3rd edition of the ABA Championship
Sports season
The 1969–70 ABA season was the third season of the American Basketball Association . Prior to the start of the season, the Minnesota Pipers moved back to Pittsburgh, the Oakland Oaks moved to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Caps and the Houston Mavericks moved to North Carolina and became the Carolina Cougars . For the regular-season, the schedule was increased from 78 to 84 games per team. The season ended with the Indiana Pacers capturing their first ABA Championship.
Spencer Haywood , a rookie from the University of Detroit , led the ABA in scoring (30.0 ppg) and rebounding (19.5 rpg) for the Denver Rockets . Haywood was professional basketball's first "hardship case", leaving college after his sophomore season. The NBA prohibited him from declaring for its draft, and he signed with the Rockets instead, leading them to the Western Division championship.
Teams
1969-70 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
Indiana Pacers
Indianapolis , Indiana
Indiana State Fair Coliseum
10,000
Kentucky Colonels
Louisville , Kentucky
Louisville Convention Center
6,000
Miami Floridians
Miami , Florida
Dinner Key Auditorium Miami-Dade Junior College North Gym
6,900 N/A
New York Nets
West Hempstead , New York
Island Garden
5,200
Pittsburgh Pipers
Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania
Civic Arena
12,580
Western
Dallas Chaparrals
University Park , Texas Dallas , Texas
Moody Coliseum Dallas Memorial Auditorium
8,998 9,815
Denver Rockets
Denver , Colorado
Denver Auditorium Arena
6,841
Los Angeles Stars
Los Angeles , California
Los Angeles Sports Arena
14,795
New Orleans Buccaneers
New Orleans , Louisiana
Loyola Field House
6,500
Washington Caps
Washington , D.C.
Washington Coliseum
7,000
Map of teams
Eastern Division
Western Division
Final standings
Eastern Division
Western Division
Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team
Bold – ABA champions
Playoffs
Awards and honors
Spencer Haywood (Denver ) was named ABA MVP and ROTY
Mel Daniels (right) was named All-ABA First Team
Finals
References
Eastern Division Western Division