The American Basketball Association ( ABA ) is an American semi-professional men's basketball minor league that was founded in 1999.
44-868: The Gulf Coast Flash were a franchise of the American Basketball Association based in Gulfport, Mississippi that debuted in the 2010-2011 season . It was purchased by Jeremi Washington in June 2010. The team played in the Gulf Coast Division and its home games on the campus of Gulfport High School . In its first season, the Flash made it to the ABA Finals where they would become runners-up. American Basketball Association (2000%E2%80%93present) ABA teams are based in
88-508: A new franchise and affiliation before the 2016–17 season, although it did not come to fruition. On May 2, it was announced that former Arizona Sundogs and current Arizona Rattlers president, Chris Presson, would become the new team president for the Suns. The new team logo and jerseys for Northern Arizona was officially unveiled on May 11 and the front office personnel and coaching staff were announced on August 16. During their first season as
132-525: A scheme to acquire an NBA Development League franchise. At the start of the 2008–09 season , over 200 teams had folded since the league's inception. The 2008–09 season saw the Southeast Texas Mustangs franchise join the league after leaving the struggling Continental Basketball Association . The ABA attempted interleague play with the four remaining CBA teams, but their league folded mid-season. NBA scouts stopped attending
176-758: A series of exhibitions against ABA teams including the Clayton Showtime, Los Angeles Slam, Riverside Rainmakers, San Diego Surf and the West Coast All-Stars. This April 2010 series was referred to as the ABA Friendship Games. Dick Packer was named league President and COO in April 2010. After winning their second consecutive championship in 2010–11 , the Southeast Texas Mavericks publicly opined that
220-592: A venue. A proposed merger with the International Basketball League fell through in December 2000, which would have allowed the inaugural season to begin with additional teams. To attract fans, the ABA encouraged its teams to fill rosters with former NBA players and past college basketball stars that had local ties. Former NBA champion and Florida native Darryl Dawkins was recruited as
264-849: The 2004–05 ABA title in their first year of play, but then left with the Long Beach Jam to join the rival NBA Development League . The ABA welcomed the Beijing Aoshen Olympians beginning with the 2005–06 season , a club which had been banned from the Chinese Basketball League after refusing to allow star prospect Sun Yue to play for the Chinese national team . The Olympians played their home games in Maywood, California . CCTV-5 in China broadcast
308-588: The 2014–15 season . After completing a perfect season for the second time in 2014–15 and winning their fourth championship, the Shreveport-Bossier Mavericks left the ABA to join the Premier Basketball League . Joe Newman returned to the role of league President and CEO beginning with the 2015–16 season . The Jacksonville Giants drew the league's all-time record crowd of 8,987 for their 100–93 victory over
352-542: The American Basketball Association (1967–1976) during the ABA–NBA merger . The Women's American Basketball Association has operated as a sister league to the ABA since 2017. The league was originally co-founded by Dick Tinkham and Joe Newman in 1999 as ABA 2000 . Tinkham had previously co-founded the Indiana Pacers in the original American Basketball Association , and Newman had been an advertising executive for
396-732: The Detroit Pistons . The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse . The franchise began play as the Long Beach Jam in 2003 under the revived American Basketball Association and moved to Bakersfield in the D-League in 2006 as the Bakersfield Jam . After ten years in Bakersfield, California , the franchise was moved to Prescott Valley, Arizona , in 2016 by the Phoenix Suns and were subsequently renamed
440-537: The Dignity Health Event Center seated only 500, the team did not sell individual general admission tickets and were sold to season ticket holders only. On May 29, 2015, it was announced that Nate Bjorkgren would leave the Jam to take part in the Suns' organization as a leading player development and assistant coach. Three months later, former NBA coach Chris Jent would be the newest head coach for
484-778: The Northern Arizona Suns . In 2021, the team relocated to Detroit after being purchased by the Pistons. During the year-long hiatus that the American Basketball Association had in the 2002–03 season, one of the teams the league approved of would be the Long Beach Jam . In the team's inaugural season, the Jam managed to procure NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman , fellow veteran Corey Gaines , up-and-coming player Matt Barnes , and Japanese point guard Yuta Tabuse on their squad. They also got former NBA Finals winning head coach Paul Westhead during
