American Basketball Association (2000–present) – Wikipedia

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Semi-professional basketball league

The American Basketball Association (ABA) is an American semi-professional men’s basketball minor league that was founded in 1999.[1]

The ABA has teams based in the United States and previously had international teams based in Canada and Mexico. In the past, there were traveling teams from countries such as Australia and Japan who played in the ABA. Additionally, there were players from other countries that were on a U.S. team to showcase other talented athletes in the country.

The current ABA bears no relation to the original American Basketball Association (1967–1976) that was considered a major league, and merged with the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976.

History[edit]

The current ABA was started by Joe Newman and Richard Tinkham. Tinkham was an executive with the Indiana Pacers when they were in the original ABA. They licensed the ABA name from the NBA.[2]

2000–2003[edit]

The league started in 2000 with eight teams. During its initial years of operation, the league focused mainly on teams in larger cities. To attract fans, the ABA encouraged its members to fill rosters with former NBA players and past college basketball stars with local ties.[3][4]

In 2002–03, the league suspended operations for reorganization. The league continued to play for the 2003–2004 season, but the focus had shifted from a few teams in large cities to numerous teams in both large and medium-sized cities. Franchise fees were lowered from $50,000 to $10,000 and the bond requirement was removed in order to attract new teams. The subsequent reduction in initial operating costs allowed the formation of several teams that might otherwise not be possible. However, it resulted in some under-financed ownership groups. Since 2004, several new teams have failed to complete their inaugural season due to financial insolvency.

Also, teams were organized into regional groups to facilitate interest and reduce travel costs starting with the 2003–2004 season.

2004–2006[edit]

The 2004–05 season was the first under this new format, with 37 teams playing that season. Among the league’s coaches that season was the Nashville Rhythm’s Ashley McElhiney, the first woman to be the head coach of a men’s professional basketball team. Subsequent seasons brought drastic expansion. Some teams had proved to be successful in their early years, but others did not complete their initial seasons. At times, the ABA had 50+ teams playing each season. Some of the more successful expansion franchises during this era included the Arkansas RimRockers in 2004 and the Rochester RazorSharks in 2005. Both teams won the ABA title during their first seasons in the league.

2006–2007[edit]

The 2006–07 season saw the nominal cost for a new expansion franchise raised to $20,000,[5] but many still sold for $10,000 – $5,000 or less. In some cases, teams were sold for as little as $1.[6][7] One notable 2006–07 expansion franchise was the Vermont Frost Heaves, owned by Sports Illustrated writer Alexander Wolff. Also in 2006–07, 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.[8] The league’s required Securities and Exchange Commission filings in February 2007 indicated that the ABA Board of Directors removed Newman as CEO on January 31, 2007. The filings further stated that Newman’s actions as CEO would be reviewed to ensure that they were performed with the board’s permission. The same filing also claimed that Newman and other shareholders plotted to remove Tom Doyle, John Salley, and David Howitt from the board and to elect Paul Riley as its director. Newman denied his removal ever occurred, and continued as acting CEO.[9] The lawsuits were settled in March 2007 with Doyle’s and Salley’s resignations from the league’s Board of Directors.

The 2006–07 season saw many franchises fail to travel to road games or to play a full schedule. When weather-related issues did not allow defending champion Rochester Razorsharks to travel for a playoff game against the Wilmington Sea Dawgs, the league attempted to force Rochester to forfeit rather than reschedule. Instead, Rochester chose to withdraw from the league.[10] These several incidents caused some league owners to perceive instability within the league. These frustrated owners separated from the ABA to form the Premier Basketball League (PBL) in late 2007.

2007–2009[edit]

Nearly twenty teams folded within the first five weeks of the 2007–08 season, and several remaining teams left the ABA to join other existing leagues. According to Our Sports Central, approximately 35% of the games scheduled for the season were played. The teams that played the highest percentage of games were Vermont, the Manchester (NH) Millrats, and the Quebec Kebs. At the conclusion of the season, all three of these teams left to join the PBL.[11][12]

Another unique franchise for the 2008–09 season was the Beijing Aoshen Olympians, which had previously been kicked out of the Chinese Basketball League and played only home games in the ABA. All Olympians’ games were played in Singapore. The Beijing franchise paid $3000 and all team flight accommodations to Singapore for each 2-game home-stand.

