# 1973–74 New York Nets season

The 1973–74 New York Nets season was the seventh season in the ABA basketball New York Nets franchise. The Nets won their first ABA Championship against the Utah Stars.

## ABA Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club Team |

## Exhibition games

On September 18, 1973, the Nets opened the ABA vs. NBA exhibition season against the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. Playing in Binghamton, New York, the Nets beat the 76ers 94–88. On September 28 the Nets again faced the 76ers, this time in Trenton, New Jersey. The Nets also won this matchup, 118–100.
On September 29, in White Plains, New York, the Nets faced the Washington Bullets. Julius Erving scored a game-high 42 points as the Nets won 127–121.
On October 2, 17,226 fans showed up at Madison Square Garden to watch the Nets play the New York Knicks. Erving scored 27 points, 12 of them in the third quarter, as the Nets won 97–87.
On October 7 the Nets took their 4–0 streak against NBA teams into a contest with the Boston Celtics in Uniondale, New York. Erving scored 23 points, but John Havlicek scored 37 for Boston as the Celtics won, 121–102.

## Regular season
### Season standings

Eastern Division :
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| New York Nets | 55 | 29 | .655 | – |
| Kentucky Colonels | 53 | 31 | .631 | 2 |
| Carolina Cougars | 47 | 37 | .560 | 8 |
| Virginia Squires | 28 | 56 | .333 | 27 |
| Memphis Tams | 21 | 63 | .250 | 34 |

### Schedule

| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Nets points | Opponents | Record | Streak | Notes |
| 1 | October 10 | Indiana Pacers | Loss | 99 | 118 | 0–1 | Lost 1 | |
| 2 | October 12 | Virginia Squires | Win | 116 | 105 | 1–1 | Won 1 | |

## Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; STL= Steals; REB = Rebounds; ASST = Assists; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points
| Player | GP | MIN | STL | REB | ASST | BLK | PTS |
| Julius Erving | 84 | 3398 | 190 | 899 | 434 | 204 | 2299 |
| Larry Kenon | 84 | 2908 | 79 | 962 | 112 | 19 | 1334 |
| Billy Paultz | 77 | 2596 | 60 | 782 | 167 | 147 | 1260 |
| John Williamson | 77 | 2264 | 86 | 213 | 243 | 27 | 1116 |
| Brian Taylor | 75 | 2505 | 154 | 214 | 341 | 22 | 834 |
| John Roche | 50 | 1254 | 41 | 59 | 208 | 6 | 570 |
| Willard Sojourner | 82 | 1316 | 24 | 335 | 54 | 88 | 458 |
| Billy Schaeffer | 59 | 871 | 24 | 141 | 37 | 9 | 385 |
| Bill Melchionni | 56 | 1146 | 51 | 77 | 207 | 5 | 296 |
| Mike Gale | 32 | 904 | 60 | 152 | 124 | 34 | 257 |
| Wendell Ladner | 30 | 637 | 46 | 161 | 65 | 3 | 203 |
| Gary Gregor | 25 | 313 | 4 | 71 | 15 | 1 | 91 |
| Jim O'Brien | 11 | 54 | 3 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 39 |
| Oliver Taylor | 8 | 76 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 28 |
| Rich Rinaldi | 5 | 28 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| Bob Lackey | 3 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 |

## Playoffs

Eastern Division Semifinals vs. Virginia Squires
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | April 29 | New York | 108–96 | 1–0 | 9,784 |
| 2 | April 1 | New York | 129–110 | 2–0 | 10,747 |
| 3 | April 4 | Hampton (Virginia) | 115–116 | 2–1 | 2,544 |
| 4 | April 7 | Norfolk (Virginia) | 116–88 | 3–1 | 4,220 |
| 5 | April 8 | New York | 108–96 | 4–1 | 1,1903 |
Eastern Division Finals vs Kentucky Colonels
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | April 13 | New York | 119–96 | 1–0 | 12,817 |
| 2 | April 15 | New York | 99–80 | 2–0 | 13,726 |
| 3 | April 17 | Kentucky | 89–87 | 3–0 | 13,797 |
| 4 | April 20 | Kentucky | 103–90 | 4–0 | 7,800 |
ABA Finals vs. Utah Stars
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | April 30 | New York | 89–85 | 1–0 | 13,740 |
| 2 | May 4 | New York | 118–94 | 2–0 | 15,934 |
| 3 | May 6 | Utah | 103–100 | 3–0 | 10,743 |
| 4 | May 8 | Utah | 89–97 | 3–1 | 10,254 |
| 5 | May 10 | New York | 111–100 | 4–1 | 15,934 |

## Transactions
### Draft and other non-trade signings

* Special circumstance draft pick Jim Brewer signs with Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA
* Undergraduate draft pick Campy Russell stays in college
* Head coach Lou Carnesecca returns to St. John's University
* Kevin Loughery becomes head coach
* Draft pick Doug Collins signs with Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA
* Draft pick Kermit Washington signs with Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA
* William M. Skehan is named Executive Vice President

### Trades

* August 1, 1973: George Carter and ABA rights to Kermit Washington and $750,000 traded to the Virginia Squires for Julius Erving and Willie Sojourner
* September 20, 1973: Jim Ard and John Baum traded to the Memphis Tams for the rights to Larry Kenon
* January 24, 1974: John Roche traded to the Kentucky Colonels for Mike Gale and Wendell Ladner

## Awards, Records and Honors

* Julius Erving, ABA MVP
* Julius Erving, Finals MVP
* Julius Erving, All-Star Team, East Division
* Larry Kenon, All-Star Team, East Division
* Billy Paultz, All-Star Team, East Division (missed game due to injury)
* Julius Erving, All-ABA Team, 1st Team
* Larry Kenon, ABA All-Rookie Team
* John Williamson, ABA All-Rookie Team
* Mike Gale, ABA All-Defensive Team