1969 ABA Playoffs

The 1969 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1968–69 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Oakland Oaks defeating the Eastern Division champion Indiana Pacers, four games to one in the ABA Finals. Warren Jabali of the Oaks was named the Playoff MVP.

1969 ABA playoffs

Tournament details
Dates	April 5 – May 7, 1969
Season	1968–69
Teams	8
Final positions
Champions	Oakland Oaks (1st title)
Runner-up	New Orleans Buccaneers
Semifinalists	Miami Floridians Indiana Pacers
← 1968 1970 →

Notable events

The Oakland Oaks won the ABA championship after finishing with the league's best record during the regular season (60–18, .769). The Pittsburgh Pipers had accomplished the same feat the year prior.

Rick Barry, now eligible to play for the Oaks after being forced to sit out the previous season, averaged 34.0 points during the regular season. However, Barry only played 35 regular season games before injuring a knee and missing the playoffs.

The Oaks, like the Pittsburgh Pipers before them, did not play in the following season as the same team. The Oakland Oaks became the Washington Caps for the 1969–1970 ABA season; the Pittsburgh Pipers had become the Minnesota Pipers after winning the ABA championship the prior season.

The Oaks' 60–18 (.769) record in this season was the best in ABA history until the Kentucky Colonels finished the 1971–1972 season with a record of 68–16 (.810), a record that was never surpassed.

Warren Jabali of Oakland was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs.

Bracket

	Division Semifinals					Division Finals					ABA Finals
	1	Oakland Oaks	4
	3	Denver Rockets	3
						1	Oakland Oaks	4
	Western Division
						2	New Orleans Bucs	0
	4	Dallas Chaparrals	3
	2	New Orleans Buccaneers	4
											W1	Oakland Oaks	4
											E1	Indiana Pacers	1
	1	Indiana Pacers	4
	3	Kentucky Colonels	3
						1	Indiana Pacers	4
	Eastern Division
						2	Miami Floridians	1
	4	Minnesota Pipers	3
	2	Miami Floridians	4

Division Semifinals

Division Semifinals

(1) Oakland Oaks vs. (3) Denver Rockets

April 5

Box score

Denver 99, Oakland 129

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Oakland leads series, 1–0

April 6

Box score

Denver 122, Oakland 119

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Series tied, 1–1

April 8

Box score

Oakland 121, Denver 99

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Oakland leads series, 2–1

April 10

Box score

Oakland 108, Denver 109

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Series tied, 2–2

April 12

Box score

Denver 118, Oakland 128

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Oakland leads series, 3–2

April 13

Box score

Oakland 115, Denver 126

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Series tied, 3–3

April 16

Box score

Denver 102, Oakland 115

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Oakland wins series, 4–3

(2) New Orleans Buccaneers vs. (4) Dallas Chaparrals

April 5

Box score

Dallas 106, New Orleans 129

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

New Orleans leads series, 1–0

April 7

Box score

Dallas 108, New Orleans 122

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

New Orleans leads series, 2–0

April 10

Box score

New Orleans 106, Dallas 130

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

New Orleans leads series, 2–1

April 12

Box score

New Orleans 114, Dallas 107

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

New Orleans leads series, 3–1

April 14

Box score

Dallas 123, New Orleans 112

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

New Orleans leads series, 3–2

April 15

Box score

New Orleans 118, Dallas 136

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Series tied, 3–3

April 17

Box score

Dallas 95, New Orleans 101

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

New Orleans wins series, 4–3

Eastern Division Semifinals

(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) Kentucky Colonels

Box score

Kentucky Colonels 128, Indiana Pacers 118
Scoring by quarter: 30–25, 22–32, 38–30, 38–31
Pts: Darel Carrier 40 Rebs: Gene Moore 21 Asts: Louie Dampier 3		Pts: Roger Brown 38 Rebs: Mel Daniels 16 Asts: Bobby Hooper 6
Kentucky leads series, 1–0

Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 6,319

April 9

Box score

Kentucky Colonels 115, Indiana Pacers 120
Scoring by quarter: 29–29, 24–30, 23–28, 39–33
Pts: Louie Dampier 31 Rebs: Gene Moore 13 Asts: Louie Dampier 4		Pts: Roger Brown 35 Rebs: Bob Netolicky 12 Asts: Freddie Lewis 5
Series tied, 1–1

Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 6,789

April 10

Box score

Indiana Pacers 111, Kentucky Colonels 130
Scoring by quarter: 27–34, 25–30, 29–33, 30–33
Pts: Mel Daniels 23 Rebs: Roger Brown 15 Asts: Roger Brown 6		Pts: Darel Carrier 34 Rebs: Gene Moore 18 Asts: Louie Dampier 10
Kentucky leads series, 2–1

Louisville Convention Center Louisville, KY Attendance: 4,235

April 13

Box score

Indiana Pacers 104, Kentucky Colonels 105 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 27–23, 21–21, 22–24, 24–26, Overtime: 10–11
Pts: Freddie Lewis 26 Rebs: Mel Daniels 19 Asts: Freddie Lewis 5		Pts: Darel Carrier 24 Rebs: Jim Ligon 19 Asts: Carrier, Dampier 6 each
Kentucky leads series, 3–1

