Louisville Alumnites were a team in the National Professional Basketball League (1950–51) , based in Louisville, Kentucky .
132-582: The National Basketball Association contracted after the 1949–1950 season, losing six teams: The Anderson Packers , Sheboygan Red Skins and Waterloo Hawks jumped to the NPBL , while the Chicago Stags , Denver Nuggets and St. Louis Bombers folded. The league went from 17 teams to 11 before the 1950–1951 season started. Midway through the 1950–1951 season, the Washington Capitols folded as well, bringing
264-568: A U.S. Senate committee, but the bill was put together to please the owners, and ended up not pleasing the Senators or the players. The bill subsequently died without coming to a floor vote. When Congress reconvened in 1973, another merger bill was presented to the Senate, but did not advance. As a result of the legislation's failure the ABA installed a new commissioner, Mike Storen , with part of his focus being
396-650: A dispersal draft . From the very beginning, the ABA hoped to force a merger with the NBA, thus repeating the American Football League (AFL)'s successful effort to force a merger with the National Football League (NFL). According to The NBA Encyclopedia , ABA officials told prospective owners that they could get an ABA team for half of what it cost to get an NBA expansion team at the time. The upstart league's officials confidently predicted that if and when
528-480: A violent incident between players and fans in a November 2004 game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons . In response, players were suspended for a total of 146 games with $ 11 million total lost in salary, and the league tightened security and limited the sale of alcohol. On May 19, 2005, Commissioner Stern testified before the U.S. House of Representatives ' Committee on Government Reform about
660-551: A berth in the NBA. In the first NBA All Star Game after the merger, 10 of the 24 NBA All Stars were former ABA players. In the first post-merger season's NBA Finals between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Philadelphia 76ers , five of the ten starting players were former ABA players. Those five starters from the ABA were Julius Erving , Caldwell Jones , George McGinnis , Dave Twardzik and Maurice Lucas . Of
792-607: A consequence of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, however among the notable concessions from the NFL were that no AFL teams were forced to fold and AFL records were fully integrated into the older league's history. On the other hand, the NBA did permit the surviving ABA teams to enter the league with their rosters intact (although some ABA players were promptly sold to help the ABA owners meet their financial obligations) whereas, in addition to financial and draft terms at least as harsh as those endured by
924-639: A deal on October 23, 2009. At the start of the 2010–11 season, free agents LeBron James and Chris Bosh signed with the Miami Heat, joining Dwyane Wade to form the " Big Three ". The Heat dominated the league, reaching the Finals for four straight years. In 2011 , they faced a re-match with the Dallas Mavericks but lost to the Dirk Nowitzki -led team. They won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 against
1056-400: A finals appearance marking their 18th championship, their first since 2008. Following pioneers like Vlade Divac (Serbia) and Dražen Petrović (Croatia) who joined the NBA in the late 1980s, an increasing number of international players have moved directly from playing elsewhere in the world to starring in the NBA. Since 2006, the NBA has faced EuroLeague teams in exhibition matches in
1188-701: A four-game sweep by the Spurs over the LeBron James -led Cleveland Cavaliers . The 2008 Finals saw a rematch of the league's highest profile rivalry , the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers , with the Celtics winning their 17th championship. The Lakers won back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010 , against the Orlando Magic and the Celtics. The 2010 NBA All-Star Game was held at Cowboys Stadium in front of
1320-418: A gimmick; now it's one of the most exciting parts of the pro game... About everything we did in the ABA they do now in the NBA except they didn't take our red, white and blue ball". Eventually, the NBA revived the ABA's red, white and blue ball as the "Money Ball" in the NBA's Three-Point Contest . The ABA had a far faster pace than the NBA, and this carried over into the NBA after the merger; today's NBA game
1452-563: A lawsuit filed by the city of Seattle , which was intended to keep the SuperSonics in Seattle for the remaining two seasons of the team's lease at KeyArena . Following a court case, the city of Seattle settled with the ownership group of the SuperSonics on July 2, 2008, allowing the team to move to Oklahoma City immediately in exchange for terminating the final two seasons of the team's lease at KeyArena. The Oklahoma City Thunder began playing in
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#17330851570841584-570: A lucrative local rivalry for the Bulls, the team decided it would be more profitable to bring Indiana into the NBA as opposed to trying to keep the Pacers out. Finally, the Bulls had a strong basketball-related reason to push for Kentucky's exclusion—they desperately wanted Colonels star Artis Gilmore , whose NBA rights the Bulls owned. Thus, the Bulls fought hard to keep the Colonels out of the merger. Brown saw
1716-637: A major role in the growth of the league during his career. Michael Jordan entered the league in 1984 with the Chicago Bulls , spurring more interest in the league. In 1988 and 1989, four cities got their wishes as the Charlotte Hornets , Miami Heat , Orlando Magic , and Minnesota Timberwolves made their NBA debuts, bringing the total to 27 teams. The Detroit Pistons won back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990, led by coach Chuck Daly and guard Isiah Thomas . Jordan and Scottie Pippen led
1848-405: A merger occurred, any surviving owners would see their investment more than double. In contrast to both the earlier AFL and the later World Hockey Association (which both endured significant hostility from their established competitors for many years) the ABA found the NBA owners to be reasonably amenable to a merger relatively early on. On June 18, 1970, only three years after the ABA began play,
1980-538: A number of strong incentives to support Indiana's entry into the NBA over Kentucky's. First, the Bulls were themselves a relatively young franchise, only pre-dating the ABA and the Pacers by one year, and thus had never been able to develop much of following in Indiana to begin with. The Bulls knew if they were to be seen as having a hand in the Pacers' demise, they could never expect to be forgiven let alone supported by Indiana basketball fans. Moreover, Indianapolis also had what
2112-417: A regular season schedule for the 1971–72 season. After the 1970–71 season Basketball Weekly wrote "The American basketball public is clamoring for a merger. So are the NBA and ABA owners, the two commissioners, and every college coach. The war is over. The Armistice will be signed soon". The two leagues continued merger discussions and plans through the early and mid-1970s. The early attempts at merging