Following the 2007–2008 season, the league’s most successful franchise by attendance, the Halifax Rainmen, left the ABA. Halifax ownership cited growing frustration with teams that did not show for scheduled games, as well as a biased ranking system. Sports media began to openly criticize the league and question its ability to be taken seriously.[13]

The 2008–09 season saw the league conduct interleague play with the Continental Basketball Association.

2009–2010[edit]

The 2009–10 season was scheduled to have over 50 teams. The season ended with several teams folding in early December, including the entire Northwest Division. The league canceled several playoff games due to the inability of teams to afford travel.[14] The playoffs ended with Southeast Texas Mustangs defeating the Kentucky Bisons in a three-game series.

On April 25, 2010, as part of their ABA Global Initiative, the league hosted the 2010 ABA Friendship Games, in which the Philippine National Basketball Team competed against several ABA teams.[15]

2010–2011[edit]

The 2010–11 season was expected to field over 60 teams, including a new Canadian Division.[16] In the summer of 2010, the league announced its first Haitian professional basketball team, the Haitian Relief.[17] In total, the ABA planned to host over 800 games throughout the season.[18]

However, the 2010–2011 campaign ended similar to previous seasons, with several teams folding either before or during the season. Instead of the promised 60 teams, the league fielded fewer than 50 full-time franchises that actually played games.

The 2011 ABA All-Star Game resulted in a 123–122 Eastern Conference win over the Western Conference in front of a crowd of 4,488 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The playoffs started the following weekend, with the last four teams playing a double-elimination tournament at the home of the Southeast Texas Mavericks. The Mavericks won their second ABA title two games to none over the Gulf Coast Flash.

Despite continued instability, the league announced plans to form a new Women’s American Basketball Association (WABA), unrelated to the original Women’s American Basketball Association, which existed for one season in 2002. The new league’s first squad was to be located in Greenville, North Carolina.

2012–2013[edit]

The league failed to launch the WABA in the 2011–12 season and announced new plans to launch for the 2012–2013 season. The second attempted launch was pushed back to the 2013–2014 season with nine initial teams set to play: the Philly Love, New Jersey Express, New England Stormers, Hampton Roads Lightning, Lake City Kingdom Riderettes, Fayetteville Lady Cadets, Columbus Lady Road Runners, McAllen Queens, and Chicago Lady Steam. As of February 2019, the WABA has yet to report any game results.

2013–2014[edit]

2015–2016[edit]

March 23, 2015 the ABA announced the launch of a new Media & Entertainment Division to be headed by hip hop mogul & ABA team owner Antjuan “Tjuan Benafactor” Washington.[19]

On June 22, 2015, the ABA announced a multi-year partnership with Sports Radio America.[20] “The ABA on SRA Game of the Week” will showcase some of the best matchups in the ABA.

October 9, 2015, the ABA announced online live streaming partnerships with both LiveSportsCaster and WatchIDSN, two independent live sports streaming platforms based in Louisville, Kentucky, and Chicago, Illinois, respectively.[21]

On April 9, 2016, the Jacksonville Giants won the ABA championship, their third, with a 93–90 win over the Windy City Groove. They had previously defeated the Groove 92–80 on April 8, 2016, to take the best-of-three series in straight games.

2016–2017[edit]

On February 10, 2017, the Hawaii Swish, owned by Geremy Robinson and a member of the Far West Division, debuted at Neal Blaisdell Arena with a game against the Yuba City Goldminers.[22]

2018–2019[edit]

On April 13, 2019, the Jacksonville Giants captured their fourth straight and sixth overall ABA championship title with a 116–112 win over South Florida Gold.[23]

League seasons[edit]

Defunct teams[edit]

The ABA policy of awarding a franchise to anyone who is willing to pay the ABA franchise fee, with no consideration given to whether the franchisee can afford to operate the team, resulted in over 200 folded franchises as of the beginning of the 2008 season.[24] As of summer 2014, the number was over 350.[25]

