The Minnesota Muskies were a member of the American Basketball Association, born with the league's creation on February 2, 1967. L.P. Shields and Fred Jefferson were the owners after paying a franchise fee of $30,000. The team then played one season in Minnesota before moving to Miami, Florida to become The Floridians. The team colors were blue and gold and games were played in the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, which they shared with the Minnesota North Stars.
The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround.
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.
The Pittsburgh Condors were a professional basketball team in the original American Basketball Association (ABA). Originally called the Pittsburgh Pipers, they were a charter franchise of the ABA and captured the first league title. The team played their home games in Pittsburgh's Civic Arena.
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.
Leslie Henry Hunter was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the American Basketball Association (ABA). Hunter played college basketball for the Loyola Ramblers and was the starting center on their NCAA championship team in 1963. He was a two-time ABA All-Star.
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.
The 1969 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1968–69 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Oakland Oaks defeating the Eastern Division champion Indiana Pacers, four games to one in the ABA Finals. Warren Jabali of the Oaks was named the Playoff MVP.
Harold Blitman was a basketball coach. Blitman was head coach of the American Basketball Association team the Miami Floridians during the 1969-1970 season and of The Floridians during the 1970-1971 season.
Eugene Stephen Rhodes was an American basketball player and coach.
Gary J. Keller is an American former college and professional basketball player who was a center and power forward in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for two seasons during the late 1960s. Keller played college basketball for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Minnesota Muskies and the Miami Floridians of the ABA.
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.
The 1968–69 ABA season was the second season for the American Basketball Association. Two teams relocated: Minnesota Muskies became the Miami Floridians. The Pittsburgh Pipers moved to Minnesota and became the Minnesota Pipers. Two others relocated within their territory. The Anaheim Amigos became the Los Angeles Stars. The New Jersey Americans became the New York Nets. The season ended with the Oakland Oaks capturing their first ABA championship.
The 1970–71 ABA season was the fourth season of the American Basketball Association.
The 1967–68 Minnesota Muskies season was the first and only season of the Muskies in the newly created American Basketball Association. 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, which is a fish found in Minnesota. The team did well on the court, finishing 2nd to the Pipers 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 losing money with middling attendance with minimal season tickets purchased. A plan to play 9 games of next season in places around Minnesota and a television contract were curtailed, and the Muskies moved to Miami on May 24, 1968. However, basketball in Minnesota would not be curtailed for long, as the Pittsburgh Pipers moved to play in the same location
The 1968–69 Miami Floridians season was the first season of the Floridians in the American Basketball Association. The team had moved from Minnesota after one season as the Muskies. The Floridians finished one game behind the Pacers, for a second place finish. They faced the replacement for them in Minnesota, the Pipers. They beat them in a close 7 game series to set up a chance to go to the ABA Finals. In the Eastern Division Finals, they lost to the Indiana Pacers 4 games to 1.
The 1968–69 Minnesota Pipers season was the only season of the Pipers in Minnesota and second overall season in the American Basketball Association. The previous season, the Pipers had won the ABA Finals, but moved the team from Pittsburgh to Minnesota after the season. But the Pipers were not any more successful in Minnesota, and they moved back to Pittsburgh before next season. The team went through three coaches: Harding, who was fired after attacking the Pipers Chairman Gabe Rubin at the banquet of the All-Star Game. Mikkelsen took over for a while before Verl Young took the job permanently. Hawkins, Williams, Vaughn, and Heyman were nagged by injuries due to long practices, which affected the team, which fell in the Semifinals to the Miami Floridians. Minnesota would not have a pro basketball team again until 1989 with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The 1970–71 The Floridians season was the third season of American Basketball Association in Florida and first as The Floridians, after two seasons as the Miami Floridians. In an attempt to appeal to the entire regional, game were played in five cities: Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Florida, Jacksonville, and West Palm Beach. New head owner Ned Doyle decided to get rid of the entire team, except the coach. The Floridians finished 9th in points scored at 114.0 per game, but 5th in points allowed at 115.6 per game. The team's biggest losing streak was 6, which happened less than a month after the season began, though a 5-game winning streak followed that. But by the first half of the season, they were 17–25, and Blitman was fired after they had lost their fifth straight game on January 14 to make them 18–30. One day later, Bob Bass was hired by the team after resigning from Texas Tech. The next day, he won his first game, versus the Utah Stars. A seven-game winning streak near the end of the season helped clinch a playoff spot for the team, with the key win being versus the Pittsburgh Condors on March 28, the penultimate game of the season played in Jacksonville, beating them 130–117 to eliminate Pittsburgh. In the Semifinals, they overcame a 2–0 hole to tie the series up, but the Kentucky Colonels won the next two games to win the series.
The 1971–72 The Floridians season was the fourth and final season of American Basketball Association in Florida. For this season, 34 games were played in Miami, with the other home games being played in either Tampa or St. Petersberg. The Floridians edged out the Carolina Cougars for the final playoff spot by one game, with their 116–115 overtime victory proving key to clinching the spot, as their record was 35–45 and the Cougars record was at 33–49, with the Floridians not only having two more games to play than the Cougars but only needing to win once more to officially clinch, which they did four days later versus the Memphis Pros, 118–107. The team's biggest winning streak all season was 4, with their first half record being 19–23. They went 17–25 in the second half of the season, with a season high six game losing streak in that half. They finished 8th in points scored, at 112.8 per game and 8th in points allowed at 114.3 per game. In the Semifinals, they were swept by the Virginia Squires. After the season, the team was disbanded, due to attendance not improving despite trying to appeal to the region. Pro basketball would not return to the area until 1988 with the Miami Heat, who have worn throwback jerseys of the team on occasion as part of "Hardwood Classics Nights", doing so for the first time during the 2005–06 season.
The Eastern Division of the ABA, or ABA Eastern Division, was one of the two groups in which the teams of the American Basketball Association were divided, based on their geographical location. The other group was called the Western Division (ABA), or ABA Western Division.
