American Basketball Association

For the modern semi-professional league, see American Basketball Association (2000–present).

The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four ABA teams joining the National Basketball Association (NBA) and to the introduction of the 3-point shot in the NBA in 1979.

American Basketball Association (ABA)

Logo of the ABA
Sport	Basketball
Founded	1967
Ceased	1976 (merger)
No. of teams	11
Country	United States
Last champion(s)	New York Nets (2nd title)
Most titles	Indiana Pacers (3 titles)

League history

 

George McGinnis (Indiana Pacers) attempting a shot against the Kentucky Colonels, 1972–73

The ABA was conceived at a time stretching from 1960 through the mid-1970s when numerous upstart leagues were challenging, with varying degrees of success, the established major professional sports leagues in the United States. Basketball was seen as particularly vulnerable to a challenge; its major league, the National Basketball Association, was the youngest of the Big Four major leagues, having only played 21 seasons to that point, and was still fending off contemporary challenging leagues (it had been less than five years since the American Basketball League (ABL) shut down). According to one of the owners of the Indiana Pacers, its goal was to force a merger with the more established league. Potential investors were told that they could get an ABA team for half of what it cost to get an NBA expansion team at the time. When the merger occurred, ABA officials said their investment would more than double.^[1]

The ABA distinguished itself from its older counterpart with a more wide-open, flashy style of offensive play, as well as differences in rules — a 30-second shot clock (as opposed to the NBA's 24-second clock, though the ABA did switch to the 24 second shot clock for the 1975–76 season) and use of a three-point field goal arc, pioneered in the earlier ABL.^[2] Also, the ABA used a colorful red, white and blue ball, instead of the NBA's traditional orange ball. The ABA also had several "regional" franchises, such as the Virginia Squires and Carolina Cougars, that played "home" games in several cities.^[3]

The ABA also went after four of the best referees in the NBA: Earl Strom, John Vanak, Norm Drucker and Joe Gushue, getting them to "jump" leagues by offering them far more in money and benefits. In Earl Strom's memoir Calling the Shots, Strom conveys both the heady sense of being courted by a rival league with money to burn — and also the depression that set in the next year when he began refereeing in the ABA, with less prominent players performing in inadequate arenas, in front of very small crowds. Nevertheless, the emergence of the ABA boosted the salaries of referees just as it did the salaries of players.

The freewheeling style of the ABA eventually caught on with fans, but the lack of a national television contract and protracted financial losses would spell doom for the ABA as an independent circuit. In 1976, its last year of existence, the ABA pioneered the now-popular slam dunk contest at its all-star game in Denver.^[4]

 

Doug Moe of the Carolina Cougars, 1969–70

The league succeeded in forcing a merger with the NBA in the 1976 offseason. Four ABA teams were absorbed into the older league: the New York Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs. As part of the merger agreement, the four teams were not permitted to participate in the 1976 NBA Draft. The merger was particularly hard on the Nets; the New York Knicks were firmly established in their arena, Madison Square Garden, and would not permit the Nets to share dates there. For drawing audience away from the Knicks, the Nets were forced to pay $4.3M to the Knicks organization. The Nets offered league superstar Julius Erving instead but the Knicks declined. The Nets had to settle for an arena in Piscataway, New Jersey and, to meet expenses, were forced to sell the contract of Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Two other clubs, the Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits of St. Louis, were disbanded upon the merger, with each getting a buyout: the Colonels received a one-time buyout that owner John Y. Brown, Jr. used to purchase the NBA's Buffalo Braves, while the Spirits owners negotiated a cut of the other ABA teams' television revenues in perpetuity. This deal netted the ownership group of the Spirits over $300M through nearly four decades due to a large increase in television revenues. In 2014, the NBA and the Spirits ownership agreed to phase out future payments in exchange for a one-time payment of $500M, making the total value for the deal over $800M.^[5] The seventh remaining team, the Virginia Squires, received nothing, as they had ceased operations shortly before the merger. The players from the Colonels, Spirits, and Squires were made available to NBA teams through a dispersal draft; the four teams absorbed by the NBA were allowed to choose players from this draft.^{[citation needed]}

One of the more significant long-term contributions of the ABA to professional basketball was to tap into markets in the southeast that had been collegiate basketball hotbeds (including North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky). The NBA was focused on the urban areas of the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast. At the time, it showed no interest in placing a team south of Washington, D.C, other than the Atlanta metropolitan area where the NBA's Hawks franchise relocated from St. Louis in 1968.

