Basketball Wiki
Register
Don't have an account?
Sign In
Advertisement
in: Basketball leagues

American Basketball Association (2000 - present)

View source

The American Basketball Association (ABA) is a professional men's basketball league that was founded in 1999. The current ABA has no affiliation with the original American Basketball Association that merged with the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976.

History

The current ABA was started up by Joe Newman and Dick Tinkham, who was an executive with the Indiana Pacers when they were in the original ABA. They licensed the ABA name from the NBA.[1]

2000–2003

See also: 2000-01 ABA season.
See also: 2001-02 ABA season.

The league first began play in 2000 with eight teams. During this time, the league focused mainly on teams in larger cities. The league suspended operations during the 2002-2003 season for reorganization. After returning one season to help rebuild, league focus was changed, from a few teams in large cities to many teams in large and medium cities, set up in regional groups. This was due in part to lowering the franchise fees down to $10,000 from $50,000 and not requiring a bond to start a team. This allowed many cities to have teams that otherwise wouldn't and cut costs for operating a team. However, many unprepared and under-financed ownership groups would become owners. The result is that each season, many new teams would be created, but many of them would cease operations during the season.

2004–2006

See also: 2004-05 ABA season.
See also: 2005-06 ABA season.

The 2004-2005 season was the first under this new format, with 37 teams playing that season. Each season, the number of teams grew, with both successful teams and teams that didn't complete the season. The ABA had over 50 teams playing in a season. Some stories of successful expansion franchises were the Arkansas RimRockers in 2004 and the Rochester Razorsharks in 2005. Both won an ABA title in the team's inaugural season.

2006–2007

See also: 2006-07 ABA season.

The 2006-2007 season saw the cost for a new expansion franchise raised to $20,000,[2] but many still sold for $5,000 - $10,000 and less, in some cases going as low as $1.[3][4] One notable 2006-2007 expansion franchise was the Vermont Frost Heaves, owned by Sports Illustrated writer Alexander Wolff. Also in 2006-2007, former NBA player John Salley was named league commissioner, and Maryland Nighthawks owner Tom Doyle was named chief operating officer.

Following the league's first public offering in 2006, it was reported that Joe Newman was voted out of his position as league CEO.[5] A form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in February 2007 claimed the ABA Board of Directors removed Newman as league CEO on January 31, 2007. It went on to state that Newman's actions as league CEO would be reviewed to ensure that they were performed with the Board's permission.[6] The same filing also claimed that Newman and other shareholders plotted to remove Tom Doyle, John Salley, and David Howitt from the Board and elect Paul Riley as its director. Newman denied his removal ever occurred, and continued as acting CEO.[7] The lawsuits were settled in March 2007 with Doyle's and Salley's resignations from the league Board of Directors.

The 2006-2007 season saw many franchises fail to travel to road games or play a full schedule. When a weather problem required a postponement of a playoff game between the defending champion Rochester Razorsharks and the Wilmington Sea Dawgs, instead of letting the two teams reschedule, the league wanted to force Rochester to forfeit. Rochester instead withdrew from the league.[8] This incident, coupled with the CEO v. COO intrigue, caused to some league owners to become frustrated with the instability of the league and separate to form the Premier Basketball League (PBL).

2007–2009

See also: 2007-08 ABA season.
See also: 2008-09 ABA season.


The 2007-2008 season saw nearly twenty teams fold within its first five weeks, and several remaining teams left the ABA to join other existing leagues. According to Our Sports Central, only around 35% of the games were actually played in the 2007-08 season. The teams that played the highest percentage of games were Vermont, the Manchester (NH) Millrats, and the Quebec Kebs. Those three teams would leave to the PBL at the conclusion of the season.[9][10] Another team that only played home games was Beijing Aoshen Olympic. This team was kicked out of the Chinese Basketball League and played home games in Singapore. Beijing would pay $3000 and fly teams to Singapore for a 2-game homestand. Early teams complained on Our Sports Central that they were forced to stay in a hotel that doubled as a brothel. Joe Newman CEO forced Beijing to find a new hotel on hearing this news. Later teams stayed in a Holiday Inn.

