
Asts: Jones, McClain 6 each
Kentucky leads series, 1–0
May 15
Indiana Pacers 93, Kentucky Colonels 95
Scoring by quarter: 19–27, 31–18, 18–26, 25–24
Pts: George McGinnis 30
Rebs: George McGinnis 16
Asts: Don Buse 7		 Pts: Dan Issel 22
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 15
Asts: Roberts, Dampier, Jones 4 each
Kentucky leads series, 2–0
May 17
Kentucky Colonels 109, Indiana Pacers 101
Scoring by quarter: 31–30, 25–21, 17–30, 36–20
Pts: Artis Gilmore 41
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 28
Asts: Ted McClain 7		 Pts: Billy Knight 28
Rebs: Billy Knight 12
Asts: Knight, Buse 5 each
Kentucky leads series, 3–0
May 19
Kentucky Colonels 112, Indiana Pacers 121
Scoring by quarter: 18–19, 26–22, 25–26, 17–27
Pts: Dan Issel 26
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 18
Asts: Louie Dampier 6		 Pts: George McGinnis 22
Rebs: George McGinnis 21
Asts: George McGinnis 6
Kentucky leads series, 3–1
May 22
Indiana Pacers 105, Kentucky Colonels 110
Scoring by quarter: 29–29, 19–25, 28–26, 29–30
Pts: Billy Knight 40
Rebs: McGinnis, Elmore 11 each
Asts: George McGinnis 9		 Pts: Artis Gilmore 28
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 31
Asts: Louie Dampier 12
Kentucky wins series, 4–1
Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 16,622
Referees:
  • Jack Madden
  • John Vartak

After eight years of frustration (which saw them hire seven head coaches) and two prior losses in the ABA Finals, the Colonels closed out Game 5 with a victory (their 22nd in the last 25 games combined) to win the championship. Ted McClain had fifteen steals and Artis Gilmore had 31 rebounds, each being league records for a postseason game. The Game 5 victory is the first (and so far only) time a team from the commonwealth of Kentucky has won a professional championship.[3][4]

Along with both head coaches (Hubie Brown and Bobby Leonard), five players in the series have since been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: Louie Dampier, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Roger Brown, and George McGinnis.

George McGinnis finished his postseason run with 581 points scored in eighteen total games, setting a new record for most points scored in a postseason by any basketball player. In addition to being the most scored for an ABA postseason, it was not surpassed by any player until Larry Bird in the 1984 postseason.[5]

Statistical leaders

Category Total Average
Player Team Total Player Team Avg. Games played
Points George McGinnis Indiana Pacers 581 George Gervin San Antonio Spurs 34.0 6
Rebounds George McGinnis Indiana Pacers 286 Artis Gilmore Kentucky Colonels 17.6 15
Assists George McGinnis Indiana Pacers 148 James Silas San Antonio Spurs 10.0 6
Steals Don Buse Indiana Pacers 45 Don Buse Indiana Pacers 2.5 18
Blocks Len Elmore Indiana Pacers 39 Billy Paultz New York Nets 3.2 5

Total leaders

References

  1. ^ "Playoff For Nets, Colonels". The New York Times. April 4, 1975. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  2. ^ "New York Nets at Kentucky Colonels Box Score, April 4, 1975". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  3. ^ https://www.kentucky.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mark-story/article242875996.html
  4. ^ "Colonels Win Title in A.B.A." The New York Times. May 23, 1975.
  5. ^ "NBA & ABA Single Season Playoff Leaders and Records for Points".
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_ABA_Finals
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