Commissioners

• George Mikan 1967–1969
• James Carson Gardner 1969 (interim)^[6]
• Jack Dolph 1969–1972
• Bob Carlson 1972–1973
• Mike Storen 1973–74
• Tedd Munchak 1974–75
• Dave DeBusschere 1975–76

NBA great George Mikan was the first commissioner of the ABA, where he introduced both the 3-point line and the league's trademark red, white and blue basketball.^[7] Mikan resigned in 1969. Dave DeBusschere, one of the stars of the New York Knicks championship teams, moved from his job as Vice President and GM of the ABA's New York Nets in 1975 to become the last commissioner of the ABA and facilitate the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.^[8]

Spencer Haywood Hardship Rule

One of the primary contributions of the ABA to modern NBA was the introduction of the Spencer Haywood Hardship Rule, which would later become the framework for the current NBA draft eligibility system that allows players to declare for the NBA after being one year removed from their high school graduation.^[9] The origin of the Hardship Rule was a result of the NBA prohibiting players from joining the league until they had completed their four years of college eligibility.^[10][11] The ABA was a league that frequently made up rules on the fly and was willing to push the envelope and determine the implications of the rules later.^{[citation needed]}

In 1969, Spencer Haywood left the University of Detroit as a sophomore and signed with the Denver Rockets.^[12] The ABA believed that in extenuating circumstances, such as a financial situation or familial needs, players should be able to leave for professional leagues early.^[10] While the NBA and NCAA initially contested the rule, after the courts ruled in favor of Haywood playing in the ABA, the NBA followed suit and relaxed the four year rule to allow players to enter the league if they qualified as a hardship on the basis of “financial condition…family, [or] academic record.”^[13] Haywood paved the way for other players to enter the ABA before they had completed their collegiate careers such as George McGinnis and Julius Erving. Today, the one-and-done rule in the NBA can be traced back to the ABA's decision to allow players to leave college early and pursue a professional career before they had completed their collegiate careers.^[11]

Slam Dunk Contest

 

Julius Erving performing a slam dunk against the Spirits of St. Louis, 1974

The ABA pioneered the advent of the now popular NBA slam dunk contest at the final ABA All-Star Game in 1976.^[14] The game was held in Denver, and the owners of the ABA teams wanted to ensure that the event would be entertaining for the sellout crowd of 15,021 people.^[10][14] The ABA and NBA had begun to discuss a possible merger,^[15] and the ABA owners wanted to establish the viability and success of their league.^[10] The Dunk Contest operated as a means of unique halftime entertainment that displayed the style and excitement that the ABA players brought to the game. The dunk contest was held at halftime of the All-Star game and the contestants were Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, David Thompson, Larry Kenon, and Julius Erving.^[14] The winner of the contest received $1,000 and a stereo system.^[10] Julius Erving went on to win the competition by completing the now famous free throw line dunk. The Slam Dunk Contest would make its way to the NBA in 1976-77 as a season-long competition for that season only, and on a permanent basis as a standalone event as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend in 1984.

