Last Updated on November 24, 2025 by Mat Diekhake
League Search Page > NBA > Denver Nuggets > Roster & Statistics
Here is the Denver Rockets (1971–72 ABA Season) roster and regular season player statistics. The team continued to be known as the Denver Rockets during this season (they became the Nuggets in 1974).
Team: Denver Rockets (1971–72 ABA Season)
Roster
| No. | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | Birth Date | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Byron Beck | C/F | 6-9 | 225 | Jan 25, 1945 | Denver |
| 12 | Ralph Simpson | G | 6-5 | 200 | Aug 10, 1949 | Michigan State |
| 13 | Al Smith | G | 6-1 | 170 | Jan 15, 1947 | Bradley |
| 14 | Warren Jabali | G | 6-2 | 200 | Aug 29, 1946 | Wichita State |
| 15 | Willie Long | F | 6-7 | 210 | Mar 1, 1950 | New Mexico |
| 20 | Art Becker | F | 6-7 | 215 | Jan 12, 1942 | Arizona State |
| 21 | Marvin Roberts | F | 6-6 | 200 | Jan 29, 1950 | Utah State |
| 22 | Cliff Meely | F | 6-8 | 215 | Jul 10, 1947 | Colorado |
| 23 | Greg Wittman | F | 6-8 | 210 | May 10, 1947 | Western Carolina |
| 24 | Rich Johnson | F | 6-7 | 215 | Dec 18, 1946 | Grambling |
| 25 | Ron Franz | F | 6-7 | 200 | Oct 20, 1945 | Kansas |
1971-72 Regular Season Per Game
| Player Name | Pos | Age | G | GS | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Simpson | SG | 22 | 84 | 84 | 35.8 | 27.4 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.2 | 23.8 | .460 | 0.3 | .136 | 6.8 | .805 |
| Julius Keye | PF | 25 | 84 | 84 | 30.4 | 5.9 | 11.7 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 5.7 | .403 | 0.0 | .000 | 2.1 | .621 |
| Dave Robisch | C | 22 | 84 | 84 | 28.8 | 15.5 | 9.6 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 13.5 | .444 | 0.1 | .000 | 5.0 | .702 |
| Byron Beck | C | 27 | 66 | 66 | 27.5 | 12.3 | 8.0 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 10.1 | .504 | 0.0 | .000 | 2.5 | .843 |
| Larry Brown | PG | 31 | 76 | 76 | 26.5 | 9.1 | 2.2 | 7.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2.9 | 7.3 | .437 | 0.3 | .200 | 3.2 | .811 |
| Art Becker | PF | 30 | 84 | 84 | 26.1 | 12.3 | 5.6 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 11.4 | .456 | 0.0 | .000 | 2.3 | .846 |
| Al Smith | PG | 25 | 83 | 83 | 21.3 | 9.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 8.1 | .433 | 1.3 | .299 | 2.5 | .725 |
| Frank Card | SF | 27 | 73 | 73 | 19.8 | 7.7 | 4.5 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 6.8 | .455 | 0.0 | .000 | 2.4 | .651 |
| Chuck Williams | PG | 25 | 84 | 84 | 18.8 | 8.7 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 6.9 | .451 | 0.0 | .000 | 3.3 | .745 |
| Julian Hammond | SF | 28 | 25 | 25 | 16.4 | 6.5 | 4.6 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 5.6 | .471 | 0.0 | — | 2.0 | .620 |
| Marv Roberts | SF | 22 | 68 | 68 | 15.4 | 7.7 | 4.3 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 7.8 | .407 | 0.1 | .250 | 1.8 | .717 |
| Dwight Waller | — | 26 | 2 | 2 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | .500 | 0.0 | — | 0.0 | — |
| Steve Mix | — | 24 | 1 | 1 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.000 | 0.0 | — | 0.0 | — |
| Steve Wilson | SG | 23 | 9 | 9 | 4.0 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.6 | .217 | 0.2 | .000 | 0.8 | .571 |
| Team Totals | — | — | 84 | — | 241.8 | 111.9 | 53.3 | 23.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 17.3 | 98.2 | .449 | 2.1 | .230 | 31.0 | .751 |
1971-72 Playoff Per Game
| Player Name | Pos | Age | G | GS | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julius Keye | PF | 25 | 7 | 7 | 43.1 | 8.1 | 16.1 | 2.9 | — | — | 1.4 | 8.4 | .458 | 0.0 | — | 1.1 | .375 |
| Ralph Simpson | SG | 22 | 7 | 7 | 41.6 | 26.7 | 4.4 | 3.4 | — | — | 2.6 | 23.1 | .432 | 0.3 | .000 | 8.1 | .825 |
| Dave Robisch | C | 22 | 7 | 7 | 41.1 | 19.6 | 14.1 | 2.1 | — | — | 2.1 | 19.7 | .362 | 0.0 | — | 7.4 | .712 |
