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1973–74 New York Nets season
ABA professional basketball team season
ABA professional basketball team season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| team | New York Nets |
| league | ABA |
| end_year | 1974 |
| ChampionshipWin | yes |
| DivisionWin | yes |
| wins | 55 |
| losses | 29 |
| division | Eastern (ABA) |
| division_place | 1 |
| coach | Kevin Loughery |
| arena | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| playoffs | [ABA champions](1974-aba-playoffs) |
| (defeated [Stars](1973-74-utah-stars-season) 4–1) | |
| bbr_team | NYA |
| television | WOR |
| radio | WHN |
(defeated Stars 4–1) The 1973–74 New York Nets season was the seventh season in the American Basketball Association for the New York Nets basketball franchise, which includes their first season where they played as the New Jersey Americans before moving to Long Island to become the Nets ever since then. This season would also be the season where the team finally acquired small forward Julius Erving in a trade with the Virginia Squires after being the only other team alongside the Squires to showcase genuine interest in obtaining him after the 1971 ABA draft officially ended, despite him being a junior at the time he first signed up to play for the ABA. While the Squires never made it to the ABA Finals with Erving playing for him (which included Erving losing to the Nets while playing with Virginia in the Eastern Division Finals in his rookie season), Dr. J would prove to be the missing piece necessary for them to become one of the best teams in the ABA's final years of existence. With Erving playing alongside some of their other star-caliber players on the roster, the Nets won their first ABA Championship by first beating Dr. J's former team, the Squires, 4–1 and then swept the Kentucky Colonels before beating the Utah Stars 4–1 in the championship series.
ABA Draft
Main article: 1973 ABA draft
Interestingly, this year's ABA draft would involve four different types of drafts throughout the early 1973 year: a "Special Circumstances Draft" on January 15, a "Senior Draft" on April 25, an "Undergraduate Draft" also on April 25, and a "Supplemental Draft" on May 18, though the Nets joined the Indiana Pacers as one of two teams to avoid using that last draft entirely. Still, the following selections were made in these respective drafts by the Nets.
Special Circumstances Draft
| New York Nets}}" width="10%" | Round | New York Nets}}" width="10%" | Pick | New York Nets}}" width="20%" | Player | New York Nets}}" width="15%" | Position | New York Nets}}" width="15%" | Nationality | New York Nets}}" width="20%" | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Jim Brewer | PF | USA United States | Minnesota | ||||||
| 2 | 15 | Billy Schaeffer | SF | USA United States | St. John's |
Senior Draft
| New York Nets}}" width="10%" | Round | New York Nets}}" width="10%" | Pick | New York Nets}}" width="20%" | Player | New York Nets}}" width="15%" | Position(s) | New York Nets}}" width="15%" | Nationality | New York Nets}}" width="20%" | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Doug Collins | SG | USA United States | Illinois State | ||||||
| 3 | 24 | James Lister | C | USA United States | Sam Houston State | ||||||
| 4 | 32 | Phil Hankinson | PF | USA United States | Pennsylvania | ||||||
| 4 | 34 | Kermit Washington | PF | USA United States | American | ||||||
| 5 | 44 | Ken Brady | C | USA United States | Michigan | ||||||
| 6 | 54 | Neal Jurgensen | F | USA United States | Oregon State | ||||||
| 7 | 64 | Nate Stephens | C | USA United States | Long Beach State | ||||||
| 8 | 74 | Gene Doyle | F | USA United States | Holy Cross | ||||||
| 9 | 84 | Clinton Harris | F | USA United States | Iowa State | ||||||
| 10 | 94 | Gene Armstead | PF/C | USA United States | Rutgers |
The "Senior Draft" done in April is often considered the official, main draft period of the 1973 ABA draft by basketball historians.
Undergraduate Draft
| New York Nets}}" width="10%" | Round | New York Nets}}" width="10%" | Pick | New York Nets}}" width="20%" | Player | New York Nets}}" width="15%" | Position(s) | New York Nets}}" width="15%" | Nationality | New York Nets}}" width="20%" | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 (1) | 104 (4) | Henry Williams | F | USA United States | Jacksonville | ||||||
| 12 (2) | 114 (14) | Campy Russell | SF | USA United States | Michigan |
The "Undergraduate Draft" is considered a continuation of the "Senior Draft" that was done earlier that same day, hence the numbering of the rounds and draft picks here. Also, the Nets joined the Indiana Pacers as one of only two teams to decline participation in the "Supplementary Draft" entirely, meaning there will be no section for that draft with the Nets here.
Exhibition Games
On September 18, 1973, the Nets opened the ABA vs. NBA exhibition season against the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. Playing in Binghamton, New York, the Nets beat the 76ers 94–88. On September 28 the Nets again faced the 76ers, this time in Trenton, New Jersey. The Nets also won this matchup, 118–100.
