50 Fun Facts About American Basketball Association (ABA)

What three colors made up the distinctive ball the American Basketball Association used from 1967 to 1976?

Red, white and blue looked more patriotic and more crowd-pleasing than the NBA's brown ball, the league's first commissioner argued. The NBA's Three-Point Contest later borrowed the design for its bonus 'money ball'.

Which 2008 Will Ferrell comedy follows the Flint Tropics, a fictional ABA team chasing a place in the NBA?

Semi-Pro casts Ferrell as Jackie Moon, a one-hit-wonder singer who is the Tropics' owner, head coach and starting power forward at once. Woody Harrelson and André 3000 co-star.

Which NBA great became coach of the ABA's San Diego Conquistadors in 1973 after a lawsuit stopped him playing?

Wilt Chamberlain was paid $600,000 to be player-coach, but his old club, the Lakers, sued to keep him off the court. He once skipped a game to sign copies of his autobiography.

Which rule did the American Basketball Association use from its first season, twelve years before the NBA adopted it?

The three-point shot had been tried by the short-lived American Basketball League in 1961, but the ABA made it famous. The NBA finally added the arc in autumn 1979.

Which crowd-pleasing event did the ABA stage for the first time at halftime of its 1976 All-Star Game in Denver?

A slam dunk contest was added to thrill a sellout crowd, and Julius Erving won it by taking off from the free-throw line. First prize was $1,000 and a stereo system.

The owners of the folded Spirits of St. Louis collected a share of which NBA income for nearly four decades?

Television revenue from each of the four surviving ABA teams, a one-seventh share, went to brothers Ozzie and Daniel Silna in perpetuity. In 2014 the NBA paid them a $500 million lump sum to end most of the payments.

Which 1950s pop singer served as president and part-owner of the ABA's Oakland Oaks?

Pat Boone started with a 10 percent share and rarely attended home games. He ended up as majority owner of a club that won the 1969 title yet failed at the box office.

Which future NBA MVP jumped straight from high school to the ABA's Utah Stars in 1974?

Moses Malone was only a third-round ABA draft pick, yet he became the first player in modern professional basketball to turn pro directly from high school.

Which NBA team bought ABA star Julius Erving's contract for $3 million in 1976, right after the two leagues merged?

Philadelphia 76ers money roughly covered what the Nets owed to enter the NBA. The Knicks had earlier turned down Erving's contract in place of a territorial payment.

Which American Basketball Association team won the most championships, taking three titles between 1970 and 1973?

Indiana Pacers teams reached the ABA Finals five times in nine seasons, a league record. They and the Kentucky Colonels were the only clubs to play all nine seasons without moving or changing names.

Which ABA guard nicknamed 'the Iceman' went on to win four NBA scoring titles after the 1976 merger?

George Gervin earned the name for his cool demeanor on the court. He sealed his first NBA scoring crown in 1978 by pouring in 63 points in the final game of the season.

Which UCLA center, drafted first by both leagues in 1969, turned down the ABA's Nets to join the Milwaukee Bucks?

Lew Alcindor, later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, said he would hear one offer per team and found the Nets' too low. Their improved $3.25 million bid came after he had chosen Milwaukee.

Which future NBC sportscaster was the radio voice of the ABA's Spirits of St. Louis from 1974 to 1976?

Bob Costas joined KMOX radio straight after leaving school and called the Spirits for both of their seasons. He then covered Missouri Tigers basketball for the same station.

Which former Harlem Globetrotter, blackballed by the NBA, was the ABA's first MVP and led Pittsburgh to the first title?

Connie Hawkins had been falsely implicated in a point-shaving scandal as an Iowa freshman, when he was not even eligible to play. His antitrust lawsuit later forced the NBA to admit him.

Which Warriors star, famous for underhand free throws, jumped to the ABA's Oakland Oaks but had to sit out a season?

Rick Barry lost in court when judges upheld the reserve clause in his Warriors contract. Baseball's Curt Flood took his own challenge of the clause to the Supreme Court a few years later.

Which 1968 Olympic gold medalist left college early and was the ABA's MVP as a rookie in 1970?

Spencer Haywood signed with the Denver Rockets under a hardship exemption after his sophomore year at the University of Detroit. The NBA soon relaxed its own four-year college rule.