Louisville Convention Center Louisville, KY Attendance: 3,079

April 14

Box score

Kentucky Colonels 97, Indiana Pacers 116
Scoring by quarter: 19–26, 27–26, 32–28, 19–36
Pts: Darel Carrier 21 Rebs: Jim Ligon 14 Asts: Darel Carrier 3		Pts: Bob Netolicky 35 Rebs: Mel Daniels 24 Asts: Freddie Lewis 8
Kentucky leads series, 3–2

Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 5,612

April 15

Box score

Indiana Pacers 107, Kentucky Colonels 89
Scoring by quarter: 32–26, 27–22, 28–24, 20–17
Pts: Roger Brown 25 Rebs: Bob Netolicky 15 Asts: Lewis, Thacker 5 each		Pts: Louie Dampier 27 Rebs: Gene Moore 22 Asts: Ligon, Rascoe, Caldwell, Dampier 2 each
Series tied, 3–3

Louisville Convention Center Louisville, KY Attendance: 4,633

April 17

Box score

Kentucky Colonels 111, Indiana Pacers 120
Scoring by quarter: 32–32, 25–27, 27–35, 27–26
Pts: Louie Dampier 26 Rebs: Gene Moore 12 Asts: Ligon, Carrier 3 each		Pts: Bob Netolicky 32 Rebs: Bob Netolicky 16 Asts: Brown, Lewis 3 each
Indiana wins series, 4–3

Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 11,005

(2) Miami Floridians vs. (4) Minnesota Pipers

April 7

Box score

Minnesota Pipers 110, Miami Floridians 119

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Miami leads series, 1–0

April 9

Box score

Minnesota Pipers 106, Miami Floridians 99

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Series tied, 1–1

April 10

Box score

Miami Floridians 93, Minnesota Pipers 109

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Minnesota leads series, 2–1

April 12

Box score

Miami Floridians 116, Minnesota Pipers 109

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Series tied, 2–2

April 13

Box score

Minnesota Pipers 107, Miami Floridians 122

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Miami leads series, 3–2

April 15

Box score

Miami Floridians 100, Minnesota Pipers 105

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Series tied, 3–3

April 19

Box score

Minnesota Pipers 128, Miami Floridians 137

Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –

Miami wins series, 4–3

Division Finals

Western Division Finals

(1) Oakland Oaks vs. (2) New Orleans Buccaneers

April 19

Box score

New Orleans Buccaneers 118, Oakland Oaks 128
Scoring by quarter: 30–30, 30–29, 35–39, 23–30
Pts: Jimmy Jones 45 Rebs: Robbins, Govan 13 each Asts: Jimmy Jones 8		Pts: Henry Logan 30 Rebs: Ira Harge 18 Asts: Henry Logan 3
Oakland leads series, 1–0

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 2,848

April 21

Box score

New Orleans Buccaneers 124, Oakland Oaks 135
Scoring by quarter: 30–31, 37–38, 29–41, 28–25
Pts: Jimmy Jones 31 Rebs: Red Robbins 19 Asts: Jimmy Jones 7		Pts: Gary Bradds 33 Rebs: Warren Jabali 16 Asts: Larry Brown 8
Oakland leads series, 2–0

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 1,749

April 23

Box score

Oakland Oaks 113, New Orleans Buccaneers 107
Scoring by quarter: 22–26, 28–24, 28–33, 35–24
Pts: Gary Bradds 33 Rebs: Gary Bradds 14 Asts: Ira Harge 3		Pts: S. Jones, J. Jones 26 each Rebs: Red Robbins 27 Asts: Jimmy Jones 8
Oakland leads series, 3–0

Loyola Field House, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 4,253

April 25

Box score

Oakland Oaks 128, New Orleans Buccaneers 114
Scoring by quarter: 28–27, 45–38, 25–29, 30–20
Pts: Warren Jabali 27 Rebs: Jim Eakins 14 Asts: Warren Jabali 5		Pts: Jimmy Jones 27 Rebs: Gerald Govan 12
Oakland wins series, 4–0

Loyola Field House, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 3,583

Eastern Division Finals

(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (2) Miami Floridians

April 20

Boxscore

Miami Floridians 110, Indiana Pacers 126
Scoring by quarter: 18–28, 24–32, 22–38, 46–28
Pts: Don Sidle 28 Rebs: Les Hunter 20 Asts: Hunter, McHartley, Anderson 4 each		Pts: Mel Daniels 32 Rebs: Mel Daniels 14 Asts: Tom Thacker 10
Indiana leads series, 1–0

