The 1970–71 ABA season was the fourth season of the American Basketball Association.
Notable franchise moves from the previous season included:
The Washington Caps moved to Norfolk, Virginia, became the Virginia Squires regional franchise, and switched divisions with the Indiana Pacers. The Miami Floridians became more of a regional franchise and were renamed simply The Floridians. The Los Angeles Stars moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and became the Utah Stars. The Dallas Chaparrals became a regional franchise and were renamed the Texas Chaparrals. The New Orleans Buccaneers moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and became the Memphis Pros. (Originally, the Buccaneers planned to be a regional franchise called the Louisiana Buccaneers for this season.)
Other notable events included the jumping of last season's Most Valuable Player Spencer Haywood from the Denver Rockets to the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics after playing just one season with them, which inflamed ABA management amid rumblings of failed talks to merge with the NBA.
The Utah Stars, led by Zelmo Beaty and Willie Wise, won the ABA championship, defeating the Kentucky Colonels, 4 games to 3, in the ABA Finals.
+Coaching changesOffseason Team 1969–70 coach 1970–71 coach New York Nets York Larese Lou Carnesecca Pittsburgh Condors Buddy Jeannette Jack McMahonIn-season Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach Carolina Cougars Bones McKinney Jerry Steele Denver Rockets Joe Belmont Stan Albeck The Floridians Harold Blitman Bob Bass Kentucky Colonels Gene RhodesAlex Groza (interim) Alex Groza (interim)Frank Ramsey Texas Chaparrals Max Williams Bill Blakeley
Teams 1970–71 American Basketball Association Division Team City Arena Capacity Eastern Carolina Cougars Greensboro, North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina Raleigh, North Carolina Greensboro Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum Dorton Arena 15,000 9,605 7,610 Kentucky Colonels Louisville, Kentucky Freedom Hall 16,664 New York Nets West Hempstead, New York Island Garden 5,200 Pittsburgh Condors Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Civic Arena 12,580 The Floridians Miami Beach, Florida Tampa, Florida St. Petersburg, Florida Jacksonville, Florida West Palm Beach, Florida Miami Beach Convention Center Curtis Hixon Hall Bayfront Arena Jacksonville Coliseum West Palm Beach Auditorium 15,000 7,000 7,500 11,000 5,000 Virginia Squires Norfolk, Virginia Hampton, Virginia Richmond, Virginia Salem, Virginia Roanoke, Virginia Old Dominion University Fieldhouse Hampton Coliseum Richmond Arena Salem Civic Center Roanoke Civic Center 5,200 9,777 6,000 6,820 9,828 Western Denver Rockets Denver, Colorado Denver Auditorium Arena 6,841 Indiana Pacers Indianapolis, Indiana Indiana State Fair Coliseum 10,000 Memphis Pros Memphis, Tennessee Mid-South Coliseum 10,085 Texas Chaparrals University Park, Texas Dallas, Texas Fort Worth, Texas Lubbock, Texas Moody Coliseum Dallas Memorial Auditorium Tarrant County Coliseum Lubbock Municipal Coliseum 8,998 9,815 16,057 11,200 Utah Stars Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Palace 12,166
Map of teams
Final standings
Eastern Division + Team W L PCT. GB Virginia Squires * 55 29 .655 — Kentucky Colonels * 44 40 .524 11.0 New York Nets * 40 44 .476 15.0 The Floridians * 37 47 .440 18.0 Pittsburgh Condors 36 48 .429 19.0 Carolina Cougars 34 50 .405 21.0
Western Division + Team W L PCT. GB Indiana Pacers * 58 26 .690 — Utah Stars * 57 27 .679 1.0 Memphis Pros * 41 43 .488 17.0 Texas Chaparrals * 30 54 .357 28.0 Denver Rockets * 30 54 .357 28.0 Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team (the Rockets and the Chaparrals played a one-game playoff to settle the tie for the final playoff spot, which the Chaparrals won)
Bold – ABA champions
Playoffs
Awards and honors
ABA Most Valuable Player Award: Mel Daniels, Indiana Pacers (2nd time) Rookie of the Year: Charlie Scott, Virginia Squires & Dan Issel, Kentucky Colonels Coach of the Year: Al Bianchi, Virginia Squires Playoffs MVP: Zelmo Beaty, Utah Stars All-Star Game MVP: Mel Daniels, Indiana Pacers All-ABA First Team Roger Brown, Indiana Pacers (1st First Team selection, 3rd overall selection) Rick Barry, New York Nets (3rd selection) Mel Daniels, Indiana Pacers (4th selection) Mack Calvin, The Floridians Charlie Scott, Virginia Squires All-ABA Second Team John Brisker, Pittsburgh Condors Joe Caldwell, Carolina Cougars Zelmo Beaty, Utah Stars (tied with Issel) Dan Issel, Kentucky Colonels (tied with Beaty) Donnie Freeman, Texas Chaparrals (3rd selection) Larry Cannon, Denver Rockets All-ABA Rookie Team Joe Hamilton, Texas Chaparrals Dan Issel, Kentucky Colonels Wendell Ladner, Memphis Pros Samuel Robinson, The Floridians Charlie Scott, Virginia Squires
References
External links
1970-71 ABA Season Summary | Basketball-Reference.com