The league's most successful franchise by attendance, the Halifax Rainmen, left the ABA, citing frustration with teams not showing up for games, as well as a biased ranking system. Numerous sportswriters essentially referred to the ABA as a joke, and not to be taken seriously.[11]

The 2008-2009 season saw the league conduct interleague play with the Continental Basketball Association.

2009–2010

See also: 2009-10 ABA season.

The 2009-2010 season was scheduled to have over 50 teams. The season ended with several teams folding, starting in early December, including the entire northwest division. The league playoffs also had several games cancelled due to teams unable to afford travel, including a semi-final playoff game.[12] The playoffs ended with Southeast Texas Mustangs defeating Kentucky Bisons in a three game series.

On April 25, 2010 as part of their ABA Global initiative, the ABA hosted the 2010 ABA Friendship Games, where the Philippine National Basketball Team competed against teams from the ABA.[13]

2010–2011

See also: 2010-11 ABA season.

The 2010-2011 season is expected to field over 60 teams. It was also announced that a new Canadian Division would be formed in 2010. A team based out of Toronto will join the ABA prior to a formation of the Canadian Division when more Canadian teams have been formed.[14] In the summer the league announced the first Haitian pro-basketball team, the Haitian Relief, based in South Florida.[15] If all goes smoothly, the league is planning to host over 800 games combined amongst the teams.[16]

Current teams

For regular season standings of past ABA seasons, see American Basketball Association (2000–) standings.

North Central Division

Team Location Arena (Capacity)
Chicago Steam South Holland, Illinois South Suburban College Fieldhouse
Detroit Hoops Detroit, Michigan Detroit Edison Public School Academy
Elkhart Express Elkhart, Indiana North Side Gymnasium
Gem City Hall O' Famers Dayton, Ohio Dayton Convention Center
Indianapolis Drive Indianapolis, Indiana Imagine Indiana Life Sciences Academy West
Kansas City Stars Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Auditorium
Lake Michigan Admirals Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Michigan Benton Harbor High School & Lake Michigan Catholic High School
Pittsburgh Phantoms Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Langley High School

South Central Division

Team Location Arena (Capacity)
East Kentucky Energy Pikeville, Kentucky Pike County Central High School & Eastern Kentucky Expo Center (5,700)
Indiana Diesels Columbus, Indiana Ceraland Park gymnasium
Kentucky Bisons Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro Sports Center (5,000)
St. Louis Pioneers St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Community College
West Virginia Blazers Bluefield, West Virginia Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center & Bluefield State College

Northeast Division

Team Location Arena (Capacity)
Jersey Express East Orange, New Jersey East Orange Campus High School gym
Maryland Marvels Annapolis, Maryland Boys & Girls Clubs of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County gym
New York Red Riders Elmira, New York Chemung County YMCA
NYC Thunder New York City TBA
South Jersey Knights Montclair, New Jersey TBA
Tri-City Suns Temple Hills, Maryland

Mid-Atlantic Division

Team Location Arena (Capacity)
Atlanta Vision Atlanta, Georgia TBA
Charlotte Crossovers Fort Mill, South Carolina LifePointe Community Center
College Park Spyders College Park, Georgia TBA
Fayetteville Flight Fayetteville, North Carolina March F. Riddle Center
Georgia Gwizzlies Marietta, Georgia TBA
Georgia Knights Stockbridge, Georgia TBA
Seven City Knights Portsmouth, Virginia Churchland High School

