The ABA first located its league office in
Minneapolis and the future looked bright for the Muskies (named after the
Muskellunge, also known as the muskie; Minnesota is one of the regions the fish is found in), who shared the same offices as the league itself. Their first draft pick was talented center
Mel Daniels, who would go on to become one of the ABA's most celebrated players. Daniels was also a first round draft pick of the
Cincinnati Royals of the
National Basketball Association (NBA), but he decided to cast his lot with the upstart league. The selection of Daniels paid off for the team as he led the league in field goal attempts, field goals made, offensive and defensive rebounds, and was named the league's Rookie of the Year. Daniels,
Donnie Freeman, and
Les Hunter all represented the Muskies in the first ABA All-Star Game. Shooting guard
Ron Perry finished fifth in the league in three-point field goals made and attempted and fourth in three-point field goal percentage. The head coach was
Jim Pollard, a former teammate of ABA Commissioner
George Mikan from their days with the NBA's
Minneapolis Lakers. The Muskies would win 50 games in their lone season under that franchise name. Early in the league's first season, the Muskies and the
Indiana Pacers dueled for first place in the Eastern Division. Although the Muskies pulled away from the Pacers, the
Pittsburgh Pipers rallied to eventually win the Eastern Division title by four games. The Muskies would finish the season with a record of 50 wins and 28 losses. In the
Eastern Division playoff semifinals, the Muskies split the first four of five games with the
Kentucky Colonels and then won the decisive Game Five, 114–108, at home. The Muskies then met the Pipers for the Eastern Division Championship and lost 4 games to 1 to the eventual champion.
1967–68 ABA season For their success on the court, the Muskies were a complete bust off the court. They lost an estimated $400,000 in their
first and only season. They only averaged 2,800 people per game, but it might have been far less, given that they only sold 100 season tickets at the time. The franchise would move back to Pittsburgh after their own sole season in Minnesota, with the league not bothering to return to Minnesota again following
George Mikan's resignation as commissioner and the subsequent movie of the ABA's headquarters to
New York (which would also be home to the
New York Nets for the rest of the ABA's tenure). The
Minnesota Timberwolves wore Muskies uniforms for six games during the
2011–12 NBA season as part of the NBA's "Hardwood Classics". ==Basketball Hall of Famers==