1973–74 Denver Rockets season

The 1973–74 Denver Rockets season was the seventh season of the franchise and their last under their original Denver Rockets name. The Rockets ended up with a 37–47 record, which was tied for fourth in the Western Division, which necessitated a one-game playoff match at home versus the San Diego Conquistadors on March 29, 1974. Despite having the home-court advantage on display and the Rockets beating the Conquistadors throughout the majority of the regular season, the Rockets lost the game 131–111, which would have sent the Rockets up into the 1974 ABA Playoffs properly. Instead, it ended up becoming the second season in franchise history behind the 1970–71 season where the Rockets would miss the ABA Playoffs, which would also be the final season they'd miss the playoffs while using that particular team name. On August 7, 1974, in anticipation of a move to the National Basketball Association that already had a team christened the "Rockets" around in the NBA during the same season the Denver franchise was first created, the team was renamed as the Denver Nuggets, partially in tribute to the former original Denver Nuggets team of the same name that played in the National Basketball League and NBA before leaving the latter league in 1950 and renaming themselves as the Denver Refiners during their brief time in the short-lived National Professional Basketball League, which they still use to this day.

Interestingly, this year's ABA draft would involve four different types of drafts throughout the early 1973 year: a "Special Circumstances Draft" on January 15, a "Senior Draft" on April 25, an "Undergraduate Draft" also on April 25, and a "Supplemental Draft" on May 18. As such, the following selections were made in these respective drafts by the Rockets, which could be considered the last official drafts the Denver franchise would do in the ABA while using the Rockets name if you don't include them using that team name during the 1974 ABA draft period.

Due to the "Special Circumstances Draft" being held in January, this draft was the only draft where the Rockets held the #1 pick for that specific draft. Every other draft that was done later in the year had the San Diego Conquistadors selecting first in each draft instead.

The "Senior Draft" done in April is often considered the official, main draft period of the 1973 ABA draft by basketball historians.

The "Undergraduate Draft" is considered a continuation of the "Senior Draft" that was done earlier that same day, hence the numbering of the rounds and draft picks here.

Of the eight teams that participated in this specific draft, the Rockets would be the team to utilize the least amount of selections from this draft with three total selections here when most of the other teams would at least have eight overall selections in mind for this draft. That being said, none of the three players selected in the "Supplemental Draft" would ever play for Denver (either as the Rockets or as the future Nuggets) once this draft concluded in May.

• 1973-74 Denver Rockets Schedule and Results | Basketball-Reference.com

• Assist per game leader: Al Smith (8.1)
• Total assists: Al Smith (619)
• All-Defensive 1st team: Julius Keye
• All-Rookie Team: Mike Green
• All-Stars: Warren Jabali, Ralph Simpson,^[3]