| Byron Beck | C | 27 | 7 | 7 | 37.7 | 19.9 | 10.3 | 2.0 | — | — | 2.1 | 16.4 | .487 | 0.6 | .250 | 4.0 | .929 |
| Larry Brown | PG | 31 | 7 | 7 | 30.1 | 9.3 | 1.4 | 5.1 | — | — | 2.0 | 7.1 | .420 | 0.4 | .000 | 3.4 | .958 |
| Chuck Williams | PG | 25 | 7 | 7 | 15.4 | 6.4 | 2.7 | 0.9 | — | — | 0.9 | 6.0 | .429 | 0.0 | — | 1.7 | .750 |
| Al Smith | PG | 25 | 7 | 7 | 14.1 | 4.3 | 2.6 | 1.0 | — | — | 1.0 | 3.9 | .444 | 0.4 | .667 | 0.7 | .800 |
| Art Becker | PF | 30 | 7 | 7 | 13.4 | 4.9 | 1.7 | 0.6 | — | — | 1.0 | 4.4 | .452 | 0.1 | .000 | 1.3 | .667 |
| Frank Card | SF | 27 | 4 | 4 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 0.8 | — | — | 0.3 | 2.0 | .500 | 0.0 | — | 0.3 | .000 |
| Marv Roberts | SF | 22 | 3 | 3 | 6.7 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | — | — | 0.7 | 2.3 | .286 | 0.3 | .000 | 0.7 | 1.000 |
| Team Totals | — | — | 7 | — | 243.6 | 101.1 | 54.7 | 18.4 | — | — | 13.6 | 91.3 | .429 | 2.0 | .214 | 28.3 | .793 |
1971-72 Regular Season Totals
| Player | Pos | Age | GP | GS | Min | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FGA | FGM | 3PA | 3PM | FTA | FTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Simpson | SG | 22 | 84 | 84 | 3006 | 2300 | 398 | 258 | 171 | 227 | 266 | 2000 | 920 | 22 | 3 | 568 | 457 |
| Julius Keye | PF | 25 | 84 | 84 | 2557 | 492 | 982 | 153 | 315 | 667 | 139 | 476 | 192 | 2 | 0 | 174 | 108 |
| Dave Robisch | C | 22 | 84 | 84 | 2420 | 1304 | 804 | 201 | 287 | 517 | 113 | 1138 | 505 | 5 | 0 | 419 | 294 |
| Art Becker | PF | 30 | 84 | 84 | 2193 | 1035 | 471 | 113 | 167 | 304 | 132 | 954 | 435 | 3 | 0 | 195 | 165 |
| Larry Brown | PG | 31 | 76 | 76 | 2012 | 689 | 166 | 549 | 53 | 113 | 217 | 556 | 243 | 25 | 5 | 244 | 198 |
| Byron Beck | C | 27 | 66 | 66 | 1816 | 814 | 528 | 136 | 171 | 357 | 96 | 669 | 337 | 3 | 0 | 166 | 140 |
| Al Smith | PG | 25 | 83 | 83 | 1764 | 769 | 226 | 249 | 85 | 141 | 163 | 675 | 292 | 107 | 32 | 211 | 153 |
| Chuck Williams | PG | 25 | 84 | 84 | 1580 | 731 | 157 | 160 | 62 | 95 | 98 | 583 | 263 | 4 | 0 | 275 | 205 |
| Frank Card | SF | 27 | 73 | 73 | 1443 | 562 | 330 | 79 | 141 | 189 | 115 | 495 | 225 | 1 | 0 | 172 | 112 |
| Marv Roberts | SF | 22 | 68 | 68 | 1047 | 521 | 294 | 61 | 121 | 173 | 77 | 533 | 217 | 4 | 1 | 120 | 86 |
| Julian Hammond | SF | 28 | 25 | 25 | 411 | 163 | 115 | 29 | 48 | 67 | 30 | 140 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 31 |
| Steve Wilson | SG | 23 | 9 | 9 | 36 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 4 |
| Dwight Waller | — | 26 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Mix | — | 24 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | — | — | 84 | — | 20299 | 9400 | 4481 | 1995 | 1626 | 2855 | 1450 | 8247 | 3703 | 178 | 41 | 2601 | 1953 |
1971-72 Playoff Totals
| Player | Pos | Age | GP | GS | Min | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FGA | FGM | 3PA | 3PM | FTA | FTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julius Keye | PF | 25 | 7 | 7 | 302 | 57 | 113 | 20 | 10 | 30 | 59 | 59 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| Ralph Simpson | SG | 22 | 7 | 7 | 291 | 187 | 31 | 24 | 18 | 21 | 162 | 162 | 70 | 2 | 0 | 57 | 47 |
| Dave Robisch | C | 22 | 7 | 7 | 288 | 137 | 99 | 15 | 15 | 25 | 138 | 138 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 37 |
| Byron Beck | C | 27 | 7 | 7 | 264 | 139 | 72 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 115 | 115 | 56 | 4 | 1 | 28 | 26 |
| Larry Brown | PG | 31 | 7 | 7 | 211 | 65 | 10 | 36 | 14 | 25 | 50 | 50 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 23 |
| Chuck Williams | PG | 25 | 7 | 7 | 108 | 45 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 42 | 42 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 9 |
