American Basketball Association (2000–)

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For information on the original American Basketball Association that existed from 1967 through 1976, see American Basketball Association.
American Basketball Association

American Basketball Association logo
Sport Basketball
Founded 1999
Motto More than just a game.
No. of teams 62
Country(ies)  United States
 Bahamas
 Canada
Most recent champion(s) Kentucky Bisons
Most championships Vermont Frost Heaves (2)
Official website www.abalive.com

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.

Contents

[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.

[edit] Southeast Division

[edit] South Central Division

[edit] Southwest Division

[edit] Northeast Division

[edit] Southern Cal Division

[edit] Northern Cal Division

[edit] North Central Division

[edit] Northwest Division

[edit] 2010-11 expansion/returning teams

[edit] Defunct teams

Main article: List of defunct ABA teams


[edit] Teams that were announced to join the ABA but never played a game

[edit] Hawaii Mega Force

[edit] Inglewood Cobras

[edit] Long Beach Breakers

ABA logo. The team folded before it could play an ABA game.

The Long Beach Breakers was a team of the American Basketball Association that was scheduled to begin play in 2007. The team was known as the Long Beach Storm before an ownership change in April 2007.[9][10]

[edit] Ontario Red Wolves

2007 logo of aborted Ontario Red Wolves ABA franchise.
Original logo. The team folded without ever developing a roster.

The Ontario Red Wolves were a planned American Basketball Association (ABA) team in Mississauga, Ontario. The team was announced during the 2005-2006 season as a Toronto expansion franchise and subsequently chose nearby Mississauga as their home. They were previously known as the Mississauga Red Wolves before choosing to represent the entire province in their name. In July 2007, the ABA moved the team to its 2008-09 expansion list at its website, indicating that the team would not play in 2007-08. On March 10, 2008, the ABA edited its expansion list for 2008-09 and removed the Red Wolves, thus indicating the team has folded.

[edit] Pittsburgh Hardhats

The Pittsburgh Hardhats were an American Basketball Association team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team essentially existed on paper only, as it folded prior to the start of the season due to financial difficulties. The team was replaced in the ABA October 12, 2004, by the Pennsylvania Pit Bulls, who competed in the 2004-2005 ABA season.[11]

[edit] Former teams that joined other leagues

[edit] Championship Game results

For complete playoff results of past ABA seasons, see American Basketball Association (2000-) Playoff Results.
Year Champion Runner-up Score Location Reference
2000-2001 Detroit Dogs Chicago Skyliners 107-91 Cox Pavilion
2001-2002 Kansas City Knights Southern California Surf 118-113 Kemper Arena
2003-2004 Long Beach Jam Kansas City Knights 126-123 Walter Pyramid
2004-2005 Arkansas RimRockers Bellevue Blackhawks 118-103 Alltel Arena
2005-2006 Rochester Razorsharks SoCal Legends 117-114 Blue Cross Arena
2006-2007 Vermont Frost Heaves Texas Tycoons 143-95 Barre Auditorium
2007-2008 Vermont Frost Heaves San Diego Wildcats 87-84 Pavillon de la Jeunesse
2008-2009 Kentucky Bisons Maywood Buzz 127-120 Nashville Municipal Auditorium

[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

[edit] Community Service

  • 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

  1. ^ Democrat & Chronicle: Bob Matthews
  2. ^ http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3423259
  3. ^ http://biz.yahoo.com/e/070207/abkb.ob8-k.html
  4. ^ ABAlive.com - Home of the American Basketball Association
  5. ^ 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 on 2008-05-21. 
  6. ^ 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 on 2008-05-09. 
  7. ^ "Quebec Kebs Join Premier Basketball League". Our Sports Central. 2008-05-21. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3644389. Retrieved on 2008-05-21. 
  8. ^ 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 on 2008-09-09. 
  9. ^ Announcement of Long Beach Breakers
  10. ^ Press release announcing the Los Angeles Breakers
  11. ^ Pennsylvania Pit Bulls replace Hardhats
  12. ^ Wuest, Matthew (2008-06-23). "Rainmen to join Premier Basketball League". MetroNews.ca. http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/sports/article/73452. Retrieved on 2009-01-05. 
  13. ^ New Pro-Basketball Team Named: "Southeast Texas Mustangs"
  14. ^ "Fury Finished". MyStateline.com. 2008-08-08. http://mystateline.com/content/fulltext/?cid=18671. Retrieved on 2008-08-12. 

[edit] External links

Men's professional basketball leagues
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