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.
Michael Joseph Dunleavy Sr. is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and former general manager of the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers. He was most recently the head coach of the Tulane University men's basketball team. Dunleavy is the father of former professional basketball player Mike Dunleavy Jr.
Terry Linn Stotts is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is the top assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2012 to 2021 before most recently spending an offseason as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2023.
Joel Przybilla is an American retired professional basketball player who played the center position for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Steven Charles Mix, nicknamed "The Mayor", is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Mix had a thirteen-year playing career, was an NBA All-Star and played in the NBA Finals on four occasions. He later had a lengthy career as a broadcaster for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 1970–71 NBA season was the 25th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Milwaukee Bucks winning the NBA Championship, beating the Baltimore Bullets 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. Three new teams made their debut: the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Buffalo Braves.
The 1971 NBA draft was the 25th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 29 and 30, 1971, before the 1971–72 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Cleveland Cavaliers won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Portland Trail Blazers were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Prior to the start of the season, the San Diego Rockets and the San Francisco Warriors relocated to Houston, Texas, and Oakland, California, and became the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors respectively. The draft consisted of 19 rounds comprising the selection of 237 players. The league also hosted a supplemental hardship draft on September 20, 1971, for college underclassmen who wished to join the league.
Elmore Smith is an American former professional basketball player born in Macon, Georgia. A 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) center from Kentucky State University, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1971 to 1979. He was a member of the Buffalo Braves, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Herman L. Gilliam Jr. was an American professional basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1969 to 1977, winning a championship with the Portland Trail Blazers in his final season.
Steve Patterson is a former American sports executive. He most recently served as the president and CEO of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Patterson is the former athletic director of the University of Texas, and the former president and general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Rick Roberson was an American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Los Angeles Lakers (1969–71), Cleveland Cavaliers (1971–73), Portland Trail Blazers (1973–74), New Orleans Jazz (1974–75) and Kansas City Kings (1975–76).
Curtis R. Perry is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Washington, D.C., he attended Southwest Missouri State University and played at forward.
Fred J. Foster was an American professional basketball player.
The 1970–71 Milwaukee Bucks season was the third season for the Bucks. Milwaukee posted a 66–16 record in only its third year of existence, and its second since drafting Lew Alcindor. A key part of this championship season was the acquisition of Oscar Robertson. Other role players on the Bucks included players such as Bob Dandridge, Jon McGlocklin, power forward Greg Smith & key reserves such as Lucius Allen, Bob Boozer and Dick Cunningham completing the nucleus. This season included a 20-game winning streak, the NBA's longest at the time, and still ranked fifth all-time. The Bucks became the first team from the Midwest Division to win the NBA title; it would be 23 years before the Houston Rockets would do the same.
The 1970 NBA expansion draft was the fifth expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 11, 1970, so that the newly founded Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers could acquire players for the 1970–71 season. Buffalo, Cleveland, and Portland were awarded the expansion teams on February 6, 1970. Houston was also awarded a franchise, but the group backing the team was unable to come up with the US$750,000 down payment on the US$3.7 million entrance fee that was required before the 1970 NBA draft. The Braves later underwent two relocations, moving to San Diego in 1978 and changing their name from the Braves to the Clippers, and then relocating to Los Angeles in 1984. They are currently known as the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 1971–72 NBA season was the 26th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
The Portland Trail Blazers are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise was founded in the 1970–71 NBA season. The team made their first draft pick in the 1970 NBA draft and have selected 283 players total. The franchise won its only NBA championship in 1977, when the team was led by their 1974 first overall pick, Bill Walton, as well as multiple other former draft picks who went on to have their numbers retired by Portland. Many of the players selected have gone on to have accomplished careers while playing for the team. Clyde Drexler and Damian Lillard hold multiple Blazer records and are first in many stats. Along with Walton and Drexler, two other draft picks, Dražen Petrović and Arvydas Sabonis, went on to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after their playing careers ended, with Petrović being inducted posthumously.
Kevin Devon Knox II is an American professional basketball player for the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Knox was selected ninth overall by the New York Knicks in the 2018 NBA draft.