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#1732787578408528-685: The Premier Basketball League (PBL). Following the 2007–08 season , the reigning champion Vermont Frost Heaves left for the Premier Basketball League along with the Halifax Rainmen , Manchester Millrats and Quebec Kebs . Quentin Townsend, owner of the Atlanta Vision , was named league President and COO in April 2008. He was later removed from those positions after being arrested in November 2008 for defrauding investors in
572-470: The Vermont Frost Heaves , regularly penning articles in the publication about his team's inaugural campaign. John Salley and Tom Doyle attempted a boardroom coup on behalf of shareholders , with ABA's Board of Directors voting to remove Joe Newman as CEO on January 31, 2007. Newman sued Salley and Doyle, leading to a settlement in which he kept his job and forced their resignations from
616-526: The 2022–23 season after storm damage rendered the venue for their championship game unplayable. The league employs a number of unconventional rules that are unique to the league: 109 teams completed at least one game during the 2023–24 season. The league's oldest surviving franchises are the Jersey Express (est. 2005), Georgia Gwizzlies (est. 2007), Steel City Yellow Jackets (est. 2014), and Indiana Lyons (est. 2017). Franchises that left
660-575: The ABA but still compete elsewhere include the Detroit Panthers ( Maximum Basketball League ), Motor City Cruise ( NBA G League ), and Newfoundland Rogues ( Basketball Super League ). USA: Asia: Africa: Americas: Canada Long Beach Jam The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit , and are affiliated with
704-699: The ABA did not have adequate competition, and they left with intentions of joining the NBA Development League . However, their application to join the NBA Development League was denied, and the franchise sat out the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons. Consecutive titles were won by the Jacksonville Giants in their absence, with championship wins over the previously undefeated South Carolina Warriors in 2011–12 and North Dallas Vandals in 2012–13 . The team returned to
748-613: The ABA for 2013–14 as the Shreveport-Bossier Mavericks , going undefeated and winning the league title in a perfect season . At the conclusion of the 2013–14 season , over 350 franchises had folded since the league's inception. Former Arizona Scorpions owner Ron Tilley replaced Joe Newman as league President and CEO following Newman's retirement in July 2014. The league signed a two-year streaming deal with ESPN3 in August 2014 to broadcast regular season and playoff games beginning with
792-617: The Chicago Skyliners, Detroit Dogs , Indiana Legends, Kansas City Knights , Los Angeles Stars , Memphis Houn'Dawgs, San Diego Wildfire and Tampa Bay ThunderDawgs. Joe Newman founded the Indiana Legends to replace the Jacksonville Jackals, who were removed from the league after failing to secure a venue. Mark Hamister purchased the rights to a Buffalo franchise for $ 75,000, but was also unable to secure
836-878: The Finals, where they competed against the winner of the Kansas City Knights (the previous champions of the ABA) and the Juárez Gallos . In the championship round, the Jam barely escaped against the Knights to win the ABA Championship with a final score of 126–123. In their second and final season under the Long Beach name, the Jam began their season under a pedestrian 8–6 record with another NBA Hall of Famer, this time Nate "Tiny" Archibald , leading
880-477: The Jam. On April 12, 2016, the Phoenix Suns announced that the organization had officially purchased the Jam and were relocating the franchise to the town of Prescott Valley, Arizona , for the 2016–17 season and became the Northern Arizona Suns. In response, the previous owners of the Jam franchise, Stan Ellis and David Higdon, announced that they have been working with the D-League in securing
924-464: The Northern Arizona Suns, the team started out the season strong, entering with a 10–1 record. However, the Suns would enter a major losing streak after having Tyler Ulis and Alan Williams briefly play for them via assignment, and would ultimately not recover from it afterward. In the 2017 offseason, the D-League rebranded as the NBA G League . On October 20, 2017, the Suns had assistant general manager Louis Lehman take over general manager duties for
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#1732787578408968-459: The Northern Arizona Suns, while previous general manager Bubba Barrage remained in Phoenix as director of player personnel. Three days later, head coach Tyrone Ellis became an assistant coach for Phoenix alongside Northern Arizona assistants Bret Burchard and Brandon Rosenthal, leaving assistant coach Tyler Gatlin as the interim head coach during the G League preseason. Cody Toppert was named
