The 1975–76 Denver Nuggets season was Denver's ninth and final season in the American Basketball Association (ABA). Prior to the season, the team moved their home games from the Denver Auditorium Arena to the new McNichols Arena. At the conclusion of the season the team would join the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was led by an eventual hall of fame coach, Larry Brown.
| 1975–76 Denver Nuggets season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Larry Brown |
| Arena | McNichols Sports Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 60–24 (.714) |
| Place | Division: 1st Conference: 1st |
| Playoff finish | ABA Finals (lost to Nets 2–4) |
ABA Draft
edit| Player | School/Club Team |
|---|---|
| Bill Willoughby | Dwight Morrow H.S. Englewood NJ |
| Tom Kropp | Kearney State |
| Monte Towe | North Carolina State |
| Bob Fleischer | Duke University |
| Jim Moore | Utah State |
| Charles Russell | Alabama |
| Mike Odems | Western Kentucky |
| Owen Brown | Maryland |
| Marvin Webster | Morgan State |
Season standings
edit| Team | Wins | Loses | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver Nuggets | 60 | 24 | .714 |
| New York Nets | 55 | 29 | .655 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 50 | 34 | .595 |
| Kentucky Colonels | 46 | 38 | .548 |
| Indiana Pacers | 39 | 45 | .464 |
| Spirits of St. Louis | 35 | 49 | .417 |
| San Diego Sails | 3 | 8 | .273 |
| Utah Stars | 4 | 12 | .250 |
| Virginia Squires | 15 | 68 | .181 |
Player stats
editNote: PG= per game; M= Minutes; R= Rebounds; A= Assists; S = Steals; B = Blocks; P = Points; T = Turnovers; PF = Personal fouls
| Player | Age | Games played | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TPG | PFPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Thompson | 21 | 83 | 37.4 | 6.3 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 26.0 |
| Ralph Simpson | 26 | 84 | 37.2 | 5.4 | 7.1 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 4.3 | 2.2 | 18.0 |
| Bobby Jones | 24 | 83 | 34.3 | 9.5 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 14.9 |
| Dan Issel | 27 | 84 | 34.0 | 11.0 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 23.0 |
| Chuck Williams | 29 | 79 | 32.0 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 11.0 |
| Gus Gerard | 22 | 60 | 19.8 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 9.9 |
| Byron Beck | 31 | 80 | 19.8 | 4.4 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 9.6 |
| Claude Terry | 26 | 79 | 17.1 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 7.1 |
| Jim Bradley | 23 | 7 | 15.3 | 4.3 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 3.7 | 4.6 |
| Marvin Webster | 23 | 38 | 10.5 | 4.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 4.3 |
| Monte Towe | 22 | 64 | 9.0 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
| Roger Brown | 25 | 37 | 7.9 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 2.0 |
| James Foster | 24 | 48 | 7.3 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 3.1 |
| George Irvine | 27 | 3 | 4.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
Roster
edit| Number | Player | Position | Height | Weight | Birth date | Experience (in years) | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Byron Beck | PF | 6-9 | 225 | January 25, 1945 | 8 | University of Denver |
| 10 | Jim Bradley | PF | 6-8 | 215 | March 16, 1952 | 2 | Northern Illinois University |
| 20 | Roger Brown | C | 6-11 | 225 | February 23, 1950 | 2 | University of Kansas |
| 15 | James Foster | PG | 6-1 | 175 | December 16, 1951 | 1 | University of Connecticut |
| 22 | Gus Gerard | SF | 6-8 | 200 | July 27, 1953 | 1 | University of Virginia |
| 30 | George Irvine | SF | 6-6 | 200 | February 1, 1948 | 5 | University of Washington |
| 25 | Dan Issel | C | 6-9 | 235 | October 25, 1948 | 5 | University of Kentucky |
| 24 | Bobby Jones | PF | 6-9 | 210 | December 18, 1951 | 1 | University of North Carolina |
| 44 | Ralph Simpson | SG | 6-5 | 200 | August 10, 1949 | 5 | Michigan State University |
| 21 | Claude Terry | SG | 6-4 | 195 | January 12, 1950 | 3 | Stanford University |
| 33 | David Thompson | SF | 6-4 | 195 | July 13, 1954 | R | North Carolina State University |
| 13 | Monte Towe | PG | 5-7 | 150 | September 27, 1953 | R | North Carolina State University |
| 10 | Marvin Webster | C | 7-1 | 225 | April 13, 1952 | R | Morgan State University |
| 11 | Chuck Williams | PG | 6-2 | 175 | June 6, 1946 | 5 | University of Colorado |
Playoffs
editSemifinals [2]
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | April 15 | Denver | 110–107 | 1–0 | 15,234 |
| 2 | April 17 | Denver | 110–138 | 1–1 | 16,384 |
| 3 | April 19 | Kentucky | 114–126 | 1–2 | 9,644 |
| 4 | April 21 | Kentucky | 108–106 | 2–2 | 11,444 |
| 5 | April 22 | Denver | 127–117 | 3–2 | 17,068 |
| 6 | April 25 | Kentucky | 119–115 | 3–3 | 6,312 |
| 7 | April 28 | Denver | 133–110 | 4–3 | 18,821 |
Nuggets win series, 4–3
ABA Finals [2]
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | May 1 | Denver | 118–120 | 0–1 | 19,034 |
| 2 | May 4 | Denver | 127–121 | 1–1 | 19,107 |
| 3 | May 6 | New York | 111–117 | 1–2 | 12,243 |
| 4 | May 8 | New York | 112–121 | 1–3 | 15,934 |
| 5 | May 11 | Denver | 118–110 | 2–3 | 18,881 |
| 6 | May 13 | New York | 106–112 | 2–4 | 15,934 |
Nuggets lose series 4-2
Awards, records, and honors
edit- Ralph Simpson led the league in turnovers (360)
- Bobby Jones led the league in field goal percentage (.581)
ABA All-Stars
edit- Byron Beck
- Roger Brown
- James Foster
- Gus Gerard
- Dan Issel
- Bobby Jones
- Ralph Simpson
- Claude Terry
- David Thompson
- Monte Towe
- Chuck Williams[3]
All-ABA Teams
edit- Ralph Simpson- 1st team
- Don Buse- 2nd team
- Bobby Jones- 2nd team
- David Thompson- 2nd team
All-Defensive Team
edit- Don Buse- 1st team
- Bobby Jones- 1st team
All-Rookie Team
edit- David Thompson
References
edit- ^ 1975-76 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats
- ^ a b "Remember the ABA: 1975-76 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results". Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ^ 1975-76 ABA Season Summary