Southeast Division

Team Location Arena (Capacity)
Bahama All-Pro Show Deltona, Florida TBA
Columbus Life Columbus, Georgia Frank J. Lumpkin Jr. Center (4,500)
Florida Makos Gainesville, Florida St. Francis High School
Florida Thundercats Ocala, Florida
Heartland Prowl Avon Park, Florida South Florida Community College
Jacksonville Giants Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Savannah Storm Savannah, Georgia Savannah High School
Team Haiti Florida Travel-Only

Gulf Coast Division

Team Location Arena (Capacity)
Cypress Pegasus Cypress, Texas TBA
Gulf Coast Flash Gulfport, Mississippi Gulfport High School
Houston Red Storm Houston, Texas League America
Louisiana United Lafayette, Louisiana TBA
Mobile Bay Hurricanes Mobile, Alabama Davidson High School
Southeast Texas Mavericks Winnie, Texas Nutty Jerry's Entertainment Complex

Southwest Division

Team Location Arena (Capacity)
Dallas Impact Dallas, Texas Lakewest Family YMCA
North Dallas Vandals North Dallas, Texas Alfred J. Loos Fieldhouse
North Texas Fresh Fort Worth, Texas Central High School
Oklahoma Stallions Edmond, Oklahoma TBA
Texas Fuel San Antonio, Texas Alamo Convocation Center
West Texas Whirlwinds Midland, Texas Odessa College

SoCal Division

Team Location Arena (Capacity)
Compton Cobras Compton, California Compton Community College
Las Vegas Aces Las Vegas, Nevada Sports Center of Las Vegas
Los Angeles Slam Ontario, California Citizens Business Bank Arena
Mid-Valley Titans Exeter, California TBA
Riverside Rainmakers Riverside, California Martin Luther King High School
San Diego Surf San Diego, California Hourglass Arena, Miramar College
San Diego Sol San Diego, California Alliant International University
South Valley Fever Lemoore, California Santa Rosa Rancheria

NoCal Division

Team Location Arena (Capacity)
Bay Area Matrix Clayton, California TBA
East Bay Pitbulls Livermore, California Las Positas College
Modesto Hawks Modesto, California TBA
Sacramento Heatwave Folsom, California Folsom High School
San Francisco Rumble San Francisco, California Kezar Pavilion
Seaside Sea-Kings Salinas, California Hartnell College Fieldhouse

Pacific Northwest Division

Team Location Arena (Capacity)
Seattle Mountaineers Seattle, Washington Green River Community College, Big Picture School, Renton High School

Other Teams Playing

Team Location Arena (Capacity)
Chico Rage Chico, California Travel-Only
Colorado Kings Denver, Colorado TBA
Kentucky Crusaders Kentucky Travel-Only
Missouri Rhythm Kansas City, Missouri Travel-Only for 2010, full-time in 2011
Nicaragua Atlanta, Georgia Travel-Only
Northwestern Indiana Magical Stars Crown Point, Indiana Travel-Only for 2010, full-time in 2011
Orlando Kings Orlando, Florida TBA
Shizuoka Gymrats Shizuoka, Japan Travel-Only
Southeast Power Atlanta, Georgia Travel-Only
Texas RimRockers El Paso, Texas Travel-Only

2011 Announced Expansion

Team Location Arena (Capacity)
Atlanta Experience Atlanta, Georgia
Bluff City Reign Memphis, Tennessee
Carolina Jaguars Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Conway Cyclones Conway, Arkansas
Flint Fire Flint, Michigan
Greensboro Cheetahs Greensboro, North Carolina
Hamilton, Ontario
Lake Charles Corsairs Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lima Explosion Lima, Ohio
Little Rock Lightning Little Rock, Arkansas
Lynchburg, Virginia
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mississauga, Ontario
Norfolk Sharks Norfolk, Virginia
Oshawa, Ontario
Rockford Riverdawgs Rockford, Illinois
Roanoke, Virginia
Sarasota, Florida
Tampa Bay Sharks Tampa, Florida Bob Martinez Sports Center
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario

