The ABA was brought back to life in 2000 by Joe Newman, current CEO and Dick Tinkham,one of the original founders.  Dick and Joe were tired of expensive, big ego, basketball and wanted to go back to grass roots basketball.  Which is, fast passed, high scoring, family friendly, and affordable basketball.  Now the ABA is rapidly growing  and has teams all over the United States and in Mexico, Canada and China.
Read below for further information or log on to www.abalive.com.

History of the ABA
2004-2005 Season
The ABA experienced tremendous growth in the 2004-2005 season with more than 30 teams competing for the ABA Championship. One of the teams competing was the Kentucky Colonels, one of the original ABA teams (which won the ABA Championship in 1975 before the NBA/ABA merger that brought the Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs into the NBA. The Colonels are owned by Stephanie Roach, the first African American female owner of a professional sports team. Tree Rollins, former NBA great, became the GM, the first of many former NBA stars to join the ABA.
2004-2005 brought other historical events. Nashville Rhythm made ESPN headlines with the first female had coach of a men's professional basketball team - and headlines again - when she was dismissed. The ABA signed its first corporate sponsor, Pit Bull Energy Drink, who also presented the ABA Championship Trophy to the Arkansas Rimrockers after a game attended by nearly 15,000 screaming fans. The Bellevue Blackhawks, led by Coach of the Year Rick Turner, was defeated in the game. Bellevue rose from the #13 seed to make the finals, and did it with a team made up of local players.
In addition, the major expansion created the most diversified professional sports league ever with over 60% of the teams made up of ownership groups comprised of African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and women. Teams included: Atlanta Vision, Arkansas Rimrockers, Bellevue Blackhawks, Boston Frenzy, Calgary Drillers, Carolina Thunder, Cincinnati Monarchs, Colorado Storm, Detroit Wheels, Fresno Heatwave, Reigning Knights of Georgia, Harlem Strong Dogs, Hermosillo Seris, Kansas City Knights, Kentucky Colonels, Las Vegas Rattlers, Long Beach Jam, Los Angeles Stars, Louisiana Cajun Pelicans, Maryland Nighthawks, Mississippi Stingers, Nashville Rhythm, New Jersey Skycats, Ontario Warriors, Orange County Buzz, Pennsylvania Pit Bulls, Philadelphia Fusion, Portland Reign, St. Louis Flight, Texas Tycoons, Tijuana Dragons, Utah Snowbears, Visalia Dawgs.
2003-2004 Season
Several celebrities joined the league during the 2003-2004 season, including rapper Master P and former NBA legend Dennis Rodman. The Long Beach Jam took the title from the defending champs, the Kansas City Knights. Final score: 126-123.
Teams included:
Jersey Squires, Kansas City Knights, Fresno Heatwave, Tijuana Diablos, Las Vegas Rattlers, Juárez Gallos, and the Long Beach Jam.
2002-2003 Season
The league took a season off to reorganize.
2001-2002 Season 
The second season saw the Kansas City Knights running up an incredible 24 game win-streak, ending with the Championship game against the Southern California Surf. Final score: 118-113.
Teams included:
Phoenix Eclipse, Detroit Dogs, Kentucky Pro Cats, Southern California Surf, Indiana Legends, Las Vegas Slam, and the Kansas City Knights.
2000-2001 Season 
The inaugural season featured eight teams who vied for the crown. Legendary ABA superstar George "Ice Man" Gervin coached the Detroit Dogs to the title over the Chicago Skyliners in the Championship. Final score: 107-91.
Teams included:
San Diego Wildfire, Tampa Bay Thunder Dawgs, Los Angeles Stars, Indiana Legends, Kansas City Knights, Memphis Hound Dawgs, Chicago Skyliners, and the Detroit Dogs.

The Original ABA
For a full retrospective on the original ABA league, which operated from 1967 to 1976 before merging with the NBA, be sure to visit RememberTheABA.com.
The ABA existed from 1967 to 1976 -- for nine full seasons. During that time, the ABA fought a bitter war with the established National Basketball Association (the NBA) for players, fans, and media attention. In June 1976, the two rival pro leagues finally made peace. Four of the strongest ABA teams (the New York Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs) joined the NBA and survived. The other remaining ABA teams (such as the Kentucky Colonels, the Spirits of St. Louis, and the Virginia Squires) vanished, along with the ABA itself.  However, the ABA is still vividly remembered by its loyal fans. The ABA was the "outlaw" league with the psychedelic red, white and blue basketball and huge afros. It was the "lively" league that adopted the three-point shot -- the exciting "home run" of basketball -- as its own. It was the "frontier" league that brought (or returned) modern professional basketball to hoops-crazy cities like Indianapolis, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Charlotte/Greensboro, Louisville, Norfolk, and Denver.  It featured dazzling above-the-rim players like Julius ("Dr. J") Erving, Connie Hawkins, George ("Ice") Gervin, David Thompson, George McGinnis, Artis Gilmore, Moses Malone, Roger Brown and Dan (the "Horse") Issel. Each of these electric stars first played professional basketball in the ABA -- with young legs and few limitations. The "frontier spirit" of the ABA also led to a group of memorable characters. The ABA had a coach named "Slick" and players named "Fatty" and "Goo." And, who could ever forget Marvin "Bad News" Barnes, "Mr. Excitement" Wendell Ladner, Warren Jabali, and Babe "Magnolia Mouth" McCarthy? But all of these brilliant ABA artists went on stage in front of notoriously small crowds. Most ABA teams had serious attendance problems and almost no national or local television coverage.  As a result, the colorful history of the ABA is almost entirely word-of-mouth. The purpose of this web site is to preserve this history, and provide a much needed space for ABA fans to share their favorite memories. This web page is actually a "collaborative" work--all of the photos, uniforms, and memories on this page have been contributed by various ABA fans across the country. If you would like to help in any way, please click here to find out more.