1973–74 Utah Stars season
ABA basketball team season
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The 1973–74 Utah Stars season was the fourth season of the Stars franchise in Utah and seventh overall in the American Basketball Association when including their few seasons they played in nearby California as the Anaheim Amigos and Los Angeles Stars. From January 21 to February 18, 1974, they won 14 straight games. However, a week after that, they began a 5-game losing streak, but the Stars still finished the season 18 games above .500 and as the best team in the Western Division. The Utah Stars were 8th in points scored at 105.1 per game and 4th in points allowed at 104.7 per game during this season. In the playoffs, the Stars went all the way to the ABA Finals for the second time in four seasons (third time in five seasons if you include their surprise appearance during their final season as the Los Angeles Stars before the franchise moved to the state of Utah). However, unlike their first season under the Utah Stars name, they would lose the chance to be named ABA champions once again, this time to the New York Nets (now being led by Julius Erving as their main star), in five games.[1] As it later turned out, it would not only be the last winning season in franchise history for the team, but it'd also be the last time they'd appear in the ABA Finals altogether; unbeknownst to most fans at the time, team owner Bill Daniels would spend the 1974 year trying and failing to become the governor of nearby Colorado, with him losing his spot in the Republican National Committee that year to Governor John Vanderhoof, which later ended with Vanderhoof losing the governorship race to Democrat candidate Richard Lamm near the end of that year.[2][3] His failed political bid led to him being in serious financial troubles during the franchise's final two seasons after this season ended; while Daniels tried his best to find new owners to help save the franchise for at least the short-term, to the point of even considering a merger with the eventual Spirits of St. Louis ABA franchise near the end of 1975, the failed political bid would ultimately help spell the end for the Stars franchise and their chances of making it to the 1976 ABA-NBA merger entirely.
| 1973–74 Utah Stars season | |
|---|---|
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Joe Mullaney |
| Arena | Salt Palace |
| Results | |
| Record | 51–33 (.607) |
| Place | Division: 1st (ABA) |
| Playoff finish | Lost in ABA Finals |
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. As such, the following selections were made in these respective drafts by the Stars.
Special Circumstances Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Robert Parish | C |  United States |
Centenary College of Louisiana |
| 1 | 9 | Jimmie Baker | PF | United States |
UNLV |
| 2 | 19 | Alvan Adams | PF/C | United States |
Oklahoma |
Interestingly, the Stars would be the only ABA team to have themselves acquire three different players in the "Special Circumstances Draft" (likely through trading with another ABA team like the San Diego Conquistadors or Indiana Pacers, for example), though none of them would end up joining the Stars this season, with them all deciding to stay in college for multiple years instead.
Senior Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Ronnie Robinson | PF | United States |
Memphis State |
| 2 | 18 | Leonard Gray | PF | United States |
Long Beach State |
| 3 | 28 | Steve Newsome | F | United States |
Houston |
| 3 | 30 | Ted Manakas | SG | United States |
Providence |
| 4 | 38 | Martin Terry | SG | United States |
Arkansas |
| 5 | 48 | Pete Harris | F | United States |
Stephen F. Austin State |
| 6 | 58 | Dave Winfield | SF | United States |
Minnesota |
| 7 | 68 | B. G. Brosterhous | F | United States |
Texas |
| 8 | 78 | Mike Williams | G | United States |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
| 9 | 88 | Roy McPipe | SG | United States |
Eastern Montana College (redshirt)[4] |
| 10 | 98 | Melvin Russell | PG | United States |
Centenary College of Louisiana |
The "Senior Draft" done in April is often considered the official, main draft period of the 1973 ABA draft by basketball historians. Also, Dave Winfield is the only player to ever be drafted by not just the ABA and NBA, but also the MLB and NFL as well, though despite Winfield despite playing college basketball in his final two years at the University of Minnesota, Winfield ultimately decided to go to the San Diego Padres of the MLB, eventually being a part of the Baseball Hall of Fame as a player.[5]
Undergraduate Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 (1) | 108 (8) | Bruce Seals | SF/PF | United States |
Xavier University of Louisiana |
| 12 (2) | 118 (18) | Marvin Webster | C | United States |
Morgan State |
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. Webster would later be considered the official #1 pick of what was considered the final ABA draft ever done when the Denver Nuggets drafted him with a bonus pick they acquired back when they were originally named the Denver Rockets due to Denver losing Marvin Barnes to the Carolina Cougars (soon to be rebranded as the Spirits of St. Louis), with Denver also obtaining David Thompson (a player drafted in the first round of the "Undergraduate Draft" by the Memphis Tams that later became the unofficial #1 pick of the 1975 ABA draft as well) by trading with the Virginia Squires a month after they selected him with the top selection of that draft on their ends, meaning the Nuggets would obtain both the official and unofficial #1 picks of that draft as "Undergraduate Draft" selections for this year's draft.
