1974–75 Denver Nuggets season

The 1974–75 Denver Nuggets season was the franchise's eighth season in its existence and its first as the Nuggets after previously going by the Rockets (initially to advertise a business related to the team's original ownership group) up until this point in time. The Denver franchise chose the Nuggets as their new name to rebrand themselves to on August 7, 1974 following a "Name That Team" contest partially as a means to honor the original Denver Nuggets team that first existed in the last season of the National Basketball League (a precursor to the modern-day NBA alongside the Basketball Association of America) and the first proper season of the National Basketball Association before leaving it alongside three other teams to create a short-lived rivaling professional basketball league of their own and partially because they wanted to avoid any conflicts relating to the NBA team that holds the Rockets name in the Houston Rockets (formerly San Diego Rockets) once a transfer into the NBA was made official. The new logo that the team revealed not long afterward also showcased the debut of "Maxie the Miner", a cartoony figure of a miner that discovered an ABA basketball being in stark contrast to the original Nuggets team's logo showcasing a generic-looking miner discovering golden nuggets in a pan that would stick around with the team years after the ABA-NBA merger officially happened.^[1] This was also the first season where the team was coached by Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown following the team's disappointing finish from the previous season, as well as their last season playing at the Denver Auditorium Arena. The Nuggets were ranked first in points per game this season under Larry Brown's coaching system (118.7 ppg). They also had the best record in the ABA at 65–19 for their first division title in five years. Denver would get through the first round with a 4–2 series win over the Utah Stars in what turned out to be their final ABA Playoff appearance ever; this would also be the franchise's first playoff series win since 1970 back when the franchise went by the original Denver Rockets name (which also was the only other time Denver won a playoff series before this point in time). However, they lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Western Division Finals in seven games, failing to reach the ABA Finals for the first time in franchise history during this season.