History of the American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a professional basketball league that operated from 1967 to 1976 and became the most important rival the NBA has ever faced. Although the ABA survived for only nine seasons, its influence on professional basketball was enormous. The league popularized the three-point shot, introduced the red, white and blue basketball, emphasized a fast and entertaining style of play, showcased stars such as Julius Erving, Rick Barry, Connie Hawkins, George Gervin and Artis Gilmore, and forced the NBA to compete aggressively for players.
The ABA's history was also defined by instability. Franchises relocated frequently, teams struggled financially, payrolls were sometimes missed, and several clubs disappeared entirely. Yet despite the chaos, the ABA produced outstanding basketball and developed innovations that became permanent parts of the sport.
In 1976, the ABA ceased operations as an independent league. Four of its franchises—the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets and San Antonio Spurs—entered the NBA, while the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis were left behind.
The Birth of the ABA
The ABA was founded in 1967 as a direct competitor to the established National Basketball Association.
One of the central figures behind the new league was Dennis Murphy, a sports entrepreneur who later became involved in the creation of other professional leagues. Businessman Gary Davidson served as the ABA's first commissioner.
The league's founders recognized that challenging the NBA would be difficult. Rather than simply copying the older league, the ABA attempted to create a distinct identity.
The new league adopted a colorful red, white and blue basketball, which became its most recognizable symbol. It also used the three-point field goal, rewarding shots made from long range with an additional point.
The ABA wanted basketball to be faster, more offensive and more entertaining.
The Original ABA Teams
The league began its inaugural 1967-68 season with 11 franchises:
Some of these franchises would become stable ABA organizations. Others would move repeatedly or disappear within only a few years.
Relocation became one of the defining characteristics of the league.
The Anaheim Amigos became the Los Angeles Stars and eventually the Utah Stars. The Minnesota Muskies became the Miami Floridians. The Houston Mavericks moved to North Carolina and became the Carolina Cougars before eventually becoming the Spirits of St. Louis. The Oakland Oaks became the Washington Caps and then the Virginia Squires.
The ABA was constantly changing.
The Three-Point Shot
The three-point field goal became one of the ABA's greatest contributions to basketball.
Long-distance shots had been used by earlier leagues, including the American Basketball League, but the ABA made the three-pointer a central part of its identity.
The rule created opportunities for dramatic comebacks and encouraged teams to spread the floor. Players such as Louie Dampier, Glen Combs and Les Selvage became early practitioners of long-range shooting.
At the time, the NBA did not use the three-point line.
The NBA finally adopted the three-pointer for the 1979-80 season, three years after the ABA disappeared. Decades later, three-point shooting became one of the fundamental elements of professional basketball.
The Red, White and Blue Basketball
Nothing visually represented the ABA better than its red, white and blue basketball.
The colorful ball helped distinguish the league from the NBA's traditional basketball and became an effective marketing tool. It reflected the ABA's broader personality: unconventional, colorful and willing to experiment.
The ball remains one of the most recognizable symbols of the league decades after its final game.
The Pittsburgh Pipers Win the First Championship
The Pittsburgh Pipers became the ABA's first champions.
Led by superstar Connie Hawkins, Pittsburgh finished 54-24 during the 1967-68 regular season. Hawkins was one of the most talented players in professional basketball but had been prevented from entering the NBA because of his association with individuals involved in a college basketball gambling scandal, despite never being charged with wrongdoing.
The ABA gave Hawkins an opportunity to showcase his extraordinary ability.
Pittsburgh defeated the New Orleans Buccaneers in seven games to win the 1968 ABA championship, and Hawkins was named the league's Most Valuable Player.
Despite winning the championship, the Pipers moved to Minnesota after the season.
That strange combination—excellent basketball and unstable business operations—would become typical of the ABA.
Rick Barry and the Oakland Oaks
One of the ABA's first major victories over the NBA came when Rick Barry signed with the Oakland Oaks.
