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 A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

in the NBA in 1979.

League history

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 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 ...

, 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. 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 ARC may refer to: Business * Aircraft Radio Corporation, a major avionics manufacturer from the 1920s to the '50s * Airlines Reporting Corporation, an airline-owned company that provides ticket distribution, reporting, and settlement services * ...

, pioneered in the earlier ABL. 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 The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...

, that played "home" games in several cities. 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. Ollie Darden and Doug Moe

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 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 ...

, and San Antonio Spurs. As part of the merger agreement, the four teams were not permitted to participate in the

1976 NBA Draft The 1976 NBA draft was the 30th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 8, 1976, before the 1976–77 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players a ...

. The merger was particularly hard on the Nets; the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

were firmly established in their arena,

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, 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 Piscataway () is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburb of the New York metropolitan area, in the Raritan Valley. At the 2010 United States Census, the population was 56,044, an increase of 5,562 (+11.0%) fr ...

and, to meet expenses, were forced to sell the contract of Erving to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

. Two other clubs, 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 ...

and the

Spirits of St. Louis The Spirits of St. Louis were a basketball franchise based in St. Louis that played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1974 to 1976. This was the third and last city of a franchise that had begun as a charter member in 1967 as the ...

, 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. 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. 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) * 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. In 1969, Spencer Haywood left the University of Detroit as a sophomore and signed with the Denver Rockets. 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. 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, racademic record.” 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.

Slam Dunk Contest

The ABA pioneered the advent of the now popular NBA slam dunk contest at the final ABA All-Star Game in 1976. 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. The ABA and NBA had begun to discuss a possible merger, and the ABA owners wanted to establish the viability and success of their league. 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. The winner of the contest received $1,000 and a stereo system. 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

and

remained for all nine seasons without relocating, changing team names, or folding. However, the Denver Larks/Rockets/Nuggets, a team that had been

planned Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is co ...

for

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, 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.Official ABA Guides, 1967–1976.

