The 1975–76 New York Nets season was the ninth and final season of American Basketball Association basketball for the franchise, which saw them first play as the New Jersey Americans in their inaugural season before later playing the rest of their years in the league in Long Island as the New York Nets. Before the season began properly (specifically over a week after the 1975 ABA draft came and went), tragedy would strike with the team as beloved small forward Wendell Ladner was one of 113 fatalities (out of 124 total people) found in the Eastern Air Lines Flight 66, with him being identified by his championship ring with the Nets from the 1973–74 season as well as being the only ABA player to die during their career while in the league. After the tragic event, the Nets would dedicate the upcoming season to Ladner, with them later honoring him in future years as well. Also before the season began, the Nets and Denver Nuggets attempted to jump ship from the ABA to the National Basketball Association (NBA) early (with them wanting the Kentucky Colonels to join them since they saw each other as the strongest ABA teams left over by that point in time), but the judges preceding in their case informed them to stay in the ABA for at least one more season first due to the notion that even having two ABA teams join the NBA like that would still technically count as a merger happening between leagues. By the end of the season, the Nets were the second-best team in the league behind only the Nuggets (who finished with a league-best 60–24 record), having them easily earn a spot in the 1976 ABA Playoffs, with the Nets unofficially being the final Eastern Division winners of the final ABA season in the process had the ABA not gotten rid of divisions entirely following the folding of the Utah Stars. The Nets won what would be their second and final ABA Championship by first beating the San Antonio Spurs 4–3 in the semifinal round before beating the Nuggets 4–2 in the championship round. By the end of the season, the Nets would join the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, and Indiana Pacers as the final four surviving ABA teams from the ABA-NBA merger to make it to the NBA, though the Nets would suffer the biggest consequences of the four teams once they finally entered the NBA properly due to them encroaching up onto the New York Knicks' territory as a new nearby, almost cityside rivaling organization (with the Nets playing in the Long Island area at the time) that the Knicks' ownership group was apprehensive of for the longest time.

With the Nets losing their only two NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003 (the latter series a loss to fellow former ABA franchise San Antonio), the 1976 ABA championship remains the Nets franchise's most recent title in any league.

ABA Draft

Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality College 1 9 John Lucas II PG United States Maryland 2 19 George Bucci SG United States Manhattan College 3 29 Leon Douglas C United States Alabama 4 39 Bob Guyette PF United States Kentucky 5 49 Darryl Brown PF/C United States Fordham 6 59 Mike Mitchell SF United States Auburn 7 69 Wayne Croft PF United States Clemson 8 79 John Lambert PF/C United States USC

Roster

Exhibition Games On October 4, 1975, the Nets played their first exhibition game of the season, facing the Washington Bullets of the NBA in the Capital Center in Landover, Maryland. Julius Erving scored 36 points to lead the Nets, but the Bullets managed a one-point victory, 109–108.

The Nets faced the New York Knicks on October 8 in Uniondale, New York. The Nets prevailed, 110–104.

On October 11 the Nets ventured to Buffalo, New York, to face the Buffalo Braves on the Braves' home court. 15,000 fans attended the game. Erving was held to 16 points, but the Nets won by a large margin, 109–83.

The Nets traveled to New Haven, Connecticut, on October 14 to play the Washington Bullets for the second time in the preseason. The Nets avenged their loss of ten days earlier, winning 122–114.

The very next day, on October 15, the Golden State Warriors took the court against the Nets in Uniondale. Erving led the Nets with 43 points but Rick Barry had 49 for Golden State as the Warriors won, 119–114.

Two days later the Nets traveled to Seton Hall for a rematch with the Buffalo Braves on October 17. The Nets won again, 117–97.

The next day, October 18, saw the Nets play their final ABA vs. NBA exhibition game as they took the court at Madison Square Garden to again face their in-state rivals from the NBA, the New York Knicks. Julius Erving scored 33 points and hit a jump shot at the buzzer to win the game for the Nets, 103–101.

The Nets finished their ABA tenure with a record of 15 wins and 9 losses against NBA teams in exhibition games. The Nets went 2–0 against the NBA before the 1971–72 season, 0–3 before 1972–73, 4–1 prior to the 1973–74 campaign, 4–3 before the 1974–75 season and 5–2 before the 1975–76 season. Overall, the ABA went 79–76 in the interleague matchups, faring poorly at first but going 62–34 in the last three years of the league.

Regular season Season standings + Team W L PCT. GB Denver Nuggets * 60 24 .714 — New York Nets * 55 29 .655 5 San Antonio Spurs * 50 34 .595 10 Kentucky Colonels * 46 38 .548 14 Indiana Pacers * 39 45 .464 21 Spirits of St. Louis 35 49 .417 25 Virginia Squires † 15 68 .181 44 San Diego Sails † 3 8 .273 — Utah Stars † 4 12 .250 — Baltimore Claws † 0 0 .000 — Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team † did not survive the end of the season.Bold – ABA champions1975-76 ABA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com

ABA Schedule 1975–76 New York Nets Games – Basketball-Reference.com

Player statistics Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; STL= Steals; REB = Rebounds; ASST = Assists; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points Player GP MIN STL REB ASST BLK PTSJulius Erving 84 3244 207 925 423 160 2462John Williamson 76 2255 76 190 188 33 1233Rich Jones 83 2427 81 428 131 21 1096Brian Taylor 54 1733 125 162 204 22 904Al Skinner 83 2082 91 307 280 50 865Kim Hughes 84 2162 98 775 55 120 692Tim Bassett 84 1790 47 531 65 41 405Bill Melchionni 67 1191 52 88 266 8 386Swen Nater 43 1016 18 441 19 26 376Ted McClain 30 696 57 73 106 10 340Chuck Terry 66 970 36 144 38 6 220Jim Eakins34 463 7 120 18 20 211George Bucci 33 237 12 37 15 3 128Billy Schaeffer 20 119 6 22 9 2 721975–76 New York Nets Statistics – Basketball-Reference.com

ABA Playoffs ABA Semifinals vs. San Antonio Spurs Game Date Location Score Record Attendance1 April 9 New York 116–101 1–0 8,2212April 11 San Antonio 79–105 1–1 5,7693April 14 New York 103–111 1–2 10,0094April 18 San Antonio 110–108 2–2 9,2775April 19 New York 110–108 3–2 11,3216April 21 San Antonio 105–106 3–3 10,4847 April 24 New York 121–114 4–3 15,934 Nets win series, 4–3

ABA Finals vs. Denver Nuggets Game Date Location Score Record Attendance1 May 1 Denver 120–118 1–0 19,0342May 4 Denver 121–127 1–1 19,1073May 6 New York 117–111 2–1 12,2434May 8 New York 121–112 3–1 15,9345May 11 Denver 110–118 3–2 18,8816May 13 New York 112–106 4–2 15,934 Nets win series, 4–2

This is, to date, the last championship the Nets have won in professional basketball. This would also be the last playoff series ever done in the ABA, with the Nets being the final champions in the league's history.

Awards, Records and Honors Julius Erving, ABA Finals MVP

References

External links New York Nets on Basketball Reference