Barry had already become a superstar with the NBA's San Francisco Warriors. His decision to join the ABA gave the new league credibility and demonstrated that it could compete for elite players.
A contract dispute forced Barry to sit out the 1967-68 season, but he joined Oakland the following year.
The 1968-69 Oaks, coached by Alex Hannum, dominated the league with a 60-18 record. Barry was injured during the season, but Oakland's deep roster continued winning.
The Oaks defeated the Indiana Pacers to capture the 1969 ABA championship.
Financial problems nevertheless resulted in another relocation. The champions moved across the country and became the Washington Caps for 1969-70.
The Indiana Pacers Become an ABA Dynasty
No franchise better represented sustained ABA success than the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers developed one of the league's strongest organizations and featured players such as Roger Brown, Mel Daniels, Freddie Lewis, Bob Netolicky and George McGinnis.
Indiana won its first championship in 1970, defeating the Los Angeles Stars in the Finals.
The Pacers won again in 1972, defeating the New York Nets, and captured a third championship in 1973 against the Kentucky Colonels.
Indiana's three ABA championships were the most won by any franchise in league history.
The Pacers also developed a passionate fan base and became one of the ABA teams eventually admitted into the NBA.
The Utah Stars and Basketball in Salt Lake City
The Los Angeles Stars relocated to Salt Lake City in 1970 and became the Utah Stars.
The move proved remarkably successful.
Led by Zelmo Beaty, Willie Wise, Ron Boone and Glen Combs, Utah became one of the ABA's premier teams. Bill Sharman coached the Stars during their first season in Utah.
The Stars defeated the Kentucky Colonels in seven games to capture the 1971 ABA championship.
Utah continued contending throughout the early 1970s and returned to the ABA Finals in 1974.
The franchise also became the professional starting point for Moses Malone, who joined Utah directly from high school in 1974.
Despite strong fan support and years of success, financial problems eventually overwhelmed the Stars. Utah folded during the 1975-76 season.
Julius Erving Changes the ABA
No player became more closely associated with the ABA than Julius Erving.
Erving entered the league with the Virginia Squires in 1971. His athleticism, enormous hands, spectacular dunks and ability to seemingly hang in the air made him unlike almost any player professional basketball had seen.
After two seasons with Virginia, Erving joined the New York Nets.
With Erving as their superstar, the Nets became one of the ABA's dominant teams.
New York won the 1974 ABA championship, defeating the Utah Stars in the Finals.
Erving won the ABA Most Valuable Player award three consecutive times from 1974 through 1976 and became the league's most recognizable star.
The Kentucky Colonels
The Kentucky Colonels were another cornerstone of the ABA.
The franchise featured several of the league's greatest players, including Louie Dampier, Dan Issel and Artis Gilmore.
Kentucky produced one of the greatest regular seasons in professional basketball history in 1971-72, finishing 68-16. However, the Colonels were upset by the New York Nets in the first round of the playoffs.
The elusive championship finally arrived in 1975.
Coached by Hubie Brown and led by Gilmore and Issel, Kentucky defeated the Indiana Pacers to capture the ABA title.
Despite being one of the league's most recognizable franchises, Kentucky would not be included in the NBA when the leagues reached their agreement in 1976.
The Denver Nuggets Emerge
The Denver franchise began as the Denver Rockets in 1967.
By the mid-1970s, Denver had developed into one of the strongest franchises in the league. The club became the Denver Nuggets in 1974, partly in anticipation of a possible future in the NBA.
Under coach Larry Brown, Denver featured stars such as David Thompson, Dan Issel, Bobby Jones and Ralph Simpson.
The Nuggets finished 65-19 in 1974-75 and followed that with a 60-24 record in 1975-76.
Denver's strong attendance, talented roster and stable market made the franchise an obvious candidate for NBA admission.
