The 1975–76 American Basketball Association season saw the Spirits of St. Louis, led by Marvin Barnes, Moses Malone, Ron Boone and Caldwell Jones, drop to sixth place in the ABA, with a record of 35–49.
On October 8, 1975, the Spirits for the first time faced their in-state rivals, the Kansas City Kings, in Columbia, Missouri.
Maurice Lucas' game-high 25 points led the Spirits past the San Diego Sails 101–85.
The next night, April 4, 1976, though unbeknownst to anyone at the time, the Spirits played their final home game, drawing 2,010 fans for a close overtime loss to the Kentucky Colonels, 106–105.
On April 6, 1976, the Spirits played the final game in the team's history, losing in Hampton Roads to the Virginia Squires, 120–116, before 2,448 fans.
[4][5] In another effort to be included in the ABA-NBA merger, the Silna brothers proposed selling the Spirits to a Utah group, buying the Kentucky Colonels franchise, and moving the Colonels to Buffalo to replace the Buffalo Braves, who were then planning to move to Hollywood, Florida.
[6] The Spirits were not included in the ABA-NBA merger, but the Silna brothers nonetheless managed to turn it into one of the greatest deals in the history of professional sports.
[7] The two Silna brothers each get 45% of that television revenue per year and their attorney during the merger negotiations, Donald Schupak, receives 10%.
Twelve players from the final two Spirits of St. Louis rosters (1974–76) played in the NBA during the 1976–77 season and beyond: Maurice Lucas, Ron Boone, Marvin Barnes, Caldwell Jones, Lonnie Shelton, Steve Green, Gus Gerard, Moses Malone Don Adams, Don Chaney, M. L. Carr and Freddie Lewis.