1968–69 Denver Rockets season

1968–69 Denver Rockets season
Head coach	Bob Bass
Arena	Denver Auditorium Arena
Results
Record	44–34 (.564)
Place	Division: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	ABA Western Division Semi-finals (lost to Oaks 3–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference

The 1968–69 ABA season was the second season of the Denver Nuggets. They ended their season with one less win compared to last season, but ended up in the playoffs once again. Out of the 11 ABA teams that season the Rockets were ranked second in offensive rating.

Roster

1968–69 Denver Rockets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 40 Byron Beck 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) January 25, 1945 Denver C 52 Larry Bunce 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) July 29, 1945 Utah State PG 14 Jeffrey Congdon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) October 17, 1943 BYU SF 12 John Fairchild 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) April 28, 1943 BYU SF 22 Julian Hammond 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) May 27, 1943 Tulsa PF 54 Wayne Hightower 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 192 lb (87 kg) January 14, 1940 Kansas PG 32 Larry Jones 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) September 22, 1942 Toledo C 24 Bill McGill 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) September 16, 1939 Utah F 50 Charles Parks 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1946 Idaho State PF 34 Walter Piatkowski 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) June 11, 1945 Bowling Green SG 44 Willie Rogers 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) September 11, 1945 Oklahoma PG 10 Grant Simmons 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) March 7, 1943 Nebraska SG 12 Levern Tart 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) June 1, 1942 Bradley SG 11 Bob Verga 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) September 7, 1945 Duke SF 30 Ken Wilburn 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) June 8, 1944 Central State SG 42 Lonnie Wright 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) January 23, 1944 Colorado State

Head coach Bob Bass Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Season standings

Eastern Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Indiana Pacers	44	34	.564	-
Miami Floridians	43	35	.551	1
Kentucky Colonels	42	36	.538	2
Minnesota Pipers	36	42	.462	8
New York Nets	17	61	.218	27

Western Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Oakland Oaks	60	18	.769	-
New Orleans Buccaneers	46	32	.590	14
Denver Rockets	44	34	.564	16
Dallas Chaparrals	41	37	.526	19
Los Angeles Stars	33	45	.423	27
Houston Mavericks	23	55	.295	37[1]

Game log

• 1968-69 Denver Rockets Schedule and Results | Basketball-Reference.com

Statistics

Rk	Player	Age	G	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Larry Jones	26	75	40.6	10.1	21.7	.465	0.3	1.3	.240	9.8	20.4	.480	7.9	10.1	.778	2.2	4.4	6.6	3.4	2.9	3.6	28.4
2	Lonnie Wright	25	69	36.8	6.6	15.8	.416	0.3	1.2	.221	6.3	14.5	.433	3.0	4.0	.743	0.7	3.5	4.2	2.5	2.3	3.6	16.4
3	Wayne Hightower	29	67	34.6	4.6	11.4	.408	0.0	0.0	.000	4.6	11.3	.409	4.6	6.4	.730	2.3	7.3	9.6	3.0	2.6	3.6	13.9
4	Byron Beck	24	71	32.2	6.0	11.9	.502	0.0	0.0	.667	5.9	11.8	.501	2.6	3.4	.765	3.8	7.1	11.0	1.1	1.3	3.5	14.5
5	Julian Hammond	25	78	29.9	4.2	7.7	.547	0.0	0.0		4.2	7.7	.547	2.1	3.2	.652	3.4	4.3	7.7	1.6	1.9	2.7	10.6
6	Bob Verga	23	6	25.0	4.0	12.8	.312	0.2	0.5	.333	3.8	12.3	.311	3.0	4.7	.643	1.7	1.8	3.5	1.8	4.2	2.7	11.2
7	Walter Piatkowski	23	77	23.6	5.2	12.4	.417	0.4	1.1	.329	4.8	11.4	.426	1.5	2.0	.775	1.9	2.8	4.7	0.6	1.3	2.9	12.2
8	Bill McGill	29	78	22.6	5.3	9.6	.552	0.0	0.0		5.3	9.6	.552	2.3	3.4	.682	1.9	4.0	5.9	1.3	1.9	3.7	12.8
9	Levern Tart	26	20	17.3	2.8	8.0	.352	0.0	0.1	.000	2.8	7.9	.357	2.1	2.8	.750	1.3	1.3	2.6	2.2	2.1	2.0	7.7
10	Jeffrey Congdon	25	59	16.6	1.8	4.7	.386	0.1	0.5	.161	1.7	4.2	.415	1.2	1.4	.812	0.2	1.3	1.6	2.3	1.6	1.8	4.9
11	Grant Simmons	25	17	14.8	1.3	3.5	.373	0.1	0.1	.500	1.2	3.4	.368	1.2	1.7	.690	0.4	1.2	1.5	0.9	1.0	2.5	3.8
12	John Fairchild	25	11	12.3	1.1	3.1	.353	0.0	0.0		1.1	3.1	.353	1.5	2.2	.667	0.6	1.0	1.6	0.8	1.4	0.7	3.6
13	Ken Wilburn	24	37	11.1	1.9	4.9	.398	0.0	0.0		1.9	4.9	.398	0.8	1.5	.526	2.2	2.6	4.8	0.6	1.0	1.5	4.7
14	Larry Bunce	23	23	9.8	1.0	2.6	.373	0.0	0.0		1.0	2.6	.373	2.1	3.0	.700	0.7	1.8	2.5	0.1	0.9	1.9	4.0
15	Willie Rogers	23	40	7.4	0.7	2.0	.338	0.0	0.1	.000	0.7	1.9	.351	0.8	1.3	.596	0.4	0.8	1.2	0.4	0.8	1.3	2.1
16	Charles Parks		2	2.5	0.0	0.5	.000	0.0	0.0		0.0	0.5	.000	0.0	0.0		0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0

Playoffs

Western Division Semi-finals^[2]

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	April 5	Oakland	99–129	0–1	2,358
2	April 6	Oakland	122–119	1–1	1,580
3	April 8	Denver	99–121	1–2	5,062
4	April 10	Denver	109–108	2–2	5,431
5	April 12	Oakland	118–128	2–3	3,156
6	April 13	Denver	126–115	3–3	6,481
7	April 16	Oakland	102-115	3–4	5,123

Awards and records

• ABA All-Stars: Larry Jones, Byron Beck, Wayne Hightower^[3]
• ABA All-League Team: Larry Jones^[4]
• League-leading scorer: Larry Jones^[5]

Transactions

References

1. 1968-69 ABA Season Summary | Basketball-Reference.com
2. "Remember the ABA: 1968-69 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results". Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
3. basketball-reference.com. "1968 ABA All-Star Game". Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved July 13, 2008.
4. Remember the ABA: Year-to-Year Postseason Awards Archived December 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
5. 1968-69 Denver Rockets Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com