The 1973 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1972-1973 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers defeating the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels, four games to three in the ABA Finals.
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | ABA Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Utah Stars | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | San Diego Q's | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Utah Stars | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Indiana Pacers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Denver Rockets | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Indiana Pacers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Indiana Pacers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Kentucky Colonels | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Carolina Cougars | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | New York Nets | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Carolina Cougars | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Kentucky Colonels | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Virginia Squires | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Kentucky Colonels | 4 | ||||||||||||
Notable events
The teams with the three best records in the ABA that year failed to win the championship. The Carolina Cougars had the league's best record at 57-27 (.679), one game ahead of the Kentucky Colonels (56-28, .667) in the Eastern Division. The Utah Stars won the Western Division with a record of 55-29 (.655), four games ahead of the Indiana Pacers, who won the league championship after posting a regular season record of 51-33 (.607).[1]
The Pacers became the first team to win a third ABA championship.
The Colonels became the first team to lose two separate ABA championship series. The series also marked the second time in three years that the Colonels lost the ABA finals 4 games to 3; the same happened at the end of the 1971 ABA Playoffs against the Utah Stars.
Two years after the 1973 finals the Colonels and Pacers would meet again at the end of the 1975 ABA Playoffs with the Colonels winning the championship series.
The Pacers' George McGinnis was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs.
Western Division
Champion: Indiana Pacers
Division Semifinals
(1) Utah Stars vs. (4) San Diego Conquistadors: Stars win series 4-0
- Game 1 @ Utah: Utah 107, San Diego 93
- Game 2 @ Utah: Utah 103, San Diego 92
- Game 3 @ San Diego: Utah 97, San Diego 96
- Game 4 @ San Diego: Utah 120, San Diego 98
(2) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) Denver Rockets: Pacers win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Indiana: Indiana 114, Denver 91
- Game 2 @ Indiana: Indiana 106, Denver 93
- Game 3 @ Denver: Denver 105, Indiana 94
- Game 4 @ Denver: Indiana 97, Denver 95
- Game 5 @ Indiana: Indiana 121, Denver 107
Division Finals
(1) Utah Stars vs. (2) Indiana Pacers: Pacers win series 4-2
- Game 1 @ Utah: Utah 124, Indiana 107
- Game 2 @ Utah: Indiana 116, Utah 110
- Game 3 @ Indiana: Indiana 118, Utah 108
- Game 4 @ Indiana: Utah 104, Indiana 103
- Game 5 @ Utah: Indiana 104, Utah 102
- Game 6 @ Indiana: Indiana 107, Utah 98
Eastern Division
Champion: Kentucky Colonels
Division Semifinals
(1) Carolina Cougars vs. (4) New York Nets: Cougars win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Carolina: Carolina 104, New York 96
- Game 2 @ Carolina: New York 114, Carolina 111 (OT)
- Game 3 @ New York: Carolina 101, New York 91
- Game 4 @ New York: Carolina 112, New York 108
- Game 5 @ Carolina: Carolina 136, New York 113
(2) Kentucky Colonels vs. (3) Virginia Squires: Colonels win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 129, Virginia 101
- Game 2 @ Kentucky: Virginia 109, Kentucky 94
- Game 3 @ Virginia: Kentucky 115, Virginia 113 (OT)
- Game 4 @ Virginia: Kentucky 108, Virginia 90
- Game 5 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 114, Virginia 103
Division Finals
(1) Carolina Cougars vs. (2) Kentucky Colonels: Colonels win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ Carolina: Kentucky 113, Carolina 103
- Game 2 @ Carolina: Carolina 125, Kentucky 105
- Game 3 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 108, Carolina 94
- Game 4 @ Kentucky: Carolina 102, Kentucky 91
- Game 5 @ Carolina: Carolina 112, Kentucky 107
- Game 6 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 119, Carolina 100
- Game 7 @ Carolina: Kentucky 107, Carolina 96
ABA Finals
(2) Kentucky Colonels VS. (2) Indiana Pacers: Pacers win series 4-3
- Game 1 (Apr 28) @ Kentucky: Indiana 111, Kentucky 107 (OT)
- Game 2 (Apr 30) @ Kentucky: Kentucky 114, Indiana 102
- Game 3 (May 3) @ Indiana: Kentucky 92, Indiana 88
- Game 4 (May 5) @ Indiana: Indiana 90, Kentucky 86
- Game 5 (May 8) @ Kentucky: Indiana 89, Kentucky 86
- Game 6 (May 10) @ Indiana: Kentucky 109, Indiana 93
- Game 7 (May 12) @ Kentucky: Indiana 88, Kentucky 81