League

The World Basketball association was started in 2000 as the brain child of now commissioner Rondall Reynoso. The League began with 22 teams from 4 different continents.

Season 1

In Season 1 teams took one of three approaches to the season. The first approach was two concede the season and look to the future. Teams like Gabon compiled an astonishing number of losses with this approach. The second approach was to go for it all that season with little thought of the future. Los Angeles is the best example of this as they traded away 3 years of picks to acquire the most impressive line-up in the league. The third was a mix of the two. Teams like London had a mix of age and youth and had very successful seasons.

The season was interesting as it quickly became clear that all the power was in the West. Los Angeles set the leagues record with 54 wins in just 62 games an amazing 87%. This is especially impressive considering how tough the West was. As a group they won 13% more games than the East. The West only had 3 teams with loosing records.

The young center Jim McCarthy of Cincinnati established himself as a true star by claiming the scoring title. The front court of Brooklyn accomplished an amazing feat when center Joe Siebert claim the rebounding title followed closely by team mate John Davis. Siebert also lead the league in blocks which helped him claim the title of defensive player of the year. Curtis Brides from Sydney was the league MVP.

Season 1 Play-offs

The play-offs were crazy. LA was expected to dominate after having such a great season, but it didn't happen that way. They lost to Fernie 4 games to 2. Fernie surprised every body by winning the West in impressive fashion. The East went pretty much as expected with London heading to the finals. Once the Finals started Fernie Continued their surge taking a 3-0 lead. London fought back but Fernie closed it out in game 6 to become the first ever WBA champions.

Season 2

Season 2 was about the polarity of strong and weak. There were seven teams that finished the season with 60 or more wins and 10 teams with less than 30 wins. Brooklyn set a new wins record with 67 wins and Gabon tied their previous wins low of nine. The WBA's first rookies also had a big impact. The list of household names drafted this season is too long to list. The most notable of the group though was clearly Wayne Taylor. A. J. Schulz also had one of the best rookie seasons that the WBA has seen averaging 24.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.6 steals.

There was a real transition in power as Los Angeles was hit with player retirements and went from the pride of the WBA to a 21 win team. Boston was a team that used the strong draft to go from a 14 win season to a 66 win season.

Despite all the other interesting events in this season, Season two will be remembered for one thing: Expansion. The WBA expanded from 22 to 28 teams and expanded the season from 62 to 80 games.

Boom-Boom Casey who was second in the league in scoring during Season 1 raised his scoring average to 32.3 in Season 2 and took the scoring title. Rookie Paul Wilson showed his rebounding talent when he led the league with 15.18 rebounds a game. Cincinnati had an interesting accomplishment with three players averaging over three steals a game. Rich Johnson, Steve Peterson and Bert Latham finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively with 3.69, 3.66 and 3.14 steals.

Season 2 Play-offs

As had happened in Season 1, the Season 2 play-offs were full of surprises. The biggest surprise was the 3-2 first round elimination of Brooklyn by Albacete. Brooklyn had finished the season with the best record I the league and Albacete was not only an 8th seed but an expansion team. Bill Blackstone had a terrific post season leading Albacete with 25 points and fellow rookie and future all-star Harry Jarvis averaged 20. Unfortunately, for these new giant killers they were not able to keep it up for a second series and London swept them in four games. London was then in turn swept by a Boston franchise which was lead by rookie Bill Yeager who averaged over 26 points and 11 rebounds during Boston's play-off run.

Roswell was the team out of the West to reach the Finals. Roswell was the third seed in the West and had battled through two seven game series against Colorado and Cincinnati respectively, only to fall in seven games to Boston.