Timeline

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:20 right:20 bottom:20 top:20 Period = from:01/01/1965 till:17/06/1977 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:majorGridColor value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:lineColor value:gray(0.5) id:notpro value:gray(0.9) id:brown value:rgb(0.36,0.20,0.10) id:green value:rgb( 0,0.51,0.28) id:darkgreen value:rgb( 0,0.20, 0) id:kellygreen value:rgb( 0,0.63, 0) id:orange value:rgb( 1,0.39, 0) id:redorange value:rgb( 1,0.20, 0) id:burgundy value:rgb(0.50, 0,0.13) id:maroon value:rgb(0.50, 0, 0) id:red value:rgb(0.80,0.01,0.07) id:red2 value:rgb(0.90,0.01,0.07) id:iceblue value:rgb(0.20,0.60,0.80) id:lgray value:gray(0.90) id:grayblue value:rgb(0.00,0.13,0.26) id:gray value:gray(0.25) id:gray2 value:gray(0.5) id:sand value:rgb(0.94,0.89,0.77) id:navy value:rgb( 0, 0,0.30) id:teal value:rgb( 0,0.65,0.65) id:teal2 value:rgb( 0,0.45,0.45) id:purpl value:rgb(0.16,0.01,0.32) id:columbia_blue value:rgb(0.35,0.57,0.8) id:black value:rgb(0.0,0.0,0.0) id:black2 value:rgb(0.06,0.11,0.14) id:darkblue value:rgb(0.0,0.07,0.25) id:darkblue2 value:rgb(0.0,0.16,0.36) id:darkblue3 value:rgb(0.0,0.18,0.3) id:eagles_green value:rgb(0.0,0.18,0.19) id:gold value:rgb(1,0.75,0.0) id:lightblue value:rgb(0.0,0.5,0.75) id:lions_black value:rgb(0.93,0.95,0.97) id:lions_lightblue value:rgb(0.0,0.43,0.63) id:lions_white value:rgb(0.96,0.96,0.96) id:orange value:rgb(1,0.39,0.17) id:panthers_teal value:rgb(0.0,0.59,0.77) id:rams_gold value:rgb(0.75,0.63,0.36) id:ravens_gold value:rgb(0.96,0.64,0.16) id:red value:rgb(0.84,0.19,0.23) id:red2 value:rgb(0.93,0.18,0.17) id:darkred value:rgb(0.55,0.0,0.1) id:lightred value:rgb(0.90,0.29,0.23) id:silver value:rgb(0.63,0.65,0.67) id:vikings_purple value:rgb(0.14,0.04,0.4) id:royalblue value:rgb(0,0.27,0.69) ScaleMajor = start:1967 increment:1 gridcolor:majorGridColor # -- Text Positions Define $Up = shift:(,1) Define $Left = anchor:from align:right shift:(-1,) Define $LeftIn = anchor:from align:left shift:(25,) Define $LeftMargin = anchor:from align:left shift:(3,) Define $UpLeft = anchor:from align:right shift:(-1,1) Define $UpLeftIn = anchor:from align:left shift:(-1,1) Define $UpLeftMargin = anchor:from align:left shift:(1,1) Define $Right = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,) Define $RightMargin = anchor:till align:right shift:(-2,) Define $RightIn = anchor:till align:right shift:(-25,) Define $UpRight = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,1) Define $UpRightMargin = anchor:till align:right shift:(-2,1) Define $UpRightIn = anchor:till align:right shift:(-25,1) Define $UpUpRight = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,10) Define $Down = shift:(,-10) Define $Downx2 = shift:(,-20) Define $DownRight = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,-10) Define $DownLeft = anchor:from align:right shift:(-2,-10) Define $DownRightMargin = anchor:till align:right shift:(-2,-10) Define $I = text:"(I)" Define $White = textcolor:white Define $t = textcolor Define $champ = text:"•" $t:white fontsize:L shift:(,-3) TextData = pos:(25,200) textcolor:black tabs:(40-left) text:"•^championship season" BarData = bar:Stars bar:Spurs bar:Cougars bar:Pacers bar:Nuggets bar:Colonels bar:Floridians bar:Sounds bar:Nets bar:Squires bar:Pipers bar:Conquistadors PlotData = color:notpro textcolor:black width:20 fontsize:S mark:(line,black) anchor:middle # other options are anchor:from anchor:till align:center # other options are align:left align:right shift:(0,-5) # -- current teams A - M bar:Colonels from:06/03/1967 till:17/06/1976 text:"Kentucky Colonels" $RightIn color:royalblue $t:white bar:Conquistadors from:13/10/1972 till:01/06/1975 text:"San Diego Conquistadors" color:yellow textcolor:red bar:Conquistadors from:01/06/1975 till:12/11/1975 text:"San Diego~Sails" $UpRight color:blue textcolor:green bar:Cougars from:02/02/1967 till:18/10/1969 text:"Houston Mavericks" color:gold $t:black bar:Cougars from:18/10/1969 till:18/10/1974 