Most Valuable Player The Most Valuable Player (MVP) was an annual award first awarded in the . Every player who has won the award has played for a team with at least 45 regular-season wins. The inaugural award winner was
Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins. Hall of Famer
Julius Erving won the award three times, all with the
New York Nets.
Mel Daniels won it twice with the
Indiana Pacers. Erving and
George McGinnis were joint winners in the . Seven of the award winners were capable of playing
forward, while six were capable of playing
center. Two rookies have won the award:
Spencer Haywood in the and
Artis Gilmore in the . With the announcement of McGinnis as a member of the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2017, every ABA MVP has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Rookie of the Year The Rookie of the Year Award was an annual award first awarded in the , to the top
rookie(s) of the regular season. The inaugural award winner was
Mel Daniels, who also won two MVP awards during his ABA career. Two of the Rookie of the Year winners have won the MVP award in the same season:
Spencer Haywood in the and
Artis Gilmore in the . Two Rookie of the Year winners have been elected to the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Rookie of the Year
Dan Issel and Rookie of the Year
David Thompson. Issel and
Charlie Scott were joint winners in the .
Coach of the Year The Coach of the Year was an annual award first awarded in the , to the best
head coach(es) of the regular season. The inaugural award winner was
Vince Cazzetta, who coached the
Pittsburgh Pipers to an ABA championship.
Oakland Oaks coach
Alex Hannum won the award the season after, and also coached his team to an ABA championship.
Larry Brown won the award three times, and is the only coach to have won the award multiple times. Two seasons had joint winners—
Joe Belmont and
Bill Sharman in the as well as
Joe Mullaney and
Babe McCarthy in the . Hannum, Sharman and Brown are the only recipients to have been inducted to the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Every head coach won the award without a losing record.
Playoffs MVP The Playoffs Most Valuable Player Award was an annual award given in the ABA Playoffs. The award was first awarded in the
1968 ABA Playoffs, and was retired as part of the
ABA–NBA merger. The inaugural award winner was
Pittsburgh Pipers' player
Connie Hawkins. On all occasions, the player who won the Playoffs MVP award was from the team that won the
ABA championship.
Julius Erving, who led the
New York Nets to two ABA championships in
1974 and
1976, is the only player to win the award twice.
All-Star Game MVP The All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) was an annual award given to the best player of the annual All-Star Game. The award was established in the
1968 All-Star Game, and was retired as part of the ABA—NBA merger. The first recipient of the award was
Larry Brown, who scored 17 points in a losing cause. Brown and
1971 winner
Mel Daniels are the only players to win the award while being on the losing team in the All-Star Game. Three rookies have won the award: Brown,
Spencer Haywood in the
1970 All-Star Game and
David Thompson in the
1976 All-Star Game. From 1968 to
1975, the game has matched the best players in the Eastern Division with the best players in the Western Division. The West has won five All-Star Game MVP awards, while the East won three. In the
1976 All-Star Game, the teams were the
Denver Nuggets and the All-Stars. Denver won that All-Star Game, with Thompson as MVP.
Executive of the Year • Denotes the year in which joint winners were named for the respective award ==Honors==