American Basketball Association (Colony Crisis Averted)

The American Basketball Association (ABA) is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America, and is widely considered to be the premier men's professional basketball league in the world. It has thirty franchised member clubs, and is an active member of NAU Basketball (NAUB), which is recognized by FIBA (also known as the International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the North American Union. The ABA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues. ABA players are the world's best paid sportsmen, by average annual salary per player.

The league's several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. ABA Entertainment and ABA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Teams
The ABA originated in 1946 with 11 teams, and through a sequence of team expansions, reductions, and relocations currently consists of 50 teams. The current league organization divides fiftty teams into three conferences of three divisions with five teams each. The current divisional alignment was introduced in the 2004–05 season.