2244-497: A single game. Although the financial and draft penalties caused the team to slip after coach Larry Brown 's departure, the Nuggets would remain an NBA power throughout the 1980s. After a period of mediocre play through most of the 1990s and early 2000s, the Nuggets recovered and made the playoffs in ten consecutive seasons (2004 to 2013). In 2023, the Nuggets won their franchise's first NBA Championship. The Spurs, who could never get past
2376-465: A small change to the typeface on the NBA wordmark in 2017) and would remain a fixture of the NBA brand. The ABA succeeded in signing a number of major stars in the 1970s, including Julius Erving of the Virginia Squires , in part because it allowed teams to sign college undergraduates. The NBA expanded rapidly during this period. From 1966 to 1974, the NBA grew from nine franchises to 18. In 1970,
2508-609: A trade. The 2019–20 season was suspended indefinitely on March 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic , after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. On June 4, 2020, the NBA Board of Governors voted to resume the season in a 22-team format with 8 seeding games per team and a regular playoffs format, with all games played in a "bubble" in Walt Disney World without any fans present. This era also saw
2640-529: A very attractive choice. On paper, the Colonels were the logical choice for the fourth and final team, and likely would have joined the NBA if not for the intervention of the Chicago Bulls . After the Colonels, the Indiana Pacers were the next most viable choice. While the Bulls realized an NBA team in Indianapolis would significantly encroach on their own fanbase and television market, they nevertheless had
2772-634: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association ( NBA ) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada ). It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in
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#17330851570842904-524: Is largely derived from the ABA. Longtime Denver Nuggets head coach and ABA alum Doug Moe , who also coached the Philadelphia 76ers, has commented, "The NBA now plays our (the ABA's) kind of basketball". Prior to the ABA, the NBA did not allow college underclassmen to enter the league. In 1969 the ABA's Denver Rockets signed Spencer Haywood , a sophomore star at the University of Detroit who had played on
3036-476: Is reportedly the lowest viewership seen for the Finals since at least 1994, when total viewers began to be regularly recorded and is a 45 percent decline from game one between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors , which had 13.51 million viewers a year earlier. Some attribute this decline to the political stances the league and its players are taking, while others consider load management,
3168-668: Is still in use and the facility it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The location is 911 South Brook Street; Brook Street & Breckinridge Street. The school moved to a new location in 1991. The facility is owned and operated by the Salvation Army. This article about a basketball team in Kentucky is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to sports in Louisville, Kentucky
3300-522: Is the second-wealthiest professional sports league in the world by revenue after the National Football League (NFL). The Boston Celtics have the most NBA championships with 18 and are the reigning league champions, having defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals . The NBA traces its roots to the Basketball Association of America which was founded in 1946 by owners of
3432-538: The 1968 United States men's Olympic basketball team . The NCAA sued, but Haywood and the ABA prevailed. Julius Erving and George Gervin also joined the ABA's Virginia Squires as underclassmen, as did Jim Chones going from Marquette University to the New York Nets, George McGinnis from Indiana University to the Indiana Pacers and Ralph Simpson from Michigan State to the Denver Rockets. Moses Malone joined
3564-610: The 1999 championship with the Spurs , becoming the first former ABA team to win the NBA championship. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant started the 2000s with three consecutive championships for the Lakers. The Spurs reclaimed the title in 2003 against the Nets . In 2004, the Lakers returned to the Finals , only to lose in five games to the Detroit Pistons . The league's image was marred by
3696-494: The 2022 NBA Finals , their fourth championship in eight years. The 2022–23 season saw the Denver Nuggets , led by center Nikola Jokić , make the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance and defeat the Miami Heat in five games to win their first NBA championship. The 2023–24 NBA season saw the star-studded Boston Celtics , winning a championship over the Dallas Mavericks, after five conference finals appearances , and
3828-658: The American Basketball League (ABL) and the NBL, the BAA was the first league to attempt to play primarily in large arenas in major cities. During its early years, the quality of play in the BAA was not significantly better than in competing leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the Harlem Globetrotters . For instance, the 1947 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won that league's 1948 title, and
3960-839: The Los Angeles Clippers , received a lifetime ban from the NBA on April 29, 2014, after racist remarks he made became public. Sterling was also fined US$ 2.5 million, the maximum allowed under the NBA Constitution. ABA%E2%80%93NBA merger The ABA–NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered merger talks as early as 1970, but an antitrust suit filed by
4092-633: The Milwaukee Bucks defeating the Dallas Chaparrals , 106–103. The ABA was 15–10 against the NBA in 1973, 16–7 in 1974, and 31–17 in 1975. Overall, the ABA won more of these interleague games than the NBA did, and in every matchup of reigning champions from the two leagues, the ABA champion won, including in the final pre-merger season when the Kentucky Colonels defeated the Golden State Warriors . Boston Globe sportswriter Bob Ryan said of
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4224-710: The NBA Europe Live Tour , and since 2009, in the EuroLeague American Tour . On November 9, 2007, when the Houston Rockets with Yao Ming faced off against the Milwaukee Bucks with Yi Jianlian , over 200 million people in China watched on 19 different networks, making it the most-viewed game in NBA history. The 2013–14 season opened with a record 92 international players on the opening night rosters, representing 39 countries and comprising over 20 percent of
4356-798: The NBA Finals championship series. As of 2020 , NBA players are the world's best paid athletes by average annual salary per player. The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States. The league's several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices in Midtown Manhattan , while its NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey . The NBA
4488-585: The NBA G League , was created. Two years after the Hornets' move to New Orleans , the NBA returned to North Carolina, as the Charlotte Bobcats were formed as an expansion team in 2004. The Hornets temporarily moved to Oklahoma City in 2005 for two seasons because of damage caused by Hurricane Katrina . The team returned to New Orleans in 2007. A new official game ball was introduced on June 28, 2006, for