Which 7-foot-2 center nicknamed 'the A-Train' was both Rookie of the Year and MVP for the Kentucky Colonels in 1972?

Artis Gilmore once played 670 games in a row. When the Colonels folded in 1976, the Chicago Bulls claimed him in the dispersal draft of players from the clubs left out of the NBA.

Which bespectacled former Minneapolis Lakers center served as the first commissioner of the ABA?

George Mikan resigned in 1969, but he was not done with the sport. In the 1980s he led the task force that brought pro basketball back to Minneapolis with the Timberwolves.

Which NC State star nicknamed 'Skywalker' was drafted first by both leagues in 1975 and chose the ABA's Nuggets?

David Thompson was named Rookie of the Year and MVP of the 1976 ABA All-Star Game. Dunking was outlawed in college then, so the only dunk of his NC State career cost him a technical foul.

The ABA's Spirits of St. Louis took their name from the plane flown across the Atlantic by which aviator?

Charles Lindbergh made the transatlantic flight solo, and the team simply made his plane's name plural. The club was the old Carolina Cougars, sold to New York investors in 1974.

With which ABA team did Julius Erving begin his professional career in 1971 after leaving college early?

Virginia Squires home games were spread across Norfolk, Richmond, Hampton and Roanoke. The cash-strapped club sold its stars one by one and folded a month before the 1976 merger.

Which center, the ABA's all-time leading rebounder, was the first player to win the league's MVP award twice?

Mel Daniels took the award in 1969 and 1971 and won three championships. Only Julius Erving, with three, ever collected more of the ABA's MVP trophies.

Which NBA forward nicknamed 'the Kangaroo Kid' jumped to the Carolina Cougars and was the ABA's MVP in 1973?

Billy Cunningham earned the name for his leaping at North Carolina. He signed with the Cougars in 1969, tried to stay in the NBA, and joined them only after an appeals court ruled for the ABA club in 1972.

Which forward who grew up in Indianapolis shared the 1975 ABA MVP award with Julius Erving?

George McGinnis averaged a career-high 29.8 points that season and had been playoffs MVP in 1973. He later said football was probably his best sport, though he liked it less.

Which former Knicks forward, once a Chicago White Sox pitcher, was the last commissioner of the ABA?

Dave DeBusschere moved up from general manager of the Nets to run the league in its final season and helped steer the merger. At 24 he had been the NBA's youngest-ever coach.

Which forward nicknamed 'the Horse' led the ABA in scoring as a rookie in 1971 and later coached the Denver Nuggets?

Dan Issel earned the name by missing only 24 games in 15 seasons. As a coach in 1994, his Nuggets became the first eighth seed to knock a top seed out of the NBA playoffs.

Which Kentucky Colonels guard scored more points than anyone else in ABA history and played in all nine seasons?

Louie Dampier also tops the ABA's all-time lists for games, minutes and assists. He was the only player to appear in the playoffs in every one of the league's nine years.

Which future Hall of Fame coach was named MVP of the first ABA All-Star Game as a guard in 1968?

Larry Brown led the ABA in assists in each of its first three seasons and set its single-game record with 23. He later became the only coach to win both NCAA and NBA titles.

Which Spirits of St. Louis star nicknamed 'Bad News' was the ABA's Rookie of the Year in 1975?

Marvin Barnes once refused to board a flight that was due to land, by the clock, before it took off, thanks to a time-zone change. He rented a car instead.

Which NBA players' union president filed the 1970 antitrust lawsuit that delayed the ABA–NBA merger for six years?

Oscar Robertson also attacked the college draft and the clause tying a player to one team for life. The 1976 settlement cleared the way for the merger and for modern NBA free agency.

By which nickname, first used by a high school friend, did New York Nets star Julius Erving become famous?

The Doctor, usually shortened to Dr. J, came from a friend Erving called 'the Professor' in return. On the playgrounds of Harlem's Rucker Park he asked crowds to drop 'Houdini' and use it.

In which city did the Kentucky Colonels, the ABA's 1975 champions, play their home games?

Louisville hosted the Colonels for all nine ABA seasons, first downtown and then at Freedom Hall. Their mascot was Ziggy, a prize-winning Brussels Griffon dog that belonged to the first owners.

In which Texas city did the San Antonio Spurs spend their first ABA seasons, playing as the Chaparrals?

