# 1972–73 Denver Rockets season

The 1972–73 ABA season was the sixth season of the Denver Rockets. They ended with a 47–37 record, good for third place. They lost in the Division semifinals to the Indiana Pacers.

## Season standings
### Eastern Division

| Team | W | L | % | GB |
| Carolina Cougars | 57 | 27 | .679 | - |
| Kentucky Colonels | 56 | 28 | .667 | 1 |
| Virginia Squires | 42 | 42 | .500 | 15 |
| New York Nets | 30 | 54 | .357 | 27 |
| Memphis Tams | 24 | 60 | .286 | 33 |

### Western Division

| Team | W | L | % | GB |
| Utah Stars | 55 | 29 | .655 | - |
| Indiana Pacers | 51 | 33 | .607 | 4 |
| Denver Rockets | 47 | 37 | .560 | 8 |
| San Diego Conquistadors | 30 | 54 | .357 | 25 |
| Dallas Chaparrals | 28 | 56 | .333 | 27 |

## Game log

* 1972-73 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 | Julius Keye | 26 | 83 | 36.3 | 2.0 | 4.5 | .435 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .375 | 1.9 | 4.4 | .436 | 1.6 | 2.8 | .558 | 3.3 | 7.4 | 10.7 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 5.5 |
| 2 | Warren Jabali | 26 | 82 | 33.4 | 5.4 | 11.9 | .453 | 0.4 | 1.7 | .257 | 4.9 | 10.2 | .486 | 5.9 | 7.3 | .805 | 1.6 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 6.6 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 17.0 |
| 3 | Ralph Simpson | 23 | 81 | 32.0 | 9.0 | 20.6 | .438 | 0.1 | 0.3 | .208 | 9.0 | 20.3 | .442 | 5.2 | 6.9 | .757 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 4.6 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 23.3 |
| 4 | Dave Robisch | 23 | 83 | 31.9 | 6.3 | 12.2 | .516 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 6.3 | 12.2 | .516 | 3.7 | 4.9 | .756 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 16.3 |
| 5 | Byron Beck | 28 | 77 | 29.9 | 6.1 | 11.4 | .530 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .286 | 6.0 | 11.3 | .532 | 2.1 | 2.6 | .798 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 7.0 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 3.5 | 14.2 |
| 6 | Al Smith | 26 | 83 | 28.2 | 3.8 | 9.2 | .411 | 0.2 | 1.1 | .189 | 3.6 | 8.2 | .440 | 3.3 | 4.2 | .773 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 5.7 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 11.1 |
| 7 | Marv Roberts | 23 | 77 | 25.4 | 4.9 | 10.5 | .463 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .333 | 4.8 | 10.4 | .464 | 2.6 | 3.3 | .788 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 5.2 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 12.3 |
| 8 | Willie Long | 22 | 56 | 18.8 | 3.3 | 8.2 | .400 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 3.3 | 8.1 | .401 | 2.5 | 3.2 | .780 | 1.8 | 3.4 | 5.2 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 9.0 |
| 9 | John Trapp | 27 | 24 | 14.3 | 2.3 | 5.3 | .422 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .000 | 2.3 | 5.3 | .429 | 0.8 | 1.3 | .594 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 3.2 | 5.3 |
| 10 | Claude Terry | 23 | 68 | 9.8 | 1.8 | 4.2 | .421 | 0.1 | 0.4 | .417 | 1.6 | 3.8 | .421 | 1.1 | 1.7 | .649 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 4.8 |
| 11 | Frank Card | 28 | 4 | 9.0 | 1.5 | 3.8 | .400 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | 1.5 | 3.8 | .400 | 2.3 | 3.3 | .692 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 5.3 |
| 12 | David Bustion | 23 | 47 | 7.6 | 1.2 | 2.8 | .436 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | 1.2 | 2.8 | .436 | 0.9 | 1.3 | .712 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 3.4 |

## Playoffs

Western Division semifinals
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | March 31 | Indiana | 91–114 | 0–1 | 7,051 |
| 2 | April 1 | Denver | 93–106 | 0–2 | 7,235 |
| 3 | April 3 | Denver | 105–94 | 1–2 | 5,335 |
| 4 | April 5 | Denver | 95–97 | 1–3 | 6,904 |
| 5 | April 7 | Indiana | 107–121 | 1–4 | 9,816 |

## Awards and honors

* All-ABA 1st Team: Warren Jabali
* All-ABA 2nd Team: Ralph Simpson
* All-Defensive 1st Team: Julius Keye
* ABA All-Stars: Warren Jabali, Ralph Simpson