Defunct teams

Main article: List of defunct ABA teams

Former teams that joined other leagues

Championship Game results

For complete playoff results of past ABA seasons, see American Basketball Association (2000–) Playoff Results.
For standings of past ABA seasons, see American Basketball Association (2000–) standings.
Year Champion Runner-up Score Location Reference
2000–2001 Detroit Dogs Chicago Skyliners 107-91 Cox Pavilion
2001–2002 Kansas City Knights Southern California Surf 118-113 Kemper Arena
2003–2004 Long Beach Jam Kansas City Knights 126-123 Walter Pyramid
2004–2005 Arkansas RimRockers Bellevue Blackhawks 118-103 Alltel Arena
2005–2006 Rochester Razorsharks SoCal Legends 117-114 Blue Cross Arena
2006–2007 Vermont Frost Heaves Texas Tycoons 143-95 Barre Auditorium
2007–2008 Vermont Frost Heaves San Diego Wildcats 87-84 Pavillon de la Jeunesse
2008-2009 Kentucky Bisons Maywood Buzz 127-120 Nashville Municipal Auditorium
2009–2010 Southeast Texas Mustangs Kentucky Bisons 96-99, 104-83, 85-76 Lamar State College Best of 3 Games

Championship Game Appearances by Team

Team Appearances Last Appearance
Kansas City Knights 2 2004
Vermont Frost Heaves 2 2008
Kentucky Bisons 2 2010
Detroit Dogs 1 2001
Chicago Skyliners 1 2001
Southern California Surf 1 2002
Long Beach Jam 1 2004
Arkansas Rimrockers 1 2005
Bellevue Blackhawks 1 2005
Rochester Razorsharks 1 2006
SoCal Legends 1 2006
Texas Tycoons 1 2007
San Diego Wildcats 1 2008
Maywood Buzz 1 2009
Southeast Texas Mustangs 1 2010

Championship Game Winning Percentage by Team

Team Wins Losses %
Vermont Frost Heaves 2 0 1.000
Detroit Dogs 1 0 1.000
Long Beach Jam 1 0 1.000
Arkansas RimRockers 1 0 1.000
Rochester Razorsharks 1 0 1.000
Southeast Texas Mustangs 1 0 1.000
Kansas City Knights 1 1 .500
Kentucky Bisons 1 1 .500
Chicago Skyliners 0 1 .000
Southern California Surf 0 1 .000
Bellevue Blackhawks 0 1 .000
SoCal Legends 0 1 .000
Texas Tycoons 0 1 .000
San Diego Wildcats 0 1 .000
Maywood Buzz 0 1 .000

All-Star Game results

  • 2002 ABA All-Star Game - Kansas City Knights defeated ABA All-Stars, 161-138 (Kemper Arena)
  • 2005 ABA All-Star Game - West defeated East, 163-149 (Las Vegas Sports Center)
  • 2006 ABA All-Star Game - East defeated West, 129-127 (BankAtlantic Center)
  • 2007 ABA All-Star Game - West defeated East, 138-123 (Halifax Metro Centre)
  • 2008 ABA All-Star Game - East defeated West, 161-140 (Barre Auditorium)

Awards

Player of the Year

  • 2000-2001 - None Announced
  • 2001-2002 - Pete Mickeal, Kansas City Knights
  • 2003-2004 - Joe Crispin, Kansas City Knights
  • 2004-2005 - Kareem Reid, Arkansas RimRockers
  • 2005-2006 - Chris Carrawell, Rochester Razorsharks
  • 2006-2007 - James James Marrow
  • 2007-2008 -
  • 2008-2009 - DeRon Rutledge, Southeast Texas Mavericks

Coach of the Year

  • 2000-2001 - None Announced
  • 2001-2002 - None Announced
  • 2003-2004 - Earl Cureton, Long Beach Jam
  • 2004-2005 - Rick Turner, Bellevue Blackhawks
  • 2005-2006 - Rod Baker, Rochester Razorsharks
  • 2006-2007 - Will Voigt, Vermont Frost Heaves
  • 2007-2008 - Will Voigt, Vermont Frost Heaves
  • 2008-2009 - Otis Key, Kentucky Bisons