Champions[edit]

All-Star Game results[edit]

East (6 wins) West (3 wins) Kansas City Knights (1 win) Team Dr. J (1 win)
Year Result Host arena Host city Game MVP
2002 Kansas City Knights 161, ABA All-Stars 138 Kemper Arena Kansas City Maurice Carter, Kansas City Knights
2005 West 163, East 149 Las Vegas Sports Center Las Vegas Lou Kelly, Las Vegas Rattlers, West
2006 East 129, West 127 BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, Florida Armen Gilliam, Pittsburgh Xplosion, East
2007 West 138, East 123 Halifax Metro Centre Halifax Billy Knight, Atlanta Vision, West
2008 East 161, West 140 Barre Auditorium Barre, Vermont Anthony Anderson, Manchester Millrats, East
2009 West, East Nashville Municipal Auditorium Nashville Keith Simpson, Texas Fuel, West
2011 East 123, West 122 Jacksonville Veterans Arena Jacksonville Kayode Ayeni, Jersey Express, East
2012 Eckerd College St. Petersburg
2013 East 198, West 141 South Suburban College South Holland Maurice Mickens, Memphis Bluff City Reign
2016 Team Dr. J 140, Team Gervin 139 St. Frances Academy Baltimore Terry Hosley, DMV Warriors, Team Dr. J
2017 East , West Big Ben’s Home Court Richmond, Virginia Christopher Cromartie, South Florida Gold, East
2018 No reported result. Giving Heart Community Center Pittsburgh
2019 No reported result. Giving Heart Community Center Pittsburgh

Player of the Year (MVP)[edit]

  • 2001–02 – Pete Mickeal, Kansas City Knights
  • 2003–04 – Joe Crispin, Kansas City Knights
  • 2004–05 – Kareem Reid, Arkansas RimRockers
  • 2005–06 – Chris Carrawell, Rochester Razorsharks
  • 2006–07 – James Marrow
  • 2007–08 – Anthony Anderson, Manchester Millrats
  • 2008–09 – DeRon Rutledge, Southeast Texas Mavericks & Boris Siakam, Kentucky Bisons
  • 2009–10 – Josh Pace, Southeast Texas Mavericks
  • 2010–11 – Odell Bradley, Southeast Texas Mavericks
  • 2017–18 – Maurice Mickens, Jacksonville Giants

MVP – Championship Game[edit]

  • 2000–01 – Gee Gervin and Ndongo N’Diaye, Detroit Dogs
  • 2001–02– Pete Mickeal, Kansas City Knights
  • 2004–05 – Kareem Reid, Arkansas RimRockers
  • 2005–06 – Chris Carrawell, Rochester Razorsharks
  • 2008–09 – Michael James, Kentucky Bisons
  • 2011–12 – Jermaine Bell, Jacksonville Giants
  • 2015–16 – Maurice Mickens, Jacksonville Giants
  • 2017–18 – Benard Nugent, Jacksonville Giants
  • 2018–19 – Maurice Mickens, Jacksonville Giants
  • 2021–22 – Steven Vorum, Steel City Yellow Jackets

Coach of the Year[edit]

Executive of the Year[edit]

MVP – All-Star Game[edit]

  • 2001–02 – Maurice Carter, Kansas City Knights
  • 2004–05 – Lou Kelly, West
  • 2005–06 – Armen Gilliam, East
  • 2006–07 – Billy Knight, West
  • 2007–08 – Anthony Anderson, East
  • 2008–09 – Keith Simpson, West
  • 2010–11 – Kayode Ayeni, East
  • 2012–13 – Maurice Mickens, East
  • 2015–16 – Terry Hosley, Team Dr. J
  • 2016–17 – Christopher Cromartie, East
  • 2017–18 – Ton Reddit – East

[edit]

Best Offensive Player of the Year[edit]

Best Defensive Player of the Year[edit]

Rookie Player of the Year[edit]

Statistical leaders[edit]

Scoring leaders[edit]

Rebounds leaders[edit]

Assists leaders[edit]

Anti-bully program[edit]

Former CEO Joe Newman started Bully-Free ABA! after his grandchildren became victims of bullying.[27] The program features players visiting schools to share stories about their own experiences with bullying and how such issues can be solved.

