The 1973 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1972-1973 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers defeating the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels, four games to three in the ABA Finals.
Notable events
The teams with the three best records in the ABA that year failed to win the championship. The Carolina Cougars had the league's best record at 57–27 (.679), one game ahead of the Kentucky Colonels (56–28, .667) in the Eastern Division. The Utah Stars won the Western Division with a record of 55–29 (.655), four games ahead of the Indiana Pacers, who won the league championship after posting a regular season record of 51–33 (.607).[1]
The Pacers became the first team to win a third ABA championship.
The Colonels became the first team to lose two separate ABA championship series. The series also marked the second time in three years that the Colonels lost the ABA finals 4 games to 3; the same happened at the end of the 1971 ABA Playoffs against the Utah Stars.
Two years after the 1973 finals the Colonels and Pacers would meet again at the end of the 1975 ABA Playoffs with the Colonels winning the championship series.
The Pacers' George McGinnis was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | ABA Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Utah Stars | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | San Diego Conquistadors | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Utah Stars | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Indiana Pacers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Denver Rockets | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Indiana Pacers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Indiana Pacers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Kentucky Colonels | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Carolina Cougars | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | New York Nets | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Carolina Cougars | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Kentucky Colonels | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Virginia Squires | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Kentucky Colonels | 4 | ||||||||||||
Division Semifinals
Western Division Semifinals
(1) Utah Stars vs. (4) San Diego Conquistadors
April 2
|
| San Diego Conquistadors 93, Utah Stars 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–30, 23–19, 27–26, 22–32 | ||
| Pts: Stew Johnson 22 Rebs: Red Robbins 8 Asts: Chuck Williams 8 |
Pts: Ron Boone 27 Rebs: Gerald Govan 15 Asts: Ron Boone 8 | |
| Utah leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 4
|
| San Diego Conquistadors 92, Utah Stars 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–34, 26–19, 26–26, 17–24 | ||
| Pts: Chuck Williams 23 Rebs: Red Robbins 17 Asts: Taylor, Williams 5 each |
Pts: Willie Wise 29 Rebs: Gerald Govan 14 Asts: Willie Wise 5 | |
| Utah leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 7
|
| Utah Stars 97, San Diego Conquistadors 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–20, 24–27, 19–26, 30–23 | ||
| Pts: Willie Wise 24 Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 11 Asts: Willie Wise 7 |
Pts: Ollie Taylor 22 Rebs: Gene Moore 15 Asts: Chuck Williams 5 | |
| Utah leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 8
|
| Utah Stars 120, San Diego Conquistadors 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–30, 32–19, 35–19, 28–30 | ||
| Pts: Ron Boone 27 Rebs: Bob Warren 11 Asts: Wise, Boone 7 each |
Pts: Stew Johnson 19 Rebs: Gene Moore 10 Asts: Stew Johnson 4 | |
| Utah wins series, 4–0 | ||
(2) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) Denver Rockets
March 31
|
| Denver Rockets 91, Indiana Pacers 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–29, 21–25, 18–31, 28–29 | ||
| Pts: Byron Beck 25 Rebs: Byron Beck 13 Asts: Ralph Simpson 5 |
Pts: Roger Brown 20 Rebs: Darnell Hillman 9 Asts: Billy Keller 7 | |
| Indiana leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 1
|
| Denver Rockets 93, Indiana Pacers 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–23, 19–25, 26–25, 17–33 | ||
| Pts: Ralph Simpson 29 Rebs: Dave Robisch 12 Asts: Warren Jabali 6 |
