1975–76 Kentucky Colonels season

The 1975–76 Kentucky Colonels season was the ninth and final season for what were to be the defending champions of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Before this season was about to begin for Kentucky, the Colonels noticed that two of the ABA's strongest teams outside of themselves, the Denver Nuggets and New York Nets, wanted to have the Colonels join them in their pursuit to leave the ABA instead and join the NBA early; despite the risks involved with staying put, team owner John Y. Brown Jr. decided to stay put with the ABA out of what was perceived to be as loyalty to the league, with the Nuggets and Nets' plans to leave the ABA early being foiled by the ruling of the judge that was preceding over their case. Due to the team letting go of longtime star player Dan Issel for cost-saving measures before the season began, this season saw the defending champion Kentucky Colonels finish in fourth place in the ABA, which was good enough to see them be the last team with a winning record to make it to the 1976 ABA Playoffs, but not quite good enough to avoid a trip to the quarterfinals first. Luckily for them, the Colonels would defeat the Indiana Pacers 2 games to 1 in what ultimately became the final playoff match of two longtime rivals in the ABA during the first round of the 1976 ABA Playoffs. However, despite their best efforts possible, the Colonels would end up losing to the regular season champion Denver Nuggets 4 games to 3 in the ABA Semifinals in what officially became the Colonels' final games ever played in franchise history. Despite being considered one of the strongest teams in the ABA and being thought of as a shoo-in for entry into the National Basketball Association (NBA), especially since they were one of two teams alongside the Indiana Pacers to remain where they were at and stick with the team name they had throughout the ABA's entire existence alongside play in every ABA Playoff event, the 1975–76 season would prove to be the Colonels' last, as Kentucky joined the Spirits of St. Louis as one of the two ABA teams to survive the entire season (as well as became the only playoff team from that season) to be left out of the 1976 ABA-NBA merger.

1975–76 Kentucky Colonels season
Head coach	Hubie Brown
Arena	Freedom Hall
Results
Record	46–38 (.548)
Place	Division: 4th Conference: 4th
Playoff finish	ABA Semifinals (lost to the Nuggets 3–4)
< 1974–75

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1975 ABA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position(s)	Nationality	College
1	11	Jimmie Baker	PF	United States	Hawaii
3	22	Allen Murphy	SG	United States	Kentucky
3	31	Eric Fernsten	PF/C	United States	San Francisco
4	41	John Laskowski	SG	United States	Indiana
5	51	Charles Cleveland	SG	United States	Alabama
6	61	Mike Rozenski	F	United States	Saint Mary's College of California
7	71	Randy Meister	C	United States	Penn State
8	81	Lou Silver	SF/PF	United States Israel	Harvard

The selection of Lou Silver can be considered the last pick ever made in ABA draft history.^[1]

Preseason transactions

Prior to the season, ABA Commissioner Dave DeBusschere, urged on by Colonels owner John Y. Brown, Jr., challenged the NBA to a world championship series between the ABA champion Kentucky Colonels and NBA champion Golden State Warriors in which the winner would get $1 million. NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy promptly declined.^[2]

Star center Dan Issel was sold to the Baltimore Claws for $500,000, and soon ended up with the Denver Nuggets.^[3]

Gene Rhodes was named vice president of operations and David Vance was named general manager.^[4]

Preseason exhibition games

Like most ABA teams, the Colonels played several preseason exhibition games against NBA opponents. The Colonels opened up the season's ABA vs. NBA action on October 1, 1975, in Cincinnati, Ohio, against the NBA's Chicago Bulls. The Colonels beat the Bulls 95–86.^[5]

Three nights later on October 4, 1975, the Colonels met the NBA's New York Knicks at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Louie Dampier scored 23 for the Colonels but New York's Earl Monroe led all scorers with 26 as the Knicks won 107–102.^[6]

The next night the Colonels returned to Cincinnati to host the Detroit Pistons. Bob Lanier led the Pistons with 17 points but Artis Gilmore had 22 and Travis Grant added 17 and the game winning score, a jump shot with 4 seconds left in game, to lead Kentucky to a 114–113 victory.^[7]

On October 8, 1975, the reigning champions of the ABA and NBA met at Freedom Hall in Louisville. 8,806 fans turned out to see the Golden State Warriors face the Colonels. Marv Roberts scored 20 points and former ABA player Rick Barry was held to 9 points on 3 of 11 shooting from the floor, including an airball with 31 seconds left in the game. Artis Gilmore had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Colonels to a 93–90 victory against the NBA champions.^[8]

Two nights later on October 10, 1975, the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks visited Louisville and lost to the Colonels 96–91.^[9]

On October 12, 1975, the Kentucky Colonels traveled to Michigan to face the Detroit Pistons again. The game went to overtime. Despite Bird Averitt's 21 points the Pistons won the overtime game, 115–107.^[10]

Two nights later on October 14, 1975, the NBA's Buffalo Braves came to Louisville and were defeated by the Colonels, 120–116.^[11]

On October 17, 1975, the Philadelphia 76ers traveled to Cincinnati to face the Colonels. Former ABA player George McGinnis had 25 points but so did Artis Gilmore. Kentucky won, 112–110.^[12]

