American Basketball League (1996–1998)


The American Basketball League, often abbreviated to the ABL of 1996 was the first independent professional basketball league for women in the United States. At the same time the ABL was being formed, the National Basketball Association was creating the Women's National Basketball Association. The ABL began league competition in the Fall of 1996, while the WNBA launched its first game in June 1997. Both organizations came into existence during a surge in popularity for women's basketball in the United States that followed the perfect 35–0 national championship season for the Connecticut Huskies in 1995 and the undefeated, gold medal-winning performance of the United States Women's basketball team at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
The ABL lasted two full seasons: 1996–97 and 1997–98. The Atlanta Glory and Long Beach Stingrays folded prior to the start of the 1998–99 season, and were replaced by two expansion teams, the Chicago Condors and Nashville Noise. On December 22, 1998; with almost no warning, the ABL declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and suspended operations. Each team had played between 12 and 15 games of the 1998–99 season.
The ABL got off the ground before the WNBA, and at least early on its quality of play was higher than the rival league. This was partly due to the league's signing of a majority of players from the 1996 USA women's national team. Although the WNBA was bankrolled by the NBA, the ABL offered higher salaries. The two leagues didn't compete directly; the ABL played during the winter while the WNBA played during the summer. Despite this, the ABL ultimately found the WNBA's stronger financial resources—augmented by the NBA's marketing muscle—to be too much to overcome.
Some of the ABL's problems were of its own making. The league operated as a single-entity structure, which was intended to control costs until it found its feet. However, it also meant that even the most basic decisions related to team operations had to go through the league office in Palo Alto, California. League officials were so fixated on national sponsorships that they hamstrung the teams' efforts to market themselves locally. The ABL was also underfinanced. Allison Hodges, general manager of the short-lived Condors, later told The New York Times that she was led to believe league officials rejected her marketing ideas because they clashed with its national focus, only to find out that the league didn't have enough money to finance them. Hodges also believed the league had already planned to shut down before announcing the Chapter 11 filing.
Of all the ABL cities, Chicago, Seattle, and Atlanta now have WNBA teams.

1996–98 clubs


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width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:Glory color:coral from:1996 till:1998 text:Atlanta Glory
bar:Quest color:coral from:1996 till:end text:Columbus Quest
bar:Blizzard color:coral from:1996 till:end text:New England Blizzard
bar:Rage color:magenta from:1996 till:1997 text:Richmond Rage
bar:Rage color:coral from:1997 till:end text:Philadelphia Rage
bar:Condors color:coral from:1998 till:1999 text:Chicago Condors
bar:Noise color:coral from:1998 till:end text:Nashville Noise
bar:Xplosion color:skyblue from:1996 till:end text:Colorado Xplosion
bar:Power color:skyblue from:1996 till:end text:Portland Power
bar:Lasers color:skyblue from:1996 till:end text:San Jose Lasers
bar:Reign color:skyblue from:1996 till:end text:Seattle Reign
bar:Stingrays color:skyblue from:1997 till:1998 text:Long Beach Stingrays
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Seasons

1996–97

Eastern Conference
Columbus Quest319.775
Richmond Rage2119.525
Atlanta Glory1822.450
New England Blizzard1624.400

Western Conference
Colorado Xplosion2515.625
San Jose Lasers1822.450
Seattle Reign1723.425
Portland Power1426.350

The 1996–97 ABL All-Star Game was played on December 15, 1996, at the Hartford Civic Center. The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 81–65, and the game's MVP was Tari Phillips.

1997–98

Eastern Conference
Columbus Quest368.818
New England Blizzard2420.545
Atlanta Glory1529.341
Philadelphia Rage1331.295

Western Conference
Portland Power2717.614
Long Beach Stingrays2618.591
Colorado Xplosion2123.477
San Jose Lasers2123.477
Seattle Reign1529.341

The 1997–98 ABL All-Star Game was played on January 18, 1998, at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 102–73.

1998–99

Eastern Conference
Columbus Quest113.786
Philadelphia Rage95.643
Chicago Condors48.333
Nashville Noise411.267
New England Blizzard310.231

Western Conference
Portland Power94.692
San Jose Lasers96.600
Seattle Reign87.533
Colorado Xplosion58.387

The 1998–99 ABL All-Star Game was scheduled to be played on January 24, 1999, in San Jose, California, but was canceled when the league ceased operations in December 1998.

Notable players