From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1969–70 ABA season
3rd edition of the ABA Championship
3rd edition of the ABA Championship
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | 1969–70 ABA season |
| league | American Basketball Association |
| sport | Basketball |
| duration | October 17, 1969 – May 25, 1970 |
| no_of_games | 84 |
| no_of_teams | 11 |
| season | Regular season |
| top_seed | Indiana Pacers |
| MVP | Spencer Haywood (Denver) |
| MVP_link | ABA MVP |
| top_scorer | Spencer Haywood (Denver) |
| finals | Finals |
| finals_link | 1970 ABA Playoffs |
| finals_champ | Indiana Pacers |
| finals_runner-up | Los Angeles Stars |
| seasonslist | List of ABA seasons |
| seasonslistnames | ABA |
| prevseason_link | 1968–69 ABA season |
| prevseason_year | 1968–69 |
| nextseason_link | 1970–71 ABA season |
| nextseason_year | 1970–71 |
| conf1_runner-up = | conf2_runner-up = | finals_runner-up = Los Angeles Stars The 1969–70 ABA season was the third season of the American Basketball Association. Prior to the start of the season, the Minnesota Pipers moved back to Pittsburgh, the Oakland Oaks moved to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Caps and the Houston Mavericks moved to North Carolina and became the Carolina Cougars. For the regular-season, the schedule was increased from 78 to 84 games per team. The season ended with the Indiana Pacers capturing their first ABA Championship.
By April of 1970, rumblings of a merger were reported in the press, with one reported offer having the league pay $11 million in indemnities while agreeing to move the Washington franchise out of its location. The NBA Players Association was felt to be an obstacle for any plans of a merger, as they had voted to strike in the event of such a merger. As it turned out, the merger would not occur until many years later with only a fraction of the ABA's teams making it in the final merger.
Spencer Haywood, a rookie from the University of Detroit, led the ABA in scoring (30.0 ppg) and rebounding (19.5 rpg) for the Denver Rockets. Haywood was professional basketball's first "hardship case", leaving college after his sophomore season. The NBA prohibited him from declaring for its draft, and he signed with the Rockets instead, leading them to the Western Division championship.
Teams
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | Eastern | Western | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Cougars | Greensboro, North Carolina | |||||||||
| Charlotte, North Carolina | ||||||||||
| Raleigh, North Carolina | Greensboro Coliseum | |||||||||
| Charlotte Coliseum | ||||||||||
| Dorton Arena | ||||||||||
| Indiana Pacers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Indiana State Fair Coliseum | ||||||||
| Kentucky Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | Louisville Convention Center | ||||||||
| Miami Floridians | Miami, Florida | Dinner Key Auditorium | ||||||||
| Miami-Dade Junior College North Gym | ||||||||||
| New York Nets | West Hempstead, New York | Island Garden | ||||||||
| Pittsburgh Pipers | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Civic Arena | ||||||||
| Dallas Chaparrals | University Park, Texas | |||||||||
| Dallas, Texas | Moody Coliseum | |||||||||
| Dallas Memorial Auditorium | ||||||||||
| Denver Rockets | Denver, Colorado | Denver Auditorium Arena | ||||||||
| Los Angeles Stars | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles Sports Arena | ||||||||
| New Orleans Buccaneers | New Orleans, Louisiana | Loyola Field House | ||||||||
| Washington Caps | Washington, D.C. | Washington Coliseum |
Map of teams
Final standings
Eastern Division
| Team | W | L | PCT. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **[Indiana Pacers](1969-70-indiana-pacers-season)** * | 59 | 25 | .702 | — |
| [Kentucky Colonels](1969-70-kentucky-colonels-season) * | 45 | 39 | .536 | 14.0 |
| [Carolina Cougars](1969-70-carolina-cougars-season) * | 42 | 42 | .500 | 17.0 |
| [New York Nets](1969-70-new-york-nets-season) * | 39 | 45 | .464 | 20.0 |
| [Pittsburgh Pipers](1969-70-pittsburgh-pipers-season) | 29 | 55 | .345 | 30.0 |
| [Miami Floridians](1969-70-miami-floridians-season) | 23 | 61 | .274 | 36.0 |
Western Division
| Team | W | L | PCT. | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Denver Rockets](1969-70-denver-rockets-season) * | 51 | 33 | .607 | — | |
| [Dallas Chaparrals](1969-70-dallas-chaparrals-season) * | 45 | 39 | .536 | 6.0 | |
| [Washington Caps](1969-70-washington-caps-season) * | 44 | 40 | .524 | 7.0 | |
| [Los Angeles Stars](1969-70-los-angeles-stars-season) * | 43 | 41 | .512 | 8.0 | |
| [New Orleans Buccaneers](1969-70-new-orleans-buccaneers-season) | 42 | 42 | .500 | 9.0 |
Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team
Bold – ABA champions
Regular season
On April 10, 1970, the Indiana Pacers would score a league record-high 177 points in a 177–135 win over the Pittsburgh Pipers at home. As of 2025, it remains the highest-scoring effort the Pacers have ever had either in the ABA or the NBA (with their most recent highest-scoring game in the NBA occurring on March 27, 2025 with a 162–109 blowout win over the Washington Wizards). On April 28, 1970, Spencer Haywood was named ABA MVP.
Playoffs
Awards and honors
- ABA Most Valuable Player Award: Spencer Haywood, Denver Rockets
- Rookie of the Year: Spencer Haywood, Denver Rockets
- Coach of the Year: Bill Sharman, Los Angeles Stars and Joe Belmont, Denver Rockets
- Playoffs MVP: Roger Brown, Indiana Pacers
- All-Star Game MVP: Spencer Haywood, Denver Rockets
- All-ABA First Team
- Rick Barry, Washington Caps (2nd selection)
- Spencer Haywood, Denver Rockets
- Mel Daniels, Indiana Pacers (3rd selection)
- Bob Verga, Carolina Cougars
- Larry Jones, Denver Rockets (3rd selection)
- All-ABA Second Team
- Roger Brown, Indiana Pacers (2nd selection)
- Bob Netolicky, Indiana Pacers
- Red Robbins, New Orleans Buccaneers (2nd selection)
- Louie Dampier, Kentucky Colonels (3rd selection)
- Donnie Freeman, Miami Floridians (2nd selection)
- All-ABA Rookie Team
- Mike Barrett, Washington Caps
- John Brisker, Pittsburgh Pipers
- Mack Calvin, Los Angeles Stars
- Spencer Haywood, Denver Rockets
- Willie Wise, Los Angeles Stars
Finals
References
References
- Goldaper, Sam. (April 12, 1970). "A.B.A. AND N.B.A. NEARING MERGER". The New York Times.
- https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/197004120INA.html
- https://www.nba.com/game/0022401061
- (April 28, 1970). "Spencer Haywood Wins MVP Award". Greeley Daily Tribune.
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1969–70 ABA season — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report