On September 29, in White Plains, New York, the Nets faced the Washington Bullets. Julius Erving scored a game-high 42 points as the Nets won 127–121.
On October 2, 17,226 fans showed up at Madison Square Garden to watch the Nets play the New York Knicks. Erving scored 27 points, 12 of them in the third quarter, as the Nets won 97–87.
On October 7 the Nets took their 4–0 streak against NBA teams into a contest with the Boston Celtics in Uniondale, New York. Erving scored 23 points, but John Havlicek scored 37 for Boston as the Celtics won, 121–102.
Roster
- Kevin Loughery
Regular season
Season standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **New York Nets** | 55 | 29 | .655 | – |
| Kentucky Colonels | 53 | 31 | .631 | 2 |
| Carolina Cougars | 47 | 37 | .560 | 8 |
| Virginia Squires | 28 | 56 | .333 | 27 |
| Memphis Tams | 21 | 63 | .250 | 34 |
Schedule
Player stats
Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; STL= Steals; REB = Rebounds; ASST = Assists; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points
| Player | GP | MIN | STL | REB | ASST | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julius Erving | 84 | 3398 | 190 | 899 | 434 | 204 | 2299 |
| Larry Kenon | 84 | 2908 | 79 | 962 | 112 | 19 | 1334 |
| Billy Paultz | 77 | 2596 | 60 | 782 | 167 | 147 | 1260 |
| John Williamson | 77 | 2264 | 86 | 213 | 243 | 27 | 1116 |
| Brian Taylor | 75 | 2505 | 154 | 214 | 341 | 22 | 834 |
| John Roche | 50 | 1254 | 41 | 59 | 208 | 6 | 570 |
| Willard Sojourner | 82 | 1316 | 24 | 335 | 54 | 88 | 458 |
| Billy Schaeffer | 59 | 871 | 24 | 141 | 37 | 9 | 385 |
| Bill Melchionni | 56 | 1146 | 51 | 77 | 207 | 5 | 296 |
| Mike Gale | 32 | 904 | 60 | 152 | 124 | 34 | 257 |
| Wendell Ladner | 30 | 637 | 46 | 161 | 65 | 3 | 203 |
| Gary Gregor | 25 | 313 | 4 | 71 | 15 | 1 | 91 |
| Jim O'Brien | 11 | 54 | 3 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 39 |
| Oliver Taylor | 8 | 76 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 28 |
| Rich Rinaldi | 5 | 28 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| Bob Lackey | 3 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
Playoffs
Eastern Division Semifinals vs. Virginia Squires
| 5 | April 8 | New York | 108–96 | 4–1 | 1,1903 |
|---|
Nets win series, 4–1
Eastern Division Finals vs Kentucky Colonels
| 4 | April 20 | Kentucky | 103–90 | 4–0 | 7,800 |
|---|
Nets win series, 4–0
ABA Finals vs. Utah Stars
| 5 | May 10 | New York | 111–100 | 4–1 | 15,934 |
|---|
Nets win championship series, 4–1
Transactions
Draft and other non-trade signings
- Special circumstance draft pick Jim Brewer signs with Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA
- Undergraduate draft pick Campy Russell stays in college
- Head coach Lou Carnesecca returns to St. John's University
- Kevin Loughery becomes head coach
- Draft pick Doug Collins signs with Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA
- Draft pick Kermit Washington signs with Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA
- William M. Skehan is named Executive Vice President
Trades
- August 1, 1973: George Carter and ABA rights to Kermit Washington and $750,000 traded to the Virginia Squires for Julius Erving and Willie Sojourner
- September 20, 1973: Jim Ard and John Baum traded to the Memphis Tams for the rights to Larry Kenon
- January 24, 1974: John Roche traded to the Kentucky Colonels for Mike Gale and Wendell Ladner
Awards, Records and Honors
- Julius Erving, ABA MVP
- Julius Erving, Finals MVP
- Julius Erving, All-Star Team, East Division
- Larry Kenon, All-Star Team, East Division
- Billy Paultz, All-Star Team, East Division (missed game due to injury)
- Julius Erving, All-ABA Team, 1st Team
- Larry Kenon, ABA All-Rookie Team
- John Williamson, ABA All-Rookie Team
- Mike Gale, ABA All-Defensive Team
References
References
- Hundhausen, Arthur. (May 11, 2008). "RememberTheABA.com 1973–74 ABA vs. NBA exhibition results". RememberTheABA.com.
- [https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/ABA_1974.html 1973–74 ABA Season Summary – Basketball-Reference.com]
- [https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYA/1974_games.html 1973–74 New York Nets Games – Basketball-Reference.com]
- [https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYA/1974.html 1973–74 New York Nets Statistics – Basketball-Reference.com]
- "1973–74 ABA Regular Season Standings". Remembertheaba.com.
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