Team coaches are involved as well, in 2012, Kitsap Admirals coach Chris Koebelin was an active leader in the program. Koebelin mentioned to the students during his visits that he was bullied as a child.[28] Following the visits, time is usually allowed for the students to interact with the team on the court.

Notable past players[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

USA:

Europe:

Americas:

Africa:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “The ABA”. abaliveaction.com. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  2. ^ Wolff, Alexander (2005-12-14), “Jumping into the ABA with the Vermont Frost Heaves”, Sports Illustrated, retrieved 2010-08-17
  3. ^ Stephens, Eric (December 27, 2000). “Stars Shine in ABA Debut Before 5,347”. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  4. ^ Rovell, Darren (August 20, 2000). “ABA 2000 plays the name game”. ESPN.com. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  5. ^ Iverson’s mom has own ABA team, Associated Press, 2006-08-25, archived from the original on 2010-12-04, retrieved 2010-08-17
  6. ^ Ruben, Mike (2009-01-15), Housing Authority Brings Pro Basketball to State, State Journal, archived from the original on 2010-11-28, retrieved 2010-08-17
  7. ^ Becker, Michael (2006-07-26), “Firing Away at the ABA”, Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2010-08-17
  8. ^ Board of Directors of American Basketball Association, Inc. Votes to Remove CEO – OurSports Central – Independent and Minor League Sports News. OurSports Central (2007-02-05). Retrieved on 2014-04-12.
  9. ^ ABAlive.com – Home of the American Basketball Association
  10. ^ George, Rachel (2007-03-24). “Sea Dawgs are unlikely hosts”. Wilmington Star News. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  11. ^ “Premier Basketball League Welcomes Vermont Frost Heaves And Manchester Millrats”. Our Sports Central. 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
  12. ^ “Quebec Kebs Join Premier Basketball League”. Our Sports Central. 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  13. ^ Walling, Alex (2008-03-28). “ABA stands for Amateur Basketball Association”. TSN.ca. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  14. ^ Clark, Ryan S. (2010-03-18), SETX Mavericks’ playoff opponent forfeits game, Beaumont Enterprise, retrieved 2010-07-14
  15. ^ Navarro, June (2010-04-27), Smart Gilas five nips San Diego, Philippine Daily Inquirer, archived from the original on 2010-04-29, retrieved 2010-07-14
  16. ^ ABA Returns To Canada In 2011, American Basketball Association, 2010-08-04, archived from the original on 23 August 2010, retrieved 2010-08-17
  17. ^ ABA Announced Haitian expansion team
  18. ^ ABA season schedule
  19. ^ “Domain Default page”.
  20. ^ ^ “Basketball History: ABA awards Sports Radio America Broadcast Rights”. Releasewire. 2015-06-22. Retrieved 2015-06-23
  21. ^ ^ http://www.americanbasketballassociation.org/#!ABA-PARTNERS-WITH-LIVESPORTSCASTER-AND-WatchIDSN/clfr/5615646e0cf27d786fdbd98b “ABA PARTNERS WITH LIVESPORTSCASTER AND WatchIDSN”. AmericanBasketballAssociation.com. 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2015-10-18
  22. ^ “New ABA franchise, Hawaii Swish, to debut in February”. KHON. Honolulu. January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  23. ^ “Jacksonville Giants Win Their 6th ABA Championship”. The Coastal. April 15, 2019.
  24. ^ “Dead Balls”. December 3, 2008.
  25. ^ “American Basketball Association: Stranger Than Fiction”. North Pole Hoops. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  26. ^ “ABA Co-Champions Crowned in St. Louis”. Twitter. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  27. ^ “Bully-Free ABA!”. Staten Island Vipers. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  28. ^ Mosher, Terry (November 13, 2012). “Admirals’ Koebelin ready to fight bullying”. Kitsap Sun. Retrieved 29 August 2013.

External links[edit]