The 1976 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1975–76 season. The tournament concluded with the New York Nets defeating the Denver Nuggets four games to two in the ABA Finals.
This was the final year of the ABA. The ABA-NBA merger took place on June 17, 1976. Thus the final game in ABA history was played on May 13, 1976, when the New York Nets defeated the Denver Nuggets 112–106 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
As there were no divisions in the regular season, the playoffs involved five teams, with a first-round best-of-three series played between the fourth-place Kentucky Colonels and fifth-place Indiana Pacers; Kentucky won the series, 2 games to 1.
| Quarterfinals | Semi-Finals | Championship Series | ||||||||||||
| # 1 | Denver Nuggets | 4 | ||||||||||||
| # 4 | Kentucky Colonels | 3 | ||||||||||||
| # 4 | Kentucky Colonels | 2 | ||||||||||||
| # 5 | Indiana Pacers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| # 1 | Denver Nuggets | 2 | ||||||||||||
| # 2 | New York Nets | 4 | ||||||||||||
| # 2 | New York Nets | 4 | ||||||||||||
| # 3 | San Antonio Spurs | 3 | ||||||||||||
Notable events
editJulius Erving of the New York Nets was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs. He won that distinction previously in 1974 and became the only player in ABA history to repeat as the MVP of the league playoffs.
On April 28, 1976, the Kentucky Colonels lost the seventh game of their series with the Denver Nuggets. The loss marked the final game for the Colonels and the final game for any ABA team that did not proceed into the NBA with the ABA-NBA merger.
The Nuggets and the Nets met in the championship series after posting the two best regular season records in the league. The Nets' victory over the Nuggets marked the last time that a professional basketball team from the New York area won a championship title until the 2024 WNBA Finals, when the New York Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx in five games to win their first title.
With their 4–3 loss in their opening round matchup with the New York Nets, the San Antonio Spurs concluded their ABA tenure without ever winning a single ABA playoff series. Since joining the NBA, the Spurs have won 5 NBA championships total, making them the first ABA team to win a championship in the NBA. In 2023, the Nuggets became the last former ABA team to make an NBA Finals (the Pacers made one Finals in 2000, and the then-New Jersey Nets made two in 2002 and 2003, with all three series ending in a loss). The Nuggets became the second ABA team to win an NBA title with their 5-game series win over the Miami Heat in the 2023 NBA Finals.
Score
editQuarterfinals
edit(1) Denver Nuggets, (2) New York Nets, (3) San Antonio Spurs have division Quarterfinals byes.
(4) Kentucky Colonels vs. (5) Indiana Pacers: Colonels win series 2-1
- Game 1 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 120, Indiana 109
- Game 2 @ Indiana: Indiana 109, Kentucky 95
- Game 3 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 100, Indiana 99
Semifinals
edit(1) Denver Nuggets vs. (4) Kentucky Colonels: Nuggets win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ Denver: Denver 110, Kentucky 107
- Game 2 @ Denver: Kentucky 138, Denver 110
- Game 3 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 126, Denver 114
- Game 4 @ Kentucky: Denver 108, Kentucky 106
- Game 5 @ Denver: Denver 127, Kentucky 117
- Game 6 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 119, Denver 115 (2OT)
- Game 7 @ Denver: Denver 133, Kentucky 110
(2) New York Nets vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs: Nets win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ New York: New York 116, San Antonio 101
- Game 2 @ New York: San Antonio 105, New York 79
- Game 3 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 111, New York 103
- Game 4 @ San Antonio: New York 110, San Antonio 108
- Game 5 @ New York: New York 110, San Antonio 108
- Game 6 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 115, New York 110
- Game 7 @ New York: New York 121, San Antonio 114
Finals
edit(1) Denver Nuggets vs. (2) New York Nets: Nets win series 4-2
- Game 1 (May 1) @ Denver: New York 120, Denver 118
- Game 2 (May 4) @ Denver: Denver 127, New York 121
- Game 3 (May 6) @ New York: New York 117, Denver 111
- Game 4 (May 8) @ New York: New York 121, Denver 112
- Game 5 (May 11) @ Denver: Denver 118, New York 110
- Game 6 (May 13) @ New York: New York 112, Denver 106