4620-714: The NBA owners began a lockout that suspended all league business until a new labor agreement could be reached, which led to the season being shortened to 50 games. After the breakup of the Chicago Bulls championship roster in the summer of 1998, the Western Conference dominated much of the next two decades. The Los Angeles Lakers , coached by Phil Jackson , and the San Antonio Spurs , coached by Gregg Popovich , combined to make 13 Finals in 16 seasons, with 10 titles. " Twin Towers " Tim Duncan and David Robinson won
4752-498: The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Spurs, and lost in a re-match with the Spurs in the 2014 Finals . The 2011–12 season began with another lockout , the league's fourth. After the first few weeks of the season were canceled, the players and owners ratified a new collective bargaining agreement on December 8, 2011, setting up a shortened 66-game season. On February 1, 2014, commissioner David Stern retired after 30 years in
4884-460: The Philadelphia 76ers . Nate Archibald , the one bright spot left on the roster, broke his foot and the Nets finished their first NBA season at 22–60, the worst record in the league. After their first NBA season, the Nets moved to New Jersey and had a few more weak seasons there before finally improving in the early 1980s as they overcame the financial penalties imposed on them during the merger. By 1984,
5016-738: The Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco, the Syracuse Nationals to Philadelphia to become the Philadelphia 76ers , and the St. Louis Hawks moving to Atlanta , as well as the addition of its first expansion franchises. The Chicago Packers (now Washington Wizards ) became the ninth NBA team in 1961. From 1966 to 1968, the league expanded from 9 to 14 teams, introducing the Chicago Bulls , Seattle SuperSonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder ), San Diego Rockets (who moved to Houston four years later), Milwaukee Bucks , and Phoenix Suns . In 1967,
5148-450: The Portland Trail Blazers , Cleveland Cavaliers , and Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers ) all made their debuts expanding the league to 17. The New Orleans Jazz (now in Utah ) came aboard in 1974 bringing the total to 18. Following the 1976 season, the leagues reached a settlement that provided for the addition of four ABA franchises to the NBA, raising the number of franchises in
5280-545: The San Diego Clippers before moving north to Los Angeles; Salt Lake City and Miami eventually gained NBA franchises, Salt Lake City through the move of New Orleans a few years later in 1979, and Miami via expansion in 1988). The Spirits were not included in the merger, but the Silna brothers nonetheless managed to turn the merger, for them, into one of the greatest deals in the history of professional sports: In June 1976,
5412-623: The Tri-Cities to Milwaukee in 1951, and later shifted to St. Louis in 1955. In 1957, the Rochester Royals moved from Rochester, New York , to Cincinnati and the Pistons moved from Fort Wayne, Indiana , to Detroit. Japanese-American Wataru Misaka is considered to have broken the NBA color barrier in the 1947–48 season when he played for the New York Knicks in the BAA. He remained
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5544-609: The University of Kentucky while also gaining the upper hand in Indianapolis with the creation of the Indianapolis Olympians while the Kautskys folded. With several teams facing financial difficulties, the BAA and the NBL agreed on a merger on August 3, 1949, to create the National Basketball Association. Maurice Podoloff , the president of BAA, became the president of the NBA while Ike Duffey , president of
5676-654: The cable television system he owned. The Sails' players were put into a special dispersal draft. Shortly afterward, the Utah Stars , once one of the league's longstanding and successful teams, folded as well on December 2, 1975, as a result of not making payroll. Bill Daniels , the Stars' owner, was out of money due to his unsuccessful campaign to become Governor of Colorado and difficulties with other business ventures (Daniels eventually paid back all Stars season ticket holders in full plus 8% interest). There had been talks between
5808-415: The 10 seasons of the 1980s, Johnson led the Lakers to five titles while Bird led the Celtics to three titles. Also in the early 1980s, the NBA added one more expansion franchise, the Dallas Mavericks , bringing the total to 23 teams. Later on, Larry Bird won the first three three-point shooting contests. On February 1, 1984 David Stern became commissioner of the NBA. Stern has been recognized as playing
5940-466: The 1948 NBL champion Minneapolis Lakers won the 1949 BAA title. Prior to the 1948–49 season, the BAA lured away the Fort Wayne Pistons , Indianapolis Kautskys , Minneapolis Lakers , and Rochester Royals from the NBL with the prospect of playing in major venues such as Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden . The NBL hit back by outbidding the BAA for the services of several players, including Al Cervi , rookie Dolph Schayes and five stars from
6072-400: The 1974–75 season, the once-successful Squires posted a league's-worst record of 15–69. In the 1975–76 season the Squires tied their own record, posting the identical league's-worst win-loss record. Moreover, due to dwindling attendance, the Squires were fighting just to survive until the end of the season. On several occasions, the Squires barely made payroll. By the end of the 1975–76 season,
6204-425: The 1976 ABA All Star Game; the NBA subsequently held their first one in 1984. The slam dunk contest has ever since been a major part of the NBA's All Star Weekend (with the exception of 1998, 1999 and 2021). Pressing and trapping defenses, rarely used in the slower-tempo NBA, were common in the ABA, and after the merger began to play a larger role in the NBA. Billy Cunningham , Philadelphia 76ers star: "When
6336-515: The 2006–07 season, marking the first change to the ball in over 35 years and only the second ball in 60 seasons. Manufactured by Spalding , the new ball featured a new design and new synthetic material that Spalding claimed offered a better grip, feel, and consistency than the original ball. However, many players were vocal in their disdain for the new ball, saying that it was too sticky when dry, and too slippery when wet. Commissioner Stern announced on December 11, 2006, that beginning January 1, 2007,
6468-410: The 2008–09 season. The first outdoor game in the modern era of the league was played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on October 11, 2008, between the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets . The first official NBA league games on European ground took place in 2011. In two matchups, the New Jersey Nets faced the Toronto Raptors at the O2 Arena in London in front of over 20,000 fans. After
6600-433: The 2012–13 season, the New Orleans Hornets were renamed the Pelicans . During the 2013–14 season, Stern retired as commissioner after 30 years, and deputy commissioner Adam Silver ascended to the position of commissioner. During that season's playoffs, the Bobcats officially reclaimed the Hornets name, and by agreement with the league and the Pelicans, also received sole ownership of all history, records, and statistics from
