The 1967–68 Minnesota Muskies season was the first and only season of the Muskies in the newly created

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

. The team was created on February 2, 1967, for the price of $30,000 to L.P. Shields and Fred Jefferson. The team was named after a nickname for the

Muskellunge The muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy''), often shortened to muskie, musky, ski, or lunge, is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name ...

, which is a fish found in Minnesota. The team did well on the court, finishing second to the

Pittsburgh Pipers Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the 67th-most populous city in the U.S., with a population of 302,9 ...

in the Eastern Division. In the playoffs, they made it to the Division Finals, but the Muskies lost in 5 games to the Pipers. However, this proved to be the only season for the Muskies due to them losing money (reportedly $400,000) with middling attendance in relation to minimal season tickets purchased. (In the five playoff games played in Minnesota, they averaged 3,511 in attendance, with the highest being 8,357 for Game 3 of the Division Finals and the lowest being 661 for Game 1 of the Semifinals.) A plan to play 9 games in their following season within other places around Minnesota and a television contract for them were both curtailed, and the Muskies moved to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

on May 24, 1968 to become the

Miami Floridians The Miami Floridians, later in their history known simply as The Floridians, were a professional basketball franchise in the original, now-defunct American Basketball Association. The Miami Floridians played in the ABA from 1968 through 1970 when ...

. However, basketball in Minnesota would not be curtailed for long, as the inaugural champion

moved to play in the same location in that same season the Muskies moved to Miami to become the Floridians going forward.

Roster

Final standings

Eastern Division

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

Eastern Division Semifinals ''Muskies win series 3–2'' Division Finals ''Muskies lose series, 4–1''

Awards and honors

1968 ABA All-Star Game selections (game played on January 9, 1968) *

Mel Daniels Melvin Joe Daniels (July 20, 1944 – October 30, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Minnesota Muskies, Indiana Pacers, and Memphis Sounds, and in the National Bas ...

* Donnie Freeman * Les Hunter

Jim Pollard James Clifford Pollard (July 9, 1922 – January 22, 1993) was an American professional basketball player and coach. As a player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Pollard was considered one of the best forwards in the 1950s and was k ...

was selected to coach the Eastern Division squad.

References

Muskies on Basketball Reference

External links

* ttp://www.remembertheaba.com/Minnesota-Muskies.html RememberTheABA.com Minnesota Muskies page {{DEFAULTSORT:1967-68 Minnesota Muskies season Miami Floridians seasons

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Kentucky Colonels, 1967-68 Kentucky Colonels, 1967-68