The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.
The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played most of its home games at the Spectrum. During schedule conflicts or some Calder Cup playoff games, games were moved to the adjacent Wachovia Center. The Phantoms won two Calder Cup titles during their tenure in Philadelphia.
The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was an arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, from 1967 to 2010.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania, just outside the city of Wilkes-Barre. They have won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy twice for having the best record in the regular season.
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.
The American Basketball Association (ABA) is an American semi-professional men's basketball minor league that was founded in 1999.
Maurice Lucas was an American professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a four-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977. He was named to the ABA All-Time Team.
The Pittsburgh Xplosion was a professional basketball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 2006 to 2008. Founded in 2004 as the Pittsburgh Hard Hats as a member of the American Basketball Association (2000–present) (ABA), the team, following an ownership change, took the court as the Pennsylvania Pit Bulls. The team became the Xplosion in 2005, and joined the CBA in 2006. It has been replaced in the ABA with the modern day Pittsburgh Phantoms and later the Pittsburgh Bassets. The Xplosion played at Pittsburgh Civic Arena and on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center, both in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Sports in Pittsburgh have been played dating back to the American Civil War. Baseball, hockey, and the first professional American football game had been played in the city by 1892. Pittsburgh was first known as the "City of Champions" when the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Panthers football team, and Pittsburgh Steelers won multiple championships in the 1970s. Today, the city has three major professional sports franchises, the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins; while the University of Pittsburgh Panthers compete in a Division I Power Five conference, the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States, in both football and basketball. Local universities Duquesne and Robert Morris also field Division I teams in men's and women's basketball and Division I FCS teams in football. Robert Morris also fields Division I men's and women's ice hockey teams.
The 1962 NBA draft was the 16th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 26, 1962, before the 1962–63 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball 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. In each round, the teams selected in reverse order of their won–loss record in the previous season. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick, then select any player from within a 50-mile radius of its home arena as their territorial pick. The Chicago Packers, who finished last in the previous season, were renamed the Chicago Zephyrs. The Philadelphia Warriors relocated to San Francisco and became the San Francisco Warriors prior to the start of the season. The draft consisted of 16 rounds, comprising 102 players selected.
The Pittsburgh Phantoms were a professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1967. The club was one of the ten charter members of the non-FIFA sanctioned National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). All of the team's home games were played at Forbes Field, which also served as the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1967 NPSL season.
Sports in Pennsylvania includes numerous professional sporting teams, events, and venues located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
The Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is an American professional men's basketball minor league that began play in January 2008. The league folded after the 2017 season. It was announced that the league would be revived under new management for the 2020 season. The league announced due coronavirus outbreak the season would be put on hold.
Wayne A. Hightower was an American professional basketball player who had a long and productive career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1962 to 1972. He stood 6 foot 8 inches (2.03 m) and primarily played the forward positions. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Overbrook High School from 1955 to 1958, where he played basketball. His professional career began in 1961 after his departure from the University of Kansas at the end his junior year. Hightower stated he did so to financially support his family, but he would have been ineligible to play basketball his senior year due to his poor academic standing.
The Saint John Riptide were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saint John, New Brunswick, that had home games at Harbour Station. They were a member of the National Basketball League of Canada in the Atlantic Division. The team was one of two professional basketball teams from the province of New Brunswick, the other being the Moncton Magic.
Sports in Indianapolis include major league franchises, collegiate athletics, and a variety of other club and individual sporting events that have taken place in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Indianapolis is the home to 11 professional sports teams. The city is also home to three National Collegiate Athletic Association collegiate teams. Two teams from the four major American leagues, the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers, are located in Indianapolis.
The Adirondack Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), who began play in the 2009–10 AHL season. The Phantoms were based in Glens Falls, New York, playing home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center and were the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers. The franchise moved to Glens Falls from Philadelphia, where they were known as the Philadelphia Phantoms from 1996 to 2009 in the Flyers' former arena, the Spectrum.
Sports in Allentown, Pennsylvania has a rich tradition at all levels, including professional sports, the Olympics, and high school levels. While most Allentown residents support professional sports teams in New York City or Philadelphia, Allentown itself also is home to two major professional sports teams, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Triple A team of the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball, and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League, the primary development team of the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Shreveport Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana that plays in The Basketball League (TBL).
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."
