# 1971–72 Denver Rockets season

The 1971–72 ABA season was the fifth season of the Denver Rockets. They finished 34–50, but managed to qualify for the fourth and final playoff spot in the five team Western Division by eight games. They went the distance with the Pacers, who went on to be the eventual ABA champions.

## Season standings
### Eastern Division

| Team | W | L | % | 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 | .298 | 43 |

### Western Division

| Team | W | L | % | GB |
| Utah Stars | 60 | 24 | .714 | - |
| Indiana Pacers | 47 | 37 | .560 | 13 |
| Dallas Chaparrals | 42 | 42 | .500 | 18 |
| Denver Rockets | 34 | 50 | .405 | 26 |
| Memphis Pros | 26 | 58 | .310 | 34 |

## Playoffs

Western Division semifinals
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | March 31 | Indiana | 95-102 | 0-1 | 6,103 |
| 2 | April 1 | Indiana | 106-105 | 1-1 | 6,521 |
| 3 | April 4 | Denver | 120-122 (OT) | 1-2 | 5,304 |
| 4 | April 6 | Denver | 112-96 | 2-2 | 6,109 |
| 5 | April 8 | Indiana | 79-91 | 2-3 | 9,428 |
| 6 | April 9 | Denver | 106-99 | 3-3 | 5,815 |
| 7 | April 13 | Indiana | 89-91 | 3-4 | 8,643 |
Rockets lose 4-3

## Game log

* 1971-72 Denver Rockets Schedule and Results | Basketball-Reference.com

## Statistics

| Rk | Player | Age | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | TOV | PF | PTS |
| 1 | Ralph Simpson | 22 | 84 | 35.8 | 11.0 | 23.8 | .460 | 0.0 | 0.3 | .136 | 10.9 | 23.5 | .464 | 5.4 | 6.8 | .805 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 27.4 |
| 2 | Julius Keye | 25 | 84 | 30.4 | 2.3 | 5.7 | .403 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 2.3 | 5.6 | .405 | 1.3 | 2.1 | .621 | 3.8 | 7.9 | 11.7 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 4.1 | 5.9 |
| 3 | Dave Robisch | 22 | 84 | 28.8 | 6.0 | 13.5 | .444 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .000 | 6.0 | 13.5 | .446 | 3.5 | 5.0 | .702 | 3.4 | 6.2 | 9.6 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 15.5 |
| 4 | Byron Beck | 27 | 66 | 27.5 | 5.1 | 10.1 | .504 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 5.1 | 10.1 | .506 | 2.1 | 2.5 | .843 | 2.6 | 5.4 | 8.0 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 12.3 |
| 5 | Larry Brown | 31 | 76 | 26.5 | 3.2 | 7.3 | .437 | 0.1 | 0.3 | .200 | 3.1 | 7.0 | .448 | 2.6 | 3.2 | .811 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 7.2 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 9.1 |
| 6 | Arthur Becker | 30 | 84 | 26.1 | 5.2 | 11.4 | .456 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 5.2 | 11.3 | .457 | 2.0 | 2.3 | .846 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 5.6 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 12.3 |
| 7 | Al Smith | 25 | 83 | 21.3 | 3.5 | 8.1 | .433 | 0.4 | 1.3 | .299 | 3.1 | 6.8 | .458 | 1.8 | 2.5 | .725 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 9.3 |
| 8 | Frank Card | 27 | 73 | 19.8 | 3.1 | 6.8 | .455 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 3.1 | 6.8 | .455 | 1.5 | 2.4 | .651 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 4.5 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 7.7 |
| 9 | Chuck Williams | 25 | 84 | 18.8 | 3.1 | 6.9 | .451 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 3.1 | 6.9 | .454 | 2.4 | 3.3 | .745 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 8.7 |
| 10 | Julian Hammond | 28 | 25 | 16.4 | 2.6 | 5.6 | .471 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | 2.6 | 5.6 | .471 | 1.2 | 2.0 | .620 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 4.6 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 6.5 |
| 11 | Marv Roberts | 22 | 68 | 15.4 | 3.2 | 7.8 | .407 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .250 | 3.2 | 7.8 | .408 | 1.3 | 1.8 | .717 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 7.7 |
| 12 | Dwight Waller | 26 | 2 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | .500 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | .500 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | 0.5 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 |
| 13 | Steve Mix | 24 | 1 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| 14 | Stephen Wilson | 23 | 9 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 2.6 | .217 | 0.0 | 0.2 | .000 | 0.6 | 2.3 | .238 | 0.4 | 0.8 | .571 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.6 |

## Awards and honors

* All-ABA 2nd Team: Ralph Simpson
* ABA All-Stars: Ralph Simpson, Arthur Becker