Art Kim was an American basketball executive.
Kim was a Korean-American, born on Maui, Hawaii, who was a college basketball player, AAU administrator, and team owner. [1]
Kim was involved with the Washington Generals [2] and owned the Hawaii Chiefs and Long Beach Chiefs of the American Basketball League [1] before becoming the owner of the Anaheim Amigos of the American Basketball Association. [2] In the Amigos' first season in the new ABA Kim had the team open the season with a six-game, 13 day road trip, because ABA teams at the time shared gate receipts and Kim wanted to play in as many teams' first home games as possible. [3] During that first season, Kim fired head coach Al Brightman after a 13–24 start, promoting him to public relations director and replacing him with Harry Dinnel. [4] Art Kim also initiated the 3 point shot, which the NBA called a gimmick and said it would never adopt it.
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a men's professional basketball major 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.
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 Long Beach Chiefs were an American basketball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii (1961–62) and Long Beach, California (1962–63) that was a member of the American Basketball League.
Richard Lee was a public relations worker for the Anaheim Amigos of the American Basketball Association during the 1967-68 season. He eventually found himself on the Amigos' active playing roster as the team struggled with finances and injuries.
Sid Borgia was an American professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1946 to 1964 and later was the league's supervisor of officials from 1964 to 1966. Borgia also served as chief of officials in the American Basketball Association.
Willis "Lefty" Thomas is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'2" guard from LA Harbor College, Thomas played in the American Basketball Association during the 1967–68 season. He started the season with Denver Rockets and scored 39 points in his debut. In December 1967, he was traded to the Anaheim Amigos for Jeff Congdon. In 62 games he totaled 555 points and 55 assists. Prior to him joining the ABA, he played for the Harlem Clowns and other teams that regularly faced the Harlem Globetrotters.
Mark "Mike" Storen Jr. was an American sports executive in basketball, baseball, and football. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame and a stint in the US Marines, he began his career with the Chicago Zephyrs and became their promotions director after their move to Baltimore. He subsequently served as the first general manager of the Indiana Pacers from 1967 to 1969, before assuming the positions of GM and part-owner of the Kentucky Colonels. He became the commissioner of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1973, and played an instrumental role in the league's merger with the National Basketball Association (NBA) three years later.
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.
Jesse "Jess" Kersey was an American basketball referee who worked for the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association.
Jack Madden is an American retired professional basketball referee. He was born in Trenton, NJ.
John Joseph Vanak was a referee in the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association.
Joseph J. Gushue was a highly respected referee in the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The 1975–76 American Basketball Association season saw the Spirits of St. Louis, led by Marvin Barnes, Moses Malone, Ron Boone and Caldwell Jones, drop to sixth place in the ABA, with a record of 35–49. As a result, the Spirits missed the playoffs in their second and final season.
Donald Schupak is a New York business executive, investor, philanthropist, and attorney who is best known for his involvement with the Spirits of St. Louis during the 1976 ABA-NBA merger. The purchase of the Spirits by the NBA including Schupak's resulting ownership interest was called the best sports deal of the century by Sports Illustrated. He has served as chairman, chief executive officer, chief operating officer and strategy consultant for a number of public and private companies, including Horn & Hardart and IBM.