Supplemental Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Dennis Johnson | G | United States |
Ferris State |
| 2 | 13 | Bill McCoy | G | United States |
Northern Iowa |
| 3 | 21 | James Floyd | F | United States |
Shaw University |
| 4 | 28 | Charles Golson | C | United States |
College of Emporia |
| 5 | 34 | Ryan Quick | G | United States |
San Francisco |
| 6 | 41 | Lee Colburn | F | United States |
South Dakota State |
| 7 | 48 | Robert White | F | United States |
Sam Houston State |
| 8 | 54 | Gary Watson | F | United States |
Wisconsin |
| 9 | 60 | Larry Davis | F | United States |
Centenary College of Louisiana |
| 10 | 63 | Ben Kelso | G | United States |
Central Michigan |
| 11 | 66 | Nate Hawthorne | F | United States |
Southern Illinois |
| 12 | 69 | John Thomas | F | United States |
Joplin Junior College |
| 13 | 70 | Gary Black | G | United States |
Rocky Mountain College |
| 14 | 71 | Sam Whitehead | F | United States |
Oregon State |
| 15 | 72 | Harvey Catchings | PF/C | United States |
Hardin–Simmons University |
The Stars would be the only ABA team to utilize all 15 rounds of the "Supplemental Draft" that was done this year. Despite that fact, however, none of the 15 players that the Stars drafted would end up playing for them this season, though the final pick of not just that specific draft, but the entire ABA draft as a whole for this year, Harvey Catchings, would end up having a decent long-term career in the NBA a year after this draft ended. Catchings would also be the father of future Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame female player Tamika Catchings and grandfather of current college basketball player Kanon Catchings.
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Legend
|
Final standings
Western Division
| Team | W | L | % | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah Stars | 51 | 33 | .607 | - |
| Indiana Pacers | 46 | 38 | .548 | 5 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 45 | 39 | .536 | 6 |
| Denver Rockets | 37 | 47 | .440 | 14 |
| San Diego Conquistadors | 37 | 47 | .440 | 14 |
Playoffs
Western Division Semifinals[6]
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 30 | Utah | 114–99 | 1–0 | 5,558 |
| 2 | April 1 | Utah | 119–105 | 2–0 | 6,242 |
| 3 | April 3 | San Diego | 96–97 | 2–1 | 2,295 |
| 4 | April 4 | San Diego | 98–100 | 2–2 | 2,089 |
| 5 | April 6 | Utah | 100–93 | 3–2 | 6,648 |
| 6 | April 8 | San Diego | 110–99 | 4–2 | 3,140 |
Stars win series, 4–2
Western Division Finals vs Indiana Pacers
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 13 | Utah | 105–96 | 1–0 | 7,557 |
| 2 | April 15 | Utah | 106–102 | 2–0 | 7,143 |
| 3 | April 17 | Indiana | 99–90 | 3–0 | 6,337 |
| 4 | April 18 | Indiana | 107–118 | 3–1 | 6,265 |
| 5 | April 22 | Utah | 101–110 | 3–2 | 10,248 |
| 6 | April 25 | Indiana | 89–91 | 3–3 | 9,482 |
| 7 | April 27 | Utah | 109–87 | 4–3 | 12,191 |
Stars win series, 4–3
ABA Finals vs. New York Nets
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 30 | New York | 85–89 | 0–1 | 13,740 |
| 2 | May 4 | New York | 94–118 | 0–2 | 15,934 |
| 3 | May 6 | Utah | 100–103 | 0–3 | 10,743 |
| 4 | May 8 | Utah | 97–89 | 1–3 | 10,254 |
| 5 | May 10 | New York | 100–111 | 1–4 | 15,934 |
Stars lose series, 4–1
Awards and honors
1974 ABA All-Star Game selections (game played on January 30, 1974)