6732-467: The 84 players in the ABA at the time of the merger, 63 played in the NBA during the 1976–77 season. In that first post-merger season, four of the NBA's top ten scorers had come over from the ABA ( Billy Knight , David Thompson , Dan Issel and George Gervin ). In 1976-1977 NBA MVP standings, 7 out of the 12 best players came from the ABA: Julius Erving, Moses Malone, David Thompson, Maurice Lucas, Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, and George McGinnis, and in
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#17330851570846864-412: The ABA and NBA competed with each other to sign players. The Robertson suit was finally settled on February 3, 1976, but for the entirety of its pendency it presented an insurmountable obstacle to the desired merger of the two leagues. In 1972, Congress came close to enacting legislation to enable a merger despite the Oscar Robertson suit. In September 1972, a merger bill was reported favorably out of
6996-426: The ABA and NBA were delayed for years by litigation known as the Oscar Robertson suit, styled Robertson v. National Basketball Association , 556 F.2d 682 (2d Cir. 1977). After the NBA owners voted in 1970 to merge with the ABA, the NBA Players Association filed a lawsuit in April 1970 to prevent the merger on antitrust grounds. The existence of the ABA resulted in increased salaries for players in both leagues as
7128-406: The ABA to coach the NBA's Houston Rockets in the first post-merger season and won the Central Division; Nissalke was named NBA Coach of the Year. Former Kentucky Colonels coach Hubie Brown took over the NBA's Atlanta Hawks , and the four former ABA teams kept their coaches as they entered the NBA. In 1974, Denver changed its name from the Denver Rockets to the Denver Nuggets in anticipation of
7260-400: The ABA will employ sound a good deal more like those used by AFL Commissioner Al Davis in the last days of the football war than a plan for peaceful coexistence. The ABA has reinstituted its $ 300 million antitrust suit against the NBA. It also may move some franchises into better TV markets, an ill-advised maneuver that will mean going against established NBA teams on their home turf. And for
7392-464: The ABA's Spirits of St. Louis from 1974 through 1976. The 1974–75 Spirits had upset the reigning ABA champion New York Nets in the 1975 Eastern Division Finals before losing to the eventual champion Kentucky Colonels, but in the 1975–76 season the Spirits' play was uneven and their attendance waned. The 1975–76 season had not turned out so well in terms of either attendance or wins on the court. In May 1976, due to attendance problems in St. Louis,
7524-451: The ABA's Utah Stars straight out of high school. Eventually after the merger the NBA followed suit. Although the practice has never been without its share of critics, the drafting of college underclassmen has become common in the NBA and high school players were also selected in subsequent NBA drafts. Shootaround, an informal pre-game practice session, was introduced by Bill Sharman . It has previously been briefly used during 39 games in
7656-429: The ABA, WHA teams lost most of their existing players without compensation in a "reclamation draft" when they joined the National Hockey League . The Nets offered their superstar forward Julius Erving to the Knicks in return for waiving the $ 4.8 million indemnity, but the Knicks declined the offer. Instead, Erving was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers for $ 3 million. In effect, the Nets traded their franchise player for
7788-405: The ABA-NBA exhibition games: "When those exhibition games began, the view in the NBA was, 'Now we'll show those guys.' But then you know what happened—the ABA teams won nearly as often as the NBA did .... Those NBA–ABA games were intense". Longtime NBA coach Larry Brown said of the ABA vs. NBA games, "When some exhibition games were arranged in the 1970s to make some money and we (the ABA) beat them,
7920-420: The ABA–NBA merger, because the NBA already had a team called the Houston Rockets . In their first NBA season, the Nuggets—a team that had never won an ABA championship—finished with the league's second-best record, 50–32, and won the Midwest Division. In their second NBA season, the Nuggets repeated as Midwest Division champions, and in their third season the Nuggets missed a third consecutive division title by
8052-499: The Bulls to two three-peats in eight years during the 1991–1998 seasons. Hakeem Olajuwon won back-to-back titles with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995. The 1992 Olympic basketball Dream Team , the first to use current NBA stars, featured Michael Jordan as the anchor, along with Bird, Johnson, David Robinson , Patrick Ewing , Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler , Karl Malone , John Stockton , Chris Mullin , Charles Barkley , and star NCAA amateur Christian Laettner . The team
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#17330851570848184-498: The Colonels' fans. Though it was clear to everyone that the Colonels had the talent and the fan support to join the NBA for the 1976–77 season, in the face of various obstacles, Brown had other plans. During the merger negotiations in June 1976, the NBA made it clear that it would accept only four ABA teams, not five. The Nuggets and Nets, clearly the ABA's two strongest teams, were obvious choices. The Spurs had posted impressive attendance numbers since moving from Dallas, and were thus
8316-610: The Detroit Pistons for $ 500,000, Moses Malone went to the Portland Trail Blazers for $ 300,000, Ron Boone went to the Kansas City Kings for $ 250,000, Randy Denton went to the New York Knicks for $ 50,000 and Mike Barr went to the Kansas City Kings for $ 15,000. Twelve players from the final two Spirits of St. Louis rosters (1974–76) played in the NBA during the 1976–77 season and beyond: Maurice Lucas , Ron Boone , Marvin Barnes , Caldwell Jones , Lonnie Shelton , Steve Green , Gus Gerard , Moses Malone , Don Adams , Don Chaney , M. L. Carr and Freddie Lewis . The NBA imposed
8448-448: The Eastern Division of the NPBL. They compiled a record of 18 wins and 17 losses (.514), and finished in second place in the Eastern Division behind the Sheboygan Redskins (at 29–16, .644). The Alumnites were coached by Walt Kolish and were one of only three teams in the NPBL to finish with a winning record, the other two being the Sheboygan Redskins and the Western Division's Waterloo Hawks (32–24, .571). The Alumnites folded during
8580-402: The Knicks were pressing and shooting 3-pointers and all of that under Rick Pitino , people acted as if that was something new. Hey, half the teams in the ABA played like that". Hubie Brown , former head coach of the Kentucky Colonels, Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies: "We (the ABA) were ahead of the NBA in so many different ways. We had the 3-point play. The NBA said it was
8712-457: The Minneapolis Lakers won five NBA championships and established themselves as the league's first dynasty ; their squad was led by center George Mikan who was the NBA's first superstar . To encourage shooting and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954. In 1957, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics , which already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach , and went on to lead
