1971–72 New York Nets season

The 1971–72 New York Nets season was the 5th season of the franchise and 4th in New York. They finished 3rd among the six team division, qualifying for the playoffs by nine games for the third straight year.[1]

1971–72 New York Nets season
Head coach	Lou Carnesecca
Arena	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	44–40 (.524)
Place	Division: 3rd (Eastern (ABA))
Playoff finish	ABA Finals (Lost to Pacers 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The Nets advanced to the ABA Finals, where they lost to the Indiana Pacers.

Rick Barry averaged 31.5 points per game in what would be his final season in the ABA. Barry was forced to return to his former NBA team, the Golden State Warriors, due to an injunction issued by the U.S. District Court prohibiting him from playing for any professional team other than the Warriors after his Nets contract ended.

Roster

Number	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Birthday	Experience (in years)	College/High School
12	Jim Ard	C	6-8	215	September 19, 1948	1	University of Cincinnati
24	Rick Barry	SF	6-7	205	March 28, 1944	5	University of Miami
20	Johnny Baum	SF	6-5	200	June 17, 1946	2	Temple University
21	Joe DePre	SG	6-3	185	December 19, 1947	1	St. John's University
11	Sonny Dove	PF	6-7	198	August 16, 1945	4	St. John's University
23	Jarrett Durham	F	6-5	188	August 22, 1949	Rookie	Duquesne University
14	Bob Greacen	SF	6-7	206	September 15, 1947	2	Rutgers University
3	Manny Leaks	C	6-8	225	November 27, 1945	3	Niagara University
25	Bill Melchionni	PG	6-1	165	October 19, 1944	4	Villanova University
10	Gene Moore	C	6-9	225	July 29, 1945	3	Saint Louis University
5	Billy Paultz	C	6-11	235	July 30, 1948	1	St. John's University
13	John Roche	SG	6-3	170	September 26, 1949	Rookie	University of South Carolina
22	Oliver Taylor	SG	6-2	194	March 7, 1947	1	University of Houston
32	Trooper Washington	PF	6-7	215	April 21, 1944	4	Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
4	Elnardo Webster	F	6-5	190	March 6, 1948	Rookie	Saint Peter's College
14	Gary Zeller	SG	6-3	205	November 20, 1947	1	Drake University

Final standings

1972-73 ABA Western Standings

Eastern Division	W	L	PCT.	GB
Kentucky Colonels	68	16	.810	-
Virginia Squires	45	39	.536	23
New York Nets	44	40	.524	24
The Floridians	36	48	.429	32
Carolina Cougars	35	49	.417	33
Pittsburgh Condors	25	59	.405	43

Playoffs

Eastern Division Semifinals vs. Kentucky Colonels[2]

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	April 1	Kentucky	122–108	1–0	4,772
2	April 4	Kentucky	105–90	2–0	8,212
3	April 5	New York	99–105	2–1	14,056
4	April 7	New York	100–92	3–1	14,896
5	April 8	Kentucky	103–109	3–2	7,949
6	April 10	New York	101–96	4–2	11,533

Nets win series, 4–2

Eastern Division Finals vs. Virginia Squires

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	April 13	Richmond (Virginia)	91–138	0–1	5,526
2	April 15	Norfolk (Virginia)	106–115	0–2	10,410
3	April 24	New York	119–117	1–2	11,893
4	April 26	New York	118–107	2–2	11,164
5	April 29	Hampton (Virginia)	107–116	2–3	6,309
6	May 1	New York	146–136	3–3	11,152
7	May 4	Norfolk (Virginia)	94–88	4–3	10,410

Nets win series, 4–3

ABA Finals vs. Indiana Pacers

Game	Date	Location	Result	Record	Attendance
1	May 6	Indiana	103–124	0–1	7,483
2	May 9	Indiana	117–115	1–1	10,079
3	May 12	New York	108–114	1–2	15,241
4	May 15	New York	110–105	2–2	15,890
5	May 18	Indiana	99–100	2–3	10,079
6	May 20	New York	105–108	2–4	10,434

Nets lose series, 4–2

References

1. https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYA/1972.html
2. "1971-72 ABA Regular Season Standings". Remembertheaba.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Retrieved 2016-07-25.