Season 3

Season 3 began something special. For the first time in league history a team eclipsed the 70 win mark. Colorado finished the season with an amazing 73-7 record, setting new records for both the number of wins and the winning percentage. Interestingly, four teams out of the East finished with over 60 wins, Brooklyn leading the group with their second straight 67 win season. But, these team's impressive performances are little more than a footnote in the collective mind of the WBA. At the same time as these teams played so well there were three teams that didn't even manage to put together 10 wins. Bermuda, Varese and Myrtle Beach put together 8, 5 and 8 wins respectively. Bermuda finished the season with a frightening 17 game loosing streak.

Not surprisingly, Colorado had the leagues top offense with 114.8 points per game and had the third ranked defense. Brooklyn had the leagues top defense only allowing 86.3 points per game. Bermuda allowed an amazing 117.4 points per game. Boom-Boom Casey took his second straight scoring title averaging 30.2 points per game. Paul Wilson took his second rebounding title with the improved average of 16.3 per game and Chuck Henderson also took his second assist title with an impressive 16 assists per game. Henderson also led the league in steals with 3.59 a game. Rookie of the year Lou Gonzales lead the league with 4.85 blocks per game.

Season 3 Play-offs

Once again the team with the best record in the league did not win the Championship. Despite such an impressive regular season Colorado lost in the second round (4-3) to Tokyo, lead by Rookie Defensive machine Lou Gonzales. Brooklyn on the other hand shook off their horrible play-off history and dominated play in the Eastern Conference blasting past Baltimore, Boston and Washington with only two losses. The finals were a match up between Tokyo and Brooklyn but there was not much of a contest as Brooklyn easily beat them 4-1.

Despite the disappointment Lou Gonzales, commonly known as Gonzo showed the type of player he would become as he finished the play-offs averaging 22.8 points (58.7% FG), 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 5.5 blocks and 1.8 steals. Brooklyn on the other hand used their depth to win the championship with 8 players making huge contributions featuring such notable players off the bench as Shane Strom, Al Zarra and J.J. McCauley.

Season 4

Season 4 saw huge changes for both of the leagues top regular season teams from the previous season. Colorado dealt away Boom-Boom Casey and Brooklyn lost John Davis in free agency and dealt away Ozzie Kramer, still though both teams stayed at the tops of their conferences. Brooklyn had their third straight 60 win season with 64 wins and Colorado amazingly had their second straight 70 win season going 70-10. This amazing feat required 13 straight wins from Colorado to end the season. The new league laughing stock was Sydney, 7-73, which ended the season with 26 straight losses.

Colorado once again led the league in scoring with 112.7 points a game. Nebraska was the new top defense holding their opponents to 88.9 points per game. Boom-Boom Casey, now with Washington, was in a different system which did not feature him as much and his scoring average dropped by 10 points. This left room for youngster, then 19, Wayne Taylor, to win his first scoring title averaging 26.3 points a game, barely edging out John Greene's 26.2 points per game. Paul Wilson won his third straight rebounding title with another year over 16 boards. John Davis, now out of Joe Siebert's shadow in New York was second in the league with 14.34 rebounds per game. Chuck Henderson also grabbed his third straight assists title though his average dropped to 11.9 per game. Henderson also once again led the league with steal and Gonzo for the second season led the league in blocks with an astounding 5.64 blocks per game.

Season 4 Play-offs

Once again Colorado met with frustration as they lost in the first round to the Tom Perkins led Montana Knights. Brooklyn also met the same fate as they lost 3-2 in the first round to Dave Williams and the Rochester Blaze. With both top teams out of the play-offs in the first round the field was wide open.

Cincinnati rose out of the West on Washington out of the East. Cincinnati had finished the season with 58 wins and Washington with 61 wins so despite the losses of the two favorites the fans were still in for some great basketball. Boom- Boom Casey had changed teams and taken on a new role but for the first time he was able to win a championship as Washington edged Cincinnati 4-2. Ozzie Kramer who had also won a championship the previous season was also able to get another one this year.