Pts: Freddie Lewis 30 Rebs: Mel Daniels 23 Asts: Billy Keller 4 | |
| Indiana leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 3
|
| Indiana Pacers 94, Denver Rockets 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–32, 23–23, 31–31, 21–19 | ||
| Pts: George McGinnis 32 Rebs: Mel Daniels 13 Asts: Freddie Lewis 11 |
Pts: Dave Robisch 22 Rebs: Julius Keye 21 Asts: Al Smith 11 | |
| Indiana leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 5
|
| Indiana Pacers 97, Denver Rockets 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–32, 24–22, 26–23, 26–18 | ||
| Pts: Mel Daniels 25 Rebs: Mel Daniels 11 Asts: Freddie Lewis 10 |
Pts: Ralph Simpson 41 Rebs: Dave Robisch 19 Asts: Al Smith 5 | |
| Indiana leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 7
|
| Denver Rockets 107, Indiana Pacers 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–32, 27–38, 24–33, 30–28 | ||
| Pts: Dave Robisch 28 Rebs: Julius Keye 18 Asts: Al Smith 8 |
Pts: Donnie Freeman 30 Rebs: Mel Daniels 23 Asts: Billy Keller 10 | |
| Indiana wins series, 4–1 | ||
Eastern Division Semifinals
(1) Carolina Cougars vs. (4) New York Nets
March 30
|
| New York Nets 96, Carolina Cougars 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–24, 21–29, 29–22, 22–29 | ||
| Pts: Billy Paultz 26 Rebs: Billy Paultz 16 Asts: Bill Melchionni 9 |
Pts: Billy Cunningham 25 Rebs: Billy Cunningham 15 Asts: Billy Cunningham 9 | |
| Carolina leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 31
|
| New York Nets 114, Carolina Cougars 111 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–20, 21–29, 19–24, 33–30, Overtime: 11–8 | ||
| Pts: Johnny Baum 26 Rebs: George Carter 14 Asts: Taylor, Melchionni, Roche 3 each |
Pts: Billy Cunningham 24 Rebs: Billy Cunningham 16 Asts: Mack Calvin 5 | |
| Series tied 1–1 | ||
April 3
|
| Carolina Cougars 101, New York Nets 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–33, 17–15, 27–25, 28–18 | ||
| Pts: Mack Calvin 28 Rebs: Tom Owens 9 Asts: Mack Calvin 5 |
Pts: Brian Taylor 25 Rebs: Carter, Paultz 11 each Asts: Bill Melchionni 5 | |
| Carolina leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 5
|
| Carolina Cougars 112, New York Nets 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–31, 37–14, 28–37, 22–26 | ||
| Pts: Billy Cunningham 29 Rebs: Tom Owens 10 Asts: Mack Calvin 6 |
Pts: George Carter 29 Rebs: Billy Paultz 13 Asts: Bill Melchionni 8 | |
| Carolina leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 6
|
| New York Nets 113, Carolina Cougars 136 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–36, 36–33, 20–38, 33–29 | ||
| Pts: George Carter 25 Rebs: Jim Chones 12 Asts: Bill Melchionni 6 |
Pts: Tom Owens 26 Rebs: Tom Owens 15 Asts: Billy Cunningham 6 | |
| Carolina wins series, 4–1 | ||
(2) Kentucky Colonels vs. (3) Virginia Squires
March 30
|
| Virginia Squires 101, Kentucky Colonels 129 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–33, 24–29, 20–30, 29–37 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 21 Rebs: Julius Erving 9 Asts: Fatty Taylor 5 |
Pts: Dan Issel 43 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 14 Asts: Mike Gale 6 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 10
|
| Virginia Squires 109, Kentucky Colonels 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–31, 35–23, 20–26, 33–14 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 41 Rebs: Jim Eakins 14 Asts: Jim Eakins 5 |
Pts: Dan Issel 35 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 14 Asts: Artis Gilmore 6 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 3
|
| Kentucky Colonels 115, Virginia Squires 113 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–27, 20–21, 28–22, 27–33, Overtime: 12–10 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 31 Rebs: Dan Issel 18 Asts: Jimmy O'Brien 10 |
Pts: Julius Erving 35 Rebs: George Gervin 12 Asts: Jim Eakins 5 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 6
|
| Kentucky Colonels 108, Virginia Squires 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–25, 30–22, 28–23, 31–20 | ||
| Pts: Issel, Gilmore, Mount 22 each Rebs: Artis Gilmore 11 Asts: Jimmy O'Brien 8 |
Pts: George Gervin 23 Rebs: Jim Eakins 15 Asts: Julius Erving 5 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 7
|