8844-453: The NBA Finals; until the end of the 2022–23 season they were the only former ABA team to win a title. They have since won four more NBA titles, in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. In 2003, the NBA Finals matched two former ABA teams, the Spurs and the New Jersey Nets. After years of being the ABA's strongest team on the court and at the box office, the merger caught the Pacers at an awkward moment financially. As mentioned above, they were included in
8976-419: The NBA did not accept the merger agreement worked out with the ABA, he would move the SuperSonics from the NBA to the ABA. Schulman also threatened to move his soon-to-be ABA team to Los Angeles to compete directly with the Lakers. The owners of the Dallas Chaparrals (now the NBA's San Antonio Spurs ) were so confident of the impending merger that they suggested that the ABA hold off on scheduling and playing
9108-405: The NBA from 1959 to 1966. This championship streak is the longest in the history of American professional sports. They did not win the title in 1966–67 , but regained it in the 1967–68 season and repeated in 1969 . The domination totaled nine of the ten championship banners of the 1960s. Through this period, the NBA continued to evolve with the shift of the Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles,
9240-404: The NBA moguls didn't want the 3-point shot. Red Auerbach hated it and said the Celtics would never go along with it. He had everybody up in arms against the play. Of course, a few years later Red drafted Larry Bird and suddenly he was all for it. And suddenly one of the bigger attractions at the All-Star Game is the 3-point shootout". The ABA originated the idea of the slam dunk contest at
9372-425: The NBA owners voted 13–4, and the ABA owners voted 11–0 to jointly seek approval from the U.S. Congress to pass an exception to existing antitrust law in order to merge the rival circuits into a single, 28-team league that would retain the NBA name. Seattle SuperSonics owner Sam Schulman , a member of the ABA–NBA merger committee in 1970, was so ardently eager to merge the leagues that he publicly announced that if
9504-583: The NBA said they weren't up for the games. Come on. When I coached Carolina, we played the Knicks after they won a championship. I looked at their guys shooting around and I looked at my guys and I didn't want my players to take off their warm-ups because they looked so scrawny next to the Knicks—and we went out and beat New York. We also played the Celtics a couple of times and beat them. (Celtics coach) Tommy Heinsohn would say that he wasn't playing to win, but I'd check
9636-408: The NBA would return to the traditional leather basketball in use prior to the 2006–07 season. The change was influenced by frequent player complaints and confirmed hand injuries (cuts) caused by the microfiber ball. The Players' Association had filed a suit on behalf of the players against the NBA over the new ball. As of the 2017–18 season , the NBA team jerseys are manufactured by Nike , replacing
9768-549: The NBA's actions to combat the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. The NBA started its drug-testing program in 1983 and substantially improved it in 1999. In the 1999–2000 season, all players were randomly tested during training camp, and all rookies were additionally tested three more times during the regular season. Of the nearly 4,200 tests for steroids and performance-enhancing drugs conducted over six seasons, only three players were confirmed positive for NBA's drug program, all were immediately suspended, and as of
9900-533: The NBA, but it forced me to destroy the team by selling Erving to pay the bill". The rosters of the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis were put into a special dispersal draft in 1976 . The three-point field goal was used in the ABA; the NBA originally disparaged it, but eventually adopted it in the 1979–80 season. Angelo Drossos , owner of the San Antonio Spurs: "When the leagues merged,
10032-402: The NBL, became the chairman. The NBA later adopted the BAA's history and statistics as its own but did not do the same for NBL records and statistics. The new league had seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as large arenas and smaller gymnasiums and armories . In 1950, the NBA consolidated to eleven franchises, a process that continued until 1954–55, when
10164-422: The Nets and Nuggets had approached John Y. Brown, Jr. in an attempt to get his Kentucky Colonels to join their attempted leap to the NBA, but Brown refused, saying he was staying loyal to the ABA. Ultimately, the Nets and Nuggets were forced to play a lame-duck season in the ABA by court order. The Nuggets' and Nets' attempted move to the NBA created a great deal of ill will within the ABA, and brought attention to
10296-588: The Nets were making the NBA playoffs and by 2002 the Nets finally made the NBA Finals, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers . They made it to the NBA Finals again in 2003, this time losing to the San Antonio Spurs, another former ABA team. In 2012, the Nets moved to Brooklyn . Nets' owner Roy Boe said of the merger, "The merger agreement killed the Nets as an NBA franchise. ...The merger agreement got us into
10428-550: The Pacers' average attendance jumped from 7,615 during the 1976–77 season, their first in the NBA, to 10,982 during the 1977–78 season. The Pacers finished their inaugural NBA season with a record of 36–46. Pacers Billy Knight and Don Buse represented Indiana in the NBA All-Star Game . However, this was one of the few bright spots of the Pacers' first 13 years in the NBA. During this time, they had only two non-losing seasons and only two playoff appearances. Finally overcoming
10560-666: The Pelicans' time in Charlotte. As a result, the Hornets are now officially considered to have been founded in 1988, suspended operations in 2002, and resumed in 2004 as the Bobcats, while the Pelicans are officially treated as a 2002 expansion team. (This is somewhat similar to the relationship between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens in the NFL .) Donald Sterling , who was then-owner of
10692-540: The Silnas purchased the ABA's Carolina Cougars franchise with the expectation of moving it into the NBA with the impending merger of the two leagues. The Silna brothers moved the Cougars to St. Louis , because it was then the largest city in the United States without a professional basketball team, and they thought this would make their team more likely to join the NBA. In 1974, the Cougars, roster and all, were overhauled and became
10824-632: The Spirits announced that they were going to move to Salt Lake City , Utah , to play as the Utah Rockies when a lease agreement for the Salt Palace was arranged. This followed an attempted merger of the Spirits and the Utah Stars franchise during the 1975–76 season, a merger that, had it occurred, contemplated the team leaving St. Louis for Utah. But the Stars folded before the merger could occur and instead,
