1974 ABA Playoffs
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The 1974 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1973-1974 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion New York Nets defeating the Western Division champion Utah Stars, four games to one in the ABA Finals.
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | ABA Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | New Orleans | 4 | |||||||||||
| 4 | San Diego | 2 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Utah | 4 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Indiana | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | San Antonio | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Indiana | 4 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Utah | 1 | |||||||||||
| E1 | New York | 4 | |||||||||||
| 1 | New York | 4 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Virginia | 1 | |||||||||||
| 1 | New York | 4 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Kentucky | 0 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Carolina | 0 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Kentucky | 4 | |||||||||||
[edit] Trivia
A one game playoff was held to determine the fourth place finisher in the Western Division because the San Diego Conquistadors and Denver Rockets had both tied for fourth place during the regular season. The game was played on March 29, 1974 with the Conquistadors posting a 131-111 win at Denver.
The Carolina Cougars played their final game on April 8, 1974, losing at home to the Kentucky Colonels 128-119 in the last game of their Eastern Division semifinal series, which the Colonels swept 4 games to none. The Cougars played in the remaining two seasons of the ABA as the Spirits of St. Louis and were one of only two teams (the Colonels being the other) remaining during the ABA-NBA merger to not enter the NBA.
The New York Nets and Utah Stars won the Eastern Division and Western Division, respectively, in both the regular season and the playoffs.[1]
The New York Nets became the first team since the 1969-1970 Indiana Pacers to win the ABA championship after posting the league's best regular season record.
Julius Erving of the New York Nets was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA finals. He won that distinction again in 1976 and became the only player in ABA history to repeat as the MVP of the league finals.
