The
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
(ABA) Finals were the championship series of the ABA, a professional basketball league, in which two teams played each other for the title. The
ABA
ABA may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
Broadcasting
* Alabama Broadcasters Association, United States
* Asahi Broadcasting Aomori, Japanese television station
* Australian Broadcasting Authority
Education
* Académie des Beaux- ...
was formed in the fall of 1967, and the first ABA Finals were played at the end of the league's first season in the spring of 1968.
The league ceased operations in 1976 with the
ABA–NBA merger and four teams from the ABA continued play in the
National Basketball Association.
All ABA Finals were in best-of-seven format and were contested between the winners of the Eastern Division and the Western Division finals. The only teams to win the championship more than once were the
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...
and the
New York Nets. The Indiana Pacers initially played in the ABA Finals in 1969, which they lost to the
Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically:
* Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955
*Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey t ...
, but they won the championship the next year against the
Los Angeles Stars.
They won in the ABA Finals again in 1972, their first after moving to the Western Division, against the
New York Nets and won their final ABA championship against the
Kentucky Colonels
The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...
in 1973.
The New York Nets won their first championship in 1974 against the
Utah Stars, and their second against the
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
in 1976.
The last ABA Finals were in 1976, after which the
ABA–NBA merger took place; three of the four teams that continued into the NBA made it to or won the ABA Finals.
Key
Champions
With the ABA cut down to seven teams by the middle of its final season, the league abandoned divisional play.
Results by teams
Notes
* The Indiana Pacers moved from the Eastern Division to the Western Division between the 1969–1970 and 1970–1971 seasons.
See also
*
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
*
ABA Playoffs MVP
References
External links
Professional Basketball Championships
{{ABA seasons
*
American Basketball Association lists