- For information on the original American Basketball Association that existed from 1967 through 1976, see American Basketball Association.
The American Basketball Association (ABA) OTCBB: ABKB is a professional men's basketball league that was founded in 1999. The current ABA has no affiliation with the original American Basketball Association that merged with the NBA in 1976. [edit] History First beginning play in 2000 with eight teams, the league completed its seventh season in March 2009. Following its first two seasons, the league suspended operations in 2002-2003 for reorganization. Expansion occurred prior to the 2004-2005 season, with 37 teams eventually playing that year. The 2006-2007 season saw the cost for a new expansion franchise raised to $50,000.[1] One notable 2006-2007 expansion franchise was the Vermont Frost Heaves, owned by Sports Illustrated writer Alexander Wolff. Also in 2006-2007, 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.[2] In a form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in February 2007, the ABA Board of Directors stated that Newman was removed as league CEO on January 31, 2007. It went on to state that Newman's actions as league CEO would be reviewed to ensure that they were performed with the Board's permission.[3] The same filing also claimed that Newman and other shareholders plotted to remove Tom Doyle, John Salley, and David Howitt from the Board and elect Paul Riley as its director. Newman denied his removal ever occurred, and continued as acting CEO.[4] The lawsuits were settled in March 2007 with Doyle's and Salley's resignations from the league Board of Directors. The 2006-2007 season saw many franchises fail to travel to road games or play a full schedule. When a weather problem required a postponement of a playoff game between the defending champion Rochester Razorsharks and the Wilmington Sea Dawgs, instead of letting the two teams reschedule, the league wanted to force Rochester to forfeit. Rochester instead withdrew from the league.[5] This incident, coupled with the CEO v. COO intrigue, caused to some league owners to become frustrated with the instability of the league and separate to form the Premier Basketball League (PBL). The 2007-2008 season saw nearly twenty teams fold within its first five weeks, and several remaining teams left the ABA to join other existing leagues. According to Our Sports Central, only around 35% of the games were actually played in the 2007/08 season. The teams that played the highest percentage of games were Vermont, Manchester (NH), and Quebec. Those three teams would leave to the PBL at the conclusion of the season.[6][7] Another team that only played home games was Beijing Aoshen Olympic. This team was kicked out of the Chinese Basketball League and played home games in Singapore. Beijing would pay $3000 and fly teams to Singapore for a 2-game homestand. Early teams complained on Our Sports Central that they were forced to stay in a hotel that doubled as a brothel. Joe Newman CEO forced Beijing to find a new hotel on hearing this news. Later teams stayed in a Holiday Inn. The league's most successful franchise by attendance, the Halifax Rainmen, left the ABA, citing frustration with teams not showing up for games, as well as a biased ranking system. Numerous sportswriters essentially referred to the ABA as a joke, and not to be taken seriously.[8] The 2008-2009 season saw the league conduct interleague play with the Continental Basketball Association. The 2009-2010 season is scheduled to have 62 teams at play. [edit] Current teams - For current regular season standings,see ABALive.com Standings.
- For regular season standings of past ABA seasons, see American Basketball Association (2000-) Standings.
Northeast Division Southeast Division | Team | Location | Arena (Capacity) | | Atlanta Vision | Suwanee, Georgia | TBA | | Bahama All-Pro Show | Deltona, Florida | TBA | | Carolina Kings | Greenville, South Carolina | Timmons Arena | | Charlotte Crossovers | Fort Mill, South Carolina | LifePointe Community Center | | Columbus Life | Columbus, Georgia | Frank J. Lumpkin Jr. Center (4,500) | | Florida Thundercats | Leesburg, Florida | Everett A. Kelly Convocation Center | | Georgia Prowl | McDonough, Georgia | Eagle's Landing High School gym | | Mississippi Blues | Biloxi, Mississippi | Biloxi High School gym | | Music City Stars | Nashville, Tennessee | Allen Arena (5,028) | North Central Division | Team | Location | Arena (Capacity) | | Akron Rise | Akron, Ohio | Exhibition team for '09-'10, full season in '10-'11 | | Chicago Steam | South Holland, Illinois | South Suburban College Fieldhouse | | Cleveland Rockers | Warrensville Heights, Ohio | Multiplex Arena (3,300) | | Columbus Crush | Columbus, Ohio | New Covenant Believers Church[9] | | Detroit Hoops | Detroit, Michigan | Detroit Edison Public School Academy | | Grand Rapids Flight | Caledonia Township, Michigan | Davenport University Student Center | | Kansas City Stars | Kansas City, Missouri | Municipal Auditorium | | Lake Michigan Admirals | Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Michigan | Benton Harbor High School & Lake Michigan Catholic High School gyms | | Pittsburgh Phantoms (ABA) | Elizabeth, Pennsylvania | Court Time Sports Center | | Youngstown Swish | Youngstown, Ohio | Exhibition team for '09-'10, full season in '10-'11 | South Central Division
Southwest Division
NoCal Division SoCal Division Pacific Northwest Division [edit] 2010-11 expansion/returning teams [edit] Defunct teams [edit] Former teams that joined other leagues - Arkansas RimRockers - joined NBA Development League, currently inactive
- Bellingham Slam - now in International Basketball League
- Charlotte Krunk - joined Continental Basketball Association as Atlanta Krunk, went to Premier Basketball League as Augusta Groove, now folded [13]
- Chicago Throwbacks - now in Premier Basketball League
- Corning Bulldogs - now in Eastern Basketball Alliance as Elmira Bulldogs
- Detroit Panthers - now in Premier Basketball League
- Florida Pit Bulls - joined Continental Basketball Association as East Kentucky Miners, rejoined ABA
- Halifax Rainmen - now in Premier Basketball League [14]
- Indiana Alley Cats - joined Continental Basketball Association, presumed folded
- Jacksonville JAM - joined Premier Basketball League, expelled from league midway through 2008 season.
