1970–71 Kentucky Colonels season

The 1970–71 Kentucky Colonels season was the fourth season of the Colonels in the American Basketball Association. University of Kentucky star Dan Issel was signed by the Colonels. Issel was given a 10-year contract worth $1.4 million, while playing all but one game in the whole season, leading to him being named Rookie of the Year, alongside averaging 29.9 points and 13.2 rebounds per game during the season. Despite a 10–5 record, Rhodes was fired during the season. After having business manager Alex Groza coach the team for 2 games, Frank Ramsey was hired to coach the rest of the season. In the Semifinals, the Colonels beat The Floridians 4 games to 2. In the Eastern Division Finals, they beat the Virginia Squires 4 games to 2. In the ABA Finals, they lost to the Utah Stars in seven games.

1970–71 Kentucky Colonels season
Head coachGene Rhodes (10–5)
Alex Groza (2–0)
Frank Ramsey (32–35)
ArenaFreedom Hall
Results
Record44–40 (.524)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishLost in the ABA Finals

Roster

Final standings

Eastern Division
Eastern Division W L PCT GB
Virginia Squires * 55 29 .655 –
Kentucky Colonels * 44 40 .524 11.0
New York Nets * 40 44 .476 15.0
The Floridians * 37 47 .440 18.0
Pittsburgh Condors 36 48 .429 19.0
Carolina Cougars 34 50 .405 21.0

Playoffs

Eastern Division Semifinals[1]

GameDateLocationScoreRecordAttendance
1April 2Kentucky116–1121–03,182
2April 4Kentucky120–1102–03,881
3April 6Florida102–1202–14,126
4April 8Florida117–1292–24,268
5April 10Kentucky118–1013–24,996
6April 12Florida112–1034–24,478

Colonels win series, 4–2

Eastern Division Finals

GameDateLocationScoreRecordAttendance
1April 15Virginia136–1321–04,250
2April 17Virginia122–1421–15,000
3April 19Kentucky137–1501–24,777
4April 21Kentucky128–1102–25,221
5April 23Virginia115–1073–210,013
6April 24Kentucky129–1174–212,822

Colonels win series, 4–2

ABA Finals[1]

GameDateLocationScoreRecordAttendance
1May 3Utah117–1360–112,051
2May 5Utah125–1380–213,208
3May 7Kentucky116–1101–212,337
4May 8Kentucky129–125 (OT)2–29,863
5May 12Utah127–1372–313,260
6May 15Kentucky105–1023–311,793
7May 18Utah121–1313–413,260

Colonels lose series, 4–3

Awards and honors

1971 ABA All-Star Game selections (game played on January 23, 1971)

References
  1. "1970–71 ABA Regular Season Standings". Remembertheaba.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
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