10956-601: The Spirits bought the rights to some of the Stars' best players, including Moses Malone. In an effort to be included in the ABA–NBA merger, the Spirits' owners, proposed selling the Spirits to a Utah group, buying the Kentucky Colonels franchise, and moving the Colonels to Buffalo to replace the Buffalo Braves, who were then planning to move to the Miami region (The Buffalo franchise would eventually move to Southern California, first as
11088-408: The Spirits of St. Louis). The Chicago Bulls took Gilmore for $ 1.1 million. The Portland Trail Blazers took Maurice Lucas for $ 300,000, the Buffalo Braves took Bird Averitt for $ 125,000, the Indiana Pacers took Wil Jones for $ 50,000, the New York Nets took Jan van Breda Kolff for $ 60,000, and the San Antonio Spurs took Louie Dampier for $ 20,000. With the funds he received from the agreement with
11220-659: The Squires folded, the Kentucky Colonels , led by Artis Gilmore , defeated the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 1976 ABA Playoffs . The Colonels, in turn, lost a seven-game semifinal series to the Denver Nuggets , led by Dan Issel and David Thompson . The Nuggets, in turn, lost the ABA Finals to the New York Nets with Julius Erving , who had defeated George Gervin and the San Antonio Spurs to get there. The Spirits of St. Louis and their star Moses Malone had survived
11352-466: The Squires were at the end of their tether. They were folded by the league on May 11, 1976, after failing to pay a $ 75,000 league assessment. However, there was virtually no chance of them being included in the merger in any event. The Squires were a "regional" franchise that played home games in three Virginia cities. Regional franchises were not considered viable, and none of the Squires' "home" cities were nearly large enough to support an NBA team. After
11484-615: The Stars and the Spirits of St. Louis about the two teams merging, but the Stars folded before it could happen. Most of the Stars players, including Moses Malone , were sold to the Spirits of St. Louis. With the ABA cut down to seven teams, the league abandoned divisional play. Another ABA team, the Virginia Squires , struggled considerably in its final two years. The Squires had sold fan favorites such as Julius Erving , Rick Barry , George Gervin , Warren Armstrong , Billy Paultz and Swen Nater because of constant financial problems. In
11616-508: The Warriors faced each other in the Finals a record four consecutive times . In the 2015–16 season, the Warriors finished the season 73–9, the best season record in NBA history . However, the Cavaliers overcame a 3–1 deficit in the Finals to win their first championship that season, and end a 52-year professional sports championship drought for the city of Cleveland . In the 2016–17 season,
11748-521: The Warriors recruited free agent Kevin Durant and went on to win the 2017 and 2018 Finals against the Cavaliers. After the departure of James in free agency in 2018, the Cavaliers' streak of playoff and Finals appearances ended. The Warriors returned for a fifth consecutive Finals appearance in 2019 but lost to the Toronto Raptors, who won their first championship after acquiring Kawhi Leonard in
11880-514: The allegations and said Donaghy was a convicted felon and a "singing, cooperating witness". Donaghy served 15 months in prison and was released in November 2009. According to an independent study by Ronald Beech of Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, although the refs increased the Lakers' chances of winning through foul calls during
12012-415: The box score and see that Tommy played his regulars 35 to 40 minutes, so what does that tell you?" Interest in ABA vs. NBA play extended beyond the two leagues' management. In 1976, CBS sought to establish a postseason playoff between the ABA and NBA, and to win the rights to broadcast those games. Before the 1975–76 season, the Denver Nuggets and New York Nets applied to join the NBA. The owners of
12144-464: The continuous near year-over-year decline in NBA viewership. Between 2012 and 2019, the league lost 40 to 45 percent of its viewership. While some of it can be attributed to "cable-cutting", other professional leagues, like the NFL and MLB have retained stable viewership demographics. The opening game of the 2020 Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat brought in only 7.41 million viewers to ABC, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That
12276-606: The design of Jerry Dior's Major League Baseball logo a year prior, created the modern NBA logo inspired by the MLB's. It incorporates the silhouette of Jerry West , based on a photo by Wen Roberts. The NBA would not confirm that a particular player was used because, according to Siegel, "They want to institutionalize it rather than individualize it. It's become such a ubiquitous, classic symbol and focal point of their identity and their licensing program that they don't necessarily want to identify it with one player." The logo debuted in 1971 (with
12408-461: The draft and financial penalties imposed in the merger, the Pacers won NBA Central Division championships in 1995, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2013 and 2014. They reached the NBA Finals in 2000, and reached the Eastern Conference finals in the previous two years and again in 2004, 2013, 2014, and 2024. The Nets, severely handicapped by the financial penalties placed upon the team, sold Julius Erving to
12540-462: The emerging financial weakness of some of the league's lesser teams. Meanwhile, the ABA saw three of its teams (Memphis, San Diego, and Utah) disappear before the end of 1975, with a fourth team (Virginia) limping through the season before folding in early 1976. The Memphis Sounds moved to Baltimore as the Claws , but folded after only three preseason games after failing to post a performance bond with
12672-422: The eventual merger of the two leagues as equals. Alex Hannum , who coached in both the NBA and ABA, said at the time of Storen, "The most important problem he has is still the merger with the NBA. And I believe his approach is just right for us. Storen wants to build our league to be the strongest. Then he can negotiate with the NBA as an equal". Sports Illustrated noted at the time that "the tactics Storen says
12804-588: The first European coach to become a head coach for a team in the NBA. In the 2023–24 season , the Mavericks and the Thunder each had eight international players on their roster. For six consecutive seasons from 2018–19 to 2023–24 , the league's MVP award has been given to an international player. In 2001, an affiliated minor league , the National Basketball Development League, now called
12936-417: The first round of the ABA playoffs before the merger, won NBA division titles in five of their first six NBA seasons, largely on the strength of superstar guard George Gervin . This was in spite of the financial and draft penalties imposed on the team. The Spurs then went through a period of decline in the late 1980s, but rebounded in the 1990s, and in 1999 became the first former ABA team to both reach and win
13068-464: The first time since 1970 the ABA will go after established NBA players. 'We will have exploratory contract talks with lots of their men,' Storen says. 'Whether we'll sign none, six or 10 of them will depend on how things work out. But you can be sure of one thing: we'll do this in a serious, orderly way'". As a result of the merger legislation not being enacted and the Oscar Robertson suit continuing,
