Who says anyone with a passion for hoops has to travel to a big city to watch? That isn’t going to be the case when the New England Lightning of the American Basketball Association (ABA) begins its second season this fall in Pawtucket!
Readers of a certain age might remember the old ABA during the 1970s. Players like “Dr. J” Julius Erving were involved with that league before joining the more established National Basketball Association (NBA). The ABA was reformed in 2000 in partnership with the NBA and has been operating in harmony for more than two decades.
The team was started for local players to get exposure to pursue their dreams of playing professional basketball for a living. Some ABA players have gone on to play in the NBA’s “G League” (a developmental league) annually.
The local team formed last year under the direction of Owner/CEO John Dooley and President of Basketball Operations Paul Rogers. They agreed that the opportunity existed for an ABA franchise to flourish in Rhode Island.
They were struck by how much work they had to do off the court before fielding a team on one.
“When the organization started, it was already one month into the 2024/25 season. We needed to get everything done extremely fast,” Dooley said. “We needed to design a logo, create uniforms, find a home court, sign players, hire a head coach and other staff among a host of other things. We then constructed our schedule from open dates with other ABA teams throughout New England and New York. Our roster consists of 16 players with 12 active for each game.”
All of the hard work they put in before the opening game tipoff paid the duo dividends. The team wound up winning the division last season. Dooley said he believes the team they are putting together now will look to build on the success of their inaugural season.
Jeff Xavier has been hired as the new head coach. His plan for the upcoming season is very simple: playing with effort and toughness.
“My main goal is to get my players better in every aspect of the game and combine that with a great team play!” Coach Xavier said.
The season schedule consists of 20 games, with a goal of 10 home and 10 away games. This season our furthest regular season game is in Dover, Delaware in December.
Opening night for this season is October 25th at 6PM in Pawtucket.
All home games for this season are at the Boys & Girls Club, located on 1 Moeller Place, in Pawtucket, beginning at 6:00 PM on Saturday nights .
As with the original indoctrination of the league, all ABA games are played with Red, White, and Blue basketballs.
There are over 130 teams in the league—making the ABA, the largest professional league in the world.
Dooley is working to secure local support from area businesses, community organizations, and non-profit groups to offer fundraising opportunities and outings to games. He hopes that the community will give the team a chance to show their skills.
“All of our players are from Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts,” John said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the neighbors and the area companies to get behind a fun team that wants to feed off the crowd. You don’t need to travel to Boston or Uncasville and pay hundreds of dollars to watch professional basketball. Our tickets are $25 for courtside seats, $15 for general admission, and special discounted pricing for groups.
“This is family-friendly entertainment that is inexpensive and will delight audiences,” Dooley added.
A few unique things about the ABA that differentiates themselves from the NBA:
CELEBRITY PLAYER
- During regular season games, the Home Team is allowed to add ONE (1) CELEBRITY Team Member, who is also eligible to play. The CELEBRITY rule only applies to the Home Team.
Acceptable examples of a “Celebrity” are someone like the Mayor, Councilman, Local Pastor, Teacher, Hometown Hero, Sponsor, Medical Personnel, Police, Fireman, Artist, Musician, Make a Wish recipient, etc. The rule was designed for the Celebrity to dress in the team’s uniform, warm up with them, sit on the bench, and if feasible, play for a few minutes, but not the entire game.
FOUR-POINT FIELD GOALS
- A 4-point field goal is scored on field goals made from BEHIND the half-court Division Line.
THE “3D” RULE
- When a team loses possession of the ball (or due to a violation or foul), before PLAYER control from established in the frontcourt, the 3D RULE IS “ON.”
- This, of course, also includes any turnover, resulting from a pass from the backcourt.
When “3D IS ON”…
- One additional point shall be added to the point value of a field goal:
- 2-Point field goal shall have a value of THREE points.
- 3-Point field goal shall have a value of FOUR points!
More details about the New England Lightning may be found by contacting John Dooley at john@lightningaba.com.
