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1975–76 New York Nets season

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1975–76 New York Nets season
Head coachKevin Loughery
ArenaNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record55–29 (.655)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (ABA)
Playoff finishABA champions
(Defeated Nuggets 4–2)

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWOR
RadioWMCA
< 1974–75 1976–77 >

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

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Round Pick Player Position Nationality College

Roster

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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

Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Exhibition games

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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.[1]

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.[2]

Regular season

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Season standings

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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

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Schedule

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[4]

Player statistics

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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

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Playoffs

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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

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  • Julius Erving, Finals MVP DR J

References

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  1. ^ Hundhausen, Arthur (May 11, 2008). "RememberTheABA.com 1975–76 ABA vs. NBA exhibition results". RememberTheABA.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  2. ^ Hundhausen, Arthur (May 11, 2008). "RememberTheABA.com ABA vs. NBA exhibition all time results". RememberTheABA.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  3. ^ 1975–76 ABA Season Summary – Basketball-Reference.com
  4. ^ 1975–76 New York Nets Games – Basketball-Reference.com
  5. ^ 1975–76 New York Nets Statistics – Basketball-Reference.com
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