The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center, located in Downtown Houston. Throughout its history, Houston has won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles. It was established in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego. In 1971, the Rockets relocated to Houston.
The San Diego Conquistadors, were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, they played an incomplete season only, beginning the 1975–1976 season but folding after only 11 games with 3 wins and 8 losses.
The Dallas Chaparrals were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The team moved to San Antonio, Texas, for the 1973–74 season and were renamed the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs joined the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the 1976–77 NBA season as a result of being one of four chosen ABA teams to be absorbed by the elder league following the completion of the ABA–NBA merger.
Oakland Arena is an indoor arena located in Oakland, California, United States. From its opening in 1966 until 1996, it was known as the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. After a major renovation completed in 1997, the arena was renamed The Arena in Oakland until 2005 and Oracle Arena from 2006 to 2019. It is often referred to as the Oakland Coliseum Arena as it is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex with the adjacent Oakland Coliseum. Oakland Arena seats 19,596 fans for basketball.
HemisFair Arena was an indoor arena located in San Antonio, Texas. It was home to the ABA/NBA's San Antonio Spurs from 1973 to 1993 and the San Antonio Force of the AFL during the 1992 season, their only year of existence. The Houston Rockets also played home games at the arena during the 1972-73 NBA season.
Viejas Arena is the home arena of the San Diego State Aztecs men's and women's basketball teams. It is located on the San Diego State University (SDSU) campus in San Diego, California. Viejas Arena opened in July 1997 and seats 12,414 for basketball and up to 12,845 for concerts. The facility also hosts SDSU's commencement ceremonies.
Pechanga Arena is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California.
Joseph Alexander Mullaney was an American professional basketball player and coach.
The American Basketball Association (ABA) is an American semi-professional men's basketball minor league that was founded in 1999.
The 1998–99 NBA season was the 53rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to a lockout, the season did not start until February 5, 1999, after a new six-year Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association. All 29 teams played a shortened 50-game-per-team regular season schedule and the 16 teams who qualified for the playoffs played a full post-season schedule. That season's All-Star Game, which would have been held in Philadelphia, was also canceled. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs winning the franchise's first NBA championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the 1999 NBA Finals. This was the 50th season since the BAA and NBL had merged into the NBA.
The Robert A. Mott Athletics Center is a 3,032-seat, indoor multi-purpose arena on the campus of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California.
The Island Garden Arena was a 5,200-seat arena in West Hempstead, New York. It was built in 1957 by Arnold "Whitey" Carlson, a descendant of Swedish immigrants. Carlson's grandfather was Henrik Carlson, a noted San Diego sculptor who was the Foreign Art Director for the San Diego Exposition.
The UC San Diego Tritons are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, San Diego. UC San Diego has 23 varsity sports teams, as well as esports teams, and offers student participation in a wide range of sports. As of July 1, 2020, all UC San Diego teams participate at the NCAA Division I (DI) level in the Big West Conference. During their time in NCAA Division II and the California Collegiate Athletic Association starting in the 2000–01 season, UC San Diego placed in the top 5 in the Division II NACDA Directors' Cup standings nine times, including three 2nd-place finishes. NCSA Athletic Recruiting ranked the Tritons as the nation's top Division II program for eight consecutive years.
San Diego Sockers are an American professional indoor soccer franchise playing in the Western Division of the Major Arena Soccer League, representing the San Diego area since 2009. The Sockers first played home games at Chevrolet Del Mar Arena at the Del Mar Fairgrounds adjacent to the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. They moved to Pechanga Arena, the original home of the MISL Sockers, for the 2012–2013 season. The Sockers plan on moving into Frontwave Arena, a 7,600 seat multi-purpose indoor sports arena in Oceanside, CA once it opens. The projected opening date is in the first quarter of 2024.
The San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team is the college basketball program that represents San Diego State University, located in San Diego, California. The team currently competes in the Mountain West Conference (MW) and plays its home games at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs began play in 1921 and have been to fifteen NCAA Division I tournaments and six NIT tournaments since joining NCAA Division I in 1969. The team previously reached three NCAA Division II tournaments and six NAIA tournaments, winning the latter in 1941. Since joining the Mountain West Conference, the Aztecs have won seven tournament championships and nine regular season titles. Former players who went on to achieve notable success in the NBA include Michael Cage and Kawhi Leonard. Other former players have gone on to achieve their most notable successes in other areas, such as Art Linkletter and Tony Gwynn.
The 1972–73 ABA season was the sixth season of the American Basketball Association. The Pittsburgh Condors and Miami Floridians had folded, leaving the league with nine teams. However, the ABA decided to award an expansion franchise to Dr. Leonard Bloom for $1 million to play in San Diego, California, named the San Diego Conquistadors. Subsequently, this meant that the Memphis Tams would move to the Eastern Division. Once again, the best regular season team did not win the ABA Finals, with the Indiana Pacers, led by playoff MVP George McGinnis, winning the ABA championship, 4 games to 3 over the Kentucky Colonels.
Sports in San Diego include two men's major professional sports teams, several teams from other highest-level professional leagues, minor league teams, semi-pro and club teams, and college athletics. The most popular team in San Diego is the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Also popular locally are the college teams of the San Diego State Aztecs, which play in NCAA Division I (FBS).
Golden Hall is a 3,200-seat indoor arena in San Diego, California, built in 1964. Golden Hall is located within the San Diego Concourse complex at 1 Civic Center Plz San Diego, CA 92101 and is primarily utilized as a homeless shelter today.
The 1972–73 San Diego Conquistadors season was the 1st season of the San Diego Conquistadors in the American Basketball Association. The Conquistadors were the first and only expansion team of the ABA, made to make the league have 10 teams, with Dr. Leonard Bloom granted a team for $1 million. But a feud with Peter Graham, proprietor of the San Diego Sports Arena due to Graham being bitter for not being granted the team meant that the team would play their games in the 3,200 capacity Peterson Gym. The first game was a Friday night on October 13, 1972 versus the Denver Rockets, which they lost 100–109. The Conquistadors had a 16–26 first half of the season, with a ten-game losing streak in that half. In the second half, they went 21–21, with a nine-game losing streak in there, though they have a five-game winning streak near the end of the season that rose their win total from 25 to 30. The Q's managed to get into the playoffs due to the Dallas Chaparrals losing to the Denver Rockets on March 25. They finished 9th in points scored with 109.0 points per game and 7th in points allowed with 113.2 points per game. They faced off against the Utah Stars in the playoffs, but they were swept in four games.
The expansion of the National Basketball Association has happened several times in the league's history since it began play in 1946. The most recent examples of the expansion of the NBA are the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat in 1988, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic in 1989, Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995, and New Orleans Hornets in 2002. In June 2022, Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that while there are no current plans to expand beyond 30 teams, the NBA "invariably will expand."
