1974–75 Denver Nuggets season

ABA professional basketball team season

NBA professional basketball team season
1974–75 Denver Nuggets season
Division champions
Head coachLarry Brown
ArenaDenver Auditorium Arena
Results
Record65–19 (.774)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishWestern Division finals
(lost to Pacers 3–4)
RadioKOA
< 1973–74 1975–76 >

The 1974–75 ABA season was the franchise's eighth season and first as the Nuggets. The Nuggets were ranked first in points per game (118.7 ppg). They also had the best record in the ABA, 65-19, though they lost in the Division finals to the Pacers.

Roster

No. Player Position Height Weight Birth Date Experience (years) College
40 Byron Beck PF 6-9 225 January 25, 1945 7 University of Denver
20 Mack Calvin PG 6-0 165 July 27, 1947 5 University of Southern California
22 Mike Green C 6-10 200 August 6, 1951 1 Louisiana Tech University
24 Bobby Jones PF 6-9 210 December 18, 1951 R University of North Carolina
15 Patrick McFarland SG 6-5 185 December 7, 1951 1 Saint Joseph's University
25 Dave Robisch C 6-10 235 December 22, 1949 3 University of Kansas
44 Ralph Simpson SG 6-5 200 August 10, 1949 4 Michigan State University
14 Fatty Taylor PG 6-0 175 March 13, 1946 5 La Salle University
21 Claude Terry SF 6-4 195 January 12, 1950 2 Stanford University
32 Jan van Breda Kolff SF 6-7 195 December 16, 1951 R Vanderbilt University
10 Donald Washington SF 6-8 210 April 22, 1952 R University of North Carolina

Standings

Eastern Division

Team W L PCT. GB
Kentucky Colonels 58 26 .690 -
New York Nets 58 26 .690 -
Spirits of St. Louis 32 52 .381 26
Memphis Sounds 27 57 .321 31
Virginia Squires 15 69 .179 43

Western Division

Team W L PCT. GB
Denver Nuggets 65 19 .774 -
San Antonio Spurs 51 33 .607 14
Indiana Pacers 45 39 .536 20
Utah Stars 38 46 .452 27
San Diego Conquistadors 31 53 .369 34

Game log

  • 1974-75 Denver Rockets Schedule and Results | Basketball-Reference.com

Stats

Rk Player Age G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% 2P 2PA 2P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
1 Ralph Simpson 25 82 34.9 8.5 16.8 .505 0.0 0.1 .083 8.5 16.6 .509 3.7 4.9 .754 1.3 3.5 4.8 5.4 2.0 0.2 3.8 2.6 20.6
2 Mack Calvin 27 74 33.3 6.5 13.5 .485 0.0 0.2 .188 6.5 13.2 .490 6.4 7.2 .896 0.5 2.4 2.8 7.7 1.9 0.1 3.8 2.8 19.5
3 Bobby Jones 23 84 32.2 6.3 10.4 .604 0.0 0.0 .000 6.3 10.4 .605 2.2 3.2 .695 2.7 5.5 8.2 3.6 2.0 1.8 2.8 3.1 14.8
4 Mike Green 23 81 31.6 7.3 13.5 .542 0.0 0.0 .000 7.3 13.5 .544 2.8 3.8 .738 3.5 5.8 9.2 1.2 1.0 2.1 2.5 3.3 17.4
5 Fatty Taylor 28 76 26.6 3.3 7.7 .428 0.1 0.3 .286 3.2 7.4 .434 1.7 2.3 .750 1.1 1.8 2.9 4.4 2.3 0.2 3.3 3.1 8.4
6 Dave Robisch 25 84 22.6 4.7 9.3 .503 0.0 0.0 .000 4.7 9.3 .504 3.6 4.1 .879 1.9 4.1 6.0 1.8 0.5 0.6 1.3 2.4 13.0
7 Byron Beck 30 84 21.6 4.6 8.9 .515 0.0 0.0 .000 4.6 8.9 .516 1.0 1.2 .835 1.5 2.6 4.1 1.3 0.7 0.2 0.9 3.2 10.1
8 Jan van Breda Kolff 23 84 19.5 1.8 4.1 .453 0.0 0.0 .000 1.8 4.0 .457 2.1 2.5 .839 1.4 2.8 4.3 2.2 0.6 0.5 1.5 2.0 5.8
9 Claude Terry 25 70 14.1 2.8 5.2 .530 0.1 0.4 .400 2.6 4.8 .540 1.0 1.3 .761 0.8 1.2 2.0 1.6 0.5 0.0 1.1 1.2 6.7
10 Patrick McFarland 23 70 13.5 2.9 6.1 .472 0.0 0.2 .125 2.8 5.8 .485 0.7 0.9 .788 0.5 1.2 1.7 1.7 0.7 0.1 1.5 0.9 6.5
11 Donald Washington 22 50 8.8 1.6 3.7 .432 0.0 0.0 .000 1.6 3.6 .436 0.8 1.1 .679 0.8 1.0 1.8 0.6 0.2 0.4 1.0 1.8 3.9[1]

Playoffs

Western Semifinals

Game Date Location Score Record Attendance
1 April 6 Denver 122–107 1–0 7,200
2 April 7 Denver 126–120 2–0 7,298
3 April 9 Utah 108–122 2–1 5,694
4 April 11 Utah 110–132 2–2 9,106
5 April 12 Denver 130–119 3–2 7,498
6 April 14 Utah 115–113 4–2 8,448

Nuggets win series 4–2

Western Division finals

Game Date Location Score Record Attendance
1 April 20 Denver 131–128 1–0 7,444
2 April 22 Denver 124–131 1–1 7,491
3 April 24 Indiana 112–118 1–2 15,496
4 April 25 Indiana 126–109 2–2 17,389
5 April 27 Denver 90–109 2–3 7,483
6 April 30 Indiana 104–99 3–3 17,421
7 May 3 Denver 96–104 3–4 7,401

Nuggets lose series 4–3

Awards and honors

League leaders

  • Field goal percentage: Bobby Jones
  • Free throw percentage: Mack Calvin
  • Assists per game:Mack Calvin
  • Offensive Rating: Dave Robisch

All-ABA Teams

  • Mack Calvin - 1st Team

All-Defensive Team

  • Bobby Jones

All-Rookie Team

  • Bobby Jones

ABA All-Stars

  • Mack Calvin
  • Mike Green
  • Ralph Simpson[2]

Transactions

References

  1. ^ 1974-75 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com
  2. ^ 1974-75 ABA Season Summary | Basketball-Reference.com