1975–76 Denver Nuggets season
| 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) |
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). This was the second season in the Larry Brown tenure as head coach.
ABA Draft
| 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 |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Legend
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Season standings
| 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
Note: 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 |
Playoffs
Semifinals [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
- Ralph Simpson led the league in turnovers (360)
- Bobby Jones led the league in field goal percentage (.581)
ABA All-Stars
Due to the unique circumstances involved with this particular season in the ABA, the usual format of East Vs. West All-Star teams was scrapped by December 1975 in favor of having the best team by the All-Star break competing against the rest of the league's best All-Stars around the rest of the league that still remained intact by this point in time. When they reached that specific point, it was officially confirmed that the Denver Nuggets would be the team that would compete against the rest of the ABA's All-Star talents that season, which was something the league conveniently had hoped for since Denver agreed to host the All-Star Game for this season earlier on back when the ABA still had ten teams around. Originally, three of the Nuggets' players were selected for the ABA All-Star team before swapped back to the Nuggets team and replaced by other players worthy of the All-Star team spot for this season. As such, the following Denver Nuggets players represented the team that competed in the 1976 ABA All-Star Game.
- 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
- Ralph Simpson- 1st team
- Don Buse- 2nd team
- Bobby Jones- 2nd team
- David Thompson- 2nd team
All-Defensive Team
- Don Buse- 1st team
- Bobby Jones- 1st team
All-Rookie Team
- David Thompson
References
- ^ 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
