1973–74 Indiana Pacers season
ABA professional basketball team season
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The 1973–74 Indiana Pacers season was the franchise's seventh season both as a team and while in the American Basketball Association. Entering this season, the Pacers sought to not just obtain a three-peat of championships while in the ABA, but also win their fourth championship in five seasons after previously winning the ABA Finals in 1970, 1972, and 1973. However, the Pacers would finish the season with a 46–38 record, posting a five win downgrade from the previous season. Despite that notion, the Pacers would still finish in second place for the Western Division for the season, behind only the Utah Stars there. While in the playoffs, the Pacers would go tooth and nail with the San Antonio Spurs, surviving the first round in seven games, before losing the Western Division Finals to the Utah Stars in seven games themselves (with the Stars later losing the 1974 ABA Finals to the New York Nets by five games), thus preventing the Pacers from becoming the sole dynasty of the ABA with four championships in five years.
| 1973–74 Indiana Pacers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Bobby Leonard |
| Arena | Fairgrounds Coliseum |
| Results | |
| Record | 46–38 (.548) |
| Place | Division: 2nd Conference: 2nd |
| Playoff finish | Division Finals (lost to Stars 3–4) |
| Radio | WIBC |
ABA Draft
Interestingly, this year's ABA draft would involve four different types of drafts throughout the early 1973 year: a "Special Circumstances Draft" on January 15, a "Senior Draft" on April 25, an "Undergraduate Draft" also on April 25, and a "Supplemental Draft" on May 18, though the Pacers joined the New York Nets as one of two teams to avoid using that last draft entirely. Still, the following selections were made in these respective drafts by the Pacers.
ABA Special Circumstances Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Mike Green | PF/C |  United States |
Louisiana Tech |
| 2 | 14 | Dave Cowens | SF | United States |
Houston |
ABA Senior Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Steve Downing | C | United States |
Indiana |
| 2 | 17 | Jim O'Brien | SG/SF | United States |
Maryland |
| 3 | 27 | Jim Resteck | F | United States |
Auburn |
| 4 | 37 | John Ritter | F | United States |
Indiana |
| 5 | 47 | Allan Hornyak | SG | United States |
Ohio State |
| 6 | 57 | Joe Wallace | SF | United States |
Denver |
| 7 | 67 | Jim Andrews | C | United States |
Kentucky |
| 8 | 77 | Mike Edwards | SG | United States |
Tennessee |
| 9 | 87 | Bobby Wilson | G | United States |
Wichita State (redshirt)[1] |
| 10 | 97 | Byron Jones | F | United States |
San Francisco |
The "Senior Draft" done in April is often considered the official, main draft period of the 1973 ABA draft by basketball historians.
ABA Special Circumstances Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 (1) | 107 (7) | Len Elmore | PF/C | United States |
Maryland |
| 12 (2) | 117 (17) | Rudy Jackson | C | United States |
Hutchinson Community Junior College[2][3] |
The "Undergraduate Draft" is considered a continuation of the "Senior Draft" that was done earlier that same day, hence the numbering of the rounds and draft picks here. Also, the Pacers joined the New York Nets as one of only two teams to decline participation in the "Supplementary Draft" entirely, meaning there will be no section for that draft with the Pacers here.[4]
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Legend
|
Season standings
Western Division
| Team | W | L | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah Stars | 51 | 33 | .607 |
| Indiana Pacers | 46 | 38 | .548 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 45 | 39 | .536 |
| San Diego Conquistadors | 37 | 47 | .440 |
| Denver Rockets | 37 | 47 | .440 |
Player stats
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| Player | GP | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George McGinnis | 80 | 40.8 | 15.0 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 25.9 |
| Mel Daniels | 78 | 32.6 | 11.6 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 15.4 |
| Roger Brown | 82 | 30.8 | 4.8 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 11.8 |
| Darnell Hillman | 83 | 27.9 | 8.1 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 9.1 |
| Freddie Lewis | 78 | 27.7 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 9.9 |
| Donnie Freeman | 66 | 26.3 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 14.3 |
| Don Buse | 77 | 24.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 5.5 |
| Bob Netolicky | 56 | 20.7 | 5.2 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 9.1 |
| Bill Keller | 75 | 19.0 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 9.5 |
| Kevin Joyce | 56 | 17.6 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 7.3 |
| Larry Cannon | 3 | 8.7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.3 |
| Johnny Baum | 13 | 8.7 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 2.8 |
| Bob Arnzen | 20 | 7.5 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2.8 |
| Bill Newton | 11 | 6.6 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.4[5] |
ABA Playoffs
Western Division Semifinals vs San Antonio Spurs[6]
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | March 30 | Indiana | 109–113 | 0–1 | 7,438 |
| 2 | April 1 | Indiana | 128–101 | 1–1 | 6,988 |
| 3 | April 3 | San Antonio | 96–115 | 1–2 | 10,693 |
| 4 | April 4 | San Antonio | 91–89 | 2–2 | 12,079 |
| 5 | April 6 | Indiana | 105–100 | 3–2 | 10,079 |
| 6 | April 10 | San Antonio | 86–102 | 3–3 | 12,304 |
| 7 | April 12 | Indiana | 86–79 | 4–3 | 10,079 |
Pacers win series, 4–3
ABA Western Division Finals vs Utah Stars
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | April 13 | Utah | 96–105 | 0–1 | 7,557 |
| 2 | April 15 | Utah | 102–106 | 0–2 | 7,143 |
| 3 | April 17 | Indiana | 90–99 | 0–3 | 6,337 |
| 4 | April 18 | Indiana | 118–107 | 1–3 | 6,265 |
| 5 | April 22 | Utah | 110–101 | 2–3 | 10,248 |
| 6 | April 25 | Indiana | 91–89 | 3–3 | 9,482 |
| 7 | April 27 | Utah | 87–109 | 3–4 | 12,191 |
Pacers lose series, 4–3