1972–73 Denver Rockets season

The 1972–73 ABA season was the sixth season of the Denver Rockets. They ended with a 47–37 record, good for third place. They lost in the Division semifinals to the Indiana Pacers.

1972–73 Denver Rockets season
Head coach	Alex Hannum
Arena	Denver Auditorium Arena
Results
Record	47–37 (.560)
Place	Division: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	Western Division semifinals (lost to Pacers 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Roster

No.	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Birth Date	Experience (years)	College
40	Byron Beck	C	6-9	225	January 25, 1945	5	University of Denver
14	David Bustion	PF	6-8	215	August 30, 1949	R	University of Denver
20	Frank Card	SF	6-7	195	December 28, 1944	4	South Carolina State University
12	Warren Jabali	PG	6-2	200	August 29, 1946	4	Wichita State University
13	Julius Keye	PF	6-10	200	September 5, 1946	3	Alcorn State University
30	Willie Long	PF	6-8	225	March 1, 1950	1	University of New Mexico
31	Marv Roberts	SF	6-8	200	January 29, 1950	1	Utah State University
25	Dave Robisch	C	6-10	235	December 22, 1949	1	University of Kansas
44	Ralph Simpson	SG	6-5	200	August 10, 1949	2	Michigan State University
10	Al Smith	PG	6-1	185	January 15, 1947	1	Bradley University
21	Claude Terry	SG	6-4	195	January 12, 1950	R	Stanford University
24	John Trapp	SF	6-7	210	October 2, 1945	4	University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Season standings

Eastern Division

Team	W	L	%	GB
Carolina Cougars	57	27	.679	-
Kentucky Colonels	56	28	.667	1
Virginia Squires	42	42	.500	15
New York Nets	30	54	.357	27
Memphis Tams	24	60	.286	33

Western Division

Team	W	L	%	GB
Utah Stars	55	29	.655	-
Indiana Pacers	51	33	.607	4
Denver Rockets	47	37	.560	8
San Diego Conquistadors	30	54	.357	25
Dallas Chaparrals	28	56	.333	27

Game log

• 1972-73 Denver Rockets Schedule and Results | Basketball-Reference.com

Statistics

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	Julius Keye	26	83	36.3	2.0	4.5	.435	0.0	0.1	.375	1.9	4.4	.436	1.6	2.8	.558	3.3	7.4	10.7	2.2	1.6	3.2	5.5
2	Warren Jabali	26	82	33.4	5.4	11.9	.453	0.4	1.7	.257	4.9	10.2	.486	5.9	7.3	.805	1.6	3.6	5.2	6.6	3.7	3.4	17.0
3	Ralph Simpson	23	81	32.0	9.0	20.6	.438	0.1	0.3	.208	9.0	20.3	.442	5.2	6.9	.757	1.7	2.9	4.6	2.7	3.5	3.0	23.3
4	Dave Robisch	23	83	31.9	6.3	12.2	.516	0.0	0.0	.000	6.3	12.2	.516	3.7	4.9	.756	3.0	6.0	9.0	2.0	1.6	3.3	16.3
5	Byron Beck	28	77	29.9	6.1	11.4	.530	0.0	0.1	.286	6.0	11.3	.532	2.1	2.6	.798	2.6	4.3	7.0	1.4	1.6	3.5	14.2
6	Al Smith	26	83	28.2	3.8	9.2	.411	0.2	1.1	.189	3.6	8.2	.440	3.3	4.2	.773	0.8	1.8	2.6	5.7	3.1	3.6	11.1
7	Marv Roberts	23	77	25.4	4.9	10.5	.463	0.0	0.0	.333	4.8	10.4	.464	2.6	3.3	.788	2.3	2.8	5.2	1.2	1.4	2.5	12.3
8	Willie Long	22	56	18.8	3.3	8.2	.400	0.0	0.0	.000	3.3	8.1	.401	2.5	3.2	.780	1.8	3.4	5.2	0.8	1.7	2.6	9.0
9	John Trapp	27	24	14.3	2.3	5.3	.422	0.0	0.1	.000	2.3	5.3	.429	0.8	1.3	.594	1.1	1.9	3.0	0.8	1.0	3.2	5.3
10	Claude Terry	23	68	9.8	1.8	4.2	.421	0.1	0.4	.417	1.6	3.8	.421	1.1	1.7	.649	0.7	0.4	1.1	0.9	1.0	1.6	4.8
11	Frank Card	28	4	9.0	1.5	3.8	.400	0.0	0.0		1.5	3.8	.400	2.3	3.3	.692	1.0	0.8	1.8	0.0	0.8	1.0	5.3
12	David Bustion	23	47	7.6	1.2	2.8	.436	0.0	0.0		1.2	2.8	.436	0.9	1.3	.712	0.8	1.3	2.1	0.4	1.1	1.7	3.4

Playoffs

Western Division semifinals

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	March 31	Indiana	91–114	0–1	7,051
2	April 1	Denver	93–106	0–2	7,235
3	April 3	Denver	105–94	1–2	5,335
4	April 5	Denver	95–97	1–3	6,904
5	April 7	Indiana	107–121	1–4	9,816

Awards and honors

• All-ABA 1st Team: Warren Jabali
• All-ABA 2nd Team: Ralph Simpson
• All-Defensive 1st Team: Julius Keye
• ABA All-Stars: Warren Jabali, Ralph Simpson