The American Basketball Association (ABA) is an American semi-professional men's basketball minor league that was founded in 1999.
ABA teams are based in the United States, with one traveling team from Japan. The league previously had international teams based in Canada, China and Mexico. League management 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 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.
Contents
History
Launch and suspension, 1999–2002
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 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: 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 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 the first head coach of the Tampa Bay ThunderDawgs. Upon the league's inception in 2000, each franchise had a limit of 10 players with the salary cap being $900,000.
The first ABA Draft in 2000 was of twelve rounds: the first six rounds reserved for rookies and first-year players, with veterans elible for drafting in the final six rounds. Eddie House of Arizona State was the overall first pick, followed by Scoonie Penn of Ohio State, and former Michigan stars Jimmy King and Maceo Baston. Dennis Rodman and Tim Hardaway were drafted as veterans by the Chicago Skyliners. A.C. Green, Ed O'Bannon and Tyus Edney were selected by the Los Angeles Stars. Dominique Wilkins was drafted by the Anaheim Roadrunners.
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.
Restructuring and defections, 2003–2005
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 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 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 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.
Failed coup and formation of PBL, 2006–2008
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 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 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 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 a scheme to acquire an NBA Development League franchise.
CBA absorption and continued instability, 2008–2013
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 the league's games in January 2009, citing the number 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 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 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 the ABA for 2013–14 as the Shreveport-Bossier Mavericks, going undefeated and winning the league title in a perfect season.
Management change and ESPN3 deal, 2014–2016
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 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 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.
WABA launch and addition of play-in tournament, 2017–present
A sister league, the Women's American Basketball Association (WABA), 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 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 the 2022–23 season after storm damage rendered the venue for their championship game unplayable.
The undefeated Chicago Fury captured their second consecutive championship in 2024–25, concluding the team's first perfect season and fourth in ABA history.
ABA Draft
The first ABA Draft in 2000 was of 12 rounds: the first 6 rounds were reserved for rookies and first-year players, while the clubs could draft veterans in the final 6 rounds. Therefore, big names were drafted by ABA teams. Dennis Rodman and Tim Hardaway were drafted as veterans by Chicago Skyliners (they both played later for ABA teams). A.C. Green, who recently had been waived by Los Angeles Lakers, was selected by Los Angeles Stars, while Dominique Wilkins was drafted by Anaheim Roadrunners. The Stars also picked Ed O'Bannon and Tyus Edney (1999 Euroleague champion) who had won the 1995 NCAA championship as UCLA players.
Eddie House of Arizona State was the overall first pick, followed by Scoonie Penn of Ohio State, while former ormer Michigan stars Jimmy King and Maceo Baston were also drafted.
Salary cap
Upon the league's inception in 2000, each franchise had a limit of 10 players with the salary cap being of $900,000. An ABA average player was paid around $60,000 in 2000. Thus, the league was the second-highest spender in salaries only behind NBA, surpassing established leagues like USBL and CBA. In 2007, it dropped to $120,000 (about $10,000 per player for a 12-player roster) according to Joe Newman.
Rule changes
The league employs a number of unconventional rules that are unique to the league:
Four-point field goal: Shots made from behind the half-court division line are credited as 4 points.
3D rule: If a team commits a backcourt violation or turns the ball over in the backcourt, any field goal scored by the opposing team on the ensuing possession shall be awarded an additional point (2-point shots are credited as 3 points, 3-point shots are credited as 4 points, 4-point half-court shots are credited as 5 points). If a player is fouled on their unsuccessful shot attempt while the 3D rule is in effect, they shall receive free throws corresponding with the point value of a successful field goal.
Basket interference rule: Once the ball hits the rim, any play for the ball by a defender will not be considered goaltending.
7 second rule: Each team has seven seconds to bring the ball from backcourt to frontcourt before a backcourt violation is called. If either team is granted a timeout or the ball deflects out of bounds, the count does not reset.
Seventh foul rule: A player who has committed seven fouls during regulation will be removed from the game and replaced by a bench player. Players who fouled out during regulation will be allowed back into the game for overtime.
3–10 & Out: Overtime begins with a single 3-minute period. If the score is still tied, a second untimed overtime period shall commence, and the first team to reach 10 points wins the game.
13th man rule: The home team is allowed one additional player to dress for regular season games beyond their normal 12-man squad. This traditionally is a role filled by celebrities and dignitaries as publicity stunts, and such players are not authorized to play an entire game.
Awards
Source:usbasket.com
Teams
97 teams completed at least one game during the 2025–26 season. The league's oldest surviving franchises include the Steel City Yellow Jackets (est. 2014), Indiana Lyons (est. 2017), and Buffalo eXtreme (est. 2022). Nevada teams include the Las Vegas Royals and the new Henderson Gamblers.
Defunct
Franchises that left the ABA but still compete elsewhere include the Detroit Panthers (Maximum Basketball League), Motor City Cruise (NBA G League), Newfoundland Rogues (The Basketball League), and San Diego Surf (United States Basketball League).