The American Basketball Association (ABA) Finals were the championship series of the ABA, a professional basketball league, in which two teams played each other for the title. The ABA was formed in the fall of 1967, and the first ABA Finals were played at the end of the league's first season in the spring of 1968. The league ceased operations in 1976 with the ABA–NBA merger and four teams from the ABA continued play in the National Basketball Association.

All ABA Finals were in best-of-seven format and were contested between the winners of the Eastern Division and the Western Division finals. The only teams to win the championship more than once were the Indiana Pacers and the New York Nets. The Indiana Pacers initially played in the ABA Finals in 1969, which they lost to the Oakland Oaks, but they won the championship the next year against the Los Angeles Stars. They won in the ABA Finals again in 1972, their first after moving to the Western Division, against the New York Nets and won their final ABA championship against the Kentucky Colonels in 1973. The New York Nets won their first championship in 1974 against the Utah Stars, and their second against the Denver Nuggets in 1976.

The last ABA Finals were in 1976, after which the ABA–NBA merger took place; three of the four teams that continued into the NBA made it to or won the ABA Finals.

Champions

BoldWinning team of the ABA championshipItalicsTeam with home-court advantageTeam (X, Y-Z)Denotes number of times team has played in the championship (X) and record afterwards (Y–Z)

Year Western Champion CoachResult Eastern Champion CoachReference1968New Orleans Buccaneers (1, 0–1)Babe McCarthy3–4Pittsburgh Pipers (1, 1–0)Vince Cazzetta1969Oakland Oaks (1, 1–0)Alex Hannum4–1Indiana Pacers (1, 0–1)Bobby Leonard1970Los Angeles Stars (1, 0–1)Bill Sharman2–4Indiana Pacers (2, 1–1)Bobby Leonard1971Utah Stars (2, 1–1)Bill Sharman4–3Kentucky Colonels (1, 0–1)Frank Ramsey1972Indiana Pacers (2) (3, 2–1)Bobby Leonard4–2New York Nets (1, 0–1)Lou Carnesecca1973Indiana Pacers (3) (4, 3–1)Bobby Leonard4–3Kentucky Colonels (2, 0–2)Joe Mullaney1974Utah Stars (3, 1–2)Joe Mullaney1–4New York Nets (2, 1–1)Kevin Loughery1975Indiana Pacers (5, 3–2)Bobby Leonard1–4Kentucky Colonels (3, 1–2)Hubie Brown

With the ABA cut down to seven teams by the middle of its final season, the league abandoned divisional play.

Year Higher seed CoachResult Lower seed CoachReference1976Denver Nuggets (1, 0–1)Larry Brown2–4New York Nets (2) (3, 2–1)Kevin Loughery

Results by teams TeamsFinalsappearancesChampionshipsRunners-upYears wonYears runners-upIndiana Pacers5321970, 1972, 1973 1969, 1975New York Nets3211974, 1976 1972Kentucky Colonels3121975 1971, 1973Los Angeles / Utah Stars3121971 1970, 1974Oakland Oaks1101969 —Pittsburgh Pipers1101968 —Denver Nuggets101— 1976New Orleans Buccaneers101— 1968

Notes

See also

American Basketball Association ABA Playoffs MVP List of NBA champions

References

External links Professional Basketball Championships ABA seasons