The ABA All-Time Team were chosen in 1997 on the 30th anniversary of the founding of the

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 ...

(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 who 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 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). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

was considered. Selected and announced beside the all-time team were a most valuable player and top head coach. The team, announced in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, on August 23, 1997, in conjunction with an ABA reunion, was compiled based upon unranked voting by 50 selected panelists, among whom were members of the print and broadcast

news media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc. History Some of the fir ...

who have reported on and announced games for the ABA, former referees (ten), former team owners (six), former league executives (including two former sports commissioners), and selected fans and statisticians; former players, even those to have held other positions within the league, were proscribed from voting.

Players

Team

First team

Of the 30 players elected to the first team, three served primarily as

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

s during their ABA service, eight as

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

s, five as

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

s, eight as

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

s, and six as centers. The franchises most represented were the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

(having also competed as the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

and Oakland Oaks), with eleven first team players' having played at least one game for one or more iterations of the franchise; Utah Stars (having also completed as the Los Angeles Stars and Anaheim Amigos), eight players;

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, seven players;

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

(having also competed as the

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and Dallas Chaparrals), six players;

Denver Nuggets 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 (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

(having also competed as the Denver Rockets), five players; and Spirits of St. Louis (having also competed as the Carolina Cougars and

Houston Mavericks The Houston Mavericks were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played in the upstart league's first two seasons, from 1967–68 ABA season, 1967 to 1968–69 ABA season, 1969. Their home arena was the Sam Houston Co ...

), five players. Five players elected to the first team—

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the m ...

, Billy Cunningham,

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

, George Gervin, and Moses Malone—were named one year earlier to the NBA's 50 Greatest Players list.

Others receiving votes

Ninety-nine players received at least one vote. In addition to those who were selected, 13 players earned votes from at least 25

percent In mathematics, a percentage () is a number or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100. It is often denoted using the ''percent sign'' (%), although the abbreviations ''pct.'', ''pct'', and sometimes ''pc'' are also used. A percentage is a dime ...

(12.5) of voters: {, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center" !Player ! Position primarily played !ABA team(s) played for !All-ABA honors won !Year of

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

induction as player ! Votes accrued , - , Billy Keller , , PG , ,

( 1969– 70—

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

– 76) , , None , , None , , 21 , - , Larry Brown , , Point guard, PG , ,

New Orleans Buccaneers The New Orleans Buccaneers were a charter member of the American Basketball Association. After three seasons in New Orleans, Louisiana, the franchise moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where it became the Memphis Pros, Pros, Memphis Tams, Tams, and Me ...

(

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

– 68)
Oakland Oaks (

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

– 69)

( 1969– 70)
Denver Rockets (

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

– 71)

(

– 71—

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

–

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

) , , First team: None
Second team: 1967–68 , , None , , 19 , - , bgcolor="#FFFF99", Bobby Jones , , PF , ,

( 1974– 75—

– 76) , , First team: None
Second team: 1975–76

Defensive Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

team: 1974–75, 1975–76 , , 2019 , , 19 , - , John Williamson , , SG , ,

New York Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

(

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

– 74—

– 76) , , None , , None , , 19 , - , Red Robbins , , C , ,

(

– 68— 1969– 70)
Utah Stars (

– 71—

– 72)
San Diego Conquistadors (

– 73—

– 74)
Kentucky Colonels (

– 74— 1974– 75)

( 1974– 75) , , Second team:

– 69, 1969– 70 , , None , , 18 , - , Steve Jones , , SF , , Oakland Oaks (

– 68)

(

– 69— 1969– 70)
Memphis Pros (

– 71)
Dallas Chaparrals (

– 72—

– 73)
Carolina Cougars (

– 73—

– 1974)
Denver Rockets (

– 74)
Spirits of St. Louis ( 1974–

) , , None , , None , , 18 , - , Larry Kenon , , Power forward, PF , ,

(

– 74— 1974– 75)

(

– 76) , , None , , None , , 17 , - , Ralph Simpson , , SG , ,

(

– 71—

– 76) , , First team: 1975–76
Second team:

– 72,

– 73 , , None , , 17 , - , John Brisker , , Small forward, SF , , Pittsburgh Pipers ( 1969– 70—

– 72) , , First team: None
Second team:

– 71 , , None , , 16 , - , Joe Caldwell , , Shooting guard, SG , , Carolina Cougars (

– 71—

– 74)
Spirits of St. Louis ( 1974– 75) , , First team: None
Second team: 1970–71

team:

– 73 , , None , , 16 , - ,

Billy Knight William R. Knight (born June 9, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Playing with the Indiana Pacers in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and later the National Basketball Association (NBA), he ...

