ABA basketball Soul Power (4 of 16 teams)
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2026 3:11 am
If you haven't checked it out and your have Amazon Prime, take some time to check out the Soul Power documentary of the American Basketball Association. With that inspiration, I'm bringing out the red, white and blue ball to run an ABA season.
• Play style: 1 vs. 1
Map settings: Escalating, Chained, Foggy, Standard (20-round limit).
We will play a 15-game regular season with the top-five teams in each conference reaching the playoffs.
Each game will be broken into 8 maps (five representing the starters and three for the bench players). Each player will earn points based on a well-tested scoring formula I’ve conceived.
ABAMaps by David Ball, on Flickr
Basically, win quickly to connect on a higher percentage of your shots and to shut down your opponent (see shooting chart below). Percentages drop as the rounds advance and the count is capped at 12 rounds to prevent running up the score. This also rewards a losing player for fighting hard rather than simply giving up.
Also, starters are weighted to put up more shots than bench players, so like in a real game, the starting five will have a greater influence on the scoring.
Example for a starting SG
You gain 42 armies for regions held during the game, so 42/5 = 8.4 (8 FG attempts)
You gain 12 in bonuses, so 12/5 = 2.2 (2 FT attempts)
You turn in 14 in cards + have four owned terts, so 18/5 = 3.6 (4 3P attempts)
I then take you shot attempts and run it through the shot chart for how many rounds the game went.
Round limits
Terts are capped at 10 per round
Bonuses are capped a 7 per round
Cards sets are pre-set at 7 per turn-in for shooting chart purposes.
You can also earn bonus shots by winning more battles per round than your opponent – Bonus for beating neutrals.
If you win while attacking first, then your biggest round #s are cut in half.
Spoils won at the end of the game can also boost your FG attempts.
ABAShootingCharts by David Ball, on Flickr
Postseason powerups
The top-10 scoring leaders at the end of the regular season will earn star status for the playoffs (extra shot attempts/higher shooting %)
The top-5 scoring leaders among bench players will earn a similar 6th-man power up.
Playoffs
The Top 5 in each conference advance to the playoffs.
#4 vs. #5 will face off in a single game wildcard showdown to determine who advances to face the Division winner.
All other playoff showdowns will be Best of 3 series.
I hope it doesn’t sound too confusing…in the end winning the most maps and winning quickly should end in success.
I’ll be trying to update scoreboards at least every 48 hours.
An extra showdown on Classic will be the overtime map.
Good luck to all and let’s have some fun with it, flex
Any questions, please post in the forum so they can be answered for everyone.
SIGN-UPS
ABASignUps by David Ball, on Flickr
• Play style: 1 vs. 1
Map settings: Escalating, Chained, Foggy, Standard (20-round limit).
We will play a 15-game regular season with the top-five teams in each conference reaching the playoffs.
Each game will be broken into 8 maps (five representing the starters and three for the bench players). Each player will earn points based on a well-tested scoring formula I’ve conceived.
ABAMaps by David Ball, on FlickrBasically, win quickly to connect on a higher percentage of your shots and to shut down your opponent (see shooting chart below). Percentages drop as the rounds advance and the count is capped at 12 rounds to prevent running up the score. This also rewards a losing player for fighting hard rather than simply giving up.
Also, starters are weighted to put up more shots than bench players, so like in a real game, the starting five will have a greater influence on the scoring.
Example for a starting SG
You gain 42 armies for regions held during the game, so 42/5 = 8.4 (8 FG attempts)
You gain 12 in bonuses, so 12/5 = 2.2 (2 FT attempts)
You turn in 14 in cards + have four owned terts, so 18/5 = 3.6 (4 3P attempts)
I then take you shot attempts and run it through the shot chart for how many rounds the game went.
Round limits
Terts are capped at 10 per round
Bonuses are capped a 7 per round
Cards sets are pre-set at 7 per turn-in for shooting chart purposes.
You can also earn bonus shots by winning more battles per round than your opponent – Bonus for beating neutrals.
If you win while attacking first, then your biggest round #s are cut in half.
Spoils won at the end of the game can also boost your FG attempts.
ABAShootingCharts by David Ball, on FlickrPostseason powerups
The top-10 scoring leaders at the end of the regular season will earn star status for the playoffs (extra shot attempts/higher shooting %)
The top-5 scoring leaders among bench players will earn a similar 6th-man power up.
Playoffs
The Top 5 in each conference advance to the playoffs.
#4 vs. #5 will face off in a single game wildcard showdown to determine who advances to face the Division winner.
All other playoff showdowns will be Best of 3 series.
I hope it doesn’t sound too confusing…in the end winning the most maps and winning quickly should end in success.
I’ll be trying to update scoreboards at least every 48 hours.
An extra showdown on Classic will be the overtime map.
Good luck to all and let’s have some fun with it, flex
Any questions, please post in the forum so they can be answered for everyone.
SIGN-UPS
ABASignUps by David Ball, on Flickr