The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. The team was founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association (ABA) but changed their name to the Rockets before the first season. The Rockets then changed their name again to the Nuggets in 1974. After the name change, the Nuggets played for the final ABA Championship title in 1976, losing to the New York Nets.
The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround.
The Baltimore Claws were an American basketball team which was supposed to appear in the 1975–76 season in the American Basketball Association. The team collapsed before the season started, playing only three exhibition games, all losses, in its brief history.
The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association (ABA) for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history, but the team did not join the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1976 ABA–NBA merger. The downtown Louisville Convention Center was the Colonels' venue for their first three seasons before moving to Freedom Hall for the remaining seasons, beginning with the 1970–71 schedule.
Pechanga Arena is an indoor arena in San Diego, California. The arena is home of the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League (AHL), San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), and the San Diego Strike Force of the Indoor Football League (IFL).
Charles Stanley Albeck was an American professional basketball coach. Albeck coached for several teams in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), including the Denver Rockets, the San Diego Conquistadors,, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the San Antonio Spurs, the New Jersey Nets, and the Chicago Bulls.
The ABA All-Time Team were chosen in 1997 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the American Basketball Association (ABA). It comprised the 30 best and most influential players of the ABA during its ten years and nine full regular seasons of operation, with respect not only to performance at the professional level but in consideration of sportsmanship, team leadership, and contributions to the growth of the league basketball, and irrespective of positions played. Only players to have played at least a portion of their careers in the ABA were eligible for selection, although performance in other leagues, most notably the National Basketball Association was ostensibly considered. Selected and announced beside the all-time team were a most valuable player and top head coach.
Utah Rockies was the name under which the Spirits of St. Louis were to play during the ultimately aborted 1976–77 American Basketball Association (ABA) season.
The 1973–74 American Basketball Association season saw the San Diego Conquistadors acquire Wilt Chamberlain as a player and coach, finish tied for fourth place in the ABA's Western Division, defeat the Denver Rockets in a one-game playoff for that spot and then bow out to the Utah Stars 4 games to 2 in the Western Division Semifinals.
The 1975–76 Utah Stars season was the 6th and final season of the Utah Stars in the American Basketball Association. They folded due to financial pressures sixteen games into the regular season. As a result, the Stars were not part of the ABA–NBA merger that occurred at the conclusion of the season. Professional basketball would return to the Salt Lake City area when the New Orleans Jazz of the National Basketball Association relocated there following the 1978–79 season.
The 1975-76 American Basketball Association season saw the San Diego Sails fold due to weak home attendance and other financial pressures; the team folded 11 games into the season.
Leonard Bloom is a former sports and entertainment owner and real estate developer in California.
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 the head of the NBA players union, Robertson v. National Basketball Ass'n, blocked the merger until 1976.
The 1975–76 ABA season was the ninth and final season of the American Basketball Association. The shot clock was changed from 30 to 24 seconds to match the NBA. Dave DeBusschere was the league's new commissioner, its seventh and last. This was also the only season that did not use the East-West division setup. The NBA would adopt the ABA's three-point shot for the 1979–80 season.
The 1974–75 ABA season was the eighth season of the American Basketball Association. The Kentucky Colonels won the 1975 ABA Championship after winning the Eastern Division; the Denver Nuggets won the Western Division. Julius Erving and George McGinnis shared the league's MVP award.
The 1972–73 ABA season was the sixth season of the American Basketball Association. The Pittsburgh Condors and Miami Floridians had folded, leaving the league with nine teams. However, the ABA decided to award an expansion franchise to Dr. Leonard Bloom for $1 million to play in San Diego, California, named the San Diego Conquistadors. Subsequently, this meant that the Memphis Tams would move to the Eastern Division. Once again, the best regular season team did not win the ABA Finals, with the Indiana Pacers, led by playoff MVP George McGinnis, winning the ABA championship, 4 games to 3 over the Kentucky Colonels.
Sports in San Diego includes two major professional league teams, other highest-level professional league teams, minor league teams, and college athletics. The San Diego Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB). San Diego FC begins play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2025. The San Diego State Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I (FBS). The Farmers Insurance Open, a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, is played annually at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Golden Hall is a 3,200-seat indoor arena in San Diego, California, built in 1964. Golden Hall is located within the San Diego Concourse complex at 1 Civic Center Plz San Diego, CA 92101 and is primarily utilized as a homeless shelter today.
The 1974–75 San Diego Conquistadors season was the 3rd and final season of the Conquistadors in the American Basketball Association. The team floundered, on the court and in the box office, with Wilt Chamberlain having left the team after the previous season. They finished 5th in points per game at 109.9, but dead last in points allowed at 115.5 per game. Notably, they played the New York Nets in a 4 overtime game on February 14, winning 176–166. A victory over Virginia on March 12 turned out to be their last as they lost 11 straight games to end the season, as they finished in dead last by 7 games. After the season, Frank Goldberg bought the San Diego Conquistadors, assuming the $2 million team debt. They soon renamed the team, becoming the San Diego Sails. However, they folded 11 games into the season.
The National Basketball Association has undergone several rounds of expansion in the league's history, since it began play in 1946, to reach 30 teams. The most recent examples are the additions of the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat in 1988; the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic in 1989; the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995 ; and the New Orleans Hornets in 2002. In July 2023, Commissioner Adam Silver stated that the NBA would explore a potential expansion of the league once they reach an agreement on a new media rights deal. Silver said in a February 2024 interview on The Pat McAfee Show that Las Vegas was an expansion team candidate.
