April 1972 in the NBA
A wild race ensues in the battle for seeding in the ABA East, while a tight scoring race ends in the NBA.
Editor’s note: This is a fictional account of the history of the NBA beginning in 1966–67. This narrative was created by playing Fast Break Pro Basketball 3. For an introduction to this dynasty, visit: https://medium.com/historical-sports-gaming/re-writing-nba-history-an-introduction-483db0ebc720
AROUND THE NBA — APRIL 1972
Eastern Conference Final Outlook: The Atlantic Division race turned out to be no race at all as the 76ers lost four straight to start April and ceded the division title to New York. The division title is the first-ever for the Knicks and it gives them home-court advantage in a first round showdown with Philadelphia. The series is a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, won by the 76ers. Atlanta scuffled down the stretch, but still made the playoffs with ease as they officially clinched with an April 16 win over Baltimore. The Hawks finished the season with losses in five of six games, but considering Baltimore lost four of its last six, Atlanta was never in danger. They will be major underdogs as they head to Cincinnati for their first round series.
Western Conference Final Outlook: The first round matchup to watch this year will be between the Midwest Division champion Pistons and a very strong Houston Rocket team. Detroit won the Midwest easily and earned the #2 seed by being a division champion, but the Rockets actually finished four games ahead of the Pistons in the standings. It could be a thrilling series. There was no drama surrounding the #4 seed in the West as Phoenix caught fire late, winning six straight games to finish the season and run away with a playoff spot. The Suns will need to be on their game against a Warriors team looking for a fourth title in five seasons. An April 3 win at Houston gave Golden State the Pacific Division title as expected. The first round series could be interesting if Phoenix continues to play lights out.
60+ POINT GAMES THIS MONTH — None
25+ REBOUND GAMES THIS MONTH — None
NEW SINGLE-GAME RECORDS SET THIS MONTH — None
MILESTONES REACHED THIS MONTH
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, C, Phoenix— On April 10, the Suns throttled the Lakers, 122–102, behind a 54-point performance by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar also recorded his 1,000th career block in the game, becoming the sixth player in NBA history to reach the mark.
PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Player of the Month —Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, C, Phoenix —Abdul-Jabbar did everything he could to try and win the scoring race in April. While he fell short of that (see below), he did average 39.9 points, 13.6 boards and 6.0 blocks in April to help Phoenix into the playoffs.
Rookie of the Month — Julius Erving (SF) Cleveland —The Cavaliers showed life when they shocked everyone and finished the season on a six-game win streak! Erving was outstanding during that stretch, averaging 43.1 points per game in April along with 12 rebounds.
NBA League Leaders
Points — Elvin Hayes, Houston — 42.9 — The scoring race went down to the wire, but Hayes managed to just barely hold off Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for his first scoring title in four years. The question now is which of these two will win the MVP Award this year. It’s clearly a two player race.
Rebounds — Nate Thurmond, Golden State — Thurmond’s 15.8 rebounds is the most he’s recorded in a single-season since 1968–69. Thurmond also played in all 82 games in leading the league. It is the fourth time in five years he’s led the NBA in rebounds.
Assists — Al Smith, Cincinnati — 6.6
Steals — Rick Barry, Golden State — 3.2
Blocks — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Phoenix — 5.6 — Abdul-Jabbar may have lost the scoring title, but he etches his name in the record books. His 5.6 blocks broke the single-season record of 5.3 set by Wilt Chamberlain in 1967–68.
AROUND THE ABA — APRIL 1972
East Division Final Outlook: A wild battle for seeding ensued in the East and led to a crazy finish that saw tiebreakers come into play. Miami, New York and Pittsburgh all won four straight (for the Condors, five straight) to finish the season. Three straight losses early in April would end up being costly for Pittsburgh. The three teams all finished at 49–35. New York was given the #2 seed based on their division record of 43–31, one game ahead of Miami and Pittsburgh. The Floridians were seeded ahead of Pittsburgh after going 9–5 over the Condors in the head-to-head series.
Just like that, Pittsburgh fell from second to fourth place and now have a date with Carolina in round one. The good news for the Condors is the East playoffs are wide open, especially after the Cougars went 4–7 in April after letting off the gas once they won the division. The other series, pitting New York and Miami, should also be a good one. Carolina and New York have home court in round one, but history is on the side of Miami and Pittsburgh.
West Division Final Outlook: While the East saw a thrilling finish, the West playoff race was simply non-existent. Denver cruised to the West title and ended up finishing with the ABA’s best record after Carolina limped down the stretch. The Rockets, who have never won a playoff series, will draw a poor Indiana team making just its second-ever trip to the playoffs. It’d be shock if Indiana makes the series close. The other series will feature Memphis, who had no trouble sealing up the #2 seed, and Utah, featuring star forward Bob Netolicky. The Pros have reached the West Division finals three straight years and Utah is really banged up with injuries, but this series should still be closer than the Denver-Indiana matchup.
55+ POINT GAMES THIS MONTH
Bob Netolicky (PF) Utah — In an overtime thriller in Denver on April 13, the Rockets edged the Stars on a buzzer beater from John Brisker. On the losing side, Bob Netolicky was outstanding, scoring a season-high 59 points for the Stars.
20+ REBOUND GAMES THIS MONTH
Ron Taylor, C, Indiana —Taylor finished his regular season with a bang in helping the Pacers to a thrilling, 102–101 win at Utah on the season’s final day on April 20. Taylor snagged 22 rebounds, three short of the ABA single-game record, in the victory.
NEW SINGLE-GAME RECORDS SET THIS MONTH — None
MILESTONES REACHED THIS MONTH
Dewitt Menyard, C, Dallas — On the final day of another awful season for Dallas, Dewitt Menyard created some good press for the Chaparrals when he made his 500th career block in a 119–84 loss at Miami. Menyard is the ABA’s all-time blocks leader and the first to reach 500 blocks.
PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Player of the Month — Bob Netolicky (PF) Utah —Netolicky finished his season on a roll for the Stars, confirming himself as the favorite to win the MVP award by averaging 36.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game in the month of April.
ABA League Leaders
Points — Bob Netolicky, Utah —In a year where scoring was down across the ABA, Netolicky wins his second straight scoring title despite seeing his points per game drop by 1.5 from a year ago. Bob Rule of New York also had his PPG drop by the same amount.
Rebounds — Jim Washington, Virginia —9.8 — For the third straight year, no player in the ABA is able to average 10 rebounds per game. Washington has come closer than anyone in that timespan and has developed into one of the league’s best big men in his third ABA season.
Assists — Nate Archibald, Carolina — 9.2 — In just his second year, Archibald is quickly emerging into a star. His 9.2 assists are the fourth most in a single ABA season and only a tick behind Larry Brown’s 1968–69 record of 9.6.
Steals — Freddie Lewis, Pittsburgh — 2.5
Blocks — Ron Taylor, Indiana — 1.9
