American Basketball AssociationThe American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association throughout its existence. The second of two leagues established in the 1960s after the American Basketball League, the ABA was the more successful rival to the NBA.
List of American Basketball Association awards and honorsThe American Basketball Association (ABA) was a professional basketball league that operated from the 1967–68 season until it ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger 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.
Larry Brown (basketball)Lawrence Harvey Brown (born September 14, 1940) is an American basketball coach and former player who last served as an assistant coach for the Memphis Tigers. Brown is the only coach in basketball history to win both an NCAA national championship (Kansas Jayhawks, 1988) and an NBA title (Detroit Pistons, 2004).
All-star gameAn all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, but sometimes dividing the players by an attribute such as nationality. Selection of the players may be done by a vote of the coaches and/or news media; in professional leagues, fans may vote on some or all of the roster.
Gene RhodesEugene Stephen Rhodes (September 2, 1927 – March 10, 2018) was an American basketball player and coach. CareerRhodes played college basketball at Western Kentucky University. While Rhodes was a player, WKU won the Ohio Valley Conference championship in 1949, 1950 and 1951, playing in the National Invitational Tournament in each of those seasons. Rhodes played in the National Basketball Association (NBA)for the Indianapolis Olympians.
Bill SharmanWilliam Walton Sharman (May 25, 1926 – October 25, 2013), also known as "Battling Bill", was an American professional basketball player and coach. Sharman is a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, having been inducted in 1976 as a player, and in 2004 as a coach. Only John Wooden, Lenny Wilkens, Tommy Heinsohn and Bill Russell share this double honor.
BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players each (excluding substitutes) oppose one another on a rectangular court. Players compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through a hoop (a basket mounted to a backboard) at each end of the court. Teams alternate between offense (when they attempt to score), and defense (when they try to prevent the opposing side from scoring).Kentucky ColonelsThe Kentucky Colonels were an American professional basketball team based in Louisville, Kentucky. They competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1967 to 1976. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonel. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history. However, the team did not join the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1976 ABA–NBA merger.
Alex HannumAlexander Murray Hannum (July 19, 1923 – January 18, 2002) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Known as Sarge because of his military background, Hannum played center for six different teams, most notably the Milwaukee (later St. Louis) Hawks in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he spent three seasons.
ABA–NBA mergerThe 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 merger talks as early as 1970, but an antitrust suit filed by the head of the NBA players union, Robertson v. National Basketball Ass'n, blocked the merger until 1976.
1969 ABA All-Star GameThe second American Basketball AssociationAll-Star Game was played on January 28, 1969, at Louisville Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky before an audience at 5,407, between teams from the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference. The West team won the game, with a score of 133–127. Team members and officialsOriginally, Jim Harding of the Minnesota Pipers was to coach the East.
Pittsburgh CondorsThe Pittsburgh Condors were a professional basketball team in the original American Basketball Association (ABA). Originally called the Pittsburgh Pipers, they were a charter franchise of the ABA and captured the first league title. The team played their home games in Pittsburgh'sCivic Arena. HistoryPittsburgh Pipers - First ABA Champions (1967–68)The Pipers were one of the ABA's inaugural franchises in 1967.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.