The San Antonio Spurs
The Dallas Chaparrals struggled to establish a consistent following despite being one of the ABA's original franchises.
For the 1973-74 season, the team moved to San Antonio and became the San Antonio Spurs.
The relocation transformed the franchise.
San Antonio developed a strong fan base, while players such as George Gervin, James Silas and Larry Kenon gave the Spurs an exciting team.
Gervin, nicknamed "The Iceman," became one of the greatest scorers of his generation and eventually one of the most successful former ABA players in the NBA.
The Spurs' popularity and financial potential helped make San Antonio one of the four franchises selected to enter the NBA.
The Battle for Players
The ABA's greatest impact on the NBA may have come through competition for talent.
Before the ABA, NBA teams faced much less competition when negotiating with professional basketball players. The arrival of a rival league gave players another option.
The two leagues competed aggressively for draft picks and established stars.
The ABA signed or pursued players including Rick Barry, Connie Hawkins, Spencer Haywood, Artis Gilmore, Julius Erving, George Gervin, David Thompson and Moses Malone.
This competition helped drive salaries upward.
The ABA also aggressively recruited underclassmen and players who did not follow the traditional four-year college path.
Spencer Haywood and the Hardship Rule
One of the most important cases involved Spencer Haywood.
Haywood joined the Denver Rockets for the 1969-70 season after leaving college early. He immediately became one of the league's best players, averaging roughly 30 points and 19 rebounds per game.
He won the ABA's MVP and Rookie of the Year awards.
Haywood soon jumped to the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics, leading to a major legal dispute over the NBA's eligibility rules.
His case helped change the pathway into professional basketball and contributed to the development of rules allowing players to enter the NBA before completing four years of college.
The Slam Dunk Contest
The ABA introduced another innovation during its final season: the Slam Dunk Contest.
The competition was held at halftime of the 1976 ABA All-Star Game in Denver.
Participants included Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, Larry Kenon, David Thompson and Julius Erving.
Erving won the contest, highlighted by his famous dunk after taking off from near the free-throw line.
The spectacle became one of the enduring images of the ABA.
The NBA later introduced its own Slam Dunk Contest, which became a major part of All-Star Weekend.
Financial Instability
For all its innovation and talent, the ABA never achieved the financial stability of the NBA.
Many teams lacked sufficient capital. Television revenue was limited, attendance varied dramatically from market to market, and franchises sometimes struggled to meet payroll.
Teams relocated frequently in search of better markets.
Some owners hoped their investment would ultimately pay off through a merger with the NBA rather than through the ABA's long-term survival as an independent league.
By the mid-1970s, the situation had become increasingly desperate.
The Disastrous 1975-76 Season
The ABA entered its final season in serious trouble.
The Baltimore Claws, created after the Memphis Sounds franchise moved to Baltimore, collapsed before playing a regular-season game. Players went unpaid, the team struggled to cover basic expenses, and the league ultimately revoked the franchise.
The San Diego Sails began the season but folded after only 11 games.
The Utah Stars, despite their championship history and strong fan support, ceased operations in December 1975 after playing 16 games.
The Virginia Squires managed to finish the regular season with a disastrous 15-68 record but were financially exhausted.
The league that had started with 11 franchises in 1967 was rapidly shrinking.
The Final ABA Season
Despite the chaos, the remaining teams produced an entertaining final season.
The Denver Nuggets finished 60-24, while the New York Nets went 55-29 behind Julius Erving.
The ABA introduced an unusual playoff structure because so few teams remained.
The Kentucky Colonels defeated the Indiana Pacers in a preliminary series, while the Nets and Nuggets eventually advanced to the championship round.
The 1976 ABA Finals matched Julius Erving's Nets against David Thompson's Nuggets.
New York won the series in six games, making the Nets the final champions in ABA history.
Erving scored 31 points in the deciding Game 6, which New York won 112-106.
The final ABA game was played on May 13, 1976.