- Long Beach Jam - now in NBA Development League as Bakersfield Jam
- Manchester Millrats - now in Premier Basketball League[6]
- Maryland Nighthawks - now in Premier Basketball League as Maryland GreenHawks
- Northeast Pennsylvania Breakers - joined United States Basketball League, folded after one season there
- Pittsburgh Xplosion - joined Continental Basketball Association, presumed folded
- Quad City Riverhawks - joined Premier Basketball League, presumed folded
- Quebec Kebs - now in Premier Basketball League
- Reading Railers - joined Premier Basketball League, presumed folded
- Rio Grande Valley Silverados - joined Continental Basketball Association for one season, moved to Beaumont and rejoined the ABA as the Southeast Texas Mustangs [15]
- Rochester Razorsharks - now in Premier Basketball League
- Rock River Fury - joined Premier Basketball League as Rockford Fury then folded.[16]
- San Jose SkyRockets - joined Continental Basketball Association as Minot SkyRockets, presumed folded
- Vancouver Dragons - joined Continental Basketball Association, currently inactive
- Vermont Frost Heaves - now in Premier Basketball League[6]
- Waco Wranglers - now in United Basketball League as Texas Wranglers
- Wilmington Sea Dawgs - joined Premier Basketball League then moved to Continental Basketball League[17]
[edit] Championship Game results - For complete playoff results of past ABA seasons, see American Basketball Association (2000–) Playoff Results.
[edit] All-Star Game results [edit] Awards [edit] Player of the Year [edit] Coach of the Year [edit] Executive of the Year [edit] MVP - Championship Game [edit] MVP - All-Star Game - 2000-2001 - None Announced
- 2001-2002 - None Announced
- 2003-2004 - None Announced
- 2004-2005 - None Announced
- 2005-2006 - None Announced
- 2006-2007 - Modie Cox, Buffalo Silverbacks
[edit] See also [edit] References - ^ Democrat & Chronicle: Bob Matthews
- ^ http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3423259
- ^ http://biz.yahoo.com/e/070207/abkb.ob8-k.html
- ^ ABAlive.com - Home of the American Basketball Association
- ^ George, Rachel (2007-03-24). "Sea Dawgs are unlikely hosts". Wilmington Star News. http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070324/NEWS/703240374/-1/State. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
- ^ a b c "Premier Basketball League Welcomes Vermont Frost Heaves And Manchester Millrats". Our Sports Central. 2008-05-09. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3637863. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- ^ "Quebec Kebs Join Premier Basketball League". Our Sports Central. 2008-05-21. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3644389. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
- ^ Walling, Alex (2008-03-28). "ABA stands for Amateur Basketball Association". TSN.ca. http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/alex_walling/?id=232465&lid=sublink09&lpos=headlines_columnists-alex_walling. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
- ^ Columbus Crush Presents, Columbus Crush, http://www.cocrush.com/index.php, retrieved 2009-11-23
- ^ Pascucci, Gianni (2009-07-14), New team name and staff for the Aces, US Basket.com, http://www.usbasket.com/ABA/basketball.asp?NewsID=165293, retrieved 2009-12-08
- ^ a b http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3873048
- ^ "ABA to bring professional basketball franchise to Norfolk". WTKR. 2009-10-20. http://www.wtkr.com/news/wtkr-norfolk-sharks-aba-team,0,3665586.story. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
- ^ Byler, Billy (2009-11-03), Augusta loses its Groove, Augusta Chronicle, http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2009/11/03/nba_554304.shtml, retrieved 2009-11-04
- ^ Wuest, Matthew (2008-06-23). "Rainmen to join Premier Basketball League". MetroNews.ca. http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/sports/article/73452. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- ^ New Pro-Basketball Team Named: "Southeast Texas Mustangs"
- ^ "Fury Finished". MyStateline.com. 2008-08-08. http://mystateline.com/content/fulltext/?cid=18671. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
- ^ Sea Dawgs Join Continental Basketball League, Cape Fear Business News, 2009-11-03, http://capefearbusiness.com/?p=2872, retrieved 2009-11-03
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