The ABA only existed from 1967 to 1976, but had a major impact on the history of professional basketball. This year's conference finals feature two former ABA franchises, the Indiana Pacers and the San Antonio Spurs. There's a chance that 2 old ABA teams could meet in the finals for only the second time since the merger.
Here's a brief history of the league that gave us the three point shot and the red, white, and blue basketball:
Not to mention it had a huge influence on sports money management. When the league was folded into the NBA only four teams continued to operate (Nets, Spurs, Nuggets, & Pacers), but there were two other teams still in business. John Y. Brown of the Kentucky Colonels took the $3.3 million buy-out and turned around and bought the Buffalo Braves franchise from the NBA, but the Spirits of St. Louis owned by the Silnas brothers took a different strategy. They demanded and got a deal where they would receive one-seventh of the national TV money from each of the four teams that did become NBA teams.
Forever.
As of 2012 that deal had netted them almost $300 million. Earlier this year, after being hounded by the NBA to take a payout pretty much since the deal was made, a buyout offer that started at $5 million and escalated up each time negotiations opened, the Silnas’ finally accepted the leagues latest offer. $500 million. That means for a team/business that hasn’t existed for 35 years they have profited nearly a BILLION dollars.