1012-526: The Pacers. The National Basketball Association (NBA), owner of the ABA trademark after absorbing many of the original league's teams, sued Tinkham and Newman in December 1999. The lawsuit was unsuccessful since the NBA had failed to actively use the ABA trademark, and the new league entered an agreement with the NBA to license the name for $ 50,000. The league began its inaugural 2000–01 season with eight teams:
1056-716: The Phoenix Suns and were relocating the franchise to Detroit for the 2021–22 season to play at Wayne State Fieldhouse . It was also announced that the team's affiliation with the Grand Rapids Drive would end upon the completion of the 2020–21 season. On October 30, the team name was announced as the Motor City Cruise. On March 17, 2021, the Cruise announced the hiring of Rob Murphy as president and general manager. Pistons' assistant coach DJ Bakker
1100-522: The Phoenix Suns originally announced that the team would relocate to the metro Phoenix area for the following season. However, the team withdrew entirely from the 2020–21 season amidst the COVID-19 pandemic when the G League held the abbreviated season in a bubble in Orlando, Florida . On July 29, 2020, the Detroit Pistons announced that the organization had purchased the Northern Arizona Suns from
1144-587: The Snowbears folded soon afterwards, while Bellevue lost the championship match to the Arkansas RimRockers . After the end of that season, the Jam withdrew from the 2005–06 ABA season to move to the NBA Development League the following season afterward, with the intent to also move to Bakersfield around that same period of time. After their first season in Bakersfield ended in 2007, there
1188-609: The United States, with one traveling team from Japan. The league previously had international teams based in Canada, China and Mexico. League management infamously maintains low requirements for franchise ownership, and hundreds of ABA teams have either folded or defected to rival leagues. The league licenses its name and use of ABA trademarks from the National Basketball Association , which absorbed
1232-527: The amount of teams that a league has, it's the amount that finish. —Tom Doyle, Maryland Nighthawks In preparation for the league's initial public offering ( ABKB ), former NBA player John Salley was named league commissioner and Maryland Nighthawks owner Tom Doyle was named league COO in September 2006. Cost for new franchises was subsequently raised to $ 20,000 for the 2006–07 season . Sports Illustrated writer Alexander Wolff launched
1276-715: The first head coach of the Tampa Bay ThunderDawgs. The 2001–02 ABA season saw only three teams return from the inaugural season, with the Chicago Skyliners, Los Angeles Stars , Memphis Houn'Dawgs, San Diego Wildfire and Tampa Bay ThunderDawgs replaced by the Kentucky Pro Cats, Las Vegas Slam, Phoenix Eclipse and Southern California Surf. Joe Newman folded the Indiana Legends after he was sued by eight former players in August 2002 for failing to pay their salaries. Newman had claimed $ 1 million in losses over two seasons of ownership. The 2002–03 season
1320-399: The head coach just prior to the start of the season. The team finished the season with a 23–27 record and missed the playoffs. At the end of the season, head coach Toppert was promoted to an assistant coaching position in Phoenix. He would be replaced by former Northern Arizona Suns assistant and Phoenix Suns' assistant coach Bret Burchard . Following the pandemic-shorted 2019–20 season ,
1364-436: The league when he signed with the Long Beach Jam , leading them to an ABA title in their first season. The 2004–05 season saw franchise fees lowered from $ 50,000 to $ 10,000, and the bond requirement removed in order to attract new teams. Teams were subsequently organized into regional groups to facilitate interest and reduce travel costs, with 37 clubs competing that season in three divisions. The Arkansas RimRockers won
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1408-528: The league's games in January 2009, citing the amount of cancelled and forfeited contests. Several teams folded during the 2009–10 season , including the entire Pacific Northwest Division. The San Francisco Rumble forfeited their playoff game against the Southeast Texas Mavericks , as they could not afford to travel for the contest. Gilas Pilipinas , the Philippine national basketball team, competed in
1452-615: The league. The 2006–07 season concluded with the defending champion Rochester Razorsharks withdrawing from the league after they asked to reschedule a playoff game against the Wilmington Sea Dawgs , but were denied and told to forfeit. Following this incident, the Hammond Rollers , Jacksonville Jam , Maryland Nighthawks , Quad City Riverhawks and Wilmington Sea Dawgs joined the Razorsharks in forming