Anderson High School Wigwam, Anderson, Indiana Attendance: 8,721

April 22

Boxscore

Miami Floridians 116, Indiana Pacers 131
Scoring by quarter: 29–22, 27–34, 25–38, 35–37
Pts: Freeman, McHartley 22 each Rebs: Hunter 13 Asts: Maurice McHartley 6		Pts: Roger Brown 33 Rebs: Bob Netolicky 19 Asts: Freddie Lewis 7
Indiana leads series, 2–0

Anderson High School Wigwam, Anderson, Indiana Attendance: 7,243

April 23

Boxscore

Indiana Pacers 119, Miami Floridians 105
Scoring by quarter: 37–27, 27–25, 28–31, 27–22
Pts: Freddie Lewis 33 Rebs: Daniels, Peeples 9 each Asts: Tom Thacker 11		Pts: Donnie Freeman 23 Rebs: Skip Thoren 15 Asts: Willie Murrell 5
Indiana leads series, 3–0

Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida Attendance: 2,112

April 25

Boxscore

Indiana Pacers 110, Miami Floridians 114
Scoring by quarter: 33–24, 22–26, 27–34, 28–30
Pts: Roger Brown 44 Rebs: Daniels, Netolicky 12 each Asts: Tom Thacker 10		Pts: Don Sidle 27 Rebs: Sidle, Thoren 10 each Asts: Maurice McHartley 9
Indiana leads series, 3–1

Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida Attendance: 2,846

April 26

Boxscore

Miami Floridians 105, Indiana Pacers 127
Scoring by quarter: 20–28, 32–32, 29–34, 24–33
Pts: Donnie Freeman 26 Rebs: Don Sidle 13 Asts: Maurice McHartley 4		Pts: Freddie Lewis 35 Rebs: Bob Netolicky 10 Asts: Tom Thacker 8
Indiana wins series, 4–1

Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 3,528

ABA Finals: (W1) Oakland Oaks vs. (E1) Indiana Pacers

April 30

Box score

Indiana Pacers 85, Oakland Oaks 89
Scoring by quarter: 32–36, 28–28, 20–28, 34–31
Pts: Bob Netolicky 33 Rebs: Mel Daniels 18 Asts: Tom Thacker 4		Pts: Gary Bradds 40 Rebs: Gary Bradds 17 Asts: Larry Brown 9
Oakland leads series, 1–0

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 3,290

May 2

Box score

Indiana Pacers 150, Oakland Oaks 122
Scoring by quarter: 133–32, 40–18, 36–35, 41–37
Pts: Roger Brown 39 Rebs: Bob Netolicky 15 Asts: Bobby Hooper 7		Pts: Warren Jabali 31 Rebs: Warren Jabali 15 Asts: Larry Brown 5
Series tied, 1–1

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 4,171

May 3

Box score

Oakland Oaks 134, Indiana Pacers 126 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 26–30, 33–27, 33–31, 26–30, Overtime: 16–8
Pts: Warren Jabali 37 Rebs: Ira Harge 22 Asts: Larry Brown 8		Pts: Brown, Daniels each Rebs: Bob Netolicky 19 Asts: Freddie Lewis 9
Oakland leads series, 2–1

Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 8,467

May 5

Box score

Oakland Oaks 144, Indiana Pacers 117
Scoring by quarter: 33–22, 36–37, 41–21, 34–37
Pts: Warren Jabali 30 Rebs: Gary Bradds 19 Asts: Larry Brown 7		Pts: John Fairchild 18 Rebs: Netolicky, Daniels 9 each Asts: Bobby Hooper 11
Oakland leads series, 3–1

Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 7,133

May 7

Box score

Indiana Pacers 131, Oakland Oaks 135 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 28–31, 30–33, 30–31, 34–27, Overtime: 9–13
Pts: Freddie Lewis 33 Rebs: Mel Daniels 25 Asts: Freddie Lewis 7		Pts: Warren Jabali 39 Rebs: Ira Harge 14 Asts: Larry Brown 7
Oakland wins series, 4–1

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 6,340

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Statistical leaders

Category	Total			Average
	Player	Team	Total	Player	Team	Avg.	Games played
Points	Warren Jabali	Oakland Oaks	460	Jimmy Jones	New Orleans Buccaneers	30.2	11
Rebounds	Mel Daniels	Indiana Pacers	237	Red Robbins	New Orleans Buccaneers	15.9	15
Assists	Larry Brown	Oakland Oaks	87	Larry Brown	Oakland Oaks	5.4	11

Total leaders

Points Warren Jabali - 460 Roger Brown - 459 Freddie Lewis - 409 Bob Netolicky - 383 Mel Daniels - 333 Rebounds Mel Daniels - 237 Bob Netolicky - 214 Warren Jabali - 207 Ira Harge - 192 Red Robbins - 175

Assists Larry Brown - 87 Freddie Lewis - 79 Tom Thacker - 69 Jimmy Jones - 59 Roger Brown - 57 Minutes Freddie Lewis - 727 Bob Netolicky - 702 Roger Brown - 668 Warren Jabali - 662 Doug Moe - 593

External links

• RememberTheABA.com page on 1969 ABA playoffs
• Basketball-Reference.com's 1969 ABA Playoffs page