Teams

Of the original 11 teams, only the Kentucky Colonels and Indiana Pacers remained for all nine seasons without relocating, changing team names, or folding. However, the Denver Larks/Rockets/Nuggets, a team that had been planned for Kansas City, Missouri, moved to Denver without playing a game in Kansas City due to the lack of a suitable arena. In addition to the four surviving ABA teams, eight current NBA markets have ABA heritage: Utah, Dallas, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Memphis, Minnesota and Charlotte all had an ABA team before their current NBA teams.^[16]

Franchise	Cities/Names	Years	Fate
Anaheim Amigos Los Angeles Stars Utah Stars	Anaheim Amigos	1967–1968	Folded, 1975 NBA relocated New Orleans Jazz to Utah as Utah Jazz in 1979.
	Los Angeles Stars	1968–1970
	Utah Stars	1970–1976
Dallas Chaparrals Texas Chaparrals San Antonio Spurs	Dallas Chaparrals	1967–1970	Joined the NBA, 1976, as San Antonio Spurs NBA added a franchise in Dallas (Mavericks) in 1980.
	Texas Chaparrals	1970–1971
	Dallas Chaparrals	1971–1973
	San Antonio Spurs	1973–1976
Houston Mavericks Carolina Cougars Spirits of St. Louis	Houston Mavericks	1967–1969	Folded, 1976 (NBA buyout) NBA relocated San Diego Rockets to Houston as Houston Rockets in 1971. NBA added a franchise in Charlotte (Hornets) in 1988.
	Carolina Cougars	1969–1974
	Spirits of St. Louis	1974–1976
Indiana Pacers	Indiana Pacers	1967–1976	Joined NBA, 1976, as Indiana Pacers
Kansas City Denver Larks /Rockets /Nuggets	Kansas City (unnamed)	1967	Joined the NBA, 1976, as Denver Nuggets
	Denver Larks	1967
	Denver Rockets	1967–1974
	Denver Nuggets	1974–1976
Kentucky Colonels	Kentucky Colonels	1967–1976	Folded, 1976 (NBA buyout)
Minnesota Muskies Miami Floridians	Minnesota Muskies	1967–1968	Folded, 1972 NBA added a franchise in Miami (Heat) in 1988. NBA added a franchise in Minnesota (Timberwolves) in 1989.
	Miami Floridians	1968–1970
	Floridians	1970–1972
New Orleans /Louisiana Buccaneers Memphis Pros /Tams /Sounds Baltimore Hustlers /Claws	New Orleans Buccaneers	1967–1970	Folded, 1975 NBA relocated Charlotte Hornets to New Orleans as New Orleans Hornets (now New Orleans Pelicans) in 2002. NBA relocated Vancouver Grizzlies to Memphis as Memphis Grizzlies in 2001.
	Louisiana Buccaneers	1970
	Memphis Pros	1970–1972
	Memphis Tams	1972–1974
	Memphis Sounds	1974–1975
	Baltimore Hustlers	1975
	Baltimore Claws	1975
New York/New Jersey Americans New York Nets	New York Americans	1967	Joined NBA, 1976, with name changes to reflect move to New Jersey (1977) and currently Brooklyn Nets (2012).
	New Jersey Americans	1967–1968
	New York Nets	1968–1976
Oakland Americans/Oaks Washington Capitals Virginia Squires	Oakland Americans	1967	Folded, 1976 (prior to merger) NBA relocated San Francisco Warriors to Oakland as Golden State Warriors in 1971. NBA relocated Baltimore Bullets to Washington as Capital Bullets (now Washington Wizards) in 1973.
	Oakland Oaks	1967–1969
	Washington Capitals	1969–1970
	Virginia Squires	1970–1976
Pittsburgh Pipers /Pioneers /Condors Minnesota Pipers	Pittsburgh Pipers	1967–1968	Folded, 1972 NBA added a franchise in Minnesota (Timberwolves) in 1989.
	Minnesota Pipers	1968–1969
	Pittsburgh Pipers	1969–1970
	Pittsburgh Pioneers	1970
	Pittsburgh Condors	1970–1972
San Diego Conquistadors /Sails	San Diego Conquistadors	1972–1975	Folded, 1975 NBA operated in San Diego from 1967 to 1971 with the San Diego Rockets (now the Houston Rockets) and from 1978 to 1984 with the San Diego Clippers (now the Los Angeles Clippers).
	San Diego Sails	1975

