# 1969–70 Denver Rockets season

The 1969–70 ABA season was the Rockets' third season. They ended up with a 51–33 record. Out of the 11 teams that played in the ABA that season the Rockets had the highest rating in simple rating system and offensive rating. This was their first playoff series win. They would not win another playoff series until 1975.

## Season standings
### Eastern Division

| Eastern Division | W | L | PCT | GB |
| Indiana Pacers * | 59 | 25 | .702 | - |
| Kentucky Colonels * | 45 | 39 | .536 | 14.0 |
| Carolina Cougars * | 42 | 42 | .500 | 17.0 |
| New York Nets * | 39 | 45 | .464 | 20.0 |
| Pittsburgh Pipers | 29 | 55 | .345 | 30.0 |
| Miami Floridians | 23 | 61 | .274 | 36.0 |

### Western Division

| Western Division | W | L | PCT | GB |
| Denver Rockets * | 51 | 33 | .607 | - |
| Dallas Chaparrals * | 45 | 39 | .536 | 6.0 |
| Washington Capitols * | 44 | 40 | .524 | 7.0 |
| Los Angeles Stars * | 43 | 41 | .512 | 8.0 |
| New Orleans Buccaneers | 42 | 42 | .500 | 9.0 |
Asterisk Denotes playoff team

## Game log

* 1969-70 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 | Spencer Haywood | 20 | 84 | 45.3 | 11.7 | 23.8 | .493 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .000 | 11.7 | 23.7 | .496 | 6.5 | 8.4 | .776 | 6.3 | 13.1 | 19.5 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 30.0 |
| 2 | Larry Jones | 27 | 75 | 40.4 | 8.3 | 19.2 | .434 | 0.5 | 2.2 | .248 | 7.8 | 17.0 | .458 | 7.7 | 9.8 | .791 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 24.9 |
| 3 | Byron Beck | 25 | 79 | 31.1 | 5.6 | 10.6 | .523 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 5.6 | 10.6 | .524 | 1.7 | 2.2 | .787 | 3.2 | 6.5 | 9.7 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 12.9 |
| 4 | Jeffrey Congdon | 26 | 83 | 29.7 | 3.6 | 9.3 | .386 | 0.8 | 2.1 | .354 | 2.8 | 7.2 | .395 | 1.8 | 2.3 | .786 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 5.4 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 9.8 |
| 5 | Lonnie Wright | 26 | 79 | 28.3 | 5.0 | 12.1 | .413 | 0.7 | 2.4 | .280 | 4.3 | 9.6 | .447 | 1.5 | 2.2 | .691 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 12.2 |
| 6 | Julian Hammond | 26 | 69 | 26.8 | 4.8 | 9.6 | .498 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 4.8 | 9.6 | .499 | 2.4 | 3.5 | .695 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 6.8 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 12.0 |
| 7 | Julius Keye | 23 | 77 | 21.3 | 3.2 | 8.0 | .396 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .000 | 3.2 | 7.9 | .401 | 1.5 | 2.5 | .601 | 2.4 | 4.4 | 6.9 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 7.9 |
| 8 | Walter Piatkowski | 24 | 74 | 17.6 | 2.9 | 7.2 | .402 | 0.1 | 0.7 | .220 | 2.8 | 6.6 | .421 | 1.0 | 1.3 | .768 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 7.0 |
| 9 | Floyd Theard | 25 | 25 | 16.2 | 1.6 | 4.5 | .345 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 1.6 | 4.5 | .348 | 0.7 | 1.1 | .643 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 3.8 |
| 10 | Dwight Waller | 24 | 7 | 12.4 | 1.4 | 3.4 | .417 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .000 | 1.4 | 3.3 | .435 | 1.3 | 2.7 | .474 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 5.4 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 4.1 |
| 11 | Lonnie Lynn | 26 | 12 | 11.7 | 1.7 | 3.8 | .435 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | 1.7 | 3.8 | .435 | 0.7 | 1.0 | .667 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 4.0 |
| 12 | Ben Warley | 33 | 42 | 11.3 | 1.4 | 4.0 | .353 | 0.4 | 1.4 | .259 | 1.1 | 2.7 | .402 | 1.4 | 1.8 | .763 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 4.6 |
| 13 | Greg Wittman | 22 | 50 | 9.1 | 1.6 | 4.1 | .392 | 0.1 | 0.3 | .235 | 1.5 | 3.7 | .406 | 0.6 | 1.2 | .542 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 3.9 |
| 14 | Cliff Anderson | 25 | 3 | 7.3 | 0.7 | 1.3 | .500 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | 0.7 | 1.3 | .500 | 0.7 | 2.0 | .333 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |

## Playoffs

Western Division semifinals vs. Washington Capitals
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | April 17 | Denver | 130–111 | 1–0 | 9,822 |
| 2 | April 18 | Denver | 143–133 | 2–0 | 9,889 |
| 3 | April 19 | Washington | 120–125 | 2–1 | 1,748 |
| 4 | April 22 | Washington | 114–131 | 2–2 | 5,497 |
| 5 | April 23 | Denver | 132–110 | 3–2 | 7,141 |
| 6 | April 25 | Washington | 111–116 | 3–3 | 3,186 |
| 7 | April 28 | Denver | 143–119 | 4–3 | 9,893 |
Rockets win series, 4–3
Division finals
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | April 30 | Denver | 123–113 (OT) | 1–0 | 7,071 |
| 2 | May 1 | Denver | 105–114 | 1–1 | 7,187 |
| 3 | May 4 | Los Angeles | 113–119 | 1–2 | 4,468 |
| 4 | May 5 | Los Angeles | 110–114 | 1–3 | 3,432 |
| 5 | May 9 | Denver | 107–109 | 1–4 | 6,401 |
Rockets lose series, 4–1

## Awards and records

* ABA All-Star: Larry Jones, Spencer Haywood
* ABA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player: Spencer Haywood
* ABA Most Valuable Player: Spencer Haywood
* ABA Coach of the Year Award: Joe Belmont
* ABA All-League Team: Spencer Haywood, Larry Jones
* Spencer Haywood: 986 field goals (Nuggets single-season franchise record)