Executive of the Year

  • 2000-2001 - None Announced
  • 2001-2002 - None Announced
  • 2003-2004 - Rafael Fitzmaurice, Juarez Gallos
  • 2004-2005 - Michael Tuckman, Bellevue Blackhawks
  • 2005-2006 - Orest Hrywnak, Rochester Razorsharks
  • 2006-2007 - Felix Krupczynski, Jacksonville JAM
  • 2008-2009 - Jay Sills, Kentucky Bisons

MVP - Championship Game

  • 2000-2001 - Gee Gervin and Ndongo N'Diaye, Detroit Dogs
  • 2001-2002 - Pete Mickeal, Kansas City Knights
  • 2003-2004 - None Announced
  • 2004-2005 - Kareem Reid, Arkansas RimRockers
  • 2005-2006 - Chris Carrawell, Rochester Razorsharks
  • 2006-2007 - None Announced
  • 2008-2009 - Michael James, Kentucky Bisons

MVP - All-Star Game

  • 2000-2001 - No All-Star Game
  • 2001-2002 - Maurice Carter, Kansas City Knights
  • 2003-2004 - No All-Star Game
  • 2004-2005 - Lou Kelly, West
  • 2005-2006 - Armen Gilliam, East
  • 2006-2007 - Billy Knight, West
  • 2007-2008 - Anthony Anderson, East

Community Service

  • 2000-2001 - None Announced
  • 2001-2002 - None Announced
  • 2003-2004 - None Announced
  • 2004-2005 - None Announced
  • 2005-2006 - None Announced
  • 2006-2007 - Modie Cox, Buffalo Silverbacks

See also

  • List of developmental and minor sports leagues

References

  1. ↑ Template:Citation
  2. ↑ Template:Citation
  3. ↑ Template:Citation
  4. ↑ Template:Citation
  5. ↑ http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3423259
  6. ↑ http://biz.yahoo.com/e/070207/abkb.ob8-k.html
  7. ↑ ABAlive.com - Home of the American Basketball Association
  8. ↑ George, Rachel (2007-03-24). "Sea Dawgs are unlikely hosts". Wilmington Star News. http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070324/NEWS/703240374/-1/State. Retrieved 2008-05-21. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Premier Basketball League Welcomes Vermont Frost Heaves And Manchester Millrats". Our Sports Central. 2008-05-09. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3637863. Retrieved 2008-05-09. 
  10. ↑ "Quebec Kebs Join Premier Basketball League". Our Sports Central. 2008-05-21. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3644389. Retrieved 2008-05-21. 
  11. ↑ Walling, Alex (2008-03-28). "ABA stands for Amateur Basketball Association". TSN.ca. http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/alex_walling/?id=232465&lid=sublink09&lpos=headlines_columnists-alex_walling. Retrieved 2008-09-09. 
  12. ↑ Template:Citation
  13. ↑ Template:Citation
  14. ↑ Template:Citation
  15. ↑ ABA Announced Haitian expansion team
  16. ↑ ABA season schedule
  17. ↑ Template:Citation
  18. ↑ Wuest, Matthew (2008-06-23). "Rainmen to join Premier Basketball League". MetroNews.ca. http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/sports/article/73452. Retrieved 2009-01-05. 
  19. ↑ New Pro-Basketball Team Named: "Southeast Texas Mustangs"
  20. ↑ "Fury Finished". MyStateline.com. 2008-08-08. http://mystateline.com/search-fulltext?nxd_id=18671. Retrieved 2010-10-12. 
  21. ↑ Template:Citation
Categories
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement

Fan Feed

More Basketball Wiki
Explore Wikis