Timeline

List of ABA championships

Main article: List of ABA champions

Year	Western Division finalist	Games	Eastern Division finalist	Playoffs MVP
1967–68	New Orleans Buccaneers	3–4	Pittsburgh Pipers	Connie Hawkins C, Pittsburgh
1968–69	Oakland Oaks	4–1	Indiana Pacers	Warren Jabali G, Oakland
1969–70	Los Angeles Stars	2–4	Indiana Pacers	Roger Brown F/G, Indiana
1970–71	Utah Stars	4–3	Kentucky Colonels	Zelmo Beaty C, Utah
1971–72	Indiana Pacers	4–2	New York Nets	Freddie Lewis G, Indiana
1972–73	Indiana Pacers	4–3	Kentucky Colonels	George McGinnis F/C, Indiana
1973–74	Utah Stars	1–4	New York Nets	Julius Erving F, New York
1974–75	Indiana Pacers	1–4	Kentucky Colonels	Artis Gilmore C, Kentucky

With the ABA cut down to seven teams by the middle of its final season, the league abandoned divisional play.

Year	Winner	Games	Runners-up	Playoffs MVP
1975–76	New York Nets	4–2	Denver Nuggets	Julius Erving F, New York

Prominent players

See also: ABA All-Time Team

• Marvin Barnes
• Rick Barry
• John Beasley
• Zelmo Beaty
• Ron Boone
• John Brisker
• Hubie Brown
• Larry Brown
• Roger Brown
• Don Buse
• Joe Caldwell
• Mack Calvin
• Larry Cannon
• Darel Carrier
• Jim Chones
• Glen Combs
• Billy Cunningham
• Louie Dampier
• Mel Daniels
• Julius Erving
• Donnie Freeman
• George Gervin
• Artis Gilmore
• Cliff Hagan
• Jerry Harkness
• Connie Hawkins
• Spencer Haywood
• Dan Issel
• Warren Jabali
• Stew Johnson
• Bobby Jones
• Caldwell Jones
• Jimmy Jones
• Larry Jones
• Larry Kenon
• Freddie Lewis
• Maurice Lucas
• Moses Malone
• George McGinnis
• Bill Melchionni
• Doug Moe
• Bob Netolicky
• Johnny Neumann
• Billy Paultz
• Cincy Powell
• Red Robbins
• Charlie Scott
• James Silas
• David Thompson
• George Thompson
• Fly Williams
• Willie Wise

Season leaders

*	Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Scoring leaders

 

Hall of Famer Rick Barry played for the ABA's Oakland Oaks

Season	Player	Team(s)	Games played	Points	PPG
1967–68	Connie Hawkins*	Pittsburgh Pipers	70	1875	26.8
1968–69	Rick Barry*	Oakland Oaks	35	1190	34.0
1969–70	Spencer Haywood*	Denver Rockets	84	2519	30.0
1970–71	Dan Issel*	Kentucky Colonels	83	2480	29.9
1971–72	Charlie Scott*	Virginia Squires	73	2524	34.6
1972–73	Julius Erving*	Virginia Squires	71	2268	31.9
1973–74	Julius Erving* (2)	New York Nets	84	2299	27.4
1974–75	George McGinnis*	Indiana Pacers	79	2353	29.8
1975–76	Julius Erving* (3)	New York Nets	84	2462	29.3

Rebounding leaders

Season	Player	Team(s)	Games played	Offensive rebounds	Defensive rebounds	Total rebounds	RPG
1967–68	Mel Daniels*	Minnesota Muskies	78	502	711	1213	15.6
1968–69	Mel Daniels* (2)	Indiana Pacers	76	383	873	1256	16.5
1969–70	Spencer Haywood*	Denver Rockets	84	533	1104	1637	19.5
1970–71	Mel Daniels* (3)	Indiana Pacers	82	394	1081	1475	18.0
1971–72	Artis Gilmore*	Kentucky Colonels	84	421	1070	1491	17.8
1972–73	Artis Gilmore* (2)	Kentucky Colonels	84	449	1027	1476	17.6
1973–74	Artis Gilmore* (3)	Kentucky Colonels	84	478	1060	1538	18.3
1974–75	Swen Nater	San Antonio Spurs	78	369	910	1279	16.4
1975–76	Artis Gilmore* (4)	Kentucky Colonels	84	402	901	1303	15.5

