Wikiwand AI

1969–70 Denver Rockets season

ABA professional basketball team season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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. Their 4-3 first round series win over the short-lived Washington Caps franchise would be their first playoff series win in franchise history, as well as their only playoff series win that they had while under their original Rockets name. They would also have a shot of making it to their first ABA Finals Championship series later that year, but they would surprisingly falter to the Los Angeles Stars (who had not only anticipated another losing season on their ends, but also entered the 1970 ABA Playoffs rather unexpectedly on their ends and had surprisingly upset the Dallas Chaparrals earlier on in the first round) in five games there. They would not win another playoff series until 1975, by which time they would change their team name from the Rockets to the modern-day iteration of the Denver Nuggets, which they still remain as to this very day.

Head coachJohn McLendon
Joe Belmont
OwnersJ. William Ringsby
Donald W. Ringsby
ArenaDenver Auditorium Arena
Record51–33 (.607)
Quick facts Denver Rockets season, Head coach ...
1969–70 Denver Rockets season
Division champions
Head coachJohn McLendon
Joe Belmont
OwnersJ. William Ringsby
Donald W. Ringsby
ArenaDenver Auditorium Arena
Results
Record51–33 (.607)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishABA Western Division finals
(lost to Stars 1–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
RadioKOA
< 1968–69 1970–71 >
Close

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
1969–70 Denver Rockets roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
SG 14 Cliff Anderson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) September 7, 1944 Saint Joseph's
C 40 Byron Beck 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) January 25, 1945 Denver
PG 14 Jeffrey Congdon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) October 17, 1943 BYU
SF 22 Julian Hammond 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) May 27, 1943 Tulsa
PF 24 Spencer Haywood 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) April 22, 1949 Detroit Mercy
PG 32 Larry Jones 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) September 22, 1942 Toledo
C 52 Julius Keye 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) September 5, 1946 Alcorn State
SF 19 Lonnie Lynn 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) May 24, 1943 Wilberforce
PF 34 Walter Piatkowski 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) June 11, 1945 Bowling Green
PG 11 Floyd Theard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) September 5, 1944 Kentucky State
F 50 Dwight Waller 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) October 5, 1945 Tennessee State
SF 44 Ben Warley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) September 4, 1936 Tennessee State
PF 54 Greg Wittman 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) May 10, 1947 Western Carolina
SG 42 Lonnie Wright 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) January 23, 1944 Colorado State
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Close

Season standings

Eastern Division

More information Eastern Division, W ...
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
Close

Western Division

More information Western Division, W ...
Western Division W L PCT GB
Denver Rockets * 51 33 .607 -
Dallas Chaparrals * 45 39 .536 6.0
Washington Caps * 44 40 .524 7.0
Los Angeles Stars * 43 41 .512 8.0
New Orleans Buccaneers 42 42 .500 9.0
Close

Asterisk Denotes playoff team

Game log

Statistics

More information Rk, Player ...
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
Close

[1]

ABA Playoffs

ABA Western Division Semifinals vs. Washington Capitals[2]

GameDateLocationScoreRecordAttendance
1April 17Denver130–1111–09,822
2April 18Denver143–1332–09,889
3April 19Washington120–1252–11,748
4April 22Washington114–1312–25,497
5April 23Denver132–1103–27,141
6April 25Washington111–1163–33,186
7April 28Denver143–1194–39,893

Rockets win series, 4–3

ABA Division Finals

GameDateLocationScoreRecordAttendance
1April 30Denver123–113 (OT)1–07,071
2May 1Denver105–1141–17,187
3May 4Los Angeles113–1191–24,468
4May 5Los Angeles110–1141–33,432
5May 9Denver107–1091–46,401

Rockets lose series, 4–1

Awards and records

References

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks