The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a popular men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976, resulting in four ABA teams joining the NBA and the introduction of the NBA 3-point shot in 1979.
Richard Francis Dennis Barry III is an American retired professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the most prolific scorers and all-around players in basketball history. He is the only one to lead the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), ABA, and NBA in points per game in a season. He ranks as the all-time ABA scoring leader in regular season and postseason (33.5) play, while his 36.3 points per game are the most in the NBA Finals history. Barry was also the only player to score at least 50 points in a Game 7 of the playoffs in either league until Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum both reached that mark in 2022. He is one of only four players to be a part of a championship team in both leagues.
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 Pros, Tams, and Sounds for four years before an abortive move to Baltimore in 1975.
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 founded as the New Orleans Buccaneers in 1967.
Moses Eugene Malone Sr. was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A center, he was named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times, was a 12-time NBA All-Star and an eight-time All-NBA Team selection. Malone led the Philadelphia 76ers to an NBA championship in 1983, winning both the league and Finals MVP. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2001. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport's history, Malone is also seen as one of the most underrated NBA players.
Daniel Paul Issel is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An outstanding collegian at the University of Kentucky, Issel was twice named an All-American en route to a school-record 25.7 points per game for his career. The American Basketball Association Rookie of the Year in 1971, he was a six-time ABA All-Star and a one-time NBA All-Star.
Melvin Joe Daniels 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 Basketball Association for the New York Nets. Daniels was a two-time ABA Most Valuable Player, three-time ABA Champion and a seven-time ABA All-Star. Daniels was the All-time ABA rebounding leader, and in 1997 was named a unanimous selection to the ABA All-Time Team. Daniels was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
James Jones is an American former professional basketball player who was a six-time All-Star in the American Basketball Association (ABA), one of only four players to be named an ABA All-Star six times in its nine-year history.
Marvin Jerome "Bad News" Barnes was an American professional basketball player. A forward, he was an All-American at Providence College, and played professionally in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA).
Byron Beck is an American former professional basketball player.
The 1968 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament following the American Basketball Association's inaugural 1967-1968 season, starting on March 23 and ending on May 4. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Pittsburgh Pipers defeating the Western Division champion New Orleans Buccaneers, four games to three in the ABA Finals.
George Ronald Widby was an American football punter in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. He also was a member of the New Orleans Buccaneers of the American Basketball Association. He played college football at the University of Tennessee.
Jack Wade Moreland, known as Jackie Moreland, was an American basketball player for the Detroit Pistons and the former New Orleans Buccaneers. He played college basketball for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
Lee Davis is a retired basketball player who played for eight seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA). A center and forward during his career, he played for five different ABA teams.
The 1967–68 ABA season was the first season for the American Basketball Association. The ABA was challenging the National Basketball Association. The ABA introduced a red, white and blue basketball. They used a 30-second shot clock as opposed to the NBA's 24 second shot clock, and also used the three-point shot. There were 11 teams playing in the first season of the league, with each team playing a 78-game schedule.
Jerry G. Rook was an American basketball player, best known for his success at Arkansas State University. He played one season for the New Orleans Buccaneers in the American Basketball Association (ABA).
Marlbert Pradd Jr. was an American basketball player. After a standout college basketball career with Dillard University, he played professionally in the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a member of the New Orleans Buccaneers from 1967 to 1969.
The 1967–68 New Orleans Buccaneers season was the 1st season of the ABA and of the Buccaneers. The Pipers finished first in the Western Division, going all the way to the ABA Finals.
The 1969–70 New Orleans Buccaneers season was the 3rd and final season of the Buccaneers in the ABA. The team was 22-12 by the beginning of 1970 in part due to two 6 game winning streaks. But an eight-game losing streak plummeted the team from 31-24 to 31-32, and the team remained around .500 from there on, winning their last two games of the season to finish at exactly .500. The Bucs were 10th in points scored, with 107.9 points per game, and 2nd in points allowed at 107.1 points per game. However, the team finished one game out of the final playoff spot to the Los Angeles Stars. The team did not have as much success with attendance, and plans were made to play home games throughout the state, such as Shreveport, Lafayette, Monroe and Baton Rouge. But on August 21, 1970, P. L. Blake bought the team, moving it to Memphis, Tennessee ten days later to become the Memphis Pros. New Orleans would not have a pro basketball team until 1974 with the Jazz.
The 1970–71 Memphis Pros season was the 1st season of the Pros in the American Basketball Association after three seasons in New Orleans as the Buccaneers, with P.W. Blake of Mississippi buying the team on August 21, 1970 and moving the team 10 days later to Memphis. Due to having to reuse the Bucs' jerseys with a name that would fit the four letters they had put on the home and road jerseys, the team was named "Pros". However the Pros had to deal with limited dates to book for games at the Mid-South Coliseum, with some of the games being played in Jackson, Mississippi. On October 20, 1970, the Pros played their first ever game, playing the New York Nets in Memphis, losing 108–103. The biggest losing streak was 8, coming near the end of the season, with them losing 20 out of their last 30 games. However, they sneaked into the playoffs, finishing 3rd over the Texas Chaparrals and Denver Rockets by 11 games. The Pros finished dead last in points scored per game with 109.2, but finished first in points allowed at 109.9 per game. In the playoffs, they were swept by the Indiana Pacers.
