The 1975–76 Denver Nuggets season was Denver's ninth and final season in the American Basketball Association (ABA). At the conclusion of the season the team would join the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was led by an eventual hall of fame coach, Larry Brown.
| Player | School/Club Team |
|---|---|
| Bill Willoughby | Dwight Morrow H.S. Englewood NJ |
| Tom Kropp | Kearney State |
| Monte Towe | North Carolina State |
| Bob Fleischer | Duke University |
| Jim Moore | Utah State |
| Charles Russell | Alabama |
| Mike Odems | Western Kentucky |
| Owen Brown | Maryland |
| Marvin Webster | Morgan State |
| Team | Wins | Loses | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver Nuggets | 60 | 24 | .714 |
| New York Nets | 55 | 29 | .655 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 50 | 34 | .595 |
| Kentucky Colonels | 46 | 38 | .548 |
| Indiana Pacers | 39 | 45 | .464 |
| Spirits of St. Louis | 35 | 49 | .417 |
| San Diego Sails | 3 | 8 | .273 |
| Utah Stars | 4 | 12 | .250 |
| Virginia Squires | 15 | 68 | .181 |
Note: PG= per game; M= Minutes; R= Rebounds; A= Assists; S = Steals; B = Blocks; P = Points; T = Turnovers; PF = Personal fouls
| Player | Age | Games played | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TPG | PFPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Thompson | 21 | 83 | 37.4 | 6.3 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 26.0 |
| Ralph Simpson | 26 | 84 | 37.2 | 5.4 | 7.1 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 4.3 | 2.2 | 18.0 |
| Bobby Jones | 24 | 83 | 34.3 | 9.5 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 14.9 |
| Dan Issel | 27 | 84 | 34.0 | 11.0 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 23.0 |
| Chuck Williams | 29 | 79 | 32.0 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 11.0 |
| Gus Gerard | 22 | 60 | 19.8 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 9.9 |
| Byron Beck | 31 | 80 | 19.8 | 4.4 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 9.6 |
| Claude Terry | 26 | 79 | 17.1 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 7.1 |
| Jim Bradley | 23 | 7 | 15.3 | 4.3 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 3.7 | 4.6 |
| Marvin Webster | 23 | 38 | 10.5 | 4.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 4.3 |
| Monte Towe | 22 | 64 | 9.0 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
| Roger Brown | 25 | 37 | 7.9 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 2.0 |
| James Foster | 24 | 48 | 7.3 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 3.1 |
| George Irvine | 27 | 3 | 4.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.3[1] |
| Number | Player | Position | Height | Weight | Birth date | Experience (in years) | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Byron Beck | PF | 6-9 | 225 | January 25, 1945 | 8 | University of Denver |
| 10 | Jim Bradley | PF | 6-8 | 215 | March 16, 1952 | 2 | Northern Illinois University |
| 20 | Roger Brown | C | 6-11 | 225 | February 23, 1950 | 2 | University of Kansas |
| 15 | James Foster | PG | 6-1 | 175 | December 16, 1951 | 1 | University of Connecticut |
| 22 | Gus Gerard | SF | 6-8 | 200 | July 27, 1953 | 1 | University of Virginia |
| 30 | George Irvine | SF | 6-6 | 200 | February 1, 1948 | 5 | University of Washington |
| 25 | Dan Issel | C | 6-9 | 235 | October 25, 1948 | 5 | University of Kentucky |
| 24 | Bobby Jones | PF | 6-9 | 210 | December 18, 1951 | 1 | University of North Carolina |
| 44 | Ralph Simpson | SG | 6-5 | 200 | August 10, 1949 | 5 | Michigan State University |
| 21 | Claude Terry | SG | 6-4 | 195 | January 12, 1950 | 3 | Stanford University |
| 33 | David Thompson | SF | 6-4 | 195 | July 13, 1954 | R | North Carolina State University |
| 13 | Monte Towe | PG | 5-7 | 150 | September 27, 1953 | R | North Carolina State University |
| 10 | Marvin Webster | C | 7-1 | 225 | April 13, 1952 | R | Morgan State University |
| 11 | Chuck Williams | PG | 6-2 | 175 | June 6, 1946 | 5 | University of Colorado |
See main article: 1976 ABA Playoffs. Semifinals[2]
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | April 15 | Denver | 110–107 | 1–0 | 15,234 |
| 2 | April 17 | Denver | 110–138 | 1–1 | 16,384 |
| 3 | April 19 | Kentucky | 114–126 | 1–2 | 9,644 |
| 4 | April 21 | Kentucky | 108–106 | 2–2 | 11,444 |
| 5 | April 22 | Denver | 127–117 | 3–2 | 17,068 |
| 6 | April 25 | Kentucky | 119–115 | 3–3 | 6,312 |
| 7 | April 28 | Denver | 133–110 | 4–3 | 18,821 |
Nuggets win series, 4–3
ABA Finals[3]
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | May 1 | Denver | 118–120 | 0–1 | 19,034 |
| 2 | May 4 | Denver | 127–121 | 1–1 | 19,107 |
| 3 | May 6 | New York | 111–117 | 1–2 | 12,243 |
| 4 | May 8 | New York | 112–121 | 1–3 | 15,934 |
| 5 | May 11 | Denver | 118–110 | 2–3 | 18,881 |
| 6 | May 13 | New York | 106–112 | 2–4 | 15,934 |