text:"Carolina Cougars" color:green $t:darkblue bar:Cougars from:18/10/1974 till:17/06/1976 text:"Spirits of St. Louis" $RightIn color:orange $t:black bar:Floridians from:02/02/1967 till:26/10/1968 text:"Minnesota Muskies" color:blue $t:gold bar:Floridians from:26/10/1968 till:15/10/1970 text:"Miami Floridians" color:orange $t:blue bar:Floridians from:15/10/1970 till:06/04/1972 text:"The Floridians" color:purple $t:redorange $RightIn # -- N - Z bar:Nets from:02/02/1967 till:25/10/1968 text:"New Jersey~Americans" $Up color:blue textcolor:white bar:Nets from:25/10/1968 till:17/06/1976 text:"New York Nets" $RightIn color:red textcolor:white bar:Nuggets from:02/02/1967 till:18/10/1974 text:"Denver Rockets" color:red $t:black bar:Nuggets from:18/10/1974 till:17/06/1976 text:"Denver Nuggets" $RightIn color:royalblue $t:white bar:Pacers from:02/02/1967 till:17/06/1976 text:"Indiana Pacers" color:navy textcolor:yellow $RightIn bar:Pipers from:02/02/1967 till:27/10/1968 text:"Pittsburgh Pipers" color:panthers_teal textcolor:black bar:Pipers from:27/10/1968 till:19/10/1969 text:"Minnesota~Pipers" $Up color:orange textcolor:blue bar:Pipers from:19/10/1969 till:15/10/1970 text:"Pittsburgh~Pipers" $Up color:panthers_teal textcolor:black bar:Pipers from:15/10/1970 till:29/03/1972 text:"Pittsburgh Condors" color:red textcolor:gold bar:Squires from:02/02/1967 till:18/10/1969 text:"Oakland Oaks" color:gold textcolor:green bar:Squires from:18/10/1969 till:17/10/1970 text:"Washington~Caps" $Up color:green textcolor:gold bar:Squires from:17/10/1970 till:11/05/1976 text:"Virginia Squires" $RightIn color:red textcolor:white bar:Sounds from:02/02/1967 till:20/10/1970 text:"New Orleans Buccaneers" color:red textcolor:blue bar:Sounds from:20/10/1970 till:12/10/1972 text:"Memphis Pros" color:navy textcolor:white bar:Sounds from:12/10/1972 till:18/10/1974 text:"Memphis Tams" color:green textcolor:gold bar:Sounds from:18/10/1974 till:24/08/1975 text:"Memphis~Sounds" $Up color:red textcolor:white bar:Sounds from:24/08/1975 till:20/10/1975 text:"Baltimore~Claws" $UpRight color:red2 textcolor:gold bar:Spurs from:02/02/1967 till:18/10/1970 text:"Dallas Chaparrals" color:blue textcolor:white bar:Spurs from:18/10/1970 till:15/10/1971 text:"Texas~Chaparrals" $Up color:red textcolor:white bar:Spurs from:15/10/1971 till:10/10/1973 text:"Dallas Chaparrals" color:blue textcolor:white bar:Spurs from:10/10/1973 till:17/06/1976 text:"San Antonio Spurs" $RightIn color:silver textcolor:black bar:Stars from:02/02/1967 till:30/10/1968 text:"Anaheim Amigos" color:redorange textcolor:black bar:Stars from:30/10/1968 till:14/10/1970 text:"Los Angeles Stars" color:iceblue textcolor:red bar:Stars from:14/10/1970 till:29/11/1975 text:"Utah Stars" color:blue textcolor:white $RightIn ## -- championships at:04/05/1968 bar:Pipers $champ mark:(line, panthers_teal) at:07/05/1969 bar:Squires $champ mark:(line, gold) at:25/05/1970 bar:Pacers $champ mark:(line, navy) at:18/05/1971 bar:Stars $champ mark:(line, blue) at:20/05/1972 bar:Pacers $champ mark:(line, navy) at:12/05/1973 bar:Pacers $champ mark:(line, navy) at:10/05/1974 bar:Nets $champ mark:(line, red) at:22/05/1975 bar:Colonels $champ mark:(line, royalblue) at:13/05/1976 bar:Nets $champ mark:(line, red)

List of ABA championships

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

Prominent players

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

Season leaders

Scoring leaders

Rebounding leaders

Assists leaders

Steals leaders

Blocks leaders

Awards and broadcasters

Succession

In 1999, a new league calling itself the

ABA 2000 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 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.

References

External links

Remember the ABA
{{Authority control 1976 disestablishments in the United States Defunct basketball leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 1967 1967 establishments in the United States Sports leagues disestablished in 1976 Defunct professional sports leagues in the United States