The Global Basketball Association (GBA) was a professional basketball minor league based in the United States. The majority of the league's franchises were based in the Southern United States, with the remaining teams located in the Midwest. The league announced plans for franchises in European cities that never materialized. The league began play in 1991 and lasted one and a half seasons before folding in December 1992. History When the league was announced in 1991, league officials said there would be franchises around the world, hence the name "Global Basketball Association" (GBA). The league was owned and founded by Ted Stepien, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1980 to 1983. Two international teams were announced: Tallinn, Soviet Union (now Estonia) and San Marino. The team from the Soviet Union was KK Kalev, which was a professional basketball team founded in 1920. The four American teams announced were Greensboro, North Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee and Greenville, South Carolina. Vilvoorde, Belgium and Évry, France were later awarded GBA franchises. Mike Storen, who served as commissioner of the American Basketball Association from 1973 to 1975, was named commissioner of the GBA. The league announced a 64-game schedule in from November 1991 to March 1992, followed by a playoff for the league championship. To distinguish itself from other basketball leagues, the GBA used a white basketball, which was manufactured by MacGregor. In May 1991, the GBA awarded a charter franchise to Huntsville, Alabama. The GBA merged Pro Basketball USA, another fledgling basketball minor league, in August 1991. The GBA adopted six of Pro Basketball USA's franchises: the Albany Sharp Shooters, the Louisville Shooters, the Memphis HotShots, the Fayetteville Flyers, the Mid-Michigan Great Lakers and the Wichita Outlaws. The GBA draft was held on August 3, 1991 in Atlanta, Georgia. It was broken-up into three rounds. The first found was the territorial round where teams were limited to selecting players within a 100-mile radius. In the second round, teams could only draft free agents. The third and final round was the collegiate draft, where teams could pick players from colleges across the United States. The Greensboro City Gaters selected Keith Gatlin with the first overall pick in the draft. By the start of the 1991–92 season in November 1991, the GBA only had franchises based in the United States. League officials said the international teams would begin play in the 1992–93 season.