| Al Smith | PG | 25 | 7 | 7 | 99 | 30 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 27 | 27 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Art Becker | PF | 30 | 7 | 7 | 94 | 34 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 31 | 31 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 6 |
| Frank Card | SF | 27 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Marv Roberts | SF | 22 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Team Totals | — | — | 7 | — | 1705 | 708 | 383 | 129 | 95 | 187 | 639 | 639 | 274 | 14 | 3 | 198 | 157 |
Team Impact Index
| Player Name | Role Tier | MPG | Usage Tier | PPG | RPG | APG | STK (SPG + BPG) | Impact Index* | Notes | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Simpson | Primary Scorer / Offensive Engine | 35.8 | Very High | 27.4 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 3.2 + 2.9 = 6.1 | 20.55 | Simpson was the Rockets’ go-to scorer in 1972–73, leading the team in points. Known as a streak shooter and prolific scorer. | 2nd‑Team All‑ABA ’72–’73, 5× ABA All-Star (per team page) |
| Julius Keye | Defensive Anchor / Rebounder | 30.4 | Low | 5.9 | 11.7 | 1.8 | 1.7 + 4.1 = 5.8 | 12.65 | Keye anchored the Rockets’ interior defense, grabbing 11.7 boards per game. He was a major shot‑blocking presence. | ABA All-Defensive 1st Team ’72–’73 |
| Dave Robisch | Two‑Big Frontcourt Partner | 28.8 | Medium | 15.5 | 9.6 | 2.4 | 1.3 + 3.0 = 4.3 | 15.90 | Robisch provided reliable scoring in the post and strong rebounding. A solid two-way big who complemented Keye. | — |
| Byron Beck | Veteran Role Big / Energy Big | 27.5 | Medium‑Low | 12.3 | 8.0 | 2.1 | 1.5 + 3.2 = 4.7 | 13.55 | Beck was a long-tenured Rocket known for his tenacious rebounding and efficient inside game, adding veteran leadership. | — |
| Larry Brown | Lead Playmaker / Floor General | 26.5 | High | 9.1 | 2.2 | 7.2 | 2.9 + 2.7 = 5.6 | 12.50 | Brown ran the offense, distributing the ball and keeping tempo. Known for his high basketball IQ as a floor general. | — |
| Art Becker | Stretch Forward / Secondary Scorer | 26.1 | Medium | 12.3 | 5.6 | 1.3 | 1.6 + 3.2 = 4.8 | 11.80 | Becker provided scoring from the forward spot, often with a face-up game, helping space the floor. | ABA All-Star appearance (per team page) |
| Al Smith | Backup PG / Secondary Facilitator | 21.3 | Medium | 9.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.0 + 2.9 = 4.9 | 9.95 | Smith came off the bench to help run the offense, provide playmaking, and relieve Brown. | — |
| Frank Card | Role Wing / Energy Contributor | 19.8 | Low | 7.7 | 4.5 | 1.1 | 1.6 + 2.8 = 4.4 | 9.85 | Card brought hustle, rebounding, and secondary scoring in his minutes as a forward/wing. | — |
| Chuck Williams | Backup PG / Change‑of-Pace Guard | 18.8 | Low | 8.7 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.2 + 1.7 = 2.9 | 7.25 | Williams offered a different look at the point when Brown rested, giving energy and some scoring. | — |
| Julian Hammond | Deep Rotation Wing | 16.4 | Very Low | 6.5 | 4.6 | 1.2 | 1.2 + 1.2 = 2.4 | 7.35 | Hammond played limited minutes but contributed as a wing option off the bench. | — |
| Marv Roberts | Role Forward / Hustle Player | 15.4 | Very Low | 7.7 | 4.3 | 0.9 | 1.1 + 2.2 = 3.3 | 7.10 | Roberts offered hustle, rebounding, and rotation depth at forward. | — |
| Dwight Waller | Deep Bench Reserve | 5.0 | Very Low | 2.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 + 1.5 = 2.0 | 3.00 | Waller saw very limited action, mostly as a deep reserve in mop-up situations. | — |
| Steve Mix | Very Limited Role / Spot Minutes | 4.0 | Very Low | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 + 1.0 = 1.0 | 2.00 | Mix played just a game or two; his contribution was minimal in this season. | — |
| Steve Wilson | Deep Reserve Guard | 4.0 | Very Low | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 + 1.0 = 1.3 | 1.85 | Wilson had very few minutes, serving as a deep bench guard and seldom impacting games. | — |
*Impact Index = (PPG + RPG + APG + STK) ÷ 2