1496-597: The previously unbeaten Chicago Steam at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on January 16, 2016. It had been reported the week prior that the Orlando Magic was considering adopting the Giants as their NBA Development League affiliate, although later in the year they instead moved their existing affiliate Erie BayHawks to Lakeland, Florida . A sister league, the Women's American Basketball Association (WABA),
1540-404: The start of the season, but he managed to procure himself an assistant coach gig with the Orlando Magic after their first game of the season. Nevertheless, with the presence of players like Rodman, Gaines and Tabuse under new head coach Earl Cureton , the Jam would hold a 24–7 record. It was not only considered the best record of the league that season, but also gave the Jam a bye all the way into
1584-602: The team with a 10-4 second half during that season, which produced them with the second-best record in the Red Division. The Jam competed in the playoffs and made it to the quarterfinals, where they lost 130–115 to the Utah Snowbears (who produced a 25–1 that season), who would surprisingly end up forfeiting their last match to the Bellevue Blackhawks (potentially due to sunk costs with the team) since
1628-508: The team's first perfect season and third in ABA history. A play-in tournament was implemented beginning with the 2021–22 season to determine which teams would advance to the divisional round of the playoffs. Following elimination from the 2021–22 playoffs by the Steel City Yellow Jackets , the Jacksonville Giants ceased operations. The Burning River Buckets and Indiana Lyons were declared co-champions of
1672-604: The team's games, where they were watched by an average of 15 million people. Following the 2005–06 season in which many teams failed to complete their full schedules and became insolvent, the Charlotte Krunk , Florida Pit Bulls , Indiana Alley Cats , Pittsburgh Xplosion , San Jose Skyrockets and SoCal Legends left to join the rival Continental Basketball Association . My idea of success and Newman's differ. I'd rather have fewer teams, that are stable and last, as opposed to having tons that continue to fold. It's not
1716-405: The team, but it would also allow the Jam to operate under their own management in the process. On May 9, it was confirmed that the Suns and the Jam would agree to working under a hybrid affiliation. Four days later, the Jam completed their transition by allowing Suns scout Bubba Barrage to be the team's newest general manager and letting Nate Bjorkgren coach the Jam in place of Will Voigt . Since
1760-466: The way as head coach during the first half of the 2004–05 season. On January 17, 2005, Archibald resigned from his position as head coach and had former player and future head coach of the Phoenix Mercury , Corey Gaines , assigned as their new head coach during the second half of their season. In that season, they managed to produce an 18–10 record in a greatly expanded ABA, with Gaines improving
1804-533: Was a contest where the fans could decide on a new name for the team. The choices were to rename the team Desperados , Roughnecks , Oilers , or keep the name Jam. On May 17, the team announced that the team will remain the Bakersfield Jam, as that name won the poll in a landslide vote. The team played at Rabobank Arena until 2009 and later at the Jam Events Center . On April 29, 2009, it
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1848-510: Was launched in 2017. Jersey Express owner Marsha Blount was named the league's President and CEO. The 2017–18 season saw franchise fees lowered to $ 2,500. League co-founder Dick Tinkham died of muscular dystrophy in October 2018. The 2019–20 season was ended prematurely and the playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The undefeated Jacksonville Giants captured their seventh and final championship in 2020–21, concluding
1892-527: Was not played, as the league suspended operations for reorganization. Jim Clark, owner of the Kansas City Knights , was named league president and COO in November 2002. The league resumed play with seven teams for the 2003–04 season . The returning Kansas City Knights were joined by the Fresno Heatwave , Jersey Squires, Las Vegas Rattlers, Juárez Gallos de Pelea , Long Beach Jam and Tijuana Dragons. Dennis Rodman brought national attention to
1936-426: Was reported that the Jam had ceased operations, citing lack of sufficient fan attendance. However, on June 18, the Jam announced that they had not shut down and plan to play in the 2009–10 season, with further details to come the following day. On April 30, 2014, it was reported that the Jam would enter a hybrid operation with the Phoenix Suns . Not only would that lead to the Suns having exclusive collaborations with
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