American Basketball Association (2000)

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

Infobox sports league
title = American Basketball Association

pixels = 150px
caption = American Basketball Association logo
sport = Basketball
founded = 1999
fame =
motto = "Exciting, fast-paced, fan-friendly basketball at affordable prices"
teams = 36
country = USA
BAH
CAN
MEX
SGP
champion = Vermont Frost Heaves (now in PBL)
folded =
website = [http://www.abalive.com www.abalive.com]

The American Basketball Association (ABA) otcbb|ABKBE 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.

History

First beginning play in 2000 with eight teams, the league is currently in its seventh season.

Following its first two seasons, the league suspended operations in 2002-2003 for reorganization. Expansion occurred prior to the 2004-2005 season, with thirty-seven teams eventually playing that year. The 2006-2007 season saw the cost for a new expansion franchise raised to $50,000. [ [http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060617/SPORTS0101/606170331/1007/SPORTS Democrat & Chronicle: Bob Matthews ] ] 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. [http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3423259] 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. [http://biz.yahoo.com/e/070207/abkb.ob8-k.html] 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. [ [http://www.abalive.com/news/releases/?newsid=2007020506013 ABAlive.com - Home of the American Basketball Association ] ] 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. 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 last two ABA champions now play for this league.

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 Oursportscentral, only around 35% of the games were actually played in the 2007/08 season. The teams who 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. Another team who 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 Oursportscentral 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 (attendance-wise) the Halifax Rainmen left the ABA citing frustrations 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. [cite web | title = ABA stands for Amateur Basketball Association | url = http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/alex_walling/?id=232465&lid=sublink09&lpos=headlines_columnists-alex_walling | last = Walling | first = Alex | publisher = TSN.ca | accessdate = 2008-09-09 ]

Current teams

:"For current regular season standings,see [http://www.abalive.com/standings/standings.html ABALive.com Standings] .":"For regular season standings of past ABA seasons, see American Basketball Association (2000-) Standings."

outheast Division

*Atlanta Vision
*Bahama All-Pro Show
*Georgia Gwizzlies
*Kansas City Spartans
*Kentucky Bisons
*Knoxville Thunderbolts
*Nashville Broncs
*St. Louis Stunners
*Winston-Salem Storm

Northeast Division

*Aurora Force
*Cleveland Rockers
*Detroit Hoops
*Jersey Express
*Montreal Matrix
*NYC Internationalz
*South Chicago Ball Stars
*Westchester Phantoms
*West Virginia Blazers
*West Virginia Outlaws

outhwest Division

*Arizona Rhinos
*Gallup Talons
*Houston Takers
*Las Vegas Aces
*Mississippi Blues
*Phoenix Fury
*South Texas Showboats
*Southeast Texas Mustangs
*West Texas Whirlwinds

Northwest Division

*Alaska Dream
*Beijing Aoshen Olympian
*Maywood Buzz
*Modesto Bearcats
*Sacramento Heatwave
*Salt Lake City Saints
*San Diego Wildcats
*San Francisco Rumble
*Washington Raptors

2009-10 expansion teams

*Carolina Crossover
*First State Fusion
*Fresno Rebels
*Oakland, California
*Tampa, Florida

Defunct teams

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, now in Premier Basketball League as Augusta Groove
*Chicago Throwbacks - now in Premier Basketball League
*Corning Bulldogs - now in National Professional Basketball League as Elmira Bulldogs
*Detroit Panthers - now in Premier Basketball League
*Florida Pit Bulls - now in Continental Basketball Association as East Kentucky Miners
*Halifax Rainmen - now in Premier Basketball League [ [http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/sports/article/73452 Rainmen to join Premier Basketball League] ]
*Indiana Alley Cats - joined Continental Basketball Association, currently inactive
*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 [http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3637863 Premier Basketball League Welcomes Vermont Frost Heaves And Manchester Millrats] ]
*Maryland Nighthawks - now in Premier Basketball League
*Northeast Pennsylvania Breakers - joined United States Basketball League, but folded after one season there
*Pittsburgh Xplosion - now in Continental Basketball Association
*Quad City Riverhawks - now in Premier Basketball League
*Quebec Kebs - now in Premier Basketball League
*Reading Railers - now in Premier Basketball League
*Rio Grande Valley Silverados - played one season in the Continental Basketball Association, moved to Beaumont and returned to the ABA as the Southeast Texas Mustangs [http://www.kfdm.com/news/team_27373___article.html/basketball_texas.html New Pro-Basketball Team Named: "Southeast Texas Mustangs"] ]
*Rochester Razorsharks - now in Premier Basketball League
*Rock River Fury - joined the Premier Basketball League as Rockford Fury then folded. [cite web | title = Fury Finished | publisher = MyStateline.com | date = 2008-08-08 | accessdate = 2008-08-12 | url = http://mystateline.com/content/fulltext/?cid=18671 ]
*San Jose SkyRockets - now in Continental Basketball Association as Minot SkyRockets
*Vancouver Dragons - now in Continental Basketball Association, currently inactive
*Vermont Frost Heaves - now in Premier Basketball League
*Waco Wranglers - now in United Basketball League as Texas Wranglers
*Wilmington Sea Dawgs - now in Premier Basketball League