, , Small forward, SF , ,

( 1974– 75—

– 76) , , First team: 1975–76
Second team: None , , None , , 16 , - , Caldwell Jones , , C , , San Diego Conquistadors (

– 74—

– 76)
Kentucky Colonels (1975–76Jones was traded twice during the

– 76 season; he played 10 games for the Conquistadors/Sails, 15 games for the Colonels, and finally 51 games for the Spirits.)
Spirits of St. Louis {1975–76), , None , , None , , 14 , - , Larry Jones , , Shooting guard, SG , , Denver Rockets (

–

— 1969– 70)

The Floridians ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

(

– 71—

– 72)
Dallas Chaparrals (

– 73)
Utah Stars (1972–73) , , First team: 1967–68,

– 69, 1969–70 , , None , , 13

Most valuable player

Only four players received votes from the 50 panelists as the league's all-time

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

;

was the clear winner of the award. {, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center" !Player !ABA team(s) played for ! Votes accrued , - , ,

, ,

(

– 72—

– 73)

(

– 74—

– 76) , , 46 , - , Mel Daniels , , Minnesota Muskies (

– 68)

(

– 69—

– 74)

Memphis Sounds The Memphis Sounds were an American professional sports franchise that played in Memphis, Tennessee from 1970 until 1975 as a member of the American Basketball Association. The team was first founded as the New Orleans Buccaneers in 1967. Known d ...

( 1974– 75) , , 2 , - , , Artis Gilmore , , Kentucky Colonels (

– 72—

– 76) , , 1 , - , , Connie Hawkins , , Pittsburgh Pipers (

– 68—

– 69), , 1

Coaches

Seven coaches received votes from at least one of the 50 panelists; having claimed 34 of the available votes, Bobby "Slick" Leonard was the clear winner of the all-time best

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

award. Larry Brown, having received 16 votes for the players team, also received six votes in view of his coaching. Each of four franchises was represented by two coaches: the

(having also competed as the Denver Rockets), the Kentucky Colonels, the

(having also competed as the Memphis Tams, Memphis Pros, and

), and the

(having also competed as the

and Dallas Chaparrals). {, class="wikitable" , - , style="background-color:#FFFF99; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:6em", * , Elected to the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

{, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center" !Coach !ABA team(s) coached !Overall ABA

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

coaching record (

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the to ...

in parentheses) ! League championships won as coach ! League award(s) won as coach !Year of

induction as coach ! Votes accrued , - , bgcolor="#FFFF99", Bobby "Slick" Leonard , ,

(

–

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

) , , 387 wins-270 losses (.589) , ,

, , None , ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, , 34 , - , bgcolor="#FFFF99", Larry Brown , , Carolina Cougars (

– 73–

– 74)

( 1974–

) , , 229 wins-107 losses (.682) , , None , ,

ABA Coach of the Year Awards , ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, , 6 , - , bgcolor="#FFFF99",

Hubie Brown Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors separated by 26 years. Brown was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Bas ...

, , Kentucky Colonels ( 1974–

) , , 104 wins-64 losses (.619) , ,

, , None , , None , , 4 , - , Babe McCarthy , ,

(

– 68– 1969– 70)
Memphis Pros (

– 71–

– 72)
Dallas Chaparrals (

– 73)
Kentucky Colonels ( 1973–74) , , 280 wins-284 losses (.496) , , None , , 1974 ABA Coach of the Year Award , , None , , 2 , - , bgcolor="#FFFF99", Bill Sharman , , Los Angeles/Utah Stars (

–

) , , 133 wins-113 losses (.541) , ,

, ,

ABA Coach of the Year Award , ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Sharman was also inducted into the Naismith Hall in

as a player for his NBA career. , , 2 , - ,

Al Bianchi Alfred A. Bianchi (March 26, 1932 – October 28, 2019) was an American professional basketball player, coach, general manager, consultant, and scout. Early years Nicknamed "Blinky", he attended P.S. 4 elementary school and graduated from Long ...

, , Washington Caps ( 1969– 70)

(

– 71–

– 76) , , 230 wins-281 losses (.450) , , None , ,

ABA Coach of the Year Award , , None , , 1 , - , Bob Bass , , Denver Rockets (

– 1969)

(

– 71–

– 72)
Memphis Tams (

– 73)

( 1974–

) , , 251 wins-249 losses (.502) , , None , , None , , None , , 1

Notes

External links

RemembertheABA.com – 30 Year ABA All-Time Team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aba All-Time Team ABA's All-Time Team ABA's All-Time Team ABA's All-Time Team ABA's All-Time Team