13200-541: The following terms on the four ABA refugees—the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets and San Antonio Spurs: Compared to the other mergers of the 1970s, the terms of the merger in basketball are generally seen as falling between the earlier merger in football and the later merger in hockey . The indemnities and other penalties were at least as draconian as the penalties that the AFL teams in existing NFL markets faced as
13332-489: The franchise to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league with the Warriors in 1959 and became a dominant individual star of the 1960s, setting new single-game records in scoring ( 100 ) and rebounding (55). Russell's rivalry with Chamberlain became one of the greatest rivalries in the history of American team sports. The 1960s were dominated by the Celtics. Led by Russell, Cousy, and Auerbach, Boston won eight straight championships in
13464-485: The game, there was no collusion to fix the game. On alleged "star treatment" during Game 6 by the referees toward certain players, Beech claimed, "there does seem to be issues with different standards and allowances for different players." The NBA Board of Governors approved the request of the Seattle SuperSonics to move to Oklahoma City on April 18, 2008. The team, however, could not move until it had settled
13596-409: The head of the NBA players union, Robertson v. National Basketball Ass'n , blocked the merger until 1976. As part of the merger agreement, the NBA agreed to accept four of the remaining six ABA teams: the Denver Nuggets , Indiana Pacers , New York Nets , and San Antonio Spurs . The remaining two ABA teams, the Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits of St. Louis , folded, with their players entering
13728-523: The history of the ABA. In addition, the Kentucky Colonels–Indiana Pacers rivalry was the league's fiercest, and in all of professional basketball (NBA included), the Colonels ranked sixth in attendance. In spite of that history, the Colonels' final games came in the 1976 ABA Playoffs as the defending champions bested the Pacers to advance to the semifinals before bowing out to the Nuggets in a tight seven-game series. John Y. Brown, Jr. ,
13860-539: The hundreds of millions of dollars. The Silnas continued to receive millions of dollars in television revenue from the NBA until reaching a revised agreement in April 2014, which included a $ 500 million payment to the Silnas from the four former ABA teams. The terms of the ABA–NBA merger included the Spirits of St. Louis players being put into a special dispersal draft along with the Kentucky Colonels players. Marvin Barnes went to
13992-460: The largest crowd ever, 108,713. A referee lockout began on September 1, 2009, when the contract between the NBA and its referees expired. The first preseason games were played on October 1, 2009, and replacement referees from the WNBA and NBA Development League were used, the first time replacement referees had been used since the beginning of the 1995–96 season. The NBA and the regular referees reached
14124-627: The league at that time to 22. The franchises added were the San Antonio Spurs , Denver Nuggets , Indiana Pacers , and New York Nets (now the Brooklyn Nets). Some of the biggest stars of this era were Abdul-Jabbar, Barry, Dave Cowens , Erving, Elvin Hayes , Walt Frazier , Moses Malone , Artis Gilmore , George Gervin , Dan Issel , and Pete Maravich . The end of the decade, however, saw declining TV ratings, low attendance and drug-related player issues – both perceived and real – that threatened to derail
14256-512: The league faced a new external threat with the formation of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The leagues engaged in a bidding war. The NBA landed the most important college star of the era, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor), who went on to become the league's best player of the 1970s. However, the NBA's leading scorer, Rick Barry , jumped to the ABA, as did four veteran referees— Norm Drucker , Earl Strom , John Vanak, and Joe Gushue. In 1969, Alan Siegel , who oversaw
14388-444: The league reached its smallest size of eight franchises: the New York Knicks , Boston Celtics , Philadelphia Warriors , Minneapolis Lakers , Rochester Royals , Fort Wayne Pistons , Milwaukee Hawks , and Syracuse Nationals , all of which remain in the league today, although the latter six all did eventually relocate. The process of contraction saw the league's smaller-city franchises move to larger cities. The Hawks had shifted from
14520-518: The league. On November 12, 1975—three weeks into the season—the San Diego Sails folded. The Sails had been plagued by wretched attendance, and their owner had learned the team would most likely be excluded from any upcoming ABA–NBA merger because Los Angeles Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke did not want competition in Southern California for either his team or their television coverage on
14652-459: The league. The league added the ABA's three-point field goal beginning in 1979. That same year, rookies Larry Bird and Magic Johnson joined the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers respectively, initiating a period of significant growth of fan interest in the NBA. The two had faced each other in the 1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game , and they later played against each other in three NBA Finals (1984, 1985, and 1987). In
14784-565: The league. The NBA defines "international" players as those born outside the 50 United States and Washington, D.C. This means that: The beginning of the 2017–18 season saw a record 108 international players representing 42 countries marking 4 consecutive years of at least 100 international players and each team having at least one international player. In 2018, the Phoenix Suns hired Serbian coach Igor Kokoškov as their new head coach, replacing Canadian interim coach Jay Triano , making Kokoškov
14916-746: The major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada. On November 1, 1946, in Toronto , Ontario, Canada, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens , in a game the NBA now refers to as the first game played in NBA history. The first basket was made by Ossie Schectman of the Knickerbockers. Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including
15048-475: The merger more or less as an afterthought after the Bulls effectively vetoed the inclusion of the Colonels, who were on far stronger footing financially. The team had started unloading their stars during the last ABA season. After their first NBA season, the Pacers resorted to broadcasting a successful telethon in order to survive financially into their second NBA season. In part thanks to the telethon, led by Nancy Leonard (wife of Hall of Fame coach Bobby Leonard ),
15180-414: The next season 5 out of 10. Don Buse , who joined the NBA with the Pacers, led the NBA in both steals and assists during that first post-merger season. The Spirits of St. Louis' Moses Malone finished third in rebounding; the Kentucky Colonels' Artis Gilmore was fourth. Gilmore and his former Colonels teammate Caldwell Jones were both among the top five in the NBA in blocked shots. Tom Nissalke left