Championship Game results

:"For complete playoff results of past ABA seasons, see American Basketball Association (2000-) Playoff Results."

*2000-2001 - Detroit Dogs defeated Chicago Skyliners, 107-91 (Cox Pavilion)
*2001-2002 - Kansas City Knights defeated Southern California Surf, 118-113 (Kemper Arena)
*2003-2004 - Long Beach Jam defeated Kansas City Knights, 126-123 (Walter Pyramid)
*2004-2005 - Arkansas RimRockers defeated Bellevue Blackhawks, 118-103 (Alltel Arena)
*2005-2006 - Rochester Razorsharks defeated SoCal Legends, 117-114 (Blue Cross Arena)
*2006-2007 - Vermont Frost Heaves defeated Texas Tycoons, 143-95 (Barre Auditorium)
*2007-2008 - Vermont Frost Heaves defeated San Diego Wildcats, 87-84 ( [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavillon_de_la_jeunesse Pavillon de la jeunesse] )

All-Star Game results

*2002 ABA All-Star Game - Kansas City Knights defeated ABA All-Stars, 161-138 (Kemper Arena)
*2005 ABA All-Star Game - West defeated East, 163-149 (Las Vegas Sports Center)
*2006 ABA All-Star Game - East defeated West, 129-127 (BankAtlantic Center)
*2007 ABA All-Star Game - West defeated East, 138-123 (Halifax Metro Centre)
*2008 ABA All-Star Game - East defeated West, 161-140 (Barre Auditorium)

Awards

Player of the Year

*2000-2001 - None Announced
*2001-2002 - Pete Mickeal, Kansas City Knights
*2003-2004 - Joe Crispin, Kansas City Knights
*2004-2005 - Kareem Reid, Arkansas RimRockers
*2005-2006 - Chris Carrawell, Rochester Razorsharks
*2006-2007 - None Announced

Coach of the Year

*2000-2001 - None Announced
*2001-2002 - None Announced
*2003-2004 - Earl Cureton, Long Beach Jam
*2004-2005 - Rick Turner, Bellevue Blackhawks
*2005-2006 - Rod Baker, Rochester Razorsharks
*2006-2007 - Will Voigt, Vermont Frost Heaves

Executive of the Year

*2000-2001 - None Announced
*2001-2002 - None Announced
*2003-2004 - Rafael Fitzmaurice, Juarez Gallos
*2004-2005 - Michael Tuckman, Bellevue Blackhawks
*2005-2006 - Orest Hrywnak, Rochester Razorsharks
*2006-2007 - Felix Krupczynski, Jacksonville JAM

MVP - Championship Game

*2000-2001 - Gee Gervin and Ndongo N'Diaye, Detroit Dogs
*2001-2002 - Pete Mickeal, Kansas City Knights
*2003-2004 - None Announced
*2004-2005 - Kareem Reid, Arkansas RimRockers
*2005-2006 - Chris Carrawell, Rochester Razorsharks
*2006-2007 - None Announced

MVP - All-Star Game

*2000-2001 - No All-Star Game
*2001-2002 - Maurice Carter, Kansas City Knights
*2003-2004 - No All-Star Game
*2004-2005 - Lou Kelly, West
*2005-2006 - Armen Gilliam, East
*2006-2007 - Billy Knight, West
*2007-2008 - Anthony Anderson, East

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

ee also

*List of developmental and minor sports leagues

References

External links

* [http://www.abalive.com ABALive.com] - Official website of the American Basketball Association
* [http://www.oursportscentral.com/sports/?l_id=64 ABA @ OurSportsCentral] - News and information on the ABA and its teams
* [http://www.oursportscentral.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=77 OurSportsCentral Forums] - Message board to discuss ABA and minor league basketball