Season 5

The impossible happened! Colorado had their third straight 70 win season. The second shocking event was that Brooklyn for the first time in league history didn't win the Mid-Atlantic conference. This season also saw the competitiveness of the league increase with no teams finishing with fewer than 17 wins. Prior to this there had always been a team to finish in single digits. The most notable trade of the year was the Cancun and Washington trade that sent Parker Mason to Cancun and Jimmy Foster to Washington. The trade worked out well for both teams as Washington won the division title for the first time and Cancun for the first time emerged as an elite team.

For the third season in a row Colorado lead the league in scoring with 113.2. Budapest became a defensive juggernaught holding their opponents to 88.9 points. Youngster Wayne Taylor was not able to hold on to the scoring title and depite averaging an impressive 25.1 points he finished fifth. Rochester's Dave Williams who had been a second round draft pick in Season 3 won the title with 26.9 points per game. It was a close race with Harry Jarvis, Boom-Boom Casey and Heorge Holt all averaging at least 26 points. Paul Wilson once again won the rebounding title, that's four straight, with an average of 14.4 rebounds per game. Chuck Henderson also kept his streak alive winning his fourth assists title with 13.2 assists per game and he also for the third consecutive year lead the league with 3.87 steals.. Lou Gonzales for the third straight year led the league in blocks (4.71).

Season 5 Play-offs

Unlike the previous year the top teams all advanced to the second round. The one notable exception was Brooklyn who for the third time in four years lost in the first round. Colorado plowed through the first three rounds with out a single loss proving beyond any doubt that they were the best team in the West. In the East, London swept Rochester holding Dave Williams to 18 points per game on 33% shooting. Washington the other Division winner also looked strong beating Boston 3-1. In the second round, London was barely able to squeeze past Budapest who had already knocked off Brooklyn in the first round, but the inexperienced Washington team fell to Albacete. Then in the Conference finals London dominated Albacete 4-1. With a 65 win season and a 11-4 play-off record London felt confident heading into the Finals. Colorado however was just too strong winning the series 4-1 and posting a record setting post-season record of 15-1.

Season 6

And the Mighty Fall! After three straight 70 win seasons and a championship, Colorado made some major moves to prepare for the future. They lost Bobby Cress, Kevon Duke and Cristobol Dasheer all of whom had been large parts of their championship and in return the ended up with some promising but unproven rookies. As a result they went from 71 victories to 34. In the West Boston stepped up the clear leader with 69 victories and an 18 game win streak to end the season. Washington was the second best regular season team in the West taking the Mid-Atlantic Division with 59 victories.

With the demise of Colorado Boston now had they best offense in the league with 110.5 points per game. Budapest once again had the best defense holding their opponents to 90 points per game. Young Wayne Taylor regained the scoring title with one of the best offensive outputs the league has ever seen with 31.6 points per game. Dave Williams had also raised his average to 28.2 but it wasn't enough to repeat. Wilson and Henderson again repeated with the rebounding and assist leads, 14.27 & 13.2 respectively. For the Fourth time Lou Gonzales lead the league with 4.57 blocks but for the first time he had some legitimate competition from the upstart Arnold Eaton who finished the season with an average of 4.18. Rookie Lonnie Gerson also made a big splash as he can into the league and averaged 4.09 steals beating out the three time leader Chuck Henderson.

Season 6 Play-offs

The race in the East was quite competitive with Washington and Boston both making strong showings. In the Conference Finals, Boston barely out lasted Washington winning 4-3 in Boston. The West however was a different story. Colorado had left a large hole to be filled and Cancun was eager to fill the hole. They went 11-2 in their conference and obviously felt very confident heading into the finals. And they should have, they continued their blistering play smashing Boston 4-1.

Season 7

The WBA continues to become more and more competitive. This is especially true of the top teams. Despite the improved quality of the lower teams there were still nine teams that finished with 50 or more wins. Albacete seemed to be the clear team to beat finishing with 69 wins a full ten wins ahead of the next best team. Oregon had the biggest drop from 56 wins the season before to 25 wins this season. There was one simple reason for the Rise of Albacete and the fall of Oregon- Lou Gonzales: Gonzo! Oregon traded him to Albacete for Michael Kutak and a bunch of picks.

