1975–76 New York Nets season

1975–76 New York Nets season
Head coach	Kevin Loughery
Arena	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	55–29 (.655)
Place	Division: 2nd (ABA)
Playoff finish	ABA champions (Defeated Nuggets 4–2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WOR
Radio	WMCA

The 1975–76 New York Nets season was the ninth and final season of ABA basketball on Long Island. The Nets won their second ABA Championship.

Draft picks

Main article: 1975 ABA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College

Roster

1975–76 New York Nets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From PF 21 Bassett, Tim 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1951-04-01 Georgia SG 11 Bucci, George 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1953-07-09 Manhattan F/C 22 Eakins, Jim 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1946-05-24 BYU SF 32 Erving, Julius 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1950-02-22 UMass C 35 Hughes, Kim 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1952-06-04 Wisconsin PF 33 Jones, Rich 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1946-12-27 Memphis SG 24 McClain, Ted 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1946-08-30 Tennessee State PG 25 Melchionni, Bill 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1944-10-19 Villanova C 31 Nater, Swen 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1950-01-14 UCLA SF 15, 24 Schaeffer, Billy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1951-12-11 St. John's SG 30 Skinner, Al 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1952-06-16 UMass PG 14 Taylor, Brian 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1951-06-09 Princeton SF 12 Terry, Chuck 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1950-09-27 Long Beach State SG 23 Williamson, John 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1951-11-10 New Mexico State

Head coach Kevin Loughery Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured 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 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

ABA

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	.417	21
Spirits of St. Louis	35	49	.417	25
Virginia Squires	15	68	.181	45

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	PTS
Julius Erving	84	3244	207	925	423	160	2462
John Williamson	76	2255	76	190	188	33	1233
Rich Jones	83	2427	81	428	131	21	1096
Brian Taylor	54	1733	125	162	204	22	904
Al Skinner	83	2082	91	307	280	50	865
Kim Hughes	84	2162	98	775	55	120	692
Tim Bassett	84	1790	47	531	65	41	405
Bill Melchionni	67	1191	52	88	266	8	386
Swen Nater	43	1016	18	441	19	26	376
Ted McClain	30	696	57	73	106	10	340
Chuck Terry	66	970	36	144	38	6	220
Jim Eakins	34	463	7	120	18	20	211
George Bucci	33	237	12	37	15	3	128
Billy Schaeffer	20	119	6	22	9	2	72

Playoffs

Semifinals vs. San Antonio Spurs

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	April 9	New York	116–101	1–0	8,221
2	April 11	San Antonio	79–105	1–1	5,769
3	April 14	New York	103–111	1–2	10,009
4	April 18	San Antonio	110–108	2–2	9,277
5	April 19	New York	110–108	3–2	11,321
6	April 21	San Antonio	105–106	3–3	10,484
7	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	Attendance
1	May 1	Denver	120–118	1–0	19,034
2	May 4	Denver	121–127	1–1	19,107
3	May 6	New York	117–111	2–1	12,243
4	May 8	New York	121–112	3–1	15,934
5	May 11	Denver	110–118	3–2	18,881
6	May 13	New York	112–106	4–2	15,934

Nets win series 4–2

This is to date the last title the Nets have won.

Awards, Records and Honors

• Julius Erving, Finals MVP DR J

External links

• New York Nets on Basketball Reference