List of ABA champions

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]

This article is about the champions of the American Basketball Association that existed from 1967 to 1976. For the league that began in 1999, see American Basketball Association (2000–present).

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]

Key
Bold Winning 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
Bold Winning team of the ABA Championship
Italics Team with home-court advantage
Year Western Champion Coach Result Eastern Champion Coach Reference
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.

Year Higher seed Coach Result Lower seed Coach Reference
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 Pacers5321970, 1972, 19731969, 1975
New York Nets3211974, 19761972
Kentucky Colonels31219751971, 1973
Los Angeles / Utah Stars31219711970, 1974
Oakland Oaks1101969—
Pittsburgh Pipers1101968—
Denver Nuggets101—1976
New Orleans Buccaneers101—1968

Notes
  • a The Indiana Pacers moved from the Eastern Division to the Western Division between the 1969–1970 and 1970–1971 seasons.[12]

See also

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