| Virginia Squires 103, Kentucky Colonels 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–29, 30–22, 21–31, 20–32 | ||
| Pts: Jim Eakins 32 Rebs: Jim Eakins 12 Asts: Erwin Mueller 7 |
Pts: Dan Issel 27 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 15 Asts: Mike Gale 6 | |
| Kentucky wins series, 4–1 | ||
Division Finals
Western Division Finals
(1) Utah Stars vs. (2) Indiana Pacers
April 12
|
| Indiana Pacers 107, Utah Stars 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–30, 27–27, 32–32, 23–35 | ||
| Pts: George McGinnis 31 Rebs: Mel Daniels 14 Asts: Freddie Lewis 8 |
Pts: Willie Wise 29 Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 18 Asts: Ron Boone 9 | |
| Utah leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 14
|
| Indiana Pacers 116, Utah Stars 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–27, 26–31, 36–26, 21–26 | ||
| Pts: Donnie Freeman 31 Rebs: George McGinnis 16 Asts: McGinnis, Daniels, Buse 5 each |
Pts: Willie Wise 29 Rebs: Beaty Govan 11 each Asts: Ron Boone 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 16
|
| Utah Stars 108, Indiana Pacers 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–23, 23–24, 27–36, 31–35 | ||
| Pts: Zelmo Beaty 27 Rebs: Willie Wise 15 Asts: Wise, Govan, Jones 3 each |
Pts: George McGinnis 31 Rebs: George McGinnis 17 Asts: Billy Keller 4 | |
| Indiana leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 18
|
| Utah Stars 104, Indiana Pacers 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–23, 24–33, 28–24, 23–23 | ||
| Pts: Jimmy Jones 34 Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 11 Asts: Jimmy Jones 6 |
Pts: George McGinnis 36 Rebs: George McGinnis 18 Asts: Billy Keller 7 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 19
|
| Indiana Pacers 104, Utah Stars 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–28, 29–32, 26–24, 20–18 | ||
| Pts: Mel Daniels 23 Rebs: Darnell Hillman 19 Asts: Darnell Hillman 6 |
Pts: Willie Wise 34 Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 13 Asts: Gerald Govan 6 | |
| Indiana leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 21
|
| Utah Stars 98, Indiana Pacers 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–29, 32–26, 18–27, 27–25 | ||
| Pts: Willie Wise 17 Rebs: Gerald Govan 12 Asts: Govan, Warren, Jones 4 each |
Pts: George McGinnis 23 Rebs: Mel Daniels 17 Asts: Freddie Lewis 7 | |
| Indiana wins series, 4–2 | ||
Eastern Division Finals
(1) Carolina Cougars vs. (2) Kentucky Colonels
April 11
|
| Kentucky Colonels 113, Carolina Cougars 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–35, 25–17, 29–28, 28–23 | ||
| Pts: Rick Mount 31 Rebs: Dan Issel 12 Asts: Walt Simon 7 |
Pts: Billy Cunningham 25 Rebs: Tom Owens 16 Asts: Billy Cunningham 6 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 14
|
| Kentucky Colonels 105, Carolina Cougars 125 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–29, 21–26, 30–36, 31–34 | ||
| Pts: Rick Mount 29 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 11 Asts: Mike Gale 7 |
Pts: Billy Cunningham 27 Rebs: Billy Cunningham 15 Asts: Billy Cunningham 9 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 16
|
| Carolina Cougars 94, Kentucky Colonels 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–29, 25–28, 24–20, 25–31 | ||
| Pts: Tom Owens 17 Rebs: Tom Owens 10 Asts: Joe Caldwell 7 |
Pts: Dan Issel 34 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 15 Asts: Simon, Gale 5 each | |
| Kentucky leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 18
|
| Carolina Cougars 102, Kentucky Colonels 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–21, 22–29, 25–20, 24–21 | ||
| Pts: Billy Cunningham 32 Rebs: Tom Owens 17 Asts: Mack Calvin 6 |
Pts: Dan Issel 31 Rebs: Dan Issel 15 Asts: Jim O'Brien 5 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 20
|
| Kentucky Colonels 107, Carolina Cougars 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–31, 29–18, 33–34, 22–29 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 36 Rebs: Dan Issel 12 Asts: Dampier, O'Brien 5 each |
Pts: Billy Cunningham 30 Rebs: Billy Cunningham 15 Asts: Billy Cunningham 5 | |
| Carolina leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 21
|