The ABA-NBA Agreement
Years of competition and negotiations culminated in an agreement during the summer of 1976.
Although commonly called the ABA-NBA merger, the arrangement did not bring the entire ABA into the NBA.
Four franchises were admitted:
- Denver Nuggets
- Indiana Pacers
- New York Nets
- San Antonio Spurs
The Kentucky Colonels ceased operations after owner John Y. Brown accepted a buyout.
The Spirits of St. Louis also disappeared After a failed attempt to move to Utah, but owners Ozzie and Daniel Silna negotiated one of the most famous deals in sports business history. In exchange for folding, they received compensation that included a share of television revenue generated by the four former ABA teams that joined the NBA. The agreement ultimately produced hundreds of millions of dollars before it was bought out decades later.
The Virginia Squires had already folded and were not part of the final arrangement.
The ABA Players Enter the NBA
The end of the ABA did not mean the end of its influence.
Its players entered the NBA and immediately demonstrated the quality of the rival league.
Julius Erving joined the Philadelphia 76ers and became one of the NBA's greatest stars. George Gervin became an NBA scoring champion with San Antonio. Moses Malone developed into a three-time NBA MVP and led Philadelphia to the 1983 championship.
David Thompson became one of the NBA's premier scorers. Artis Gilmore continued his career with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.
Former ABA players were not simply capable of surviving in the NBA—they became some of its best players.
ABA Champions
The nine ABA championships were won by seven different franchise identities:
| Season |
Champion |
| 1967-68 |
Pittsburgh Pipers |
| 1968-69 |
Oakland Oaks |
| 1969-70 |
Indiana Pacers |
| 1970-71 |
Utah Stars |
| 1971-72 |
Indiana Pacers |
| 1972-73 |
Indiana Pacers |
| 1973-74 |
New York Nets |
| 1974-75 |
Kentucky Colonels |
| 1975-76 |
New York Nets |
The Indiana Pacers led all franchises with three ABA championships. The New York Nets won two, while Pittsburgh, Oakland, Utah and Kentucky each won one.
The ABA's Lasting Influence
The ABA lasted only nine seasons, but much of what once made the league unusual eventually became normal in professional basketball.
The three-point line became an essential part of the NBA and eventually transformed basketball strategy.
The Slam Dunk Contest became one of the signature events of NBA All-Star Weekend.
The ABA's emphasis on athleticism, individual expression, fast breaks, spectacular dunks and offensive creativity anticipated the direction professional basketball would take in later decades.
The league also helped expand professional basketball into markets that would become important NBA cities, particularly Denver, Indianapolis and San Antonio.
Most importantly, the ABA proved there was enough basketball talent outside the NBA to support a serious rival league. Competition for that talent increased player leverage, changed career opportunities and helped reshape the economics of professional basketball.
Legacy of the ABA
The American Basketball Association was simultaneously innovative, chaotic, entertaining and financially unstable.
Its teams could reach the championship series and relocate months later. Championship franchises could disappear. Players sometimes competed in front of packed arenas one night and nearly empty buildings the next. Owners experimented constantly with markets, promotions and business strategies in an effort to survive.
Yet the basketball itself left an extraordinary legacy.
Julius Erving, George Gervin, Moses Malone, Rick Barry, Connie Hawkins, Artis Gilmore, David Thompson, Dan Issel, Mel Daniels, Roger Brown, Louie Dampier and Willie Wise were among the stars who gave the ABA credibility.
The league's influence survived its demise in 1976. Four ABA franchises continue playing in the NBA, generations of former ABA players entered basketball history, and innovations once used to distinguish a rebellious rival league became fundamental elements of the modern game.
The ABA did not defeat the NBA, nor did it survive alongside it. Instead, many of its best ideas, players and franchises became part of the basketball establishment it had spent nine years challenging.
In that sense, the ABA disappeared as a league but never truly disappeared from basketball.
| 