Dallas met the Chaparrals with poor attendance, and a spell as a regional 'Texas' team with games in Fort Worth and Lubbock failed too. The club left for San Antonio in 1973.

Which 1990 oral history of the ABA by sportswriter Terry Pluto is told mostly by former players and executives?

Loose Balls is subtitled The Short Wild Life of the American Basketball Association. Pluto keeps his own writing mostly to introductions and summaries of each season.

ABA co-founder Dennis Murphy went on to help launch which rival to the NHL in 1972?

World Hockey Association clubs would also end up merging into the older league. Murphy later co-founded World Team Tennis and Roller Hockey International as well.

Which Oakland Athletics owner bought the ABA's Memphis franchise in 1972 and dressed it in green, white and gold?

Charlie Finley's club became the Tams, an acronym for Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, with a tam o'shanter hat for a logo. Kentucky coaching legend Adolph Rupp served as team president.

Which ABA team tried to draw crowds with ballgirls dressed in white bikinis and go-go boots?

Miami Floridians crowds stayed small despite the stunt. The club had begun life as the Minnesota Muskies and in its last seasons was known simply as The Floridians.

Which NBA team did Kentucky Colonels owner John Y. Brown Jr. buy in 1976 after the merger left his club out?

Buffalo Braves ownership was brief for the man who had built Kentucky Fried Chicken into a giant. Two years later he traded the franchise for the Boston Celtics.

Which NBA team signed Julius Erving in 1972 and played him in exhibition games before a court returned him to the ABA?

Atlanta Hawks camp paired Erving with Pete Maravich, but Milwaukee had drafted him and the NBA commissioner fined Atlanta $25,000 a game. A judge then ordered him back to his ABA club.

Which coach led the New York Nets to both of their ABA championships, in 1974 and 1976?

Kevin Loughery later coached Michael Jordan as well as Julius Erving, and he gave Phil Jackson his first NBA coaching job as an assistant with the Nets.

Which coach won the 1971 ABA title with the Utah Stars and the NBA title with the Lakers the very next season?

Bill Sharman is credited with introducing the morning shootaround, which he took from the ABA to the Lakers. His 1971–72 Lakers then won a record 33 games in a row.

Which two-time NBA All-Star center sat out a season to join the Utah Stars and was MVP of the 1971 ABA playoffs?

Zelmo Beaty scored 36 points with 16 rebounds in the deciding Game 7 of the finals. His old NBA club held a one-year option that the Stars would not buy out for $75,000.

Which Dutch-born center, who never started a college game at UCLA, was the ABA's Rookie of the Year in 1974?

Swen Nater spent his UCLA years as the practice partner of Bill Walton. He went on to become the only player to lead both the ABA and the NBA in rebounding.

Which coach guided the Oakland Oaks to the 1969 ABA title, becoming the first to win both NBA and ABA championships?

Alex Hannum inherited the league's worst team and won 60 games with it, starting 25–4, even though his biggest star was hurt for most of the season.

Which arena was home to the New York Nets when they won their two ABA championships?

Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale became their home at the end of the 1971–72 season. In the 1976 title clincher there, the Nets came back from 22 points down in the third quarter.

Julius Erving left which university after his junior year to sign his first ABA contract in 1971?

Massachusetts awarded him a bachelor's degree in 1986, earned through its University Without Walls. In 2021 it unveiled a statue of Erving outside its basketball arena.

Which Hall of Fame referee nicknamed 'Yogi' was one of four NBA officials lured to the ABA in 1969?

Earl Strom won a $25,000 salary, a signing bonus to match, health insurance and a pension. He spent three years in the ABA and 29 in the NBA.

Which ABA team was expelled in 1975 after playing only three preseason exhibition games, all of them defeats?

Baltimore Claws was a hasty second name: the club was first called the Hustlers until the league and the public objected. A deal for a Kentucky star fell through when its $500,000 never arrived.

Which Memphis soul musician joined Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson as a co-owner of the ABA's Memphis Sounds?

Isaac Hayes was recruited by Mike Storen, who had resigned as ABA commissioner to run the team. Money troubles soon forced both Hayes and Wilson to sell their shares.

The ABA team that became the Denver Nuggets was first planned for which Missouri market, which lacked a suitable arena?

Kansas City never saw a game. Its owner moved the team to Denver before the first ABA season, where it was briefly called the Larks after Colorado's state bird.