The trio of Lou Gonzales, Harry Jarvis and Bobby Cress instantly made Albacete the top offense. They finished the season averaging 113.3 points per game. Brooklyn re-emerged as the premiere defensive team in the league but the league is getting more and more offensively oriented so despite being the best defense in the league they still allowed 96.1 points per game. Taylor once again took the scoring title averaging 30.6 points per game with Williams close behind with 30.3 points. Paul Wilson took his amazing sixth straight rebounding title and Chuck Henderson took his sixth straight assists title. Gonzales took on a slightly different role in Albacete and blocked many fewer shots. As a result there was a very tight race for the blocks title but it finally went to Arnold Eaton. Rookie Omar Jefferson was overwhelmed in his role as starting point guard for Oregon and he led the league with 3.97 turnovers per game. There was also a very competitive race for the steals leader but it finally went to long time defensive threat John Greene.

Season 7 Play-offs

Going into the play-offs there were really only two teams that the press was talking about- Cancun the defending Champs and Albacete who was the regular season force. As expected these are the two teams that ended up in the finals. They entered the finals with similar post season experiences both of them had to go to the seventh game of the conference finals to even get to the finals but once they got there Albacete showed what they had been waiting to prove all season long. They were the best team in the league and polished off Cancun in four games.

Season 8

Colorado finished the regular season with a record of 64 wins and 16 losses. The only team in the league with more than 60 wins. Colorado accomplished this feat with a boost from the sixth man, their fans. The Pioneers did not have an all star that led the league in stats, but 4 home losses for the season speaks for itself.

Six teams were close enough to be considered the elite group up with Colorado. Albacete and Brooklyn both finished the season with 59 wins. Brooklyn is another team that relied on the home court advantage to compile the W's. Shane Strom is the clear leader of this team, but 5 losses in from of the home fans tells the story. Albacete was led by the scoring machine known as Harry Jarvis, but the true story lies with their team defense. The Burning Hell held their opponents to a league leading low of 94.8 points.

Cancun was the fourth division winner besides the three teams previously mentioned. The Outlaws finished with 55 wins and led the league in offense averaging over 110 points per contest. Although, they accomplished this with the league leading steals guy in Lonnie Gerson and the leagues second best blocker with Kent Mercer.

Oregon and Washington would round out the “elite” teams, but appear to be a notch back from the above with only 50 and 49 wins respectively. Oregon is led by Lou Gonzalez the most efficient shooter in the league who was also able to block over 5 shots per contest. A center with all the offensive moves in and out of the paint led the league shooting 64%. Gonzalez is almost allergic to a rebound for a Center, but with Cory Mosely leading the league with over 12 a night, he is forgiven. Washington was all about teamwork. A team without a stand out, but every member willing to do the little things and aggressive when getting to the line.

Other teams of note include Nebraska who boasted the number one and two scorers in the league with Wayne Taylor and Dave Williams, but finished a disappointing 47 and 33. The Virgin Islands are not proud when they he the word, offense, scoring an abysmal league worst of less that 85 points per game. Compared with a New York team playing a matador style defense allowing opponents almost 108 points per contest.

Season 8 Playoffs

The big surprise in the first round was the early exit for Washington. Birmingham seeded 6th ended Washington's hopes for Season 8. The other five “elite” teams advanced to the second round. Again Birmingham shocked the WBA world by beating the top seed in the east; Albecete was toppled prematurely despite their defense placing them as a favorite to go to the big dance. The Finals saw Cancun end what Colorado thought was their year and Birmingham's Cinderella story come to a crashing halt when they met the seconded seeded Brooklyn. Cancun was crowned as champions due to superb coaching and chemistry.