The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

league that operated from the until it ceased to exist with the

ABA–NBA merger The ABA-NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered ...

in 1976. The ABA presented a variety of annual awards and honors to recognize its players and executives. There were six awards presented by the ABA. Three Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards were presented annually in the All-Star Game, the regular season, and the playoffs. In

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

s, the player judged to be the most important to the team is the Most Valuable Player (MVP). Other annual awards include the Executive of the Year, the Coach of the Year, and the Rookie of the Year. Honors were also presented to players who excelled in the respective categories of: best players, best defensive players, and best rookies. The Executive of the Year Award and the All-Defensive Team started in the , while the rest started in the first season.

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

has won the most ABA awards with five MVP awards—three in the regular season and two in the playoffs.

Artis Gilmore Artis Gilmore (born September 21, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basket ...

has won the most ABA honors with nine. A total of 80 ABA players and executives have received at least one award or honor.

ABA championship

The American Basketball Association (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 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

and four teams from the ABA continued play in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. 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 and the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. The Indiana Pacers initially played in the ABA Finals in 1969, which they lost to the Oakland Oaks, but they won the championship the next year against the

Los Angeles Stars LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

. They won in the ABA Finals again in 1972, their first after moving to the Western Division, against the

and won their final ABA championship against the Kentucky Colonels in 1973. The New York Nets won their first championship in 1974 against the

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving t ...

, and their second against the Denver Nuggets in 1976. The last ABA Finals were in 1976, after which the

took place; three of the four teams that continued into the NBA made it to or won the ABA Finals.

Awards

Most Valuable Player

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) was an annual award first awarded in the . Every player who has won the award has played for a team with at least 45 regular-season wins. The inaugural award winner was

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Connie Hawkins Cornelius Lance "Connie" Hawkins (July 17, 1942 – October 6, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. A New York City playground legend, "the Hawk" was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. Early ye ...

. Hall of Famer

won the award three times, all with the

Mel Daniels Melvin Joe Daniels (July 20, 1944 – October 30, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Minnesota Muskies, Indiana Pacers, and Memphis Sounds, and in the National Bas ...

won it twice with the Indiana Pacers. Erving and

George McGinnis George F. McGinnis (born August 10, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted into the ABA from Indiana ...

were joint winners in the . Seven of the award winners were capable of playing forward, while six were capable of playing

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. Two rookies have won the award:

Spencer Haywood Spencer Haywood (born April 22, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player and Olympic gold medalist. Haywood is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2015. High school career In 1964, Hayw ...

in the and

in the . With the announcement of McGinnis as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2017, every ABA MVP has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Rookie of the Year

The Rookie of the Year Award was an annual award first awarded in the , to the top

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

(s) of the regular season. The inaugural award winner was

, who also won two MVP awards during his ABA career. Two of the Rookie of the Year winners have won the MVP award in the same season:

in the and

in the . Two Rookie of the Year winners have been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Rookie of the Year

Dan Issel Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An outstanding collegian at the University of Kentucky, Issel was twice named an All-American en route to a school-record 25.7 points per ...

and Rookie of the Year David Thompson. Issel and Charlie Scott were joint winners in the .

Coach of the Year

The Coach of the Year was an annual award first awarded in the , to the best head coach(es) of the regular season. The inaugural award winner was Vince Cazzetta, who coached the

Pittsburgh Pipers Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

to an ABA championship. Oakland Oaks coach

Alex Hannum Alexander Murray Hannum (July 19, 1923 – January 18, 2002) was a professional basketball player and coach. Hannum coached two National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and one American Basketball Association (ABA) team to league championships ...

won the award the season after, and also coached his team to an ABA championship. Larry Brown won the award three times, and is the only coach to have won the award multiple times. Two seasons had joint winners—

Joe Belmont Joseph Elliott Belmont (July 12, 1934 – January 6, 2019) was an American basketball player and coach. He played college basketball at Duke University, and was selected in the 1956 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia Warriors. He never played in ...

and Bill Sharman in the as well as Joe Mullaney and

Babe McCarthy James Harrison "Babe" McCarthy (October 1, 1923 – March 17, 1975), was an American professional and collegiate basketball coach. McCarthy was originally from Baldwyn, Mississippi. McCarthy may best be remembered for Mississippi State's appearan ...

in the . Hannum, Sharman and Brown are the only recipients to have been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Every head coach won the award without a losing record.

Playoffs MVP

The Playoffs Most Valuable Player Award was an annual award given in the ABA Playoffs. The award was first awarded in the

1968 ABA Playoffs The 1968 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament following the American Basketball Association's inaugural 1967-1968 season, starting on March 23 and ending on May 4. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Pittsburgh Pip ...