Two nights later on October 19, 1975, the Colonels hosted the Washington Bullets in Lexington, Kentucky. Led by Artis Gilmore's 23 points, the Colonels won 121–111. This was the penultimate ABA-NBA matchup; two nights later in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Utah Stars 106–101.^[13]

Overall in the 1975-76 preseason the ABA went 30–18 against NBA teams.^[14]

Regular season

Roster

1975–76 Kentucky Colonels roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SG 14 Bird Averitt 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) July 22, 1952 Pepperdine PF 32 Jimmie Baker 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) December 25, 1953 Hawaiʻi SG 21 Jimmy Dan Conner 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) March 20, 1953 Kentucky PG 10 Louie Dampier 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) November 20, 1944 Kentucky C 53 Artis Gilmore 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) September 21, 1949 Jacksonville SF 5 Travis Grant 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) January 1, 1950 Kentucky State C 3 Caldwell Jones 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 217 lb (98 kg) August 4, 1950 Albany State SF 22 Wil Jones 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) February 27, 1947 Albany State SG 43 Kevin Joyce 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) June 27, 1951 South Carolina PF 25 Maurice Lucas 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) February 18, 1952 Marquette SG 24 Ted McClain 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) August 30, 1946 Tennessee State C 45 Jim McDaniels 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 228 lb (103 kg) April 2, 1948 Western Kentucky SG 20 Allen Murphy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) July 15, 1952 Louisville SG 31 Johnny Neumann 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) September 11, 1951 Mississippi C 25 Tom Owens 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) June 28, 1949 South Carolina SF 31 Marv Roberts 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) January 29, 1950 Utah State PF 42 Ron Thomas 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) November 19, 1950 Louisville SF 5 Jan van Breda Kolff 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) December 16, 1951 Vanderbilt

Head coach Hubie Brown Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Season standings

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	.464	21
Spirits of St. Louis	35	49	.417	25
Virginia Squires †	15	68	.181	44
San Diego Sails †	3	8	.273	—
Utah Stars †	4	12	.250	—
Baltimore Claws †	0	0	.000	—

Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team
† did not survive the end of the season.
Bold – ABA champions^[15]

Game log

1975–76 game log
November Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record
December Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record
January Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record
February Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record
March Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record
April Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record
1975–76 season schedule

Month by Month

October 1975

November 1975

December 1975

January 1976

February 1976

March 1976

Playoffs

Quarterfinals^[16]

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	April 8	Kentucky	120–109	1–0	3,288
2	April 10	Indiana	95–109	1–1	5,850
3	April 12	Kentucky	100–99	2–1	5,267

Colonels win series, 2–1

Semifinals

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	April 15	Denver	107–110	0–1	15,234
2	April 17	Denver	138–119	1–1	16,384
3	April 19	Kentucky	126–114	2–1	9,644
4	April 21	Kentucky	106–108	2–2	11,444
5	April 22	Denver	117–127	2–3	17,068
6	April 25	Kentucky	119–115 (OT)	3–3	6,312
7	April 28	Denver	110–133	4–3	18,821

Nuggets win series, 4–3

Player statistics

Legend

• GP: Games played
• GS: Games started
• MPG: Minutes per game
• FG%: Field goal percentage
• 3FG%: 3-point field goal percentage
• FT%: Free throw percentage
• RPG: Rebounds per game
• APG: Assists per game
• SPG: Steals per game
• BPG: Blocks per game
• PPG: Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Playoffs

Awards and records

Awards

• Artis Gilmore, 1976 ABA All-Star Game^[17]
• Artis Gilmore, All-ABA First Team^[18]
• Artis Gilmore, ABA All-Defensive Team^[19]

Records

On December 18, 1975, the Colonels had their smallest crowd ever, 2,761, for a 115–102 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.^[20]

On April 28, 1976, the Colonels were the opponent, in the ABA Semifinals, when the Denver Nuggets set their franchise's attendance record, with 18,821 present for the Nuggets' 133–110 win in Game 7.^[21]

Transactions

• Dan Issel sold to Baltimore Claws for $500,000, preseason^[22]
• Caldwell Jones purchased from the San Diego Sails, November 14, 1975^[23]
• Caldwell Jones traded to the Spirits of St. Louis for Maurice Lucas, December 17, 1975^[24]
• Marv Roberts traded to the Virginia Squires for Johnny Neumann and Jan van Breda Kolff, January 17, 1976^[25]
• Ted McClain sold to the New York Nets for $150,000, February 15, 1976^[26]

Aftermath

With the conclusion of the 1975–76 ABA season, negotiations to finalize the ABA-NBA merger began. On June 17, 1976, Colonels owner John Y. Brown Jr. agreed to fold the Colonels in exchange for $3 million from the ABA teams entering the NBA. The Colonels' players were put into a dispersal draft along with the players from the Spirits of St. Louis. The Chicago Bulls took Artis Gilmore for $1.1 million; the Portland Trail Blazers took Maurice Lucas for $300,000; the Buffalo Braves took Bird Averitt for $125,000; the Indiana Pacers took Wil Jones for $50,000; the New York Nets took Jan Van Breda Kolff for $60,000 and the San Antonio Spurs took Louie Dampier for $20,000. Brown took the money he received for the Colonels and used part of it to purchase the NBA's Buffalo Braves, which he later parlayed into ownership of the Boston Celtics.^[27]