1971–72 Virginia Squires season explained

Team:Virginia Squires
League:ABA
End Year:1972
Wins:45
Losses:39
Division:Eastern
Division Place:2nd
Coach:Al Bianchi
Arena:Norfolk Scope
Hampton Coliseum
Richmond Coliseum
Roanoke Civic Center
Playoffs:Lost in Division Finals

The 1971–72 Virginia Squires season was the second season of the Virginia Squires in the American Basketball Association. This was the debut season of future Hall of Famer Julius Erving. In the first half of the season, the Squires were 26–16, with a season-high five-game losing streak and one five-game winning streak in that half. In the second half, they went 19–23. The Squires finished 2nd in points scored at 118.9 per game, but 9th in points allowed at 118.0 per game. Just before the season ended, Charlie Scott left the team and joined the NBA's Phoenix Suns, completing a trade with the Boston Celtics (who held his original draft rights) for Paul Silas. Scott set the all-time ABA individual single-season scoring record by averaging 34.6 points per game. In the playoffs, the Squires swept the Floridians (with Game 2 even being broadcast on CBS), but the Squires lost to the New York Nets in the Division Finals.[1] After the season, the Squires stopped playing in Roanoke, electing to focus on Norfolk, Hampton, and Richmond only.

Roster

Final standings

Eastern Division

! Team !! W !! L !! % !! GB
68 16 .810
45 39 .536 23
44 40 .524 24
36 48 .429 32
35 49 .417 33
25 59 .298 43

Playoffs

Eastern Division Semifinals[2]

Game Date Location Score RecordAttendance
1 April 2 Norfolk (Virginia) 114–107 (OT) 1–0 3,770
2 April 4 Hampton (Virginia) 125–100 2–0 2,921
3 April 6Florida 118–113 3–0 2,965
4 April 8Florida 115–106 4–0 3,117
Squires win series, 4–0

Eastern Division Finals vs. New York Nets

Game Date Location Score RecordAttendance
1 April 13 Richmond (Virginia) 138–91 1–0 5,526
2 April 15 Norfolk (Virginia) 115–106 2–0 10,410
3 April 24New York 117–119 2–1 11,893
4 April 26New York 107–118 2–2 11,164
5 April 29Hampton (Virginia) 116–107 3–2 6,309
6 May 1New York 136–146 3–3 11,152
7 May 4Norfolk (Virginia) 88–94 3–4 10,410
Squires lose series, 4–3

Awards and honors

1972 ABA All-Star Game selections (game played on January 29, 1972)

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1971-72 Virginia Squires Schedule and Results.
  2. Web site: 1971–72 ABA Regular Season Standings . Remembertheaba.com . 2016-07-25 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141028055342/http://www.remembertheaba.com/PlayoffPages/1972Playoffs.html . 2014-10-28 .