Assists leaders

Season	Player	Team(s)	Games played	Assists	APG
1967–68	Larry Brown*	New Orleans Buccaneers	78	506	6.5
1968–69	Larry Brown* (2)	Oakland Oaks	77	544	7.1
1969–70	Larry Brown* (3)	Washington Caps	82	580	7.1
1970–71	Bill Melchionni	New York Nets	81	672	8.3
1971–72	Bill Melchionni (2)	New York Nets	80	669	8.4
1972–73	Bill Melchionni (3)	New York Nets	61	453	7.4
1973–74	Al Smith	Denver Rockets	76	619	8.1
1974–75	Mack Calvin	Denver Nuggets	74	570	7.7
1975–76	Don Buse	Indiana Pacers	84	689	8.2

Steals leaders

Season	Player	Team(s)	Games played	Steals	SPG
1973–74	Ted McClain	Denver Rockets	84	250	2.98
1974–75	Brian Taylor	New York Nets	79	221	2.80
1975–76	Don Buse	Indiana Pacers	84	346	4.12

Blocks leaders

Season	Player	Team(s)	Games played	Blocks	BPG
1973–74	Caldwell Jones	San Diego Conquistadors	79	316	4.00
1974–75	Caldwell Jones (2)	San Diego Conquistadors	76	246	3.24
1975–76	Billy Paultz	San Antonio Spurs	83	253	3.05

Awards and broadcasters

 

Connie Hawkins of the Pittsburgh Pipers won the 1967–68 ABA MVP award

Main articles: List of American Basketball Association awards and honors and List of American Basketball Association broadcasters

Succession

In 1999, a new league calling itself the ABA 2000 was established. The new league uses a similar red, white and blue basketball as the old ABA, but unlike the original ABA, it does not feature players of similar caliber to the NBA, nor does it play games in major arenas or on television as the original ABA did.

See also

•  1960s portal

• ABA All-Star Game
• American Basketball Association (2000–present)
• List of defunct sports leagues
• Loose Balls, a 1990 book about the history of the ABA written by Terry Pluto
• Semi-Pro, a 2008 comedy film about the ABA starring Will Ferrell
• World Hockey Association, another league that intended to compete with its professional counterpart, the NHL, and eventually merged with that league
• American Football League, another league that intended to compete with its professional counterpart, the NFL, and eventually merged with that league

References

1. The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. Villard Books. 1994. p. 180. ISBN 0-679-43293-0.
2. The History of the 3-Pointer, USA Basketball, Ryan Wood, June 15, 2011.
3. "Atlanta WildCats - Pro Basketball, Aba Teams, Basketball". Atlanta WildCats ABA Pro Men's Basketball Team. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
4. Pluto, Terry (2007-11-06). Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-4061-8.
5. Burke, Monte. "The NBA Finally Puts An End To The Greatest Sports Deal Of All Time". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
6. Sports Encyclopedia
7. "ESPN Classic: Mikan was first pro to dominate the post". Retrieved 2007-12-04.
8. "Dave DeBusschere Bio". NBA.com. from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
9. "NBA Draft Rules". DraftSite.com. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
10. Pluto, Terry (2007). Loose balls : the short, wildlife of the American Basketball Association (1st ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. ISBN 978-1416540618. OCLC 153578380.
11. Rhoden, William C. (2016-06-29). "Early Entry? One and Done? Thank Spencer Haywood for the Privilege". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
12. "Spencer Haywood: Denver's greatest forgotten star". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
13. Larry Schwartz (November 19, 2003). "NBA modifies "four-year rule" for hardship". ESPN Classic. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
14. "The One That Started It All". www.nba.com. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
15. "The ABA is long gone, but it remains the soul of the NBA". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
16. Official ABA Guides, 1967–1976.

External links