ABA Teams: San Diego Conquistadors/Sails
Credit: Remember the ABA
Numerous NBA teams are based in California. The Los Angeles Lakers/Clippers (Los Angeles), Sacramento Kings (Sacramento), and the Golden State Warriors (San Francisco). All of these teams are based in some of the most populated cities in California:
Los Angeles: 3.9 Million
San Fransisco: 810,000
Sacramento: 470,000
NBA teams base their teams in more populated cities as the more people there are, the more tickets are being sold. However, San Diego, the second-most populated city in California, does not have an NBA team.
The last San Diego NBA team were the San Diego Rockets (1967-71) and the San Diego Clippers (1978-84). However, both teams are now in different cities (Houston and Los Angeles). Has there been a professional basketball team that stayed in San Diego for the team's lifespan?
Well... yes. Why else would I be writing this article? Besides the NBA, during the 1960-70s, another professional basketball league was up and running alongside the NBA, the American Basketball Association (ABA).
Of the twelve teams in the ABA, the San Diego Conquistadors/Sails were one. The San Diego Conquistadors/Sails were founded in 1972. From 1972-74, the ABA San Diego team would go by the San Diego Conquistadors. In the 1975 ABA season, they changed their names to the San Diego Sails, but after three years in the ABA (1972-75), the San Diego Conquistadors/Sails disbanded.
Although the San Diego Conquistadors/Sails were only in the league for three seasons, were they any good?
No.
Well, what about what was happening behind the scenes? How was the staff? They must have had many fans, considering they were in the second-most populated city in California!
Although filled with potential, almost nothing went well for the San Diego Conquistadors/Sails. They would make the playoffs twice but never made it that far. In addition, there was always something going wrong behind the scenes.
Want to know more about the trash fire that is the San Diego Conquistadors/Sails? Keep on reading!
Table of Contents: