1970–71 Utah Stars season

The 1970–71 Utah Stars season was the first season for the Stars in Utah. After one season in Anaheim and two seasons in Los Angeles, the team moved to Utah in June 1970. The Stars finished second in the Western Division and won their first and only ABA title. In the Semifinals, the Stars swept the Texas Chaparrals in four games. In the Division Finals, they beat the Indiana Pacers in seven games (including Game 7 in Indiana) to advance to the ABA Finals. In seven games, they beat the Kentucky Colonels, to give the state of Utah its first pro championship.

1970–71 Utah Stars season
Head coachBill Sharman
ArenaSalt Palace
Results
Record57–27 (.679)
PlaceDivision: 2nd
Playoff finishWon ABA Championship

Roster
  • 10 Mervin Jackson (Point guard, University of Utah)
  • 11 Dick Nemelka (Shooting guard, Brigham Young University)
  • 12 Mike Butler (Shooting guard, University of Memphis)
  • 14 Roderick McDonald (Power Forward, Whitworth)
  • 20 Donnie Freeman (Shooting guard, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign)
  • 21 Red Robbins (Power forward, University of Tennessee)
  • 22 Tom Workman (Forward/Center, Seattle University)
  • 23 Jeffrey Congdon (Point guard, Brigham Young University)
  • 24 Ron Boone (Shooting guard, Idaho State University)
  • 31 Zelmo Beaty (Center, Prairie View A&M University)
  • 33 George Stone (Small forward, Marshall University)
  • 35 Wayne Hightower (Power forward, University of Kansas)
  • 40 Glen Combs (Shooting guard, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University)
  • 42 Willie Wise (Small forward, Drake University)
  • 54 Sam Smith (Small forward, Kentucky Wesleyan College)

Bold indicates the player was on the final roster prior to the playoffs.

Season standings
TeamWLPCT.GB
Indiana Pacers5826.690
Utah Stars5727.6791
Memphis Pros4143.48817
Denver Rockets3054.35728
Texas Chaparrals3054.35728

Playoffs

Western Division Semifinals[1]

GameDateLocationScoreRecordAttendance
1April 2Utah125–1151–04,375
2April 3Utah137–1072–06,061
3April 4Texas113–1013–04,674
4April 6Texas128–1074–03,666

Stars win series, 4–0

Division Finals[1]

GameDateLocationScoreRecordAttendance
1April 12Indiana120–1181–07,734
2April 14Indiana107–1201–19,458
3April 17Utah121–1072–112,711
4April 20Utah126–993–112,761
5April 22Indiana109–1273–28,279
6April 24Utah102–1053–313,208
7April 28Indiana108–1014–311,202

Stars win series, 4–3

ABA Finals[1]

GameDateLocationScoreRecordAttendance
1May 3Utah136–1171–012,051
2May 5Utah138–1252–013,208
3May 7Kentucky110–1162–112,337
4April 8Kentucky125–129 (OT)2–29,863
5May 12Utah137–1273–213,260
6May 15Kentucky102–1053–311,793
7May 18Utah131–1214–313,260

Stars win series, 4–3

Zelmo Beaty scored 23.2 points per game and rebounded 14.6 rebounds per game, which earned him the Playoffs MVP.

Awards, records, and honors
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References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2016-07-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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