1975–76 New York Nets season


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.

Off-season

ABA Draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionSchool/Club Team

Exhibition games

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.
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.

Regular season

Season standings

Schedule

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; STL= Steals; REB = Rebounds; ASST = Assists; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points
PlayerGPMINSTLREBASSTBLKPTS
Julius Erving8432442079254231602462
John Williamson76225576190188331233
Rich Jones83242781428131211096
Brian Taylor54173312516220422904
Al Skinner8320829130728050865
Kim Hughes8421629877555120692
Tim Bassett841790475316541405
Bill Melchionni67119152882668386
Swen Nater431016184411926376
Ted McClain30696577310610340
Chuck Terry6697036144386220
Jim Eakins3446371201820211
George Bucci332371237153128
Billy Schaeffer201196229272

Playoffs

Semifinals vs. San Antonio Spurs
GameDateLocationScoreRecordAttendance
1April 9 New York116–1011–08,221
2April 11San Antonio79–1051–15,769
3April 14 New York103–1111–210,009
4April 18 San Antonio110–1082–29,277
5April 19 New York110–1083–211,321
6April 21 San Antonio105–1063–310,484
7April 24 New York121–1144–315,934

Nets win series 4–3
ABA Finals vs. Denver Nuggets
GameDateLocationScoreRecordAttendance
1May 1Denver120–1181–019,034
2May 4Denver121–1271–119,107
3May 6New York117–1112–112,243
4May 8New York121–1123–115,934
5May 11Denver110–1183–218,881
6May 13New York112–1064–215,934

Nets win series 4–2
This is to date the last title the Nets have won.

Awards, Records and Honors