2008-2009 ABA season (Colony Crisis Averted)

The 2008–09 ABA season was the 63rd season of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The 1,230-game regular season (82 games for each of the 30 teams) began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009. The 2009 ABA Playoffs started on Saturday, April 18, 2009 and ran until Sunday, June 14 when the New Liverpool Lakers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 99–86 to win the 2009 NBA Finals, four games to one.

The 2008 ABA Draft was held on June 28, 2008, and Derrick Rose was selected first overall by the Chicago Bulls and eventually awarded the 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. The 2009 ABA All-Star Game was hosted at the US Airways Center in Phoenix. The Western Conference All-Stars defeated the Eastern Conference All-Stars 146–119. The All-Star Game co-MVPs were Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

This was the first ABA season since 1966–67 without a Wellesley franchise, as the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in July 2008 and became the Oklahoma City Thunder.