, and was retired as part of the

. The inaugural award winner was

' player

. On all occasions, the player who wins the Playoffs MVP award was from the team that won the ABA championship.

, who led the

to two ABA championships in 1974 and

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, is the only player to win the award twice.

All-Star Game MVP

The All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) was an annual award given to the best player of the annual All-Star Game. The award was established in the 1968 All-Star Game, and was retired as part of the ABA—NBA merger. The first recipient of the award was Larry Brown, who scored 17 points in a losing cause. Brown and 1971 winner

are the only players to win the award while being on the losing team in the All-Star Game. Three rookies have won the award: Brown,

in the 1970 All-Star Game and David Thompson in the 1976 All-Star Game. From 1968 to

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, the game has matched the best players in the Eastern Division with the best players in the Western Division. The West has won five All-Star Game MVP awards, while the East won three. In the 1976 All-Star Game, the teams were the Denver Nuggets and the All-Stars. Denver won that All-Star Game, with Thompson as MVP.

Executive of the Year

* Denotes the year in which joint winners were named for the respective award

Honors

All-ABA Team

The All-ABA Team was an annual honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every ABA season. The team was selected in every season of the league's existence, dating back to its inaugural season in 1967–68. The All-ABA Team was composed of two five-man lineups—a first and second team, each typically consisting of two forwards, one

, and two guards. A tie has occurred only once in the when Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers

Zelmo Beaty Zelmo "Big Z" Beaty ( ; October 25, 1939 – August 27, 2013) was an American basketball player. He played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and four in the rival American Basketball Association (ABA). A three-time ABA A ...

and

both were selected to the center position for the All-ABA Second Team.

, Issel,

and

all tie for the record for the most total selections with five.

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American retired professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the ...

Donnie Freeman Donald E. Freeman (born July 18, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent eight seasons (1967–1975) in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and one season ( 1975–1976) in the National Basketball Associa ...

Mack Calvin Mack Calvin (born July 27, 1947) is an American former basketball player. A five-time ABA All-Star, Calvin recorded the second most assists in ABA history, and was later named to the ABA All-Time Team. High school career Calvin was born in Fort W ...

and

Louie Dampier Louis Dampier (born November 20, 1944) is an American retired professional basketball player. A 6-foot-tall guard, Dampier is one of only a handful of men to play all nine seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) (1967–1976), all w ...

each have four total selections, while Larry Jones, Roger Brown,

and Ralph Simpson follow with three total selections. Gilmore has the most All-ABA first team selections with five, while Daniels, Barry and Erving are all tied for second-most with four. A total of nine players were selected during their respective

years: Daniels,

, Scott, Issel, Erving, Gilmore,

Swen Nater Swen Erick Nater (born January 14, 1950) is a Dutch former professional basketball player. He played primarily in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), and is the only player to have led both the NBA ...

Marvin Barnes Marvin Jerome "Bad News" Barnes (July 27, 1952 – September 8, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. A forward, he was an All-American at Providence College, and played professionally in both the American Basketball Association ...

, and David Thompson.

All-Defensive Team

The All-Defensive Team was an annual honor bestowed on the best defensive players in the league from the to the season when the league merged with the NBA. The All-Defensive Team was composed of a five-man lineup without regard to

position Position often refers to: * Position (geometry), the spatial location (rather than orientation) of an entity * Position, a job or occupation Position may also refer to: Games and recreation * Position (poker), location relative to the dealer * ...

holds the record for the most selections with four, while Mike Gale,

Julius Keye Julius Keye (September 5, 1946 – September 13, 1984) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'10" forward/center from South Carolina State University and Alcorn State University, Keye played six seasons (1969–1975) in the Americ ...

, Fatty Taylor,

Willie Wise Willie M. Wise (born March 3, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. After a successful ABA tenure, which eventually resulted in him making the ABA All-Time Team, Wise’s NBA career was ended prematurely by a knee injury. ...

Don Buse Donald R. Buse ( ; born August 10, 1950) is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'4" (1.93 m) point guard from the University of Evansville, Buse played 13 seasons (1972–1985) in the American Basketball Association (ABA) ...

, Bobby Jones and Brian Taylor follow with two selections. Bobby Jones was the only player to be selected during his

year.

All-Rookie Team

The All-Rookie Team was an annual honor given to the top rookies during the regular season. The team was selected in every season of the league's existence, dating back to its inaugural season in 1967–68. The All-Rookie Team was composed of a five-man lineup. Moses Malone

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of American Basketball Association Awards And Honors * American Basketball Association lists