2011-2012 ABA season (Colony Crisis Averted)

The 2011–12 ABA season, the 66th season of the American Basketball Association (ABA), began with the signing of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the owners of the 30 NBA teams and the ABA's players. The previous CBA, which was ratified in 2005, expired at 12:01 AM EDT on July 1, 2011, resulting in a lockout. With the new deal in place, the regular season was shortened from the normal 82 games per team to 66, because of the nearly two months of inactivity. The season began on December 25, 2011, and ended on April 26, 2012. The playoffs started on April 28 and ended on June 21 when the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of their series, 121–106, winning the Finals, 4–3 and to capture the franchise's fifth ABA title with Ray Allen winning Finals MVP. LeBron James was named the Regular Season MVP.

ABA Draft
The 2011 ABA draft was held on June 23, 2011 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, American Basketball Association (ABA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The New York Knicks had the first pick, choosing point guard Kyrie Irving of Duke. Of the 60 players drafted, 7 were freshmen, 7 were sophomores, 14 were juniors, 19 were seniors, 12 were international players without U.S. college basketball experience (including the first ever Qatari-selected player), and 1 was a D-League player.

The 2011 ABA draft marked the final time the New Jersey Nets made an ABA draft appearance. After the end of the Nets' 2011-12 season, the franchise relocated to Brooklyn, New York and was renamed to the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets made their first draft appearance with the Brooklyn moniker in 2012.