| Carolina Cougars 100, Kentucky Colonels 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–29, 28–26, 26–31, 26–33 | ||
| Pts: Billy Cunningham 26 Rebs: Billy Cunningham 20 Asts: Mack Calvin 5 |
Pts: Rick Mount 25 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 16 Asts: Walt Simon 8 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 24
|
| Kentucky Colonels 107, Carolina Cougars 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–18, 24–27, 28–16, 29–35 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 31 Rebs: Dan Issel 17 Asts: Simon, Dampier, Mount 3 each |
Pts: Cunningham, Jones, Calvin 16 each Rebs: Tom Owens 16 Asts: Billy Cunningham 3 | |
| Kentucky wins series, 4–3 | ||
ABA Finals: (E2) Kentucky Colonels vs. (W2) Indiana Pacers
April 28
|
| Indiana Pacers 111, Kentucky Colonels 107 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 38–19, 27–32, 14–34, 21–15, Overtime: 11–7 | ||
| Pts: Freddie Lewis 29 Rebs: Mel Daniels 14 Asts: Freddie Lewis 13 |
Pts: Dan Issel 33 Rebs: Dan Issel 20 Asts: Jim O'Brien 8 | |
| Indiana leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 30
|
| Indiana Pacers 102, Kentucky Colonels 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–28, 24–29, 33–22, 22–35 | ||
| Pts: George McGinnis 28 Rebs: Mel Daniels 16 Asts: Mel Daniels 4 |
Pts: Artis Gilmore 29 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 26 Asts: Jim O'Brien 10 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
May 3
|
| Kentucky Colonels 92, Indiana Pacers 88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–14, 18–26, 22–27, 26–21 | ||
| Pts: Artis Gilmore 28 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 16 Asts: Gilmore, Mount, Simon 6 each |
Pts: Mel Daniels 21 Rebs: George McGinnis 17 Asts: Freddie Lewis 8 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 5
|
| Kentucky Colonels 86, Indiana Pacers 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–29, 23–19, 27–26, 16–16 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 21 Rebs: Dan Issel 15 Asts: Walt Simon 4 |
Pts: George McGinnis 20 Rebs: Darnell Hillman 18 Asts: Freddie Lewis 6 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
May 8
|
| Indiana Pacers 89, Kentucky Colonels 86 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–24, 23–18, 20–22, 27–22 | ||
| Pts: Freddie Lewis 31 Rebs: Mel Daniels 20 Asts: Daniels, Freeman 3 each |
Pts: Dan Issel 31 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 17 Asts: Artis Gilmore 11 | |
| Indiana lead series 3–2 | ||
May 10
|
| Kentucky Colonels 109, Indiana Pacers 93 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–24, 27–19, 25–33, 29–17 | ||
| Pts: Artis Gilmore 29 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 21 Asts: Louie Dampier 7 |
Pts: George McGinnis 26 Rebs: George McGinnis 15 Asts: Donnie Freeman 7 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
May 12
|
| Indiana Pacers 88, Kentucky Colonels 81 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–18, 18–23, 24–11, 22–29 | ||
| Pts: George McGinnis 27 Rebs: Darnell Hillman 13 Asts: Freeman, Brown, Keller each |
Pts: Artis Gilmore 19 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 17 Asts: Dan Issel 4 | |
| Indiana wins series 4–3 | ||
It was the last game for Gus Johnson, who recorded seven rebounds and played late defense against Artis Gilmore.
Four members of the Pacers eventually made the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: Gus Johnson (2010), Mel Daniels (2012), Roger Brown (2013), and George McGinnis (2017), to go along with head coach Bobby Leonard (2014) while the Colonels saw three players inducted in Dan Issel (1993), Artis Gilmore (2011), and Louie Dampier (2015).
Joe Mullaney left the Colonels after the series ended and was replaced by Babe McCarthy.
Statistical leaders
| Category | Total | Average | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Total | Player | Team | Avg. | Games played | |
| Points | Dan Issel | Kentucky Colonels | 521 | Julius Erving | Virginia Squires | 29.6 | 5 |
| Rebounds | Artis Gilmore | Kentucky Colonels | 260 | Mel Daniels | Indiana Pacers | 13.8 | 18 |
| Assists | Freddie Lewis | Indiana Pacers | 91 | Bill Melchionni | New York Nets | 6.2 | 5 |
Total leaders
|
Points
Rebounds
|
Assists
Minutes
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