| Color1: | white |
| Color2: | black |
| Color3: |
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| Los Angeles Stars | |
| Founded: | 2000 |
| Folded: | 2001 |
| League: | ABA |
| History: | Los Angeles Stars (2000–2001) |
| Arena: | Great Western Forum |
| Coach: | Paul Westhead |
The Los Angeles Stars were a minor league basketball team in the American Basketball Association (ABA) during the league's inaugural 2000–01 season. The Stars were one of the league's initial eight teams.[1] The Stars were defunct after its initial season.[2] [3]
To attract fans, the ABA had rosters with former National Basketball Association (NBA) players and past college basketball stars with local ties.[4] The Stars used their territorial draft picks to select Ed O'Bannon and Tyus Edney, who won the 1995 NCAA championship together at UCLA.[5] O'Bannon, a former first-round draft pick in the 1995 NBA draft, played for the Stars,[6] while Edney played for the Indiana Pacers in the NBA that season.[7] O'Bannon was joined on the team by former UCLA players Toby Bailey, who also played with O'Bannon on the 1995 championship team, and JaRon Rush.[8]
The Stars' head coach was former Los Angeles Lakers and Loyola Marymount head coach Paul Westhead,[9] while former UC Irvine star Scott Brooks was an assistant coach as well as a player on the Stars.[10] Former Lakers star Jamaal Wilkes was hired as vice president of basketball operations.[11] His former college coach at UCLA, the legendary John Wooden, agreed to join the Stars as a consultant at Wilkes' request.[12]
The team's record was 28–13 in 2000–2001, and their season ended with a 112–132 first-round playoff loss to the Kansas City Knights.[13]