15312-570: The number of teams in the league down to ten. The National Professional Basketball League was formed around the former NBA teams, with teams added in new larger markets. The charter teams were the East Division: Sheboygan Redskins (Former NBA), Anderson Packers (Former NBA), Louisville Alumnites and Grand Rapids Hornets . West Division: Denver Refiners / Evansville Agogans , Saint Paul Lights , Kansas City Hi-Spots and Waterloo Hawks (Former NBA). The Alumnites competed in
15444-439: The only non-white player in league history prior to the first African-American, Harold Hunter , signing with the Washington Capitols in 1950. Hunter was cut from the team during training camp, but several African-American players did play in the league later that year, including Chuck Cooper with the Celtics, Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton with the Knicks, and Earl Lloyd with the Washington Capitols . During this period,
15576-523: The other ABA teams and Colonels players sold in the dispersal draft, Brown promptly turned around and bought the NBA's Buffalo Braves for $ 1.5 million, and parlayed the Braves into ownership of the Boston Celtics. Brothers Ozzie and Daniel Silna had made a fortune as pioneers in the manufacture of polyester, and they wanted to own an NBA team. After an attempt to purchase the Detroit Pistons fell short,
15708-457: The owner of the Colonels, preceded the 1975–76 season by selling star center Dan Issel for $ 500,000 to the Baltimore Claws. However, when the money never arrived, Brown sent Issel to the Nuggets. Shortly afterward, he sent defensive standout Teddy McClain to the New York Nets for $ 150,000. Those transactions, especially the sale of former University of Kentucky star Issel, turned off many of
15840-435: The past two seasons and that he made calls affecting the point spread in those games. On August 15, 2007, Donaghy pleaded guilty to two federal charges related to the investigation . Donaghy claimed in 2008 that certain referees were friendly with players and "company men" for the NBA, and he alleged that referees influenced the outcome of certain playoff and finals games in 2002 and 2005. NBA commissioner David Stern denied
15972-541: The position, and was succeeded by his deputy, Adam Silver . After four seasons with the Miami Heat, LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2014–15 season. He led the team to their second Finals appearance with the help of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love . The Golden State Warriors defeated the Cavaliers in six games, led by the " Splash Brothers " Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson . The Cavaliers and
16104-524: The previous supplier, Adidas . All teams will wear jerseys with the Nike logo except the Charlotte Hornets , whose jerseys will instead have the Jumpman logo associated with longtime Nike endorser Michael Jordan , who owns the Hornets. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began an investigation on July 19, 2007, over allegations that veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on basketball games he officiated over
16236-507: The regular season but missed the playoffs. All six teams were still standing as the ABA and NBA, with the Oscar Robertson suit settled, commenced their final merger negotiations. The merger was finally consummated on June 17, 1976, at the NBA league meetings in the Cape Cod Room at Dunfey's Hyannis Resort in Hyannis, Massachusetts . The Colonels were one of the strongest franchises throughout
16368-537: The remaining ABA owners agreed, in return for the Spirits folding, to pay the St. Louis owners $ 2.2 million in cash up front in addition to a 1/7 share of the four remaining teams' television revenues in perpetuity. As the NBA's popularity exploded in the 1980s and 1990s, the league's television rights were sold to CBS and then NBC, and additional deals were struck with the TNT and TBS cable networks; league television revenue soared into
16500-604: The season, after their February 11, 1950 game, a fate shared by the Grand Rapids Hornets , St. Paul Lights and Kansas City Hi-Spots . After the demise of the Alumnites, professional basketball did not return to Louisville until the Kentucky Colonels became a charter member of the American Basketball Association in 1967. The Alumnites played at the Louisville Male High School Gymnasium. The gym
16632-448: The time of the testimony, none were playing in the NBA. After the Spurs won the championship again in 2005 , the 2006 Finals featured two franchises making their inaugural Finals appearances. The Miami Heat , led by their star shooting guard, Dwyane Wade , and Shaquille O'Neal, who had been traded from the Lakers during the summer of 2004, won the series over the Dallas Mavericks . The Lakers/Spurs dominance continued in 2007 with
16764-497: The two leagues did not merge until 1976, after the Oscar Robertson suit had finally been settled. In the summer before the 1971–72 season, the players from the two leagues met in the NBA–ABA All-Star Game . The NBA won a close game, 125–120. In that same preseason, ABA and NBA teams began playing exhibition games against each other. The first such exhibition was played on September 21, 1971, with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and
16896-420: The uneven talent distribution between the conferences and the cord-cutting of younger viewers as the main reason for the decline. During the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons, the Milwaukee Bucks would defeat the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals , securing their second NBA championship since 1971, and the Golden State Warriors made their sixth appearance in the finals defeating the Boston Celtics in
17028-597: The world. The NBA was created on August 3, 1949, with the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL). The league later adopted the BAA's history and considers its founding on June 6, 1946, as its own. In 1976, the NBA and the American Basketball Association (ABA) merged , adding four franchises to the NBA. The NBA's regular season runs from October to April, with each team playing 82 games. The league's playoff tournament extends into June, culminating with
17160-404: The writing on the wall and decided that it was better to fold the Colonels for cash, instead of continuing to fight. On June 17, 1976, the Colonels reached a financial agreement with the remaining teams in the ABA and agreed to fold in exchange for $ 3 million. According to the terms of the ABA–NBA merger the Kentucky Colonels players were placed into a dispersal draft (along with the players from
17292-578: Was (at the time) a relatively strong World Hockey Association team, the Indianapolis Racers . Whereas Kentucky was never a part of the WHA, the Racers were still then seen to be likely to be included in any NHL–WHA merger that might happen, especially if they no longer had a major professional basketball team to compete with. Furthermore, since the entry of the Milwaukee Bucks into the league had blossomed into
17424-647: Was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame , while 11 of the 12 players (along with three out of four coaches) have been inducted as individuals in their own right. In 1995, the NBA expanded to Canada with the